PETAL POWER

GET ON TOP OF STRESS BY USING SOME COMMON SCENTS

It’s happening people. The shiny baubles and flashing lights are up, Christmas carols boom through shopping centres and celebrities looking to make a quick buck are hitting the media circuit promoting their Christmas albums. But what is largely considered the most joyous time of the year is, for many, also the most stressful.

Aromatherapy could have you calmer in a sniffy. Aromatherapy Associates London owner Geraldine Howard says it’s worth considering the science of scent.

“Linked to the areas of the brain governing instinct, memory and emotion, our sense of smell is the most primitive of our senses,” she says. “Through the pathways between smell and the deep centres of the brain, essential oils can have a dynamic effect on our emotional state.

“They can help transform our moods and move us from one state of mind to another.”

Geraldine says one of the most effective aromatherapy products the company carries is frankincense, a word I’ve only ever really heard in the context of a Christmas nativity scene.

A couple of sniffs of the oil, which is derived from an aromatic resin, is said to have an immediate calming effect.

Of course, I’m preaching to the converted. Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristen Cavallari, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Gisele Bündchen have all promoted the alternative therapy as a must in their daily routines. All of these women have seemingly found the fountain of youth and beauty and I will unashamedly jump on in if it means I can look like Gisele.

She named Young Living Essential Oils lavender oil as one of her favourites.

For me, lavender induces vivid flashbacks to my nan’s house, but each to their own.

You can also use aromatherapy to make a soak in the tub even better.

Try adding another sensory element, such as iKou’s de-stress salts, to the experience of a hot, steamy bath.

For a daily dose of aromatherapy, Natio’s skincare is an accessible option.