Essential Oils will delight your senses this Valentine’s Day; treat your loved one to exquisite fragrances and sensual pleasures. Our senses are our antennae; sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. It is through them that we decide what is safe and what is dangerous, what is beautiful and what is not, what we like and what we love. So many messages come to us this way, some of them we are often unaware of, but they affect us nevertheless. Our sense of smell is one of these.  It is a very primitive sense and one that is strongly associated with memory.  How often have you smelt something and were immediately reminded of an event or person? Many of our flowers and herbs have wondrous scents, which heal the body, mind and emotions. So this Valentine’s Day why not use some of these beautiful essences to enhance your life and your love?

Setting the stage for an evening of Love and Romance

Using Aromatherapy essential oils enhances self-confidence and mood in such a way as to create an atmosphere of intimacy and romance.  This allows openness to love and sensual touch and helps ignite the passion in your relationship. Imagine coming home this Valentine's Day, to a house filled with the aroma of pure essential oils that have been carefully chosen for their aphrodisiac properties and their ability to bring out your most sensual nature.

How to use Essential Oils for sensual pleasure

Here are some fragrant ideas for creating that special mood for your beloved this Valentines Day:

1. Greet them with an aromatic bouquet of fragrance.  Whether you are at home or out for a romantic dinner, that first greeting, a hug and kiss, can set the stage for the whole evening. Use a drop or two of any of the essential oils listed below directly on your skin like perfume. The effect of this is to set in place the memory of a very special evening with a very special person, for both of you.
2. If you are at home,  light essential oil vaporisers adding one or more of these same oils.  The alluring scents will waft through your house. Add to this the soft light of many candles  to create a romantic mood.
3. Why not make up a blend of these essential oils to give one another a soothing and sensual massage?  Use about 20mls of vegetable oil – I like Jojoba best – and add about 10 drops of one or more essential oils.  If you are using pure Rose Otto you need only 1 drop.
4. You might like to follow with a fragrant bath.  If you can’t find Asses milk (only kidding!), just run the bath and then add the drops of essential oil – about 10 again – into a tablespoon of milk and then add this to the bath.  The milk helps to disperse the oils.  Lie back and enjoy.  Add some fresh rose petals too!

Which Essential Oils are the best to use for romance?

Perhaps the most famous are Rose, Jasmine and Neroli:

• Rose - The scent of Roses is the epitome of love, romance, and sensuality.The true essential oil of Rose (Rose Otto) is the ultimate scent for many, with good reason.  It takes 50 roses to make one drop of this exquisite scent.  This Queen of Essential Oils is warming and opening to the heart and emotions and is very sensual.  Cleopatra used it to woo Mark Antony. Having the sails of her barge dipped in pure Rose Oil she sailed down the Nile where her subjects lined the banks to greet her.  Not only was Mark Antony smitten, but most of Egypt as well!
• Jasmine - If Rose is the Queen then Jasmine is definitely the King of Essential Oils. It boosts confidence, optimism and promotes euphoria. Famous as an aphrodisiac, Jasmine's sensual fragrance enhances warmth and feelings of love.  It has a reputation for helping overcome impotence and frigidity.
• Neroli - Orange Blossom is one of most exquisite fragrances. It was used in bridal bouquets to calm nerves and it’s haunting beauty is booth mood enhancing and aphrodisiac.
• Rose, Jasmine and Neroli are the crème de la crème of essential oils.  They can be used singly but can also be blended together – the ultimate being to blend all three!

Many essential oils have aphrodisiac properties so here are a few more ideas to play with:

• Patchouli - Another aphrodisiac – especially for men. It adds an earthiness to any blend. But be careful, not everyone likes this fragrance so maybe only one drop
• Ylang Ylang - Calming, relaxing, confidence boosting and with a deeply luscious sensuality.  A great aphrodisiac
• Sandalwood - Sandalwood has a deep, soft, exotic scent enhancing romance and passion
• Clary Sage - Often quoted as being the most euphoric of all the essential oils – be careful how you use this one!  Again it is not to everyone’s taste and a little goes a long way

These are guidelines only, so be creative and choose whichever oils appeal to you both.  Above all enjoy and have fun! Experienced Aromatherapist Maria Mitchell and our experienced and qualified Naturopathic staff in the Mr Vitamins stores are here to guide you with more information and blending tips.  We have a great  range of Essential Oils and you will be able to ‘try before you buy’.  So please come on in, have a sniff around and ‘Ask a Naturopath’.