Have you ever had a family member, friend, or client you're doing a consult for, say they hate or cannot stand the aroma of Lavender essential oil? I have, and personally, I find it funny because the blends that I make for them, often contain Lavender in them, are some of their most favourite formulations I have made. For example, I have this Diffuser Synergy I make for Insomnia. Nearly half of the bottle is Lavender essential oil, around 4mls. However, the addition of Petitgrain and Vetiver provides a heady depth, so that the Lavender is not the prominent fragrance, but the Petitgrain and Vetiver are. I ofc have four other essential oils in this formula, which I won't share here, simply because I am getting very good results and feedback from it, and it's one I am looking into selling as a pre-made synergy for a future online shop. I would love to know, do you have any tricks or a combo/pairing of essential oils that mask the aroma of an essential oil that a client or even yourself does not like?

After the fortnight I've had (booted off Facebook, tumble dryer packing in, turns out it was just the fuse, and losing my new book document, then found), I'm looking forward to my swapsie session with @Ewa Skabek this morning. It will involve Reflexology and Crasnio-Sacral Therapy and of course plenty of smellies! ❤️ My little munchkins (grandchildren) bring me no end of joy. It was my grandaughter's 3rd birthday yesterday, but I'll be seeing her and her brother Saturday afternoon. I often get told off by my daughter for behaving like a big kid...... do I care? Of course not! 😂 My other self-care is taking myself off to a private woodland owned by a good friend, where I run Wild Women in the Woods every summer. I love the woods, the campfire and cooking and eating outdoors. 🌲 I'm also happy as a pig-in-muck when I'm investigating new oils. I've investigated and written about some 250 EO's over the years and I have another 20 odd I'm going to be looking into over the coming months. It's not just the chemistry stuff, I look at that as the oils A&P, I'm more interested in their personality, like finding out what really underlies a clients issues. What do you do for self-care?

OK, as this group in not just about essential oils, to all you 'toe twiddlers' out there..... 1. What is the best thing you ever learnt during your Reflexology training that blew your mind? 2. What would you like to learn more about that would enhance your Rx treatments? 3. Are you just a thumb and index finger twiddler, or were you trained to use all 10 tools? 4. Like and comment below to get some points, and I'll also add something in Classroom that I will give you immediate access to, which will also give you extra 'points' 😊

My friend and fellow Clinical Aromatherapist, Virginia Joy Stella Musacchio wrote a song, with a little help by Suno, about Black Spruce, one of my personal favourite EO's. Enjoy! https://suno.com/s/irjzcqHCySQELMwE

How Did your Aromatic Journey Begin? For me, I was always an odd kid growing up with a very active imagination. I would be outside hiding amongst various conifers and other wild shrubs pretending I was a Witch, communing with the spirits of nature, etc. I would pick some rose petals, basil, and other aromatic plants to make my own potions. When I would be around my grandmother, we would harvest dandelion greens to make a delicious and simply greek stew called horta, a combination of leek, garlic cooked until softened, then add in your harvested and washed dandelion greens, water, salt, and cook until the dandelions greens are softened. Serve with freshly cracked pepper and either lemon juice or white vinegar. We would harvest fresh oregano, tie them together to hang, and when they were dried, lay down a large clean piece of fabric so we could sit on it whilst rubbing said oregano bundle with our hands to remove the oregano from the stems to be jarred later, etc. This witchy aspect of my childhood was only further inspired by my Godmother, who was into Feng Shui, Crystals, etc. When I reached the age of 12 years old, a magazine subscription came to Australia from the U.K which changed my life. In the early 2000's, I was at my Godmother's house when she showed me this beautiful cardbox box, which had in it incense, tarot cards, crystals, and these small bottles of beautiful smelling oils which I later learned were called Essential Oils. This box was part of a Magazine subscription which has 1 issue released every week at my local news agency with select articles, information, lessons, and items such as a tarot card, a bottle of essential oil, a crystal, etc. Of course, I am talking about the series known then as Enhancing Your Mind, Body, Spirit. I ended up collecting the entire subscription and fell in love with the aromatherapy side of things. It was through this subscription that my journey to Aromatherapy started, or at least, the first time I came across the word Aromatherapy and bottles of aromatic oils.