Buy It Now

Title: Aromatiques: A Sensualist's Guide to Aromatic Oils (Bay Books, 2002)

Author: Eva-Marie Lind, Robert Olding (Photographer)

Book Details: 128 pages. Soft cover.

Table of Contents:

1. Preface
2. Essentials
3. Blending
4. Applications
5. Cupboard
6. Resources
7. Further Reading
8. Author's Note

Book Excerpt:

"'Have you ever stopped to delight in your sense of smell, to wonder at the variety of different scents that can be enjoyed in but one of the tens of thousands of breaths you take daily? A simple walk in the garden can include the aromas of breeze, rain, mist, earth, stone, moss, grass, leaves, bark, flowers, and fauna. It is often difficult to find the words to describe aromatic essences. But if we take the time, we discover that each essential oil has its own unique personality. Its traits include its color, its texture or "feel," its mobility or viscosity, its taste, and its aroma. (From "Blending", page 36.)

Book Review & Recipe Test by Donna Maria:

To be sure, there is no shortage of encyclopedic texts detailing the benefits of aromatherapy and the nuances of the oils use in its practice. While these books certainly have their place, it's refreshing to enjoy an aromatherapy book that is authored by an expert, yet filled with easy to digest information bout the healing, pleasure and beauty of essential oils. Aromatiques is a journey of enlightenment, combining the sensual and emotional pleasures of aromatic oils.

I especially like the flow of the "Applications" chapter, which includes an overview of several different ways to use essential oils: inhalation, compresses, dry brushing, bathing, massage and household. Each includes simple recipes incorporating a variety of essential oils. While most of the oils used in the book are easy to find -- like grapefruit, rose, rosemary, chamomile and eucalyptus -- some of the more elusive and higher priced oils are included as well. These include violet leaf, jasmine samboc and champaca, they are presented in a non-threatening way so that even beginners can use the Resources pages to find what they are looking for.

The Cupboard chapter describes 19 oils, from chamomile to vanilla, in the categories of "basic" and "sensuous," providing interesting information on the qualities of each. Since I love the "sensuous" oils, my chosen test recipe was for the Blossomed Exotica facial massage oil (p. 80). It is made with lots of my favorite exotic oils, including jasmine, sandalwood, linden blossom and neroli. It's no an inexpensive experiment for sure, but such small quantities of each oil is used and most suppliers sell these oils in tiny quantities that the price added up to no more than what I would have paid for a high quality facial cream.

I made 1/3 ounce of Blossomed Exotica, and it lasted me only a few weeks because I used it on my entire body several times a week. It would have lasted much longer if I had limited use to my face and neck area. The only suggestion I would make to improve the use of this product on dry skin (which it is designed for) is to make sure the skin in slightly damp when it is applied. Oils applied to dry dry skin usually don't spread very easily and this was no exception.

Exquisitely photographed and beautifully written, Aromatiques is a great book for anyone who is already familiar with essential oils and wishes to explore deeper by using some of the more unusual aromatics, or for a beginning who already knows they are hooked and doesn't want to waste any time!