Aromatherapy Advice

We all have at some time or the other taken digs at the socialites who flit in and out of parties wearing expensive designer togs and leaving behind a waft of the most heavenly perfume casting disdainful looks at mere mortals like us. How we wish we could also don designer stuff and walk about in a cloud of pricey perfumes!

I don`t know about the designer clothes, but good perfumes are something which all of us can afford in some form or the other. Not only do perfumes make you smell good but they also act as great mood up lifters. Perfumes come in many varieties of strength; so, before you splurge your hard-earned money, do recognize the various types of perfumes available in the market.

Perfumes get their fragrance from perfume oils which determine the strength of the perfume and its lasting power. Obviously, the higher the concentration of the perfume oil, the longer-lasting will the perfume be.

The after-shave has the lowest concentration of the perfume oil, containing about 0.5% – 2.0%, making it ideal for daily use by men to use as a salve after shaving. Then comes the eau-de-cologne with 3.0% – 5.0% of perfume oil concentration and is most commonly used after a bath during summer-time.

Both these categories are affordable for the average person and does leave a lingering fragrance even if the concentration of the perfume oil is less. Eau-de-toilette with its 5.0% – 8.0% concentration of oil is the most popular as it is obviously stronger than the eau de cologne and stays on much longer. The price, of course is much higher than the above two categories.

The next higher category is the eau de parfum which is at the second top rung of the perfume ladder containing within it a concentration of almost 8.0% – 15.0% of perfume oil. Perfumes now start becoming expensive from this category onwards and in fact, most of us can actually afford only an eau de parfum as our most expensive perfume. The fragrance is strong and the effect long-lasting. For most of us even this category of perfume is to be used carefully.

The top honors belong to `parfum` itself which is totally undiluted and contains the intense concentration of the perfume oil ranging between 15% – 30%. Even a drop of this `parfum` will be enough to leave you smelling heavenly. This is exorbitantly priced and frankly, not many of us can really afford this category of perfume unless it is a very, very special gift or indulgence.

Now, that we are set with the basic knowledge of the different categories of perfume, it is now time to select one judiciously. The important tip to bear in mind is that not all perfumes suit everyone; every individual has her own characteristic body chemistry which reacts differently to each individual perfume. So, the perfume which may smell good on someone else may just evaporate in thin air on your body.

Light floral scents suit some better than strong, intense ones and the opposite is also true. So, before purchasing perfume, always test it on the wrists and wait for sometime to allow the fragrance to develop fully before deciding on whether it suits you or not. Limit your perfume sampling to two or three fragrances at a time so as not to overwhelm the senses. Sniffing coffee beans in between each sampling will help you distinguish them better.

So, go right ahead and indulge in at least one good perfume to begin with and then you can build up your perfume wardrobe also!

You could go to a store and buy an aromatherapy bath product, or you could make your own at home. Herbal and aromatic baths are an ancient tradition, simple to make and easy on the wallet. Keep reading to learn more about why herbal baths are good for you, how to draw the best herbal baths and recipes that you can make.

Benefits of Herbal and Aromatic Baths

Herbal baths are detoxifying, aromatic and intensely relaxing, both spiritually and physically. The ceremony of bathing in herbs is a daily rite in many cultures, and a return to the course for both the body and the spirit.

The herbs chosen for an aromatic bath will change the effect of the bath. For example, if the bath is designed to invigorate the mind, one herb or combination of herbs may be chosen, but if the bath is designed to promote sleep, then another herb or combination of herbs may be chosen. This is just as you might pick one type of herbal tea to settle an upset stomach or another to help you relax.

Drawing the Perfect Aromatherapy Bath

Think of brewing an herbal bath like brewing that big cup of herbal tea. In fact, many people simply toss a few herbal tea bags right into the bath water and let the dried herbs do their work. If you’re making your own herbal baths, try wrapping the herb mixture in muslin and tying it off. Then, either drop these in the bath or tie them to the faucet.

If you want to make your own herbal and aromatherapy bath product mixtures, keep reading for some fantastic recipes that you can blend at home.

Invigorating Ginger Blend

Recipe:

¼ cup minced ginger root (promotes circulation)

¼ cup dried parsley (tonic for the skin)

½ cup grated lemon peel (cleansing and aromatic)

2 tablespoons oatmeal (softens the water)

Rosemary and Sage Bath

Mixture:

2 tbsp oatmeal (softens water)

¼ c sage (helps with poor concentration)

¼ c rosemary (promotes mental alertness)

Lemon and Orange Blend

Mixture:

¼ c grated orange peel (reduces anxiety and stress)

1 tbsp dried parsley (invigorates skin)

1 tbsp comfrey (antiseptic properties)

¼ c grated lemon peel (cleanser and invigorates the mind)

Basil, Eucalyptus and Peppermint Bath

Recipe:

¼ cup dried basil (regenerates mental powers)

¼ cup dried eucalyptus (improves concentration)

¼ cup dried peppermint (alleviates mental fatigue and low concentration)

Soothing Linden Bath Blend

Recipe:

¼ cup dried linden (soothes frayed nerves)

¼ cup dried comfrey (heals skin irritations)

¼ cup dried yarrow (ancient Chinese herb, astringent and great for aching muscles)

2 tablespoons oatmeal (softens bath water)

So, while you could spend anywhere from $5 to $30 on a pre-made aromatherapy bath product, it’s easy to make your own blends right at home. Feel free to tinker with these recipes, adding additional herbs or essential oils to customize the mix to your own tastes.

An herbal bath can be a most soothing experience, helping with the cleansing of the body and uplift of the spirit. Trying any of the options referenced above will no doubt bring relaxation in the midst of the weariness of life.

When applying perfume you will want to begin from the bottom up, preferably layering the scent as you go with the use of matching perfume products from scented soap, lotion, perfume, oil and powders. Get the very best effect when using your favorite men or womens perfume, whether you buy your perfume from a wholesale perfume or an online discount perfume dealer.

When applying perfume you want to place it on your pulse points, as this will help the aroma of the perfume you use. When using perfume, place a dot on each of these areas.

- Inside of ankles

- Inside the back of knees

- Inside the folds of thighs

- Hipline, either side

- Beneath each breast

- In the cleave

- Nape of the neck

- Behind the ears

- Inside crook of elbows

- And if not wearing scented antiperspirant, a touch within each arm pit

Applying perfume in this manner will add a layered effect to the perfume you wear. If you prefer a lighter dusting of perfume, you can simply spray a bit of the perfume into the air and walk into it, this will lightly cover your body with your favorite scent, rather than a more concentrated covering of perfume.

When wearing perfume, you must always take care as to not to apply to much perfume, as enough is enough and there are others who have adverse reactions when influenced by particular types of perfume ingredients. When someone wears too much perfume, the fragrance becomes obnoxiously overpowering, and for some can cause illness. You know when someone is wearing to much perfume when you can actually taste the fragrance they wear.

Wearing too much perfume in small areas can cause serious to mild allergic reactions in some individuals, even if they are not wearing any themselves. Although it is easy to tell when someone is wearing more than enough perfume, it is not always easy for a wearer of perfume to know they have been applying too much perfume; this is because no ones sense of smell is the same. Never spray perfume directly on your clothing, you can use perfume samples of your favorite perfume as sachets to scent your clothes.

Keep in mind while applying discount or wholesale perfume for men, women and kids that perfume is to scent the air around you, not to overpower others by lingering in areas where you go. The last thing you want is people coughing after you walk by them. If in doubt, ask a friend that you trust with an honest answer if your perfume is to strong.

Properly caring for your favorite perfumes, no matter where you may find them, will keep them lasting you a longer time than not. Always keep your perfume bottles in a cool, dry dark place, as direct sunlight weakens the ingredients of perfume. Make sure the perfume bottles are tightly closed to keep down evaporation. The aroma and color of perfume will be changed when it is outdated.

When you look back in history, the use of oils and ointments goes as far back as the years before Christ when ancient Egyptians gave them to the royal ones as presents or vice versa. Lately when we consider perfumes we see the counter at Wal-Mart or the online fragrance stores. Perfume oils are pure while the perfume scents are blended with alcohol.

The most common fragrances we commonly buy today are made from concentrated plant extracts and alcohol. Perfume oil is very pure with scent that is at least ten times stronger than the regular marketed brands. You simply don’t have to use very much with concentrated perfume oil and they last longer both on your skin and in their bottle.

Your regular Perfumes are blended with alcohol, which causes them to have different scents at different times. When the bottle is new, it will be fresh and strong, then as the alcohol unavoidably evaporates, the smell fades. But with the oils, the scent is seemingly ageless as it lasts through time continuing to smell as exquisite as when you first bought it.

Perfume oils while expensive can definitely be bought at a reasonable discount price. The marketing and packaging for alcohol based perfumes has increased tremendously, while prices for scents that have been produced for decades have skyrocketed. Usually fragrance manufacturers will change the box and maybe one small ingredient, and then re-release the product at twice the cost. The markup is high that a high profit margin is ensured. Although some perfume oils are highly marketed and expensive, they can be bought at reasonable rates from a variety of stores.

If a perfume or cologne seems to smell delightful on your skin, you better believe the oil will smell even better. Regular perfumes only have a small amount of the actual oil in their ingredients, where as the oils are pure and concentrated. Considering the fact we all have different natural scents, as well as different levels of acidity in our skin, you really need to test it on before you rush in and buy it.

While perfumes and colognes are only to be sprayed or dabbed on your external body, perfume oils on the other hand are much more versatile, being able to be mixed into your bath, made into soaps or candles. Some enterprising individuals even like to use certain ones in their cooking. Please make sure you do your research on the pure oil before you buy it or use it in any other alternative way. Cautiously, some can not be applied directly to your skin, or anywhere else you might like to put it. You might need to mix it with a base oil to dilute it before use.

When buying perfume or perfume oil, be sure to try it first, and take time to see if you may have an allergic reaction, how long it lasts and how it changes over time on your skin. With the prices you can pay for them you need to make sure you will actually want to use it. Perfume oils are becoming more popular on the market every day, and the more we see the benefits of using them, they will be just as popular as regular perfumes and colognes.

During the current economic down turn we are all looking at ways to cut down our spending. There are certain areas where you just can’t cut back, but when it comes to perfumes there is good news in the form of perfume oils. Let me tell you about perfume oils

Perfume oils have been around for a very long time even before the perfume we know of today came along. Perfume oil is pure perfume without any fillers like water, ethanol or alcohol, this helps the actual fragrance last longer, much longer than ordinary perfume because alcohol at its core is a drying agent and causes the fragrance and skin to dry up and because of this perfume oils are known to last up to 8-10 hours and sometimes even more.

The most attractive part of perfume oils is that they are available in fragrances that smell exactly like the designer perfumes that we can buy off the high street. To understand how the exact fragrance is achieved we need to understand a couple of things, firstly the copyright aspect goes only as far as the brand name is concerned, nobody can actually put a copyright on ’smell’ hence anyone can reproduce the exact smell that the designer house has produced as long as they don’t use the designer’s name. The exact fragrance composition can easily be achieved through a process called gas chromatography.

What makes a lot of people buy perfume oils is the price. For a few dollars you can buy a bottle of pure perfume which will last you anything from a few weeks to months. Well one would ask that if its so good then why is it so cheap? Well the answer is simple. You see the perfume you and I buy from the retailers in reality only costs a very small amount to produce, in fact it costs less than $10, but what bumps up the price is the fancy bottle and the packaging, the designer’s heavy profit, the distribution costs and then the retailer’s heavy mark up, all these put together make the perfume much more expensive than what it’s really worth. When it comes to perfume oils, there is none of that expensive mark up business involved and hence you can buy better quality for much less.

Due to the low price of perfume oils, you can afford to try different smells which normally you would not be able to do with ordinary perfume because of their exorbitant prices. But with perfume oils you can even use a different scent each day.

Since there is no spray nozzle, one may wonder how to apply the oils? Simple, the bottles in which the oils come in are normally fixed with a roller ball, so all you have to do is roll out the oil in your palm and apply either to your body or clothes, the more you apply the longer it will last, and because you have paid very little you don’t have to worry about it running out.

One of the most popular scents for perfume is the scent of real roses.  Traditionally it is believed that Arab chemists were the first to find a way to produce useable perfume oils from roses.  Rose oil commands a very high price, because it is so laborious to extract.  The harvesting of the buds is done by hand before sunrise and the petals are used to create oil and scent extracts the very same day.  It takes many pounds of rose petals to make just one ounce of oil.  So how is the rose scent used in perfume created?

There are three current methods of getting oil out of the rose petals.

Extraction by a solvent

Extraction by steam distilling

Extraction via superficial carbon dioxide

In the solvent extraction method the rose petals are mixed in a vat or tub with some kind of solvent like hexane.  The hexane draws out the rose aroma, as well as some wax and pigments.  A vacuum process removes the Hexane and leaves a thick wax-like mass which is called Concrete in the perfume industry.  Alcohol is put through the Concrete which draws out the scent part only.  This alcohol mixture is then evaporated under low pressure, leaving the pure scent extract behind.  This is called Rose Absolute and is an amber yellow to deep red in color.  This is the least expensive method of scent extraction.

Removing rose scents by steam distilling involves large stills filled with rose petals and water.  The still is heated for a period of time, until the water vapor along with rose oil vaporizes out of the still and into a condenser, where the condensate is run off into a container.  Then the water is drained off from the oil leaving very concentrated oil.  The drained off water is then re-distilled to extract water soluble oils or alcohols that still exist in the water.  There is also a method to perform a combination distillation-extraction of this left over water.  These water soluble constituents are mixed with the original concentrated oil to get the final oil product called Rose Otto or Attar.  Rose Otto is made up of around 20% of the concentrated oil and 80% of the water soluble products.  It is then diluted heavily when used in perfume.  It is pale yellow to olive green in color and will crystallize at room temperature.  Bulgaria is the largest producer of Rose Otto.

The carbon dioxide extraction method is the most expensive method of the three and the price of your perfume may reflect that.  Carbon dioxide, which is normally a gas at normal pressures, is put under pressure until it liquefies.  The Rose petals are mixed with liquid carbon dioxide and heated at very low temperatures.  The rest of the process is similar to the standard solvent extraction method.  When normal pressure is restored to the carbon dioxide it turns back into gas and leaves the aroma extracts behind.  The CO2 does not leave any odor of its own behind.

A good deal of quality control must follow the process of making and buying pure rose oils as it is not unusual for it to be unscrupulously diluted with essential oils from the Geranium flower or Palmarosa herb (related to the Geranium), or even other alcohol related chemicals.

Perfumes have been in fashion since time immemorial. Earlier, people were using natural fragrances that were products of flowers and other substances found in nature. Nowadays perfume is produced by blending a variety of aromatic ingredients, essential oils, fixatives and solvents for emitting fragrance to the environment and human body. The terminology has evolved from a Latin word and the art of manufacturing perfume dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, Romans and Persians. Indians, too, contributed to perfumery but it was more incense based.

It is believed that the oldest perfume existed even 4000 years ago when herbs, spices and flowers were used to produce scent. The distillation process of extracting oils from flower was introduced by the Persian Muslim doctor called Ibn Sina. Prior to the distillation process liquid perfume consisted of a mixture of oils, crushed herbs and rose petals.

The distillation technology as well as raw ingredients has considerably influenced Western perfumery and its scientific development. In Europe, Hungarians produced the first perfume. The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy and France where the latter became the hub of perfume manufacture. Flower cultivation of different types grew into a major industry in Southern France with Grasse region predominating in aromatic plants cultivation for supplying raw materials to the growing perfume industry.

The various types of perfume reflect the intensity of concentration of aromatic compounds in a solvent. The fragrance emitted is typically ethanol or a mixture of water and ethanol. Perfume oil is diluted with a solvent as undiluted oils result in allergic reaction when applied directly on the skin. It has also been noticed that the scent of pure perfume oil is far too strong hence it is diluted with coconut oil, liquid wax or jojoba oil.

Men`s fragrances are rarely perfume extracts which is true for women`s perfume where the concentration various oils and solvent varies. The precise formulae of commercial perfumes are kept secret. However, perfume connoisseurs are extremely skilled in identifying the different components and origin of scents. The practical way of describing a perfume is being aware of the fragrance notes of the scent which create the lingering over all impression of the aroma.

The top notes indicate the basic smell that is perceived immediately on application of perfume. The middle note emerges when the top note dissipates. They constitute the main body of perfume and act as a mask to cover the unpleasant initial impression of base notes which turn more pleasant with passage of time. The scent which is emitted after the departure of the middle note is the base note. They, along with the middle notes, are the primary theme of a perfume. It is usually perceived after 30 minutes of application enhancing depth and solidity to a perfume.

With advancement of technology as well as natural development of tastes and styles, modern scents are described as bright floral, green, aquatic, citrus, fruity or gourmand. So, picking the one which suits your life style is essential in making you noticeable.

Essential oils are used in perfumes, in aromatherapy, in creams and lotions and for many other purposes where pleasant aromas are needed. Several methods are used to extract essential oils from flowers and other plant material. Essential oil makes up only a very small percentage of the plant or flower so a large amount of plant material is needed to produce a small amount of oil. More than a hundred pounds may be needed to produce an ounce of oil. Some flowers are also too delicate to use the easier methods and more time consuming and expensive methods must used. Essential oils can be expensive but they are very concentrated. Most recipes only require a few drops so a small bottle will last for a long time.

Steam Distillation

Steam distillation is used for the majority of essential oil production. Pressurised steam is passed through flowers or other plant material spread on screens inside a still. The oils are absorbed by the steam which is then passed into another chamber and cooled. On condensing the oil floats on the top of the water and is skimmed off. The water remaining is not wasted as it contains small amounts of the oil and can be used for toners and facial mists. As it is not as concentrated as the essential oils floral water can be used by people who are sensitive to essential oils.

Solvent Extraction

For flowers or plants too delicate to use steam extraction solvent extraction is often used. A solvent, usually hexane, is repeatedly passed over the plant material on mesh trays. The oils, along with other soluble substances, are absorbed by the solvent which is then filtered and the resulting solution distilled under low pressure to remove the solvent. The material left, called a concrete, is a waxy solid containing the essential oils and waxes and pigments from the plants. Further processing is then carried out to extract the oils and waxes from the concrete. The concrete itself can also be used as a perfume and the waxes are used in lotions, creams and in candle making.

Enfleurage

For flowers or plants that have very low levels of essential oils, jasmine for instance, a different method must be used. Flowers are placed into odourless vegetable oil and left for a few days before being replaced by fresh material. Fresh flowers are repeatedly placed in the vegetable oil until it is saturated with the oil from the flowers. Alcohol is then used to extract the essential oil from the vegetable oil. When the alcohol is evaporated the pure essential oil is left. This process takes a long time and a large amount of plant material and the resulting oil is very expensive.

Cold Pressing

For citrus oils, where the oil is extracted from the fruit rather than the flowers cold pressing is used. This entails rolling the fruit between spiked projections which pierce the peel and then squeezing the fruit to extract the juices which contain the oil. The resulting juice is then centrifuged to separate the oil.

Carbon Dioxide Extraction

In this method carbon dioxide is used to extract the oil. A high pressure is achieved by pumping the gas into a chamber containing the plant material. As the pressure increases the gas liquifies and acts as a solvent. The essential oils are extracted into the liquified carbon dioxide which is then passed into another chamber where the pressure is released. The carbon dioxide vapourises leaving behind the essential oil.

No residues are left behind and the extract is very pure with a clean and fresh aroma. As the temperature used is much lower than that used for steam distillation, oil can be extracted from delicate flowers that are destroyed by steam distillation.

Steam Diffusion Extraction

This method is similar to steam extraction but the steam is introduced into a chamber with the plant material at atmospheric pressure rather than at high pressure. It is a gentler method and can be used for more delicate flowers and plants.

The act of creating is forever a fun, enjoyable and creative errand. It is also a fulfilling exertion that one can do lonesome or with links.

Making a private perfume is actually a very easy and entertaining errand especially if the perfume you are making is meaned for your own use, for your family, or as a gift for links.

Of course, the journey is forever better than the destination and the experience of making a perfume brings confidence and a fulfillment that is unparalleled.

How to make a perfume right in your own home

deem it or not, there are a lot of instructions presented in the internet that would offer sufficient awareness in making your own perfume. What is more important is that you know what you want and you know what you essential in order to make a perfume that machinery for you.

Know what you want to make

First gear first, what kind and style of perfume do you want to smell in manually or to the one you are forecast to give it to. The diverse kinds of perfume you can make are concentrates, eau de cologne, even after-shaves.

Know how you want to smell

Making perfumes would be a lot easier if you know what you want to smell like.

Do you favor to smell bendable? Do you want to project a scent that expresses asset? Do you favor to smell caring? Etc.

List all the necessary ingredients

When early to start a scent for your own home-made perfume, it is necessary that you make a utter list of all the ingredients you are to use. When creating this list, keep in intellect the ingredients you want to add to your own perfume recipe.

However, if you already have an presented recipe that you mean to track, experimenting with creating a perfume is no longer necessary.

You could add or deduct as you will, adjusting the ingredients corruptd on your own private favorences.

Experiment, experiment, experiment

The nature of exotic perfumes requires a lot of experimentation.

Do not be fearful to start and re-start as according to your own will and whim. deem it or not, the making of perfume is considered an art in its own right. Imagination and creativity is forever a need.

One of the highest ingredients of perfume-making is the use of essential exotic oils that come from plants, – both non-organic and organic pure alcohol as well as water.

deem it or not, there are actually three oil styles which could sway the smell of ones perfume. The oil corrupt comments are those kinds of scent that will most perhaps stop on the skin the greatest.

For this sanity, this is mostly added first in the perfume mixture.

The oil heart comments meanwhile stop long also on the skin, while the oil corrupt comments stop the longer. Meanwhile, the oil top comments offer the a more detailed perfume scent when practical.

typically, the oil top comments are added to the perfume mix just after the oil heart comments. It could be tracked by other substances in order to viaduct the diverse scents.

The tracking are the more accessible oils which could control to your very own reverie scent.

The corrupt comments are mostly unruffled of vanilla, sandal timber, cinnamon, lichens, mosses, ferns. Meanwhile, the heart comments consists of neroli, lemongrass, ylang-ylang, geranium. The top comments are unruffled of rose, orchid, bergamot, lemon, lavender, jade.

All in all, making your own perfume should be fun, and so make it one.

If you are interested in fashioning your own perfume for personal use or for a small business, it is initially important to recognize the deviation in terminology. For instance, perfume and perfume oils are two diverse things. Our up-to-the-minute, shop bought perfumes trace their beginnings to perfume oils.

Back in time, possibly as far back as ancient Egypt, perfume oils were bestowed as unique gifts to royalty. Now, with our mass market outlook and lifestyle, perfume oils are degraded down to what we make out as perfume which we can buy at perfume counters in our beloved shops and department stores.

The basic difference between the two is in the strength and concentration of fragrance. Perfume oils are strongly concentrated and will yield a purer scent that will keep going a great deal longer than its modern counterpart. This makes perfume oils so very much more valuable and costly than run-of-the-mill perfumes.

The consideration why commercially available perfumes are not so concentrated is that the perfume oils are combined with alcohol to water down the mixture. Some perfumes nevertheless apply other body oils as carriers to stay on that enduring fragrant style. This particular information is important to note so that while you produce your own perfume, you can be guided as to what variety of substances would be preferable to merge with the perfume oil to be able to suit your needs.

For example, if you will be using the perfume for personal usage, you might not want to skimp on yourself and dispose of carrier substances altogether. However, do take note that in some cases, individuals find that they can have allergic reactions to the high concentrations of essential oils. Consequently it is wise to apply just a little on your skin. For all that, a little is all you want.

Perfume oils, because of their concentration may sell for a higher price than regular perfume. If you are making your own perfume for a small business, you might decide to build the correct blend of perfume oil and carrier substance without compromising highly the purity of the perfume oil. This will help you gain an edge over other perfumes and assist you in producing a profit.

When you make your own perfume, it is important to verify your product initially on a lot of diverse types of people using varying types of formulations as control. Perfume oils and its perfume version may respond differently on the same person. You will understand that scents react differently on assorted body chemistries and consequently not every scent will smell the same on diverse people. This portion of the construction procedure is important only if you intend to sell your own perfume commercially. If not, it is really easy to resolve the right scents for your personal use with a few personal tests.

Another thing to research and experiment on, is the interblend of diverse perfume oils to produce distinctive fragrances. The correct fragrance most certainly is the fragrance that’s correct for you. To find the right intermix, you will have to do some experimenting. Once you get knowledgable about the varying properties and scents of the different perfume oils, you can resolve which types of scents go well together and produce a wonderful and unique fragrance.