Love is in the air...

And so we welcome February, a wintry month warmed and cheered by the romance of Valentine’s Day on the fourteenth.

This special date brings together several pagan and early Christian celebrations and beliefs, including : –

• the eve of the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which involved a ritual drawing of girls’ names from an urn by young men for courting purposes.

• the time of year when birds start mating according to European folklore

• the day when a priest called St Valentine was executed in 270 AD for secretly marrying young lovers against the orders of Emperor Claudius II who believed that unmarried men were more reliable as soldiers. The saint is supposed to have left a message signed ‘From your Valentine’ for his jailer’s daughter starting a trend which has snowballed over the centuries.

Over the years, Valentine’s traditions have developed from writing secret declarations of love and giving hand-made hearts and love tokens to sending today’s mass-produced cards, as started by the American Esther A. Howland in the 1840’s with her scraps, ribbons and lace.

Say it with fragrance

Nowadays the sending of Valentine cards is only second in popularity to Christmas cards, while offerings of chocolates, champagne and red roses are also commonplace. Indeed, often referred to as the flower of love, rose is a key ingredient in love potions.

Uniquely Organic invites you to celebrate the romantic season by booking yourself a facial or massage to enhance your self-esteem and appearance (click here to view our treatment list) and/or treating your partner or object of desire to a gift voucher (click here to buy your gift voucher) which can be used for treatments or for pure, organic Miessence skincare products (click here to visit our online product shop).

Alternatively, you can make Valentine’s Day memorable by concocting your own aromatherapy love potion for your essential oil burner or as a room spray – or we will be happy to make one especially for you (price £5).

Here are some Valentine’s Day blend ideas to be added to water in your burner or spray bottle:

Rose blend

Rose otto or absolute (1 drop)

Sandalwood (2 drops)

Bergamot (2 drops)

Jasmine blend

Jasmine (1 drop)

Black pepper (1 drop)

Grapefruit (2 drops)

Neroli blend

Neroli (1 drop)

Ylang ylang (1 drop)

Lavender (2 drops)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Detox ~ Three Top Tips

1. Try hot stone therapy, an ancient healing therapy which balances energies within the body to re-align and connect mind, body and spirit. It increases blood flow, metabolism and lymphatic function, which aids in weight loss and digestion of food, eliminates toxins and cleanses internal organs.

2. To help rid the body of toxins and assist with internal cleansing, try an essential oil blend of Lemon (6 drops), Grapefruit (6 drops) and Juniper berry (see this month's aroma oil profile) (6 drops) with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to use as a massage, body or bath oil.

3. Miessence belly and breast balm is a great buy for mums-to-be and long after. It contains a powerful blend of certified organic ingredients to care for your expanding body, minimise stretch marks and prevent underlying tissue damage. Buy this and all your other organic products at http://www.uniquelyorganic.co.uk/Miessence.htm

Aromatic Scents of Christmas – part 2

Ambience and decorations

Make your home smell warm and welcoming by blending essential oils for an oil burner or a room spray. There are several spicy (clove, cinnamon) and citrus oils (orange, tangerine, bergamot, mandarin, lemon) that work well together. Try adding four drops of essential oil of orange and two of cinnamon to the water-filled bowl of your burner or dilute these quantities in two cups of water in a plant spray. Frankincense (see October oil of the month) and myrrh in resin form were the gifts of Kings, and you can experiment by adding a single drop of either of these essential oils to your blend to give a spiritual dimension. Alternatively, you could add a couple of drops of ‘woody’ oil such as cedarwood, bay or pine.



Indeed, the natural scent of pine we all associate with Yuletide can be recaptured either by spraying your Christmas tree with a mixture of six drops of essential oil of pine to one cup of water or by wrapping a piece of absorbent fabric infused with a few drops of pine oil around the tree trunk. This can help evoke the Christmas spirit whether you opt for a traditional Christmas tree (nowadays often coated with preservatives which prevent needle-drop but mask the natural scent) or an artificial one. You can do the same with Christmas wreaths and pine cone table decorations.



Click here to read more

Aromatic Scents of Christmas - part 1

Clients of Uniquely Organic may already be aware of the delights and benefits of aromatherapy. As Christmas approaches, there are many ways in which this gentle art can be used to enhance the seasonal spirit whether in recipes, home-made presents or festive ambience and decorations. This month we bring you some ideas of how essential oils can be used in the kitchen and as the basis for individual Christmas gifts.

Christmas food and drink
An essential oil can sometimes turn a good recipe into a great one. Add a drop of lemon or orange oil to your mincemeat and watch your household flock to the kitchen at the first waft of your mince-pies. A spicy essential oil like ginger or cinnamon can add a kick to both the aroma and flavour of Christmas pud, while these and other oils distilled from spices, such as nutmeg, clove or mace are wonderful in Christmas cake.

Did you know you can also make mulled wine using essential oils instead of spices and fruit? Try blending a drop or two of cinnamon, clove, and your choice of citrus essential oil in two tablespoons of honey and stir this into a 750 ml of wine which has been slowly heating in a non-metallic saucepan. Whip it off the hob as soon as it starts to bubble, allow to cool a little, then serve in wine glasses whose rims have been wetted and pre-dipped in sugar... well, it is Christmas and it warms the cockles of your heart!

To read the rest of this festive article click here