I Know It Seems Wacky

but here I sit with a headache and a cup of tea that has half a drop of Doterra fennel oil added to it. And I know within the next 20 minutes this headache will vanish, because this is not my first fennel oil rodeo, my friends.

FYI unlike a lot of oils, Doterra oils are safe to use internally AKA drink.

Yes, I have become one of *those* people. If by those people we mean someone who tries something once, finds that it works for them, and keeps doing it.

The person who introduced me to Doterra specifically is one of those *other* people – by those other people I mean an anti-vaxx conspiracy theory nut. She certainly wasn’t one of those to begin with but Covid has sent her in that direction to the point that I have muted her on my Facebook feed. Not that I ever get any time to read my Facebook feed these days but when I do, I don’t want it to be full of nutty conspiracy theories.

Note to all – there is a feature on Facebook called snooze for 30 days – I usually hit that first. When Facebook unsnoozes them, if I read one of their posts and think wow, really? I then hit unfollow but remain friends. Occasionally I actually unfriend but that is rare.

Now this next thing I am going to tell you will sound even more wacky. I know this! But, I can’t believe how this little iTovi scanner thing fixed me.

Recently I was put on a new medication. It solved the problem I had, but.. one of the side effects of this medication for me was jaw clenching. It was so bad that I would wake up with a headache, and my doctor advised me to see my dentist for a mouth guard.

That same week I saw my Doterra lady. She has this neat thing called an iTovi scanner. What is that?

The iTOVi Scanner sends the electrical signatures of the essential oils and supplements to your body. Your reaction is recorded at that moment and matches them to your unique electrical signature. The iTOVi then provides you a report of the top products you respond to best.

Yes, I know. Wickety Wacky Wack. But we did a scan, and the number one oil my body needed at that time was pink pepper oil. I did not know why, but I put it in the diffuser all the same. The jaw clenching began to lessen and particularly overnights when I put it in our bedroom diffuser. Intrigued, I read up on pink pepper oil.

The combination of the chemical components Limonene and α-Phellandrene in Pink Pepper may work with your body to soothe and relax the nervous system when used internally.*

All day every day, I drink plain soda water. So I added a couple of drops of pink pepper oil to my soda water, and the relief from the jaw clenching was incredible. I’ve been drinking pink pepper oil in my soda water ever since – it has been a good couple of months now and it has solved the jaw clenching for me.

Those of you who have been reading the blog for a while know I don’t have much in the way of glass in the house because I tend to be very good at breaking it. However oils are best consumed from glass. So now I have some of these mason glass jam jars –

I like to add a drop of tangerine as well some days, just to give a touch of citrus.

The bottom line is, our individual mileage may vary on things like this. When I find something that works for me – whether it be a medication or a natural remedy – I’m going to make use of it. Even if it sounds wickety wack crazy. :)

aromatherapy, health

Wax Melts Sample

Snoskred received a free sample which any PINCHme member could receive as long as they answered the survey questions and qualified for the sample.

So let me say right up front.. Nobody is paying me to write any of this, though I guess that will become somewhat self evident as you read on.

PINCHme had a survey you could fill in to see if you would qualify for a “secret sample” – so I filled it in, and I got an email telling me I qualified and I would receive a sample of Glade Wax Melts.

So they were aware, from my answers to this survey, that I burn wax melts regularly, and that I have never bought their wax melts before. I looked at them when they first came out and there was a special pack with the burner but they were all sold out when I went to get one. I had picked them up and smelled them, and there were a couple of flavours I would be likely to purchase.

I was extremely excited about this sample because I am a wax melts girl. I love those things. Here are some of the Yankee Candle ones I brought back from Hawaii last trip..

waxmelts

I am now able to source the Yankee Candle melts here, though at double the US price. You can buy them too – most Spotlight stores now stock them. I’m here to tell you from a lot of testing these personally, they smell amazing, the scent lasts a long, long time, and there is a huge range of scents to choose from. The candles are awesome as well but not at all cheap.

esbh

I also brought back a bunch of Essenza candle melts and a bunch of Better Homes and Gardens wax melts. And even though I have been using them regularly I still have quite a few of these left.

With all that said, I like to mix it up and have as many different scents to choose from as possible – because who knows if I will be in the mood for Red Delicious or Black Coconut or Spiced Rum Cake.

So here was a chance for a new company I do not usually buy product from to win my regular wax melts business. They were sending me a sample! YAY! I was very excited.. but day after day went by, and no sample appeared. The date for me to give feedback on the sample was getting closer and I was starting to think I might not be able to leave any feedback this time. Then I got an email advising me there was a delay with the sample and it will arrive sometime in January.

And eventually, arrive it did.

sample

And then I wondered why they even bothered to send me this stingy one little wax cube.

sample1

Glade, you are asking me to spend $8.99 for 6 wax cubes on an ongoing basis, while sending me one, tiny, little cube.

sample2

I think, perhaps not.

Samples are a great chance for company and consumer to try each other out, see if maybe a relationship can develop. I took the time to fill in the sample and qualify for you that I am a potential customer, and then you scrimp on the sample you sent me? Stingy much?

For your future reference, Glade. Fairy sent me 3x dishwasher tablets. Pantene sent me enough shampoo and conditioner for 5 washes. If you are going to send out samples, I think 2-3 squares in different scents is the minimum you should aim for.

Sephy you ought to get this – Better Homes and Gardens Wax Warmer Starter Set, Woodland Deer – next time you are at Walmart, if you can’t find an Essenza kit at Costco.

Here are some closer views of the Yankee wax melts.

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aromatherapy, PINCHme, reviews, shopping, Snoskred hearts

Aromatherapy Oils Online

No, nobody is paying me – I paid them! But, I do have to tell you about this website because if you are in Australia and you like your aromatherapy, this website will literally save you shedloads of money. How would you like 100mls of essential oils for less than you usually pay for 12-18mls of essential oils? I like it plenty, I can tell you.
oils
100ml May Chang (sort of like lemongrass) $9.00
100ml Peppermint $10
100ml Sweet Orange $5.50
100ml Mandarin $ 8.00
100ml Pink Grapefruit $9.00
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100ml Cedarwood $7.00
100ml Lemon $9.00
100ml Lime $9.50
100ml Spearmint $9.00
100ml Tangerine $7.00

Many of the above flavors I bought because I still had small amounts left of the old oils I bought in those flavors – I wanted to be able to compare them with the “more expensive” oils. I honestly cannot smell any difference at all. Maybe my sinus is faulty and maybe you would smell a difference, I don’t know – all I can say is give it a try, at these prices who can complain!
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I also bought 7x15ml “fragrant” oils – these all turned out to be 18mls instead. These cost me a mere $2 each. And this is the first time I have ever found some of these flavors.. chocolate! watermelon! :)

So if you are wanting to buy oils online, you might want to give this place Escentials Of Australia a try and see what you think. I will be ordering more – and next time some of the more expensive oils which I took out of this order – originally I had over $230 worth of oils in my basket, but I was soon told off by the other half.. ;)
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In the end I spent $97, and shipping was about $14 – I opted for registered Australia Post, otherwise my postie tends to dump it on the doorstep and vanish. That is so reasonable. I ordered it on Thursday and it arrived today with Easter in between. ;)
I also did some book ordering, but that is another story for another day.

aromatherapy, health, shopping, Snoskred hearts

Spring Cleaning & Retail Therapy With Photos!

Looking through my Google Reader, I see a few blogs I’m not feeling a connection with anymore. Yes, it’s time to clear out the reader. I’ll be working on this over the next week. It feels like a harsh thing to do. I don’t enjoy doing it however I am reading a lot of blogs now and I have a few projects I want to focus on so I will have a little less time for reading. I won’t be deleting anyone who’s linked to me, just so you know. ;)

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Today we went shopping. I had a voucher for Dusk. I find either you love Dusk or you hate it. I love it. They make these great tea light candles which actually throw their scent around so it’s not like burning a candle just for the sake of burning it. I was going to buy several packets of 6, then I spotted they had a bulk bag of 50 scented tealights for just under $25. These will last me ages. w00t!

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I also wanted to check out their essential oils and was surprised that they didn’t have very many of them but they DID have lemongrass which is the one I wanted. Yay! And the bottle is beautiful, that cobalt blue color.

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Aussies and US people alike, keep an eye out for this Lander product. I got it at Woolworths a couple of weeks ago and I’m crazy about it. I used to use Palmers Cocoa Butter but it doesn’t absorb into the skin very well and tends to leave a residue on your keyboard. The Lander stuff absorbs fast, you only need a tiny amount and it has this scent that I’m nuts about, because it contains coconut oil. Even The Other Half likes this stuff. It’s made in the USA so I’m guessing you can get it there too.

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I picked up the final season of The West Wing which was released in Australia a couple of days ago. I now have the full collection and I’m feeling pretty happy about that. ;)

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Yay, we got cookies too!

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Here’s all my essential oils.

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aromatherapy, blog housekeeping, feed readers, health, shopping, Snoskred hearts, The West Wing

Australia : Land of hippies and flakes?

One of my favorite Aromatherapy tricks involves putting a few drops of peppermint oil into the morning shower, once the hot water is hot. I buy my peppermint oil from Coles, it’s about $5AUD. My American friend Sephy had never *heard* of Aromatherapy. How is that possible, I wondered? Until I suggested to him to purchase some peppermint oil, which seems to be an almost impossible thing to get in his country. That’s bizarre. If you’re American and reading this, can you mention where you might be able to get these products other than online?

Here in Australia, you can buy pure essential oils at every supermarket I have ever been to. You can buy them in *most* chemists and health food stores. You can buy “fragrant” oils (note, not necessarily pure essential oils and there is a difference) at almost every $2 store and bargain shop. Incense you can also buy almost everywhere. We also have a lot of products on our shelves which incorporate Aromatherapy. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotions, etc.

Some of the products I love to use in the shower that involve Aromatherapy are the Aveda products. These came to me as a surprise during a hotel stay a couple of years ago.

Aromatherapy is quite a complex and diverse field and I’ve been studying it for a few years now. I found a few great online resources if you’re interested in knowing more

Aromaweb – Lots of great articles, worth a read.
A world of Aromatherapy – has a good oils a-z section which gives quick info on the oils and what they do
Essential Aura Aromatics – has a lot more detailed info on each oil.

Does the availability of Aromatherapy oils all over the place mean Australia is a land of hippies and flakes? Or does it mean that Aromatherapy is a valuable thing that works? What do you think? :)

aromatherapy, Aussie Culture, health, shopping, Snoskred hearts