Nickie’s Nook: Oils and Books

In the northern hemisphere it’s spring, the season of new beginnings. Flowers begin to poke out of the ground and bloom. Trees grow new, green leaves and we can hear the sounds of animals coming back north or waking up as temperatures rise. Where I lived for most of my life, we had a swamp nearby and could hear the frogs chirping. That was how we know it is spring. Also, there’s a sense of warmth and brightness coming from the sun. It’s a comfortable warmth, not a scalding heat. The natural changes of spring bring joy and hope.

All of these changes show the power and beauty of new beginnings. For example, it doesn’t matter if your garden last year wasn’t flourishing because you have a new chance to grow a garden that does this year. You may have learned something from what happened last year that will contribute to a more thriving garden. I’m using gardening here, but it could be anything that needs a new start. Spring is a great time to turn the page and write a new chapter.

I wanted to create a roller bottle blend that represents the beauty of spring. As with many of my blends, I used the information from the book Essential Emotions to assist me in choosing some of my oils. Over all, the blend smells like orange punch or soda with some floral undertones. It’s very sweet and bright. Kind of like a smile in a bottle. I will include the oils and their emotional properties as headings. If you got Osmanthus in the latest Bogo sale, this blend is a great blend to use it in.

6 drops Citrus Bloom: New Beginnings

Doterra’s Citrus Bloom blend contains wild orange, grapefruit, lavender, roman chamomile and magnolia. Doterra calls it the springtime blend and that’s an apt description. It is definitely more citrusy than floral but it’s extremely cheerful. I can’t smell it without my mood lifting at least a little bit.

2 Copaiba: Unveiling (connecting with and growing from past experiences)

Copaiba is a very grounding oil. I’ve blogged about its benefits before, so I’ll just explain why I included it in this blend. Originally, I included it because it’s great at helping a blend shine in a way that allows each of the other oils to stand out and yet blend well as a whole. When I saw the emotional description in Essential Emotions, it set up the theme of the overall blend for me.

16 Drops Osmanthus Touch: Gentelness

I love the blend of any citrus oil with Osmanthus. It makes the citrus smell so much sweeter and jucier for lack of a better description. I was trying to create a blend that would remind me of a sweet orange drink and Osmanthus helped me do that. Emotionally, Osmanthus is the oil of gentleness. Gentleness can be so important in a time of change or emotional work. Some people respond well to the drill sergeant method of motivation. That doesn’t work for me. I’m always dealing with enough emotional challenges that I need to be surrounded by gentleness and compassion. Change is hard, but being pushed or criticized in the name of motivation only makes things harder. Taking a gentle approach is more effective for me.

2 Drops Vanilla: Unfolding (loving life)

Vanilla is a scent and flavor that is loved globally. It’s comforting and soothing. Emotionally, it can help people who have lost their sense of love for life to start to see the awe and wonder in life. It’s also great for creativity which is helpful when beginning anew. When starting something new, creativity helps to get out of a rut. Being creative gives us the skills we need to deal with any new challenges.

1 Drop Lime: Zest for Life

When beginning anew, having a desire for and sense of joy in life makes a huge difference. It’s hard to start something new or make new plans if you just don’t care about life anymore. I added lime because I like the smell, but the emotional cheeriness made a huge impact on my choice to use it in this blend.

1 Drop Sandalwood: Sacred Devotion

Even though Copaiba is a base note when it comes to perfumery, it wasn’t enough for the blend. Ultimately, I decided to add sandalwood. Sandalwood is a grounding and meditative oil and has been used for thousands of years in spiritual practices. For me, spirituality takes its shape in the form of Christianity, but if you have other beliefs, they can be just as helpful in giving you something to lean into. Currently, Doterra doesn’t have regular sandalwood available, however, they do have Hawaiian sandalwood available. There is a slight difference in the scent,, and I personally prefer regular, Indian, sandalwood, but Hawaiian sandalwood would work well enough in this blend.

Why’ Name the Blend Butterflies and Rainbows?

I named the blend butterflies and rainbows because butterflies have gone through metamorphasis or changes. Rainbows acknowledges and celebrates the variety and the colorfulness of life. Both the butterfly the rainbow are beautiful, and they come after a struggle. The butterfly has to go through a lot of effort to get out of the cocoon and the rainbow comes after the storm.

To make the blend

Add the drops above to a 10ml roller bottle then add a carrier oil like jojoba or fractionated coconut oil. top with the roller and cap and swirl or shake the bottle. Enjoy!