Essential Oil Allies: Corkbark Fir
Abies lasiocarpa, known as “subalpine fir” is endemic to North America with several naturally occurring varieties1 —this Allies post focuses on “Corkbark Fir” (Abies lasiocarpa variety arizonica), also known as “Alamo de la Sierra.” Latin names give distinctive clues to identifying a plant: “Abies” is simply “fir tree” and the epithet “lasiocarpa” means “woolly seed/fruit,”…
Nourishing Winter Skin
With dry winter weather in full swing, it’s essential to have remedies on hand to nourish, hydrate, and protect the skin you’re in. What’s more, having a daily skin routine can actually have a dual effect in supporting your mental and emotional well-being while transforming your physical state. This is especially true if you infuse…
Nourishing Awareness During The Hunger Moon
Who has not gazed up at a full moon and felt the awe of basking in its reflection of our sun’s light? Did you know that there is a specific name for each full moon of the year? Throughout time, humans have used moon phases to guide agricultural and other life sustaining practices. Native Americans…
How to Be Your Most Loving Valentine This V-Day
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we are presented with a beautiful opportunity to practice self-love. Not just a holiday to shower our partner (and be showered!) with flowers and chocolates, Valentine’s Day invites us to contemplate how deep our love really goes for ourselves. Self-love is often an afterthought during our day when we’re…
Aromatherapy & Botanical Perfumery
Olfaction Our sense of smell is ten thousand times more sensitive than any of our other senses (Shaath 2017). It is one of the first senses that awakens in a newborn infant and helps guide the baby as it makes its initial few movements outside of its mother’s womb (Aftel, 2008). With direct access to…
Essential Oil Allies: Saro
Saro essential oil is obtained from the steam distilled leaves of Cinnamosma fragrans. This small, evergreen and aromatic tree is endemic to Madagascar and classified in the Canallaceae family. This relatively small family (nine species in four genus) is distributed around the world between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn—it is most…