Aromatics - Why and What

Why would you need aromatics and what purpose do they serve.

My short list would include the following reasons. I'm sure I may have missed a few but this covers the most common ones at least.

• Covering up that sudden oder?
• Masking that annoying gym bag?/sports gear?
• Changing the mood?
• Sleep aid?
• Clearing the mind?
• Preparing for ceremony?



"Smell", from Allegory of the senses by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Museo del Prado

And the list goes on! There are so many reasons to spray, mist, diffuse, or otherwise introduce a different aromatic into your living (working or commuting in your car) environment. We even try to sneak a bit of aroma into our work environment.My personal favorite reason is not on the list. Just because I can. It smells good and that makes me feel good.

We all have a boundless sea of products to choose from. Some are natural and others expertly developed in a lab from synthesized compounds engineered to have mass market appeal and be mass produced cheaply. But I don't swim in that pool, I'm on natures side so I stick to essential oils. When you are talking about Artisan crafting, no two people who blend their own synergy blends are alike. I focus on what I do so I cannot speak for others. When I craft I use pure essential oils and I create products that are in harmony with nature and are all Vegan friendly.* I select oils that "speak to me".

You can see the full selection on the website under Aromatic Mists. I have tried my best to describe the scents as clearly as possible for you. While there is a wide selection they tend to get grouped into some similar characteristics:

• Floral : These tend to be soothing and impart peaceful feelings
• Citrus ; These tend to uplift the spirit. Think about it, it's hard to frown when you are peeling an orange. 
• Forest - These are stronger and lingering and tend to fall into the range of protection or grounding.Think about standing in a forest and how the tree roots deep into the earth and stands strong and tall reaching for the sky.
• Herbal - These tend to be crisp and bold and are clarifying. 

Now this is a very simplistic guide to what can be a very complex process. Blending essential oils into a synergistic balance takes practice and there are many who go through very advanced training on the art of blending. Some of the blends I have created for Tres Spa took many months to finally balance. One took me over a yer and a half before I had it the way I intended it.

* Why Vegan Friendly? I am not a full Vegan but I do admire those who are. I have a great respect for those who practice any lifestyle that is in harmony with the world around us. They are my "toughest" customer and I figure if I can make them happy, the rest of us would be happy too. A side benefit for my Non Vegan customers, you can always claim your skin care is Vegan if it's Tres Spa! 

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Oils Essential & Synthetic: What's the real deal?

Just about everything has a scent and in personal care we add even more scent to create a by product

that is more appealing for the user (that would be you and I). There are some formulations that I have created for Tres Spa that scent was really not the factor in selection of oils. I formulated the face care products for effect and the aromatics are simply what they are.But, for the most part, the synergy blends I create, the over all aromatics are strong contributing factor.

I do get loads of questions from people about different scents and, frankly, what is the difference? I only use purely natural plant essences that also known as essential or aromatic (in case you are wondering).  So here it is without the fluff and hype.

Essential oils - Pure, Organic, Absolute

Essential Oils are the natural essences of plants acquired by steam distillation, cold-expression, and on occasion chemical extraction, from a single botanical source.
All of these are considered essential oils;
Pure means that they are obtained from the blossoms, leaves, bark and roots of flowers, herbs, fruits and spices and they are unadulterated.* 
Organic means that they were grown free of herbicidal residue, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.  and harvested and processed following the NOP/USDA certified practices 
Absolute oils -  Absolute Oils are highly concentrated essences obtained from plant parts but it takes a great deal more work and often involves chemicals for extraction. You will find these used mostly in perfumery and the aroma is very concentrated and closer to the origin scent of the plant itself. Absolutes are required when there is very little oil in the plant parts and steam distillation would lose the oil and there is no way you could cold press. I use an absolute of Tuberose for my Three Roses blend and I can tell you, it is very potent indeed. They are very expensive to produce so the price is dear. For example, it takes 30 roses to make 1 drop of a rose absolute. 

These are not Essential oils;

Synthetic oils aka "fragrances* are the laboratory creation of compounds brought together to achieve a smell that is mass appealing. This is big business and there really is an art to it. It's amazing what they can trick you into smelling and how overpoweringly strong and dominating they can make the scents. Talk about a lingering odor! 

Nearly Natural aka Nature Identical

OK now this category really chaps my hide. How this one is created is by taking one of the less expensive essential oils and mixing it with synthetic compounds to make a cheap version. They justify it by saying it has "less synthetic compounds" than the 100% synthetic fragrances. To me, it is a marketing ploy to make you think it's a better eco-choice than a synthetic but in reality is a synthetic It's like that room freshener brand that had the marketing campaign that included the line "a drop of pure essential oil in every one". Seriously! No wonder people get confused about what is real and what is synthesized! They stopped being identical to nature the instant you adulterated it with synthesized compounds. 

Side note on a fantastically lovely term "Therapeutic Grade" - 

One of my most favorite terms. It sounds so amazingly wonderful and it makes me think of a truly magnificent elite group that I just need to be in. But it's all smoke and mirrors. OK what I am about to say may ruffle some tail feathers, but the fact is the fact. There is no independent industry standard for the testing and certifying of an oil to class it as "therapeutic grade". I know there is a great deal of marketing collateral that may say different, but there is no independent industry standard. And on a side note, most people I have ever heard making the claim are not therapists at all. Personally, I make skin care really good natural personal care. Simple.  

* Some companies sell oils that have been cut with a carrier oil so it is cheaper making it adulterated.How can you tell? Well they should be labeling it but if you see a .5 bottle of rose for $6 when everyone else has a price point quadruple that price, then chances are they cut it with carrier.  

** Just because a bottle label has the term "fragrance" it does not mean it is synthetic. Some people like to hide the ingredients of their blend of essential oils (or there may not be room on the label to list them properly) so they simply use the term "fragrance"

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Scents - Why so many?!

Have you ever herd the phrase "Variety is the spice of life"! I have and it must have had a profound impact on me. So much so that I surround myself with it. I do it in my kitchen, in my spice cupboard, in my sock drawer, my shoe rack, my clothes.....Last count, I think I had 7 different frying pans in various shapes and sizes. My spice cupboard will allow you to cook any dish from any culture just about. Shoes for every occasion and any mood! Socks, I have no idea why I tend to hoard socks but there you have it, And of course I did the same with Tres Spa and the variety of aromatics I blend with. 

It is true, I do have a wide variety of scents to choose from and every year I try to find one or two to retire (at least for a while) but I end up bringing it back once a few of you clamor for it. The beauty of it is, since I create the products in small batches, I have that ability. Having so much to choose from may pose a bit of a challenge for folks, but to me scents are like seasonings and you never know what your nose will have an appetite for next.

I love aromatics and I love variety but I do, however, have my limits. I have a code that I established long ago and I stick by it when formulating.*

• I only use pure plant essential oils.
• I never use "nearly natural" since this is a blend of a fraction of essential oil (usually one of the less expensive oils) mixed with synthesized scents.
• I do not formulate with synthesized scents. These are chemical combinations cooked up in a lab to mimic certain characteristics of natural odors. So you will not any fruity smell or strong coconut (the most requested smells I get) smells in my skin care or personal care. 

So if you are having a hard time choosing, I do apologize. I try to describe the aromatics for you and some of my customers are kind enough to supply their experience for you in hopes of making the decision easier. But if you are still having trouble making up your mind, it is perfectly okay to get more than one! No one will mind if you have more than one scent to choose from, after all, your nose likes a variety as well! 

*Not all oils are created equal so I may use one oil in several ingredients while another would only be found in very few. For example, some oils are abundant and readily available and the resources are easily replaced without causing undue burden on the Eco system. Lavender, for example, can grow under a wide verity of conditions and just one plant produces an abundance of flowers to harvest. The plant is left in tact and only the flowers are harvested. Very Eco-Friendly. But take an oil like Sandalwood which is harvested from the heartwood of a mature plant, obviously you wont find me using this in my soap, but I will use it in a a bland that is more precious. This tree/shrub takes 30 years to grow and is chopped down in order to harvest. Not Eco-Friendly. But we can cover what oils are and aren't eco-friendly in the future. 

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The Nose Knows

But not all Noses Know the same thing.

Ever wonder how it all works? I do.

I find it fascinating that while the mechanics of smell works the same for any and all of the mammal population who have the ability to sense smell, the reaction is not the same. It isn't.  And after 8 years of watching and observing human behavior related to scent, I am still in awe and wonder.

We have 5 senses (OK some scientists argue that we have more) sight, sound, touch, taste, and lastly scent. You each have a lifetime, to this point, of personal experience with one or all of these. It can be argued that your very survival depended on your ability to fine tune these seances to create a physical reaction in order to survive. Based on our stage of development, you worked on one or more of the senses to fine tune their acuteness for survival. They say babies are born with a fairly sophisticated acuteness to touch. But, they rapidly develop  a rudimentary knowledge of scent, more of a base survival able to distinguish family members and "good" vs "bad".
 But this awareness of scent takes the back seat as they work on the other senses. It's not gone, it just isn't the one focused on.

Based on watching people's reaction to smells, clearly the ability to distinguish was always there in the background. But why such emotional and physical reactions to a scent? The meaning of stimulus was not hard wired into your brain, you had to write your own program. The program was written over time with the cooperation of your other senses and your maturing ability to interpret based on experience. The experiences are locked away and the association linked to a memory. So when we encounter the stimulus again, it triggers the mind to recall past experience to create a current physical and emotional reaction and it happens faster than lightening.

So you see, the nose knows what all of your senses experienced and your decisions about that experience were forged. This is why no one smells the exact same thing and has the exact same reaction. We are all unique.

Since I personally create all of the synergy blends, I rely on the observation of others to fine tune since I know that I am limited by my own ability to sense.

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Earthworms returning to the tundra!

OK, yes, I am being silly but the last few days I have been amazed and delighted to see a rather significant number of earthworms milling about the path. Every morning (well almost every) I go for at least a 30 minute power walk outside.

Why outside?

• It's good to get out and freshen the lungs with air other than your own recycled air. Sure I live in the city and there is air pollution, but the benefits exceed the minor exposure. 
• 30 minutes of sun shine on your shoulders makes you healthy and happy. Vitamin D (Bone health) and if that isn't good enough for you, John Denver can tell you why: Sunshine on my Shoulders Yes, I know it's raining (remember the earthworm population explosion). but to those of us who have lived in drought, well that rain fall is a little bit of sunshine! 
• Give your nose a break! Look, you gotta get away from the same smell or you just dull your senses so go out and play bloodhound and give your nose a break from what is most familiar. But we'll talk more about your nose in another post.

So why am I so happy about the little wriggly worm? 

• Because there is enough moisture to bring them back. In case you hadn't noticed it, they have been in short supply the last few years. When resources are limited, nature has a way of either dying off or going into extended hibernation only returning when the climate conditions are favorable. 
• Earthworms are one of Mother Natures workhorses for soil health! They clean debris and leave a neutral PH soil that is nutrient richer and properly aerated. 
• Happy soil makes for a happy life! I'm sure I don't need to tell you how important rich nourishing soil is to our health and supporting life. They bring Harmony to Nature! 

If you want to know more about how earthworms benefit the environment, here is a great article from Penn state. 

If you see a little earthworm on your path say thanks! After a few days of rain around here, I was giving a lot of gratitude on my walk today! Of course I also looked a bit silly dancing around them all as well, but you know I never mind looking a tad bit silly from time to time. :)

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De-Stress - Add a little Yoga to your day

I was strolling along in the internet this morning and something caught my eye.An article about a group of muscles that may control/contribute to feeling stressed. Here is the link for you to read.

.I first took Yoga classes years ago at a health club. Best choice I ever made. I loved it and I started swallowing up all the classes that I could attend and sampled a vast array of instructors and styles. I hung on their words and integrated all of their instruction.

But, for whatever reason, the habit didn't stick with me. Job change, moving my home, gym closed, hard to replicate at home, lost my favorite instructor.....life happens. Odd when you consider how much I truly enjoyed it. Maybe I just never took the time to stop and really ask myself why I liked it and what I truly liked about it.

So recently, I got back to it. Remembering one of the instructors in particular that I had years and years ago. He had a very simple approach. I need simple in my life since I do have a tendency to make it complicated. And alternatively, if it gets to complicated to get to and do, I stop. So simple is good!

He (I wish I could remember his name) was once telling a story of a great yoga master he studied under (Iyengar for those of you who may be interested). He, of course wanted to know what was the most important flow to do for core power. His wise instructor told him to "go and practice Sun Salutations every day. When you get to 20 every day, you will have what you seek".So of all of the vast array of Yoga posses, I chose to focus on the one flow; Sun Salutations and what a great great great way to greet the day.

To me, this instructor was the best I ever had and I'm going to share some of his other simple instruction words with you

1. Yoga is a practice
2. Don't rush the movement
3. Don't force the posture (see number 1)
4. The pose is made in the transition.

Funny when I look at that now, doesn't that match good advice for living our lives and even running a company (or two)? I think so.

So now that I am back into a regular flow of yoga practice, I am more mindful of why and what for me personally. Those actions translate to my daily activities. Oh, and in case you are wondering, I am up to working on practicing 3. I will let you know once I hit 20 but something tells me it will be obvious to others. :)

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Raw Vegan Gluten Free Tabouli and Skin care!? What do they have in common?

OK I'm gonna share my favorite Raw Vegan food that also has two of my favorite ingredients I use in formulating skin care for Tres Spa. I filmed this last year, in fact I filmed it three different times and sometimes, you just have to let go so here it is folks! I hope you enjoy it.

Here are the ingredients for you to experiment with. I am estimating the measurements since I rarely ever use measuring cups or spoons in the kitchen. I need one creative outlet that allows me to compose with reckless abandon! So when I am in the kitchen, I cook with wild abandon. :)

• 1 cup Hemp Seeds - the taste is heady with warm earthy notes. Super rich in nutrients and excellent source of Omega fatty acids. 
• 1 bun of Parsley chopped. You can use cilantro if there is no parsley around but the end resulting taste is very different. From what I understand they are both excellent to support the liver. For all your liver does for you, you want to support it any way you can!
• Onion - Now I like Spring onions ( I know I said yellow in the video but I was holding a bundle of green onions) and I use a bundle of them since they tend to be mild. Red Onion is also an excellent choice but you would only need a tablespoon or three.  Shallots? Okay if you want. 
• Tomatoes! I use a cup or two - I love love love tomatoes. I always have and I crave them!! I remember when I was first diagnosed with Psoriasis - they told me not to eat them. It wasn't until years later when I was reading research that said dig in and eat tomatoes (as well as others). I was so happy! I had cheated all along, but now I didn't need to hide my obsession. :) 
• 1 Lemon - fresh squeezed and oh so nice. Did you know Lemon juice is a metabolic booster? 
• Pepper to taste - use what pepper you want. There's a few to choose from out there so feel free to experiment. 
• Sherpa Salt - just a little. I like to add a bit of mineral rich salt
• ACV! Okay I use a splash or two - depends. But I love Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar and I try to use it whenever and wherever I can. If you are not used to ACV, then go easy at first.  

This is my favorite salad that is also a condiment. I used it as a dip even. Try spreading it on celery stalks! Yumm!!!!

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Tres Spa turns 7 or is that 8?

Once again, Tres Spa's birthday came and went and I totally blew it! I had no announcement and no celebration. No fan fair no cake with glowing candles. It came and went. I don't think I even tweeted it. It got lost in the shuffle of holidays and the final push to the year end.

But once the dust settled and I had a moment to catch my breath I realized I missed Tres Spa's birthday yet again. Then I stopped to count how many years. Then I had to double count and I still got it messed up! You see, there is the date I filed the Corporation and the date I launched the website, and the date I was officially open and selling product, but even before the product I was doing consulting. So how old is Tres Spa really? 8 But if we want to split hairs and say how old is the Products division, then 7.

So Tres Spa, Personal Care in Harmony with Nature is now 7 years old. What an amazing time it has been and I am wonder struck when I think of where it had started and where it is now. But I did not get here all by my lonesome. As a Solopreneur the responsibility and work all falls squarely on your shoulders, but I didn't do it all on my own. So many people contributed in one way or another that I am wonder struck and deeply moved when I replay the reals of time in my memory.

The best way I can describe it is from a recent trip to the ocean. We were watching the sun set and I just became transfixed on the sand when the waves would pull away. You see there was all this activity going on and the rush of the waves as they demanded attention. Even the sudden surge as the waves pulled away from the shore. But there it was this magnificent glorious dance of light and texture at just the right point of push and pull, give and take and surrender. The water would thin and the sand would roll just enough so the light could show the golden brilliance of this endless dance.

Here, let me just show you.

 Enjoy this bit of Harmony in Nature written by my Roger for Tres Spa. 

Thank you for being part of my endless dance!

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How will you begin?

I believe strongly that how you begin anything in life is extremely important. The impact and effect can be felt many moons later. Think about it and you will see it's true. Our very mannerisms and deepest desires steam from how we came into the world. We are propelled forward from the first steps.

So, how do you plan on starting this year? What intention or theme will you be about this year? No need to get all complicated or extreme, keep it simple.

I managed to finish the past year on a positive and I wanted to start the new year with that same momentum. I wanted to set my intention for the New Year and not waist a moment of it.  So while others slept, I woke early and had a cup of coffee and morning snuggles with Bella and Dakota, our two rescue fur babies. I was amazed that they shared cuddle time since Bella is a new family member and still a bit shy. But they decided the pets were worth being so vulnerable.

I did take care of some business as well by attending a couple of calls and even packing up a New Year order. While it was freezing cold, I decided to don my warmest coat and go for my morning power walk. While I walked I thought about what my intention was for the new year. I have a goal, yes one goal since that is all I really need. But what was going to be the theme of the year.

When faced with such thought provoking and soul searching questions, I usually find it best if I take the question outside into nature. I just walk, think, listen, and look. I was nearing the end of my walk and I looked up at what had first seemed like a massive black bird, but when I got close, I realized there were two. They were huddling close for warmth and one was cleaning the others feathers (I missed getting that shot). But here the two of them were side by side at the highest and most exposed branch they could possibly reach.

The image struck me but the message didn't become clear until later. Thant's how it works sometimes.

Being the CEO and Chief Alchemist aka Solopreneur of a nature based personal care company, it's kind of a given that I create products that nurture. I truly love what I do and what I create and I count my blessings every day. I am always honored and I feel abundant gratitude when others find value in what I have created. But, what I am not so good at is in being vulnerable.

Yikes! Just the mere thought of being exposed and vulnerable shakes me to my core. But this year, I am going to try to be a little more vulnerable by being a little (or a lot) more exposed. For the last 7 years I have dragged my feet and found any number of lovely distractions to avoid that horrible two word phrase "Social Media". Shivers to the bone! I was never popular unless you want to count the times I was the end of some mean joke. Haters surrounded me and I was so outcast, the outcast outcasted me. But I can only do so many in person events where I get to actually see and chat with you one on one, so social media is the only way.  I have dipped my toe in it and I have posted but it's more like I sneak the postings out and hope no one noticed. :) I remember when I saw that one of my videos had 30 or more views. I about panicked.  But I have to get used to it, so here I go out on a limb. Wish me luck!

What is your intention for the year ahead?

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