February Special Sales and Savings!
This newsletter contains:
Valentines Sales and Savings
Our three “portable perfumes” Orange Blossom, Rosy Dreams, and White Blossoms — and our favorite samplers — Sandalwood Ready-to-Wear, Bouquet of Roses, and Bouquet of Jasmine are all featured this month. Also, soothe winter ravaged skin with our best anti-inflammatory hydrosols: Helichrysum and German Chamomile. And for the ultimate in pampering — our Bliss Bath Collection. All at 10% off.
On Valentine’s Day itself, 2/14/15, the person placing the 14th order will receive a piece of Aromatherapy Jewelry. We have one remaining clear amphora with red trim, and decided it would be a lovely valentine gift for one of our clients
Save 20% on the 20th:
To celebrate our 20th anniversary online, on the 20th of every month we are offering a 20% off discount on a different category of products. This month, to help ease winter dried skin, the sale will be on our individual Carrier Oils, our Infused Oils, both the healing herbal oils and the lush florals, and our all natural emollient Butters. Use the promo code “twenty” and save 20% on February 20th.
FOUND in Inventory and Close Outs:
Every year we discover some things that we had lost track of.
Focus Synergy: At one time we offered some of these in 1 fluid ounce bottles. We found some. Our BEST blend of oils for mental alertness and focus. A great study blend! Normally 2, on sale for 0.
Expressed Lime Oil: We don’t OFFER cold pressed (expressed) Lime oil because it is such a potent photosensitizer. I goofed, in ordering. We were able to return most of it, but a few bottles had been poured. Please don’t even think about using it in a blend for topical use…but for diffusing? It is yummy! My old friend Rick used to like to blend Lime and Lemon oils to diffuse…he called it “Limon.” He would have loved this! for 15 ml.
Massage Blends: Not long ago we put together some specially commissioned midwife kits. They all contained some Lavender Massage Oil and some Frankincense Massage Oil. Somehow we blended more than we were needed, and there they sat. Skin safe low dilution. 15 mls (1/2 ounce), each.
Agarwood (Oud, Aloewood): Aquilaria agallocha, wild grown, steam-distilled wood, India. Ten years ago we brought in a tiny amount of this rarity. At the time, I wrote: “Deep, woody, earthy, stable and strong…if rocks had roots they would smell like this distillation of agarwood. Amazingly tenacious. Aphrodisiac, unforgettable. The aroma speaks to your spirit for hours. A smidgeon on a scent strip lingers for hours, and reverberates inside our spirit. VERY limited supply. I can’t BELIEVE I found this rarity!” We tucked a bit away to age in a safe place. And promptly forgot where we had stored it. Found it while taking inventory. Some is being saved for the blends that call for it…the rest is available in a 10% dilution, in 5 mls only. We are making this available for the same price as in 2005. 0 for 5 mls, diluted.
Carnation Memories Perfume Blend: We will not be blending more, and there are only a small handful of 5 ml bottles left. If you have loved it, order while it lasts.
BLOG UPDATES:
In January there was little time for blogging. I shared two personal experiences…part of “a day in the life of…” In the first, on a day off from school, my local Grands wanted to visit “Grandma Marge’s Laboratory.” Read about Leif and his potions here.
On the last weekend of the month, my daughter was scheduled to do a presentation about aromatherapy at a retreat weekend. Helping her prepare for this brought me a huge gift, and a lot of gratitude. The story is here.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY:
As part of my Clinical Aromatherapist certification course I need to do a research project, and I’ve taken on a fairly ambitious one… “the effect of a blend of essential oils on age related joint pain…”
So, if you or someone close to you suffers from “age related joint pain” I would appreciate your help with my project. There will be a questionnaire to complete. You will be given a one ounce bottle that will contain EITHER the blend of essential oils or you will be given a placebo.
You will first be asked to sign a consent form. Upon our receipt of your consent form, you will be sent the research materials.
I will ask you to apply the blend twice a day to the affected joint, and to rate your level of pain/discomfort prior to application, perhaps 15 minutes after application, and perhaps an hour later. (Some details have not been worked out yet, I have to work with my wonderful instructor.) I am not going to know whether you have received the placebo or the “real juice” so it is important that you reply fully and honestly. At the end of 10 days you will be asked to return the questionaire to me, for evaluation. We’ll even send you a self addressed stamped envelope.
Please contact me at marge @ naturesgift.com with the subject line RESEARCH if you are interested in participating. And thank you! I am excited to be able to do this project and hope you will be excited to participate!
Blends for Him:
Because I’m planning a talk to a gathering of soapmakers at the end of this month, my old friend Janice Sheplar, soapmaker and perfumer par excellence, has been in my mind. There were two blends she shared in 1999… for the man in your life:
6 Rose Absolute
4 Sandalwood Tamile
2 Tobacco Absolute
or
3 Lime (distilled)
2 Bay (West Indies)
2 Sandalwood (your choice)
1 Tobacco Absolute
These would make great shower gel additions, or after shave splashes if diluted in alcohol. We seldom reach for Rose for a man’s blend, but I have never met a man yet who didn’t enjoy a blend of Sandalwood with a hint of Rose. If you want to make a couples massage blend, that’s your base. You can add a drop more Sandalwood for him, and a hint more Rose for her.
Romance Blends for Your Valentine:
From our February, 2005 newsletter:
Touch my Heart
(I can’t find my source for this one, but it is truly lovely.)
5 drops Bergamot
2 drops Jasmine Grandiflora
4 drops Frankincense
I’d use close to two ounces of carrier if using this blend for a full body massage. (And remember to use Bergamot FCF if using on the skin.) I’d prefer to use it in the aromalamp, though.
Last Fall Aurie Jeffries shared the following blend:
I just received my last order today and I can make my own favorite soul-nourishing blend now (equal parts Ylang Ylang Complete, Jasmine Sambac, and Rose Absolute — sweet, fresh, warm and thoroughly delicious!!)
She calls it “soul nourishing”… I think it’s sensuous and romantic!
Sensual Massage Blend (from Maggie Tisserand):
First prepare the Vetiver Base Oil: to 100 mls of your favorite carrier oil (we prefer Fractionated Coconut) add one or two drops of Vetiver. Let stand overnight.
to 30 ml (one fl ounce) of the above carrier, add:
2 drops Sandalwood
2 drops Clary Sage
1 drop your favorite Ylangylang
and ONE drop of either Rose Otto or Jasmine Grandiflora. (The latter addition is optional, but I would insist on the Rose.)
Chrissie Wildwood has some “love potions” for both men and women in her perfume book. Our old friend Rick loved the following:
4 Jasmine Sambac
7 Indonesian Patchouli
4 Ginger
(If one of the above love potions doesn’t help your romance along, I give up!)
Our Clients Say:
Re Bliss Bath, because it’s on sale Tammi had posted:
“I know I’ve said it before but if you sisters haven’t tried momma’s Cleopatra’s Secret bath bliss…you need to go right now and order some…don’t hesitate GO NOW!! That is quite possibly the most luxurious stuff ever! *Okay gushing over*”
And when Tammi was done gushing, we all discussed which was our favorite Bliss Bath. (You all know mine is Rose.) And Sandy said,
“Did you really just say that, Yvonne?! I like the Cleo line. The serum is wonderful. Who needs make up? It’s like silk for my face.”
It’s like silk for my face!!! I so love that line!
Last Summer Amanda Lee wrote, “Also — bless you for creating MuscleEase. I’m not sure if you recall but I had a foot fracture (third metatarsal) and I have not been able to go to the gym since February. I started last week, and oh the PAIN! It was really frustrating especially for someone who’s been exercising 3-4 times a week! But thanks to MuscleEase, I’ve been able to keep on skiing (I am in New Zealand — our snow, your sun) and kickstarting my gym regime again with minimal pain.”
And Sue Pace wrote, re our Kunzea oil, “Just wanted to let you know, I love love love the kunzea! Amazing oil. I have constant muscle contraction in my neck and shoulders from a near fatal car accident years ago and various blends have helped, (including Marge’s Miracle) but long-lasting relief for me was elusive. I blended kunzea with sandalwood in tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) and instantly relaxed and had 12 hours of relief. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your knowledge and great oils. Thanks again, Sue Pace.”
A blast from the past: From the Feb 2005 newsletter:
For those of you new to our products — our Bliss Bath is just what the name describes. A blissfully pampering powdered “diffusing bath oil” that dissolves the rich Jojoba Oil and the essential oils throughout the water, to pamper and nourish your entire body. Susan Apito, of the Botanical Elements Trade Association recently received a sample of our Rose Bliss Bath (along with a jar that was going into a gift box for someone else). She wrote:
When Marge Clark said she was sending her Rose Bliss Bath for the gift promotion, I was happy to know she was sending it…but that’s it. It sounded nice, but I don’t have time to relax in the bath as much as I should [or need for that matter] and I don’t particularly like the smell of roses. I always think of rose smell as cloying and almost unpleasant, and I was once sprayed in the face by the perfume “model” at Bloomingdales…“Tea Rose”…SPRAY…before I had the time to dodge her, so it brings back bad memories.
But Marge sent a sample with her gift basket donation. HHmmm…this actually smells nice. REALLY NICE, I thought.
Nice enough that I didn’t use it because I was taking a bath, I took a bath IN ORDER to use it!
It was a beautifully but delicately scented bath, the dissolving powder was really neat…and the actual bath experience was really, I don’t know how to say it…centering and grounding. I’d almost go so far as to say magical! I will be ordering some!
Quote of the Month:
Again, from February 2005:
“The horizon all around me
breathed out perfume
announcing her arrival
as the fragrance precedes a flower.”
— Colin Franzen (ed.) “Poems of Arab Andalusia”
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
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