Tag Archives: Jasmine

Because everything will be coming up roses – Rosewater Facial Wash

Posted in beauty, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

Rosewater Facial Wash

I love the sent of roses.

Yesterday I finally got around to planting the two rose bushes purchased a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t got round to putting them into the garden as the previous weekends had been busy and the weather had been, well pretty unfriendly.

So when I looked out of the window in the morning, there was no more excuses. I dug the soil, as it had been wet, the ground was soft and much easier to dig. With some bonemeal to sprinkle into the earth around the rose bush, I patterned down the earth around the two rose bushes.

I can hardly wait for the first rose buds to appear. The rose bushes cost just the same as a bunch of ready cut roses from the Supermarket, but hopefully, they will yield a lot more blooms throughout early summer and Autumn. I chose fragrant varieties in deep pink and white.

Rosewater Facial Cleanser

Meantime, in the bathroom, I’d run out of face wash. I prefer to wash the day’s make-up off with soapy cleanser, somehow the foaminess feels so much more refreshing than just the Rosewater toner/cleanser that I use afterwards.

Since I have a bottle of Doctor Bonner’s Castille Soap (baby wash version) waiting to find a use in my cabinet, I’m using this for the first time to make a batch of facial cleanser. As it is supposed to be non-scented, it will make a good base for a natural facial wash, though it still has the scent of Castille soap.

I’ve combined this with Rosewater along with Jojoba Oil and the scent of rose along with Jasmine makes the facial wash a floral sensation.

Here’s the ingredients:

1/4 cup Doctor Bonner’s baby non-scented Castille Soap (you can use solid or liquid)

1/4 cup Rosewater

1 teaspoon Jojoba oil, 1/2 teaspoon Rosehip Oil*

4-8 drops of your chosen blend of essential oil (I’ve chosen to use a 10% dilution of Jasmine Absolute and Rose Geranium)

Making the facial wash could not be easier, just combine all the ingredients in a bottle shake vigorously to combine and put a cap on.

I use this at night to remove make-up and afterwards use the Rosewater and Witch Hazel Toner. Just wash face until all trace of make-up has gone. It is quite watery, though if you use a muslin, simply squirt a bit on a damp muslin and rinse until clear.

That’s it, and best of all it’s all natural and can be customised to suit your skin

*I have chose Jojoba Oil and Rosehip oil as these have great anti-aging properties. You can use Coconut or Sweet Almond or any other natural oil best suited to your skin instead. Experiment until you get the right consistency you prefer

Rosewater Facial Wash

 

 

 

 

 

 

Korres Jasmine Shower gel

Posted in Bathroom, Family, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Scent, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

This is one of my favourites as there’s only one way to describe the scent in this bottle and that is its sublimely indulgent.

The heady scent of Jasmine will hit you the moment this makes contact with water and skin.

The scent is as natural and as authentic as you can get to real Jasmine. I love the idea of enveloping myself in its aroma, drinking in the scent as if I’m sipping my favourite Jasmine Tea from Whittards.

From outside in, the scent of Jasmine can be a natural drug to lift your mood. It stimulates the release of serotonin which boosts energy. Perhaps this is the reason I love it so much.

As it is one of the most expensive essential oils to buy, I have a small bottle which contains a 10% dilution in jojoba oil, which I keep to add a few drops into the night time facial oil I made.

Around 8 million Jasmine blooms are needed to produce a kilo of essential oil, commercially the blooms are hand picked at night when their scent is at their most powerful. I love the idea that the magic of the scent is only released at night. There’s something very Arabian nights about this.  It also means it’s one of the most expensive oils to buy.

It also reminds me of my early childhood home where we had a Jasmine bush climbing outside our front door.

In in early evening as the blooms released their scent, our home was bathed in the delicate scent. I can’t explain how I remember this, I just do and that’s mostly the reason why I am always drawn to anything that’s Jasmine scented.

 

Jasmine and Citrus, Hand blended Perfume for Christmas

Posted in Christmas, Health & Wellness, Perfume, Projects, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

 

Making your own perfume is relatively straightforward.

This year, I’m making a few Christmas Gifts, as a way of making Christmas feel just a little bit more home spun and personal.

Having looked on several sites and researched the types of ingredients that goes into perfume making, there are just a few ingredients most of which you will find easily either in your cupboard or online.

To make the Perfume all you need to do is the following:

  1. Decide on the strength of the perfume:

    This is determined by the amount of scent to alcohol. An Eau de toilette is around 10 percent. An Eau de parfum is around 15-20 percent and the strongest called Parfum is around 30 percent.

  2. Decide on how you want to use the perfume:

    Solid (such as in a oil based waxy balm) or Rollerball (oil based) or in a Spray. The main ingredient in the perfume is the carrier, which can be alcohol or oil based. With Alcohol, the oils in the fragrance can be dispersed from a spray and is how most of the famous brands market their perfumes. Very high quality fragrance houses such as Chanel will offer the perfume in stronger variants, for instance Chanel No5 is available as a Parfum in a very tiny but exquisite bottle. The higher the alcohol content (proof) you can find the better in terms of dispersing the scent. You can of course go for perfumers alcohol, but since there’s likely to be chemicals, which is sometimes called Alcohol Denat – this means it’s been treated so you can’t drink it. Personally, I think it’s better if you can drink it, as it means, if it’s ok to drink, it’s going to be suitable to put onto your skin. I’m choosing Vodka as this has no scent and is as pure a form of alcohol as you can get easily. Smirnoff or Grey Goose will do.

  3. Decide on the fragrance or Scent:

    Perfumes tend to be made up of top notes, the scent you can smell immediately. The middle note, the heart of the fragrance and the base note which is the final scent that lingers long after the others have dissipated, all three notes combine give the perfume the harmonics that make defines it’s unique character which when mixed with the chemicals that make up your skin, makes the experience of the perfume unique.

I love experimenting and mixing scents together. It makes the process so much fun and it also means it’s one of a kind, unique as no one else will have the scent that you’ve made.

Since Jasmine is my favourite scent of all time, I’m going to use this as the “middle note” for the heart and distinctive character of the perfume. And as I prefer things to be as natural as possible, all the oils I have chosen to make this perfume are essential oils.

Jasmine Officinale or Jasmine Absolute is known as the King of flowers. It has a very sweet floral scent. The scent has been central in perfumes for centuries, in China it represents the sweetness of women, in Persia it was known as the perfume of love.

It is also amongst the most expensive pure fragrances, the version I am using is 10% diluted in Jojoba oil. Since the fragrance is very strong, a little goes a long way.

I’m combining this with citrus notes of Sweet Orange and Bergamot essential oils.

Finally, for the base note, just a hint of Cedar wood essential oil, which not only has therapeutic benefits, is also a “fixative” which will slow down the evaporation of the perfume and slows down the overall scent of the perfume from fading. It is sweet and woody at the same time and combines well with both the citrus notes as well as the floral scent of Jasmine.

To make the perfume couldn’t be easier. In a small bottle which should be as opaque as possible to prevent sunlight from affecting the oils, I have combined the following:

Ingredients for hand blended Perfume:

50ml Vodka

20 drops of the Jasmine Absolute in Jojoba oil

10 drops of Sweet Orange

10 drops of Bergamot

2 drops of Cedar Wood essential oils.

With the spray stopper in place, shake the bottle until all the essential oils have been mixed together into the Vodka.

It will take about a week for the oils to come together to form the perfume. You can of course mix the oils first in a small mixing jar until you get the desired scent you prefer.

You can find more information about the different types of scents at Aromaweb’s section on Aromatic blending.

All that’s left is to find a pretty box and gift wrap to make this little personalised gift ready to give for Christmas.

Sunday Spa Feature – Rosehip, Argan, Jojoba, Sweet Almond facial oil

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Scent, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized by

Facial Oil Serum with Rosehip, Argan, Jojoba and Sweet Almond OilThis is such a great facial oil for anyone of any age and would make a great Christmas gift if you are looking to find a gift that’s easy to make.

Rosehip Oil has been in the beauty news having been cited as the wonder oil used by celebrities such as Miranda Kerr. It is a natural source of Vitamin E which you’ll find in many skin care creams, used for it’s antioxidant properties to calm, hydrate dry and sensitive skin.

The oil is also rich in fatty acids such as linoleic acid (or omega 6) as well as linolenic acid (or omega 3). High in Vitamin C, it will help to speed up the healing process for skin damaged by burns, scars or age spots as well as hydrate and add moisture.

I’ve chosen this as it’s the dry oil, it does not leave any feeling of grease and absorbs very quickly into the skin.

With the properties that feel more like a serum than an oil, when I found it online, it gave me an idea for creating a nighttime facial oil that would help rejuvenate and revitalise skin.

With this oil, I have combined it with 3 other oils:

Jojoba oil, which also non-greasy and has a similar consistency to sebum. A liquid wax, found in the seeds/nuts of jojoba plant, it has anti-microbial properties and contains iodine which prevents bacteria from forming and is, therefore, good for skin that is prone to blemishes

Sweet Almond oil, not only does this oil contain plenty of vitamin E, it has lots of minerals such as Calcium, potassium, magnesium as well as vitamin D. Good for dark circles under the eyes, blemishes, fine lines, wrinkles and helps to firm skin.

Argan Oil, high in fatty acids it helps to restore skin’s elasticity and leaves skin feeling plumper and softer.

To give this luxury facial oil some fragrance, I have combined this with three essential oils, which also have skin rejuvenating properties.

Ylang Ylang  Essential Oil- I’ve written about this oil in a lovely home made bath-soak. It has an uplifting effect and can give you feelings of joy and hope. It has a rich floral fragrance which should be used sparingly particularly for skincare purposes.  As it helps to control oil production, minimises breakouts and helps regenerate skin cells, I’ve included this in the facial oil

Jasmine Officinale – is my favourite scent, reminds me of my early childhood, it is used in so many ways, I love its scent in green tea as well as in perfumes such as the Jo Malone’s Jasmine and Mint cologne spray. It tones dry, greasy, irritated skin and helps to fade scars and restore elasticity to the skin.

Lavender Essential Oil – there are so many uses for lavender, that it is one of the oils which I take everywhere and use it in so many ways. In a bath soak, foot scrub it’s lovely scent is relaxing and calming. It is also a good antiseptic so I like to use it as a room and linen spray. It helps to reduce age spots, fine lines and wrinkles by boosting the flow and supply of oxygen and nutrients, helping to boost the skin’s renewal process.

To make this facial oil, which I’ve called the Fourtifying Facial Oil, just mix the following together:

15ml of Sweet Almond Oil

15ml of Argan Oil

15 ml of Rosehip Oil

15 ml of Jojoba Oil

1-2 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil along with 1-2 drops Jasmine and 1-2 drops of Lavender.

Shake the bottle thoroughly to combine. I’ve used a blue glass bottle with a dropper to make the experience the same as if the facial oil is one of those high-end beauty serums. You can of course just use a bottle with a stopper or small opening.

To use, only 1-2 drops of the facial oil is needed, add the oil to the tips of your fingers and smooth over your skin, underneath your usual night cream.

That’s all there is to it, now I’m looking forward to bed-time and waking up to soft glowing skin!

 

A first perfume and a decade of firsts

Posted in Chanel, Perfume, Scent by

Chanel & Sony WalkmanIt was on the first holiday abroad, that I discovered what I consider my first perfume. Until that moment, fragrances were the sort that you wore because your friends at school wore them, like Le Jardin by Max Factor or the Avon perfumes that one of my friends who was an Avon rep sold to some of us at school.

As we looked around the duty free shop, I was drawn to the simple yet elegant bottle square bottle shape of Chanel No 5. As I sampled the scents however, it was Cristalle that I liked most.

It reminded me of the strong scent of Jasmine that grew at the front of the house that I lived in briefly as a young child.

Cristalle is a light floral fragrance, delicate and powdery fresh. I wasn’t sure I could describe it well enough to bring the scent to life, so I got in touch with Chanel’s PR department and they very kindly provided me with a description of the perfume. As I read the words, I was overwhelmed by their significance. The Perfume was created over 40 years ago in 1974 by Henri Robert, which means it has stood the test of time.

Then, it struck me how similar the description of a perfume is to the way I used to write essays around music. Perhaps this would be a good way to explain how the combination ingredients combine to create it’s distinct character and personality and why it’s a personal favourite.

So here goes:

The melody in any music composition is instantly recognisable, you can hum a tune and recognise it immediately. Cristalle’s tune is delicate, the lemon’s citrusy scent acts as the top notes, honeysuckle acts as the harmony, the sweetness and fresh outdoor nature it invokes is at the perfume’s heart. Finally, the bass and accompanying rhythm is integral to the completion of any piece of music.

Scented Jasmine

I think the bass in music is so important that sometimes it defines whether it is a hit or not, like the bass in U2’s song “With our Without You”. It is the same with Cristalle, the base of Jasmine is the scent that hits me the moment I spray the perfume on.

I think of Cristalle’s personality like a music composition by Mozart. At the time that Mozart was composing, symphonies had yet to fully defined. His influence on Beethoven can be heard. I think Cristalle’s influence is evident in a number of perfumes.

There is a crystal like transparent quality, there is also hidden depth, like a diamond with many facets to make it sparkle. When you hear a piece by Mozart, it has that same quality, the melodies are easy to recognise, but they have depth and complexity that manages to capture a range of emotions. I think of Cristalle in a similar way.Music Score of Don Giovani by Mozart

Through the years, I have tried many perfumes, but there is always a bottle of Cristalle in my small collection. I cannot part with it. It reminds me of so many firsts, a time when everything lay ahead, career, experiences, travel, love, marriage, kids, making a home.

If you were a child of the 80’s, you’ll remember some of these things. We were righteous; causes were our thing – Live Aid, Comic Relief, lots of demonstrations against the establishment.

Chanel Cristalle, Eau de ToiletteIt was the first time I felt independence, living away from my parents.

Music of the time was both bright and shiny as well as a commentary of the political times we lived in.

Before U2 became the global brand they are now, their songs were of urban unrest in Ireland. Madonna blazed the trail for future female singers. There are so many tracks from the 80’s and there were so many music genres.

I’ve made a play list, chosen for a variety of reasons – some just because, others well, lets’ just say they meant something deep at the time, but now no longer represent the youthful angst that I felt.

If I’m wearing Cristalle and listening to these songs, I am transported back to a time when I think I was the most optimistic.

The tracks are in a playlist on spotify and is included in this post if you have time to listen. You’ll find a Classical selection to listen to as well.

There’s a phrase in one of the lyrics by Black, that I think we’d all like our experiences to feel like:

Becuase Life Should Never Feel Small - Black

Please come and share your memories of your favourite scent, by adding a comment, or you can create a new playlist or follow the account here:

https://play.spotify.com/user/birdonthehill

(NB – At the time of writing, Prince has withdrawn his music from a number of music sharing sites, so I have removed the following from the playlist – Mountains, Kiss and Starfish & Coffee)

I’ve included a listing of the music selection on a Pinterest board if you’d like to download it here

photo credit: One of the Jasmine Family via photopin (license)
photo credit: Composer’s score for Don Giovanni via photopin (license)

Jasmine and tea drinking

Posted in Drink, Food, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

As far back as I can remember we drank Jasmine tea at our parents house. Even after setting up our own home, tea infused with Jasmine is my go to drink, especially late at night.

The lovely delicate scent of Jasmine seems so relaxing and familiar. I’ve tried lots of other teas, but always return to Jasmine.

I have often wondered why the beautiful little flowers are left in the loose tea.

Apparently, good quality tea that is infused with Jasmine flowers, goes through a time honored tradition of harvesting the Jasmine flowers late in the evening, just before the flowers open, so that when the flowers to open up and the scent is able to perfume the air, it is captured in layers of tea.

In China, Jasmine is used widely to scent a variety of teas, green, white as well as dark leaf tea. Traditions for tea drinking amongst the Chinese vary, but it is an important part of any social gathering or occasion.

The plant originated in Persia and was brought to China around 300AD and has been used in tea, but also used as perfume, in incense and traditional Chinese herbal remedies for improving liver function and for stress and anxiety.

I think that’s why it’s a favourite of mine. Occasionally, it is great to make a full pot of Jasmine tea, using the loose leaf type and let the steaming tea sit for while before drinking and although it takes a bit more effort to make and to clean up afterwards, it is worth taking the time out to enjoy the simple ritual of drinking tea. Most of the time, however, for convenience, though, I drink the green tea variety that comes in a bag.

The loose leaf variety can be found in most supermarkets, sometimes though I like to indulge and seek out a special blend which make the occasion of drinking the tea all the more special. I keep the tea in a small caddy from Whittards of Chelsea that was given to me as a gift one Christmas.

Hello world!

Posted in About, Family, Home, Scent by

Hello World

This is the first post from the Scented Abode, which is all about fragrance, aromas, anything really that provides inspiration for a home and life enjoyed through scents found in everyday things.

When people ask, “what’s your earliest memory?” 

All I could think of was that it was a sense of something, whilst it was very vivid to me, I found it impossible to describe, it was more of a sensation, a feeling that I remember as a very young child.

It wasn’t until much later, probably in my teens that I realised that it wasn’t a sensation or feeling, it was a scent that I associated with my home.

Outside the first house that I remember as a child, was a plant with white flowers. It climbed up the front of the house, I can’t remember exactly if it was a porch or just the drainpipe, but the flowery scent was so strong, it filled the air as I played outside.

Much later, while drinking a cup of Chinese leaf tea, it dawned on me, as I looked at the little white flowers bobbing in the mug, the scent took me back to the memory of playing outside our house.

It brought back the smell of the green plant with white flowers and I realised it must be Jasmine. It is and always will be a scent that brings familiarity and a sense of belonging to me.

Does that make sense? Perhaps I’m crazy. I’m hoping that there are a few people that can relate to what I’m writing about.

Please visit often. I hope to share different scents, discovered and enjoyed from childhood through to present day. Scents that have made a difference to me, my home, my kids and my family, whether they are small or significantly something that has changed my outlook, mood or simply something that’s just, well amazing.

I look forward to seeing you here.