Passion for Essence of Vali's Passion Products

I was so excited to receive a parcel from Essence of Vali filled with Passion products just in time for Valentine’s Day!  I love, love love Essence of Vali products.  This love affair began a few years ago when I reviewed some of their other products for the first time.  I find it really challenging to blend my own products with essential oils.  The knack is getting a scent at the end which doesn’t smell too crunchy granola, or too fruity, or too medicinal.  Essence of Vali manages to turn out 100% natural beautiful-smelling aromatherapy products that can compete with the main stream cheaters using toxic “fragrance” to mask evil smelling chemicals. 

The formula for the Massage and Bath Oil was simple – 100% pure golden jojoba carrier oil and essential oils of orange zest, ylang ylang petals, patchouli leaves and ginger root.  So simple, yet so sensually awakening.  Both men and women will enjoy using this product, either in the bath or for working the tension out of tired muscles.  The Love Mist is a great spray to freshen up the air or to create a romantic environment.  You can also spray it on bed linen and pillow cases for a more concentrated effect.

I really enjoyed using these products.  They were indulgent yet guilt-free (no risk to your health!) 

Essential Oil Chemistry Lesson

look mom! I made ethyl alcohol (which looks like a dog to me)Did you ever meet someone really obnoxious and wonder what on earth you have in common with them? No?  Maybe it’s just me then.  But all human beings and all living beings on the planet do have one thing in common.  We're all made up of molecules that contain carbon!

During the cold January month I was holed up on my aromatherapy course and during one fateful weekend I was subjected to 12 hours of organic chemistry.   That is a lot of chemistry!  The most basic lesson I learned that weekend was that carbon is the building block of nature. I vaguely remembered this from high school science classes but the cobwebs of my mind were obstructing the view.

Second revelation of the weekend- essential oils are made up of chemicals. Sounds a bit shocking no but stay with me, here's how we roll: essential oils are made from aromatic plant matter which undergoes a distillation process. As part of that process the plant matter is broken down and the resulting oil has a different chemical composition. Granted it's made up of organic chemical compounds, but still chemicals.

Here's a breakdown of the different chemical constituents and their therapeutic properties:

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Provence Day 4

Our last day.  So sad.  But talk about saving the best for last, we did the coolest thing today.  We actually distilled (or rather watched farmer Monsieur Rolland) distill essential oil from start to finish before our very eyes!

Monsieur Rolland turns up with a blanket full of plants

Voila! The plants turn out to be thyme geraniol (quite rare)

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Essence of Vali - Masters of Essential Oil Blends

Updated on Monday, May 17, 2010 at 9:58PM by Katherine McKenney

We’ve been studying the olfactory system on my aromatherapy course which has really impressed me as a system.  Literally you breath something in and it goes through your nose straight to your brain!  OK, it’s a little more complicated than that but at least explain why inhalation is such a powerful part of aromatherapy.  As human beings we tend to be so reliant on our sight that we really don’t experience the world as fully as we could through the other 4 senses.  I challenge you to walk around with a blind fold for a few hours and listen, touch and smell everything around you.

I was recently sent some samples from Essence of Vali which is a NYC based company that sells 100% natural aromatherapy products.  I rarely get really excited about a product (if you’ve read my previous product reviews I’m usually sceptical or at least balanced in listing out pros and cons of the products that I review.  But I have to say I fell in love with Essence of Vali’s Sleep Bedtime Ritual.  For many years now I’ve found sleep difficult.  It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I wake up frequently throughout the night.  With a drop of the concentrate containing lavender, marjoram, cedarwood and ylang-ylang on my pillow, not only do I fall asleep quickly, but I stay asleep throughout the night.  Plus when I travel and am sleeping in a strange room, the smell reminds me of being in my own bed so I drift off and get the same blissful sleep as if I were at home.

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