Aromatherapy • Feb 6, 2025
Aromatic Aphrodisiacs: In the Mood for Love
Alluring Aromatics In India, the Hindu God of Love, Kama or Kamadeva is depicted with a bow shooting arrows adorned with fragrant flowers or an arrow tipped with jasmine oil. The most famous sexual manual of all, ‘The Kama Sutra’ or ‘The Scripture of Love’ contains many references to aromatics being essential for the art […]
Aromatherapy • Dec 5, 2024
Christmas DIY aromatherapy recipes, perfect for gifting
Here are a few festive aromatic recipes from my new beautifully illustrated book ‘The Botanical Home’ published by Hale coming out in April 2025. All these classic Christmas treats are easy to make and make wonderful gifts: a lovely and creative, craft-inspired pastime to do with children. Festive Scented Candles Why not try making your […]
Aromatherapy • Jun 6, 2023
Roses & the Aromatic Herbs of Shakespeare
‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine…’ – Oberon: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2, Scene 1 Elizabethan Gardens The plays of William Shakespeare reflect his great affinity for flowers and aromatic plants. Elizabethan […]
Aromatherapy • Apr 6, 2022
The Psychology of Scent: The Language of Dreams
According to Luca Turin in his book, ‘The Secret of Scent’, just 3% of the money we pay for a mainstream perfume pays for the fragrance content: the other 97% is the bill for selling us the dream…
Aromatherapy • Aug 28, 2019
Capturing the Scent of Summer: My new ‘Essential Aromatherapy Garden’ book
In August, during the heat of the summer, many of the most highly fragrant plants are in full bloom. Here in Tuscany, the warm air is suffused with the richly perfumed scents of damask roses, sprays of classic lavender and mountain herbs such as wild thyme, marjoram and sage. I find it impossible to walk […]
Occasions • Dec 18, 2017
Perfume: The Original Christmas Gift
Perfume has always been has been called the ‘language of dreams’ and one only needs to look at the way in which fragrances are marketed by glancing at the adverts on your TV or computer over the Christmas period to see the truth in this! But the perfumes of today are a far cry from […]