BLENDS WELL WITH ……..

I am often asked which oil blends well with this oil or that. When I was writing an essential oil directory for a well known company they asked me to do this for each oil I was writing about and it didn’t sit comfortable with me. Fragrance is totally subjective and what smells divine to one person can be unpleasant to another and vice versa. Having been a clinical* aromatherapist for thirty plus years I know which oils will smell good with another but I always let my clients test a fragrance before I make it up for a treatment to make sure that it is just right and I will never be afraid to blend oils that are considered not to ‘blend well’ with each other.

Angelico clients usually buy essential oils because they want to recreate a blend they have read about and often build up quite a comprehensive collection. This collection can open up myriad possibilities both fragrance and therapeutic wise but you might not feel you know which oil blends well with another. My advice here is be brave. Make tiny quantities and write down every blend you make. There is nothing more frustrating than making a brilliant blend and in the excitement of making it you haven’t written it down. Keep a lovely book for all your blends - good or bad. This is the best training for making aromatherapy blends. Eventually you will know which essential oil blends well with another for you. It’s like cooking or making cocktails. We all know that basil goes well with tomatoes or gin with tonic but nowadays lemon zest is grated onto dishes we might never of thought of thanks to Ottollenghi and gin is full of botanicals we could only have imagined a decade ago. Who would have thought that Jo Malone’s Lime, Basin & Mandarin fragrance would be such a hit? Those three essential oils were never considered to ‘blend well’ with one another but they certainly do.

For a therapeutic blends don’t just use oils that are suited to a particular ailment. Choose one or two that are good for something else. For a headache for example, you might want to use Peppermint or Myrtle but by adding a drop of Chamomile you might find that its soothing fragrance and anti inflammatory properties is just the thing and if it smells wrong to you try adding a drop of lavender essential oil which is a synergistic oil in that it will often ‘pull’ the blend together both fragrance wise and therapeutically. My mother was a dress maker and she always said that the iron could correct almost all mistakes in dressmaking - Lavender essential oil is my iron! My daughter says that Lavender always makes her think of first aid - that it is a medicinal smell and that will be because it has always been the first thing we reach for in our family for minor ailments but just one or two drops in a blend will often do its work and ‘blend’ in. A great trick if you are not in love with your creation. It doesn’t always work but often it does.

If you are making natural perfume with essential oils the rule of thumb is to have a base, middle and top note either with a comprehensive blend in each of these areas or just one or two oils. But here’s a concept…..try using all bottom or woody notes for a lingering perfume that is unlike anything in the shops or all citrus notes for a fleeting and refreshing fragrance that admittedly will need reapplying a lot but you will love doing so. Break the rules! Sandalwood (Bottom note) Rose Geranium ( middle note) and Bergamot (Top Note ) is a classic blend that you KNOW will work and smell divine to most people but try blending your Sandalwood with Cedarwood and maybe Petitgrain for something a little different or Bergamot with Mandarin and Spearmint for a real ‘zing! You might love it or hate it but you will enjoy the journey.

If you would like to learn more, see my 'Inspiration' pages here on How to Use Essential Oils and How to Make Aromatherapy Blends

*Clinical aromatherapists blend essential oils for specific conditions and have an in depth knowledge of a vast number of essential oils whereas a general aromatherapist might only have a basic knowledge of some essential oils and use pre blended oils for treatments.