Monday, February 14, 2011

Breathe in Serenity



Valentine's Day can be strange when one is not half of a couple. So many of the advertisements are about giving her the perfect diamond, gold heart, lingerie, or box of chocolates. The implication is that Valentine's Day is for lovers. And I agree. But I have a much expanded notion of love these days. Post betrayal and divorce and post cancer, I find myself a lover of life. And a lover of experiencing life sensuously. My senses are more acute, including my sense of smell. So, I am aware of aromas that enhance my sense of well being.

This Valentine's Day I decided to try my hand at making aromatic mists. My favorite scents are lavender and a combination of eucalyptus and spearmint, so I began with those. This was amazingly easy to do. I purchased four ounce bottles and atomizer sprays on line. I bought the three essential oils and googled scent recipes.

For lavender, I used 20-30 drops per four ounces of distilled water. The number is not exact because I kept losing count of the drops. No matter, I just did test sprays until it smelled good to me. Combining the eucalyptus and spearmint was a bit trickier. I thought the eucalyptus would overpower the mint but the reverse was true. I ended up using about a 2/3 eucalyptus, 1/3 spearmint mix. Again, for each bottle I just mixed and spritzed until my nose approved.

To customize the bottle I created my own labels. I arranged some stones into a heart shape in the snow and then took a dozen or so pictures, playing with shadows and distance. I chose two of the photos, one for each scent. I added the word serenity because I am going to suggest my friends keep them in their cars and spritz when they feeling rushed or stressed... instant serenity.  After printing the photos at the local drugstore kiosk, I trimmed them to label size, used spray adhesive to attach them to the bottle, and voila!

I'm really pleased with the final product. I'm giving them to the people who put love in my life. And I am wishing you a sensuously perfect Valentine's Day!




8 comments:

  1. The scent is beautiful (I was blessed with eucalyptus/spearmint) and the package is perfect. Thank you for the love, joy, and wisdom you bring into my life. Happy Valentine's Day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clary sage is one of my favorites... lavender drops I put on my pillow every night, and I even clean with essential oils rather than detergents. I use mostly GSE drops with a few drops of thyme and bergamot. Not too many drops since I have cats and not only do they not like the strong scents, but some of the oils can be toxic to them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I put fresh lavender in the zippered pillow covers that go under the pillow cases. Then every time I move my head or adjust the pillow I get a wave of fragrance, so soothing. Dani, what is GSE?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks right back to you Lori! I tried to delete my first response to you because I left out a word and wanted to correct it. Instead I ended up with the removed post above. I'm still learning how to use the technology for this blog!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful idea! I love the fragrance of lavender, myself--so much so that I planted it in most of my flowerbeds. The lavender is very happy--my plants are huge, and flower enough for several cuttings a year. I share it with a friend who runs an after-school and day camp program--one day each summer the kids come over and harvest lavender to take home to their moms. So far I haven't done much with it except to crumble it up and use it as potpourri, but this year I'd like to get more adventurous. Smell is HUGE for me--if I don't have pecan-scented candles my house just doesn't seem like my own, and I use a lemon verbena oil to do my candle cleansings.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a perfect idea! Thank you for sharing your creativity with us, Judy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pecan-scented? I've never experienced that scent in a candle. Sounds yummy. Thanks for the tip about using lemon verbena oil for candle cleansing. I'll look forward to hearing back from you about the creative uses you find for your lavender this summer. You must have the perfect climate!

    ReplyDelete