7 Self-Care Ideas to Try With Fragrance

The pandemic forced people to put new emphasis on self-care. One of those self-care trends gaining traction, aromacology, refers to “the idea of using perfume or scent to have a short-term, scientifically proven effect on your well-being.” This is similar to, but not the same as aromatherapy, which “is the action of healing by using the essence of aromatic plants.”

When choosing a fragrance, an aroma’s innate therapeutic attributes affect your decision whether you realize it or not. Many people choose fragrances like they choose accessories: for how it makes them feel and to put the finishing touches on an outfit. However, you might start putting more thought into the scents you wear and the scents with which you surround yourself, because scientific evidence shows that those scents affect your mood and health.

1. Scented candles and diffusers. Our emotional responses to scents are tied to memories, but certain scents have a similar effect on just about everyone. Using these universal scents, scented candles can impart a particular mood to a roomful of people, rather than benefit just one person. To influence a room’s mood toward the calm and serene, choose lavender, chamomile, jasmine, bergamot, vanilla, or ylang ylang.

2. Personal fragrance. Scientific research suggests scents influence 75% of our daily mood, so use perfume or cologne as a tool blending “sensorial gratification, wellness, and mental stimulation.”

3. Food. Aromatic foods and food additives such as vanilla work through the nose as well as the tongue to affect the limbic system. An ingredient that summons warm, happy memories will enhance not only the joy of making your favorite treat, but also its consumption.

4. Daily rituals. A daily beauty or hygiene ritual involving essential oils like raspberry or coconut not only benefits the skin, but also revives mind and body. The scent of your favorite fragrance transforms a shower or bath into a relaxing oasis.

5. Skincare. Body creams, lotions, and butters scented with your favorite essential oils soften and smooth your skin while enveloping you in fragrances that refresh or calm as you need.

6. Exercise. Refreshing, citrus-based scents add energy and stimulate mind and body. Use these before your workout to add verve to your workout routine—and combat the smell of sweat.

7. Sleep. A good night’s sleep is essential to good health. Along with ensuring your room is cool, dark, and quiet, spritzing your pillow with clary sage, lavender, rose, chamomile, or frankincense will help to quiet your mind so you can drift away to dreamland.

The essence of beauty lies in good health and confidence. Choosing the right blends of essential oils and applying them in the proper ways helps to impart the results you want, whether it’s to reduce tension, boost learning, calm, energize, or relax. Consider mood- and energy-influencing fragrances as aids in improving your life at work, at play, and at home, choosing the right scent for the activity and the desired ambiance.

Find the fragrances that meet your needs and their most useful applications at Paula Howard Essentials.