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Newsletter - March 2007
In this issue
Later this month it will be time to move the clocks forward an hour, returning us to British summer time and the long-awaited lighter evenings.
Most of us are thoroughly tired of winter and want to see the back of all the gloomy weather, so in The Spirit of Spring we take a lighthearted look at bringing a little springtime into your home using just your essential oils. Should perk you up nicely.
For the 3rd year in a row, we have received a prestigious award from Natural Health magazine Beauty Awards 2007. Quinessence were amongst the top 20 companies to have natural products voted as leaders in their field, and we are honoured and of course, delighted. You can read the full story below.
Last months article Fragrant Valentine mentioned a recipe containing Tuberose absolute which generated quite a number of emails requesting more information, since very little can be found in aromatherapy books about this exceptional oil. As usual, your wish is our command - so in this months Oil Profile Geoff reveals more about the history of this exotic floral oil and how you can use it in aromatherapy.
March Special Offer
Spring Fever Kit Offer
This Spring Fever Kit includes:
• Basil 5ml
• Bergamot 5ml
• Eucalyptus Citriodora
• Geranium 5ml
• Grapefruit 5ml
• Lavender French 5ml
• Lemon 5ml
• Litsea Cubeba 5ml
• Orange Sweet 5ml
• Pine 5ml
• Rosemary 5ml
• Spearmint 5ml
PLUS A FREE
Hand-made 12 space Essential oil Storage Box
Spring Fever Kit Offer!
Celebrate the arrival of Spring with this versatile set of refreshing and uplifting springtime essential oils - and receive a handmade wooden 12 Space Essential oil Storage Box - absolutely FREE!
That's right, - when you buy this selection of 12 Quinessence pure Essential Oils for only £47.40 you will receive this fantastic Essential Oil Storage Box worth £15.99 - absolutely FREE!
And that's not all - when you order your Spring Fever Kit online this month the price even includes delivery to your door! This Home Fragrancing Kit offer includes:-
• Basil 5ml
• Bergamot 5ml
• Eucalyptus Citriodora 5ml
• Geranium 5ml
• Grapefruit 5ml
• Lavender French 5ml
• Lemon 5ml
• Litsea Cubeba 5ml
• Orange Sweet 5ml
• Pine 5ml
• Rosemary 5ml
• Spearmint 5ml
• FREE 12 Space Storage Box
• Price includes delivery
But you had better not delay - this Special Offer is strictly limited to the first 100 customers who place an order. Order your Spring Fever Kit today and claim your FREE hand-made wooden 12 Space Essential oil Storage Box - before stocks run out!
The Spirit of Spring
How do oils work?
When we breathe, the tiny molecules of vaporised essential oils stimulate odour receptors which are situated at the base of the nose.
These receptors are directly connected to a part of the brain called the Limbic System which is responsible for emotions, moods and memory.
Because of this, the properties of essential oils have the power to directly affect our moods in a positive and balancing way.
Refreshing Silver Fir
The essential oil of Silver Fir (Abies alba) is extracted from the needles and twigs by steam distillation.
For centuries, it has been used throughout the European Continent for conditions such as fevers, arthritis, rheumatism, muscular pain and respiratory problems.
The joy of housework!
Oh, what fun housekeeping can be, especially when you use your essential oils to create a happy atmosphere!
The Spirit of Spring
When you are feeling a bit down, worried or just plain fed-up, nothing beats the power of essential oils to get you re-energised, refocused and back on track. So at this time of year a few carefully chosen essential oils really can help to uplift both mind and body during the gloomy, depressing weather. Essential oils definitely can help to bring the 'Spirit of Spring' right into your home.
Usually when you want to enjoy the benefits of your essential oils around the house, lighting up a burner is usually the preferred method. But of course not everybody has one, and in any case there are lots of other simple ways you can spread fragrance around your home.
Here are a few simple tips that you may not be familiar with that will allow you to bring the therapy of aroma into your living space. The chances are you probably already have most of the oils you need in your collection, so all you have to do is get them out and put them to creative use.
In the mood
Firstly, you can freshen up your underwear drawers by putting a few drops of essential oil onto a cotton-wool pad or tissue and placing it into the drawer. Every time you open the drawer a light breeze of fragrance will waft your way, and if you use seductive oils like Ylang Ylang, Rose or Sandalwood, something else might come your way too! Wherever you use this method, your clothes will absorb the aroma of the oils that you have selected - so be sure to choose wisely!!
You can use the same idea in linen drawers and cupboards too, and this time you could try Lavender, Geranium or fresh zesty Lemon for a bright, clean and fresh effect. To fragrance your wardrobe try a blend of Lavender, Geranium and Basil on a cotton wool pad and you will be greeted by a delightful fresh-floral aroma every time that you open the wardrobe door.
Revive and refresh
The aroma of Pine or Silver Fir oil conjures up images of green forests with clean fresh air, so it will come as no surprise that these are both excellent oils to invigorate and energise flagging energy levels. Grapefruit is a reviving oil that is guaranteed to pep you up at absolutely any time and it blends perfectly with many, many other oils.
So to combat the late winter blues, add 2 drops of Pine or Silver Fir, 2 drops of Grapefruit and 2 drops of Litsea cubeba to a cotton wool pad, and you will immediately feel fresher and more alive. Try substituting the Litsea cubeba with Basil, and the fragrance begins to develop a real 'springtime' feel which is just what you need at this time of year.
By adjusting the number of drops of each oil you can create a wide range of variations on the 'theme' of the blend, so be brave since this is how you learn to produce a nice balanced aroma. Other energising oils that are great to awaken your senses include Bergamot, Eucalyptus citriodora, Juniper berry, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lime, Orange, Peppermint, Rosemary and Spearmint.
Pet odours
Just before you next use your vacuum cleaner, tear off the corner from a sheet of newspaper or tissue and put 2 drops of Lavender and 2 drops of Grapefruit onto it, lay it on the floor and introduce it to the business end of your Hoover (or Dyson!). Now when you are sucking up the dust from your carpet, your friendly vacuum cleaner is dutifully dispersing a refreshing and invigorating aroma around the room that really helps to keep you going. Works a treat every time!
Geranium and Lemongrass are great essential oils for dispersing pet odours using this method, and a combination of Roman Chamomile and Lavender create a calming and soothing atmosphere to keep them subdued if they are noisy! It can be great fun blending and using your very own uplifting or relaxing fragrances around the house whilst you do the hoovering, - or should that now be called dysoning?
Flower power
Hydrosols can be used effectively instead of synthetic aerosol fragrances and are ozone friendly too. Orange Blossom or Rose smell absolutely divine and can be used to instantly create a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere anywhere in the house - especially in the bedroom or living room. A few sprays of Peppermint hydrosol is ideal in the kitchen to mask cooking smells when you've overdone it with the onions or garlic!
To freshen the smell of your clothing you can also use hydrosols in your steam iron to fragrance your clothes whilst you are suffering the drudgery of ironing. Add about a tablespoon of Rose or Orange Blossom hydrosol to your de-ionised water before pouring it into your iron, and your clothing will gently diffuse its aroma. In fact there's almost no end of uses for hydrosols once you get into the swing of things, so just use your imagination.
Our Special Offer this month is a collection of virtually every essential oil mentioned in this article together with a free wooden 12 space storage box, so why not take the opportunity to stock up on your oils and get a nice free box to keep them in, whilst stocks last? A bargain that's definitely too good to miss.
Take care until next time.
Natural Health Awards
Award-winning Cream
Aroma-botanicals® Vitamin E Cream received the 'Highly Commended' award under the 'Best Moisturiser' category.
The Aroma-botanicals® skin care range was also voted 'Highly Commended' in the Best Value for Money category.
Natural Health & Beauty Awards - Double success for Quinessence!
Whilst Helen Mirren was busy collecting her Oscar in Hollywood, we were celebrating our own industry successes recently when Quinessence were awarded two prestigious awards in the Natural Health and Beauty Awards 2007.
The Awards, published in Natural Health magazine’s March issue, recognised the key selling points of the Quinessence Aroma-botanicals brand – an all-natural range without the usual hefty price tag.
In the category of 'Best Moisturiser' we fought off stiff competition to scoop the 'Highly Commended' award for our Aroma-botanicals® Vitamin E Cream. This innovative cream contains a unique blend of nourishing botanicals including Aloe Vera, Rosehip and Safflower infused with the finest organic Neroli essential oil to provide exceptional moisturising qualities.
This rich and super-moisturising cream is perfect for banishing wrinkles too because vitamin E is well known to be one of nature’s finest anti-oxidants, packed with anti-ageing and skin softening properties. And of the three products finalised in that category it was the Aroma-botanicals® Vitamin E Cream that proved to be the bargain of the bunch, with a price tag just a fraction of the cost of the other two products.
We take pride in our reputation of providing natural skincare products that are affordable for women everywhere - a fact that helped seal our second winning entry under the 'Best Value for Money' skin care range category. That’s precisely what we strive for – a high quality range that doesn't rely on harsh chemical compounds or an inflated price tag.
All of the products in the Aroma-botanicals range are competitively priced meaning that it’s even easier to live a chemical-free lifestyle. There are no harmful ingredients, colours, fragrances or harsh preservatives to be found in the range. Instead it is all about natural, pure ingredients that care for your skin from head to toe.
More about Aroma-botanicals®.
Tuberose flower
Flowers of the single-flowered 'Mexican' tuberose (P. tuberosa).
Did you know?
The nocturnal and enigmatic nature of tuberose in combination with its luminescent, lunar- white flowers links it symbolically to the astrological moon.
Astrologists believe that white flowers are governed by the moons energy, which also influences sensitivity emotions, and femininity.
Tuberose harvesting
In France, tuberose usually flowers between June and September, and in India mainly between October and November.
In both locations harvesting begins at sunrise and only the blossoms that are just beginning to unfold are collected, since flowers that are already open will quickly lose their precious oil and wither after cutting.
The unopened buds still continue to produce essential oil after gathering, consequently the timing of the distillation is absolutely crucial since this developing oil would be lost if the buds are processed either too soon, or too late.
Did you know
The legend of the tuberose in India warns that young girls should not breathe in its fragrance after dark for fear that it would put them in a romantic mood.
This perhaps led to this flower being known as 'Rat ki rani' - Mistress of the Night. Interestingly, the same story is said to have been told in France.
Oil Profile - Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa)
Despite the reference to ‘rose’ within the name, tuberose has no relationship with the rose and is in fact related to Narcissus and Jonquil. A tuber is an underground root or stem which serves as a food storage organ and can be flat, rounded or irregular in shape.
Until quite recently, tuberose was considered to be the most expensive natural flower oil available to the perfumer, and was quite literally, ‘worth its weight in gold’. Due to improvements in cultivation and extraction techniques, the price over recent years has eased and this accolade possibly now belongs to the more rare Narcissus absolute.
Origins and historical uses
Tuberose is believed by botanical experts to be native to Central America, although precisely where it originated has never been determined. Wherever its source, the tuberose was already domesticated by the indigenous civilizations of Mexico when they were conquered by the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez and his army in 1521.
The ancient Aztec healers called tuberose 'omixochitl' which means ‘bone-plant’, due to its waxy-white colour. They used it in traditional medicine making use of its antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties. It was also put to use for its aphrodisiac and narcotic properties too.
The flowers were used to honour their vast pantheon of deities (about 98!) in all manner of rituals and ceremonies, as well to flavour the famous warm drink that was strictly reserved for royalty – chocolate, or chocolatl, as the Aztecs called it. Today, tuberose is cultivated for its oil in South Africa, China, Comores Islands, Egypt, France, India, Morocco and the USA.
Fragrance of the night
Tuberose is a night-blooming annual plant, which appears to adapt under tropical conditions to become a tender perennial, thereby not displaying their beautiful flowers until their second year of growth. Its bright green leaves are 70-80 cm long (2ft 4ins –2ft 8ins), narrow, linear and grass-like. The flowering stalk which emerges from the centre of the cluster of leaves can reach a height of 120 cm (4ft), bearing successively smaller long pointed clasping leaves, the uppermost ones are much reduced and bract-like.
The stalks are topped with ivory or waxy-white star-shaped flowers that are 5-6 cm long (2-2.5ins) and arranged in magnificent clusters. The 6 petalled flowers emit a beautiful, creamy, honey-like, spicy fragrance that is truly captivating and intoxicating. There also exists a more popular double-flowered variety known as ‘The Pearl’ which is grown chiefly for ornamental purposes and for use by the cut flower trade. However, it is the single flowered variety sometimes referred to as ‘Mexican’ that is the type cultivated for the production of oil.
Chocolate delight
The ancient Aztec healers called tuberose 'omixochitl' which means ‘bone-plant’, due to its waxy-white colour. They used it in traditional medicine making use of its antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties. It was also put to use for its aphrodisiac and narcotic properties too.
The flowers were used to honour their vast pantheon of deities (about 98!) in all manner of rituals and ceremonies, as well to flavour the famous warm drink that was strictly reserved for royalty – chocolate, or chocolatl, as the Aztecs called it.
Extraction and uses
Originally, cold enfleurage was the process used to extract the oil but this method is far too time consuming for our modern world. Since the 1960’s it has almost entirely been replaced by the modern process of extraction with solvents, which requires much less labour and produces a dark orange-brown viscous absolute with an intense, rich fragrance very reminiscent of the flower.
Because its primary use is in very high-class perfumes, this floral oil is relatively new to aromatherapy and as such its properties have not yet been fully investigated. However, it is believed to be antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, carminative, meditative, narcotic, relaxant, sedative, sensual, uplifting making it useful with anxiety, depression, fear, frigidity, impotence, impatience, inflammation, irritability, lethargy and stress.
On an emotional level tuberose is an oil that helps us adapt to sudden and sometimes rather unpleasant changes in life. It enables us to become like the willow tree bending and swaying in a storm - without breaking. Associated with the root chakra, it is an extremely grounding, fortifying and empowering oil which helps us stay with our feet firmly on the ground whilst we deal with turbulent times, and at the same time it stimulates our imagination helping ideas to develop, bloom and flourish.
And if like me, you enjoy practicing the frustrating art of natural perfumery, you will find this oil invaluable in floral creations. It has a very powerful, diffusive aroma, so only a very small amount is needed to add a rich, creamy, floral warmth to blends. Try mixing it with Bergamot, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Neroli, Rose, Sandalwood, Violet leaf and Ylang ylang.
Enjoy your aromatic adventures, and I hope to see you again next month.
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