Search Results

Essential Oils for the Bath Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, is known to have claimed that the way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day. Sounds pretty dang nice to me! Sign me up for that. (Now I just need 2 more hours of free time every day and a lifetime of free massages.) Busy schedules and lengthy to-do lists often get in the way of self-care time. Dedicating a few hours a week to treating yourself to an at-home Spa Day can do wonders for an overworked mind and body. A Spa Day could include yoga, journaling, or meditation in addition to skincare rituals. Gotta give some love to both the mind and body. With baths on the mind, I wanted to share 5 of the best essential oils to soak in. Choosing the best essential oil for your bath depends on personal scent preference and the benefits you’re seeking at the time. Here are 5 excellent essential oils for your next bath: Lavender Essential Oil - Renowned for its calming and relaxing effects, lavender is excellent for reducing stress and promoting better sleep. It can also help soothe sore muscles and relieve tension. Eucalyptus Essential Oil- With its refreshing and invigorating scent, eucalyptus essential oil is commonly used to clear the sinuses and alleviate respiratory issues like congestion and coughs. It can also provide a cooling sensation and relieve muscle aches and pains. Ylang Ylang Essential Oil - With its sweet, floral scent, ylang-ylang is often used for its mood-boosting and aphrodisiac effects. It can help reduce stress and anxiety while promoting feelings of joy and relaxation. A little goes a long way with Ylang Ylang’s strong aroma. Frankincense Essential Oil - Frankincense has a warm, resinous “woodsy” aroma that’s known for its calming and skin-healing benefits. Adding frankincense oil to your bath can help promote relaxation, reduce stress, and ease anxiety. It’s a prized essential oil for use in meditation and spiritual practices as it helps create a sense of peace and helps promote mindfulness. It’s an excellent choice for sensitive, irritated, or dry skin as it deeply nourishes skin as you soak. Sandalwood Essential Oil - Sandalwood has a rich, woodsy aroma that is known for its calming and grounding effects. Adding sandalwood oil to a bath can help promote relaxation, reduce stress, and ease anxiety, making it an excellent choice for unwinding after a long day. It also helps soothe irritated or inflamed skin. In addition to the physical benefits of a warm soak, baths can be an excellent way to get quality alone time to clear your mind, meditate, and release built-up tension and stress. How to add essential oils to a bath: When preparing a bath, you'll likely be using more carrier oil compared to a topical application, as you want to disperse the essential oils throughout the bathwater effectively. It's important to mix the essential oils with a small amount of carrier oil before adding them to the bathwater. This helps to prevent the oils from floating on the surface and reduces the risk of skin irritation. Since heat and steam amplify the effects of essential oils, you will want to use about 5-6 drops of oil per ounce of carrier oil of your choice (like olive oil or coconut oil). You can also add Epsom Salts or Pink Himalayan Salts to increase the physical tension-releasing benefits of your soak! No tub? No troubles. Hydro-Aromatherapy soaking without a bathtub For those of us without a tub, foot soaks in a large bowl can offer many of the same benefits as a full body soak because our feet still absorb the salts and essential oils through the skin through a process called “transdermal absorption.” And of course, you can still bask in the therapeutic aromas. Outdoor foot soaks are one of my favorite summer pastimes. Sit back, plop your feet in the warm aromatic waters, soak up the scents, and enjoy your silky soft feet! Be sure to dilute essential oils into a carrier oil of your choice. Dilute your oils as you would for a bath using the above guidelines. Not enough time in the day for a soak? Try an Aromatherapy Shower! If you’re not much of a soaker, you can also use essential oils in the shower! Simply add a few drops of essential oils to the shower floor (out of the direct stream of water) and let the shower steam do its thing. Peppermint or Eucalyptus essential oil makes for a great energizing morning shower and Lavender or Cedarwood are perfect to destress and relax the mind before bed. A hot aromatherapy shower can reduce stress and anxiety, soothe tension, provide respiratory support, and clear the mind. Take a look at the full line of therapeutic essential oils here! If you’re not one to DIY, try Topsy Blends Spa Day Tranquility Bath Set Or, Treat your Feet with the Self Care Aromatherapy Set to Soothe, Soak, and Soften. So many lovely self-care products to choose from! Questions? Curiosities? Please feel free to get in touch using the contact box below and I’ll be in touch shortly. Wishing you health and harmony, Rachel, your personal aromatherapist

A Brief History of Essential Oils Maybe our modern love of essential oils is rooted in our ancestral DNA. From what we understand today, nature has provided these therapeutic essences since the beginning of the plant kingdom. Cultures all over the world— Rome, Egypt, Greece, India, China, and Europe — have historical evidence of using essential oils for centuries. They have been used for everything from beauty and healing, to ceremonies and food preparation. (1) The first documented use of essential oils was back in 4500 BC. Ancient Egyptians used aromatic oils in cosmetics, perfumes, and ointments as well as for spiritual and physical well-being. (1) Though it’s not documented, it’s believed that aromatic oils were also being used in traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine during the same time. Based on the recorded history (starting as early as 3000 BC), “China and India listed more than 700 substances including cinnamon, ginger, myrrh, and sandalwood as being effective for healing.”(2) There are many prized depictions of Egyptians in ancient pictorials on temple walls showing royalty using essential oils. As the story goes, an excavation team found King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 and found over 50 alabaster jars that were specially carved for essential oils. Previous thieves of the tomb had taken the revered essential oils, but left the gold! (1) The Way to Health The use of essential oils to combat the bubonic plague dates back to the Middle Ages, particularly during the outbreak known as the Black Death in the 14th century. During this time, people turned to essential oils for their purported antiseptic healing properties in an effort to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of the disease. The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, also fumigated the city of Athens with aromatics to combat the plague, and prescribed aromatic treatments to Greek soldiers. (1) Hippocrates is known to have claimed that the way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day. Count me in! Though essential oils had long been considered prized possessions to be used sparingly and with care, Romans used essential oils with sheer decadence. Not only did they scent their hair, body, and beds, but they also lavishly bathed multiple times a day with their oils and had frequent aromatic massages. (1) As history goes, Roman culture was influenced by Greek culture which was influenced by the Egyptians. At least with their use of these precious aromatic oils! The Test of Time We continue to use essential oils in many of the same ways our ancestors did. Today, essential oils are widely used throughout the world for therapeutic purposes ranging from sleep disorders, stress relief, wound healing, aches and pains, skincare, cosmetics, bug bite and sting relief, meditation, and an assortment of aromatic purposes. According to the National Library of Medicine, some essential oils like Lavender, Peppermint and Myrrh are still being used pharmaceutically and soon “could be used effectively as suitable alternatives for many synthetically produced medications.”(2) Perhaps Hippocrates was onto something. Maybe it doesn’t have to be hours of soaking or lavish spa days. Maybe the way to health is as easy as using essential oil-based skincare. Topsy Blends offers a wide range of both natural remedies and luxurious body care made with 100% pure essential oils for cleansing daily rituals proven to stand the test of time. Cheers to good health, Rachel Your personal aromatherapist (1) https://essentialoilsacademy.com/history/ (2) Elshafie HS, Camele I. An Overview of the Biological Effects of Some Mediterranean Essential Oils on Human Health. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:9268468. doi: 10.1155/2017/9268468. Epub 2017 Nov 5. PMID: 29230418; PMCID: PMC5694587. (3) https://www.curioushistory.com/the-history-of-essential-oils/

Win in the battle against pollen and perennially runny noses Spring Sneeze-in is upon us! This short blog is your guide to a win in the battle against pollen and perennially runny noses. With 5 tips to boost your immune system & 10 natural at-home remedies to help you thrive amongst the spring sniffles. It’s about to be the time of year when we all want to go outside and rejoice that the snow has retreated back to tippy top of the mountains where it belongs and away from my freshly planted flowers! I don’t know about you, but I always jump the gun on planting my garden flowers. Every. Single. Year. I get way too excited on the first sunny day after months of Oregon rain. But alas, with the pretty flowers and sunnier days ahead, come the allergies. BOOO!! Allergies! Literal tears are flowing. I have some handy tips that will help you enjoy springtime to its fullest. These tips are easy, natural, and most importantly, they WORK. For starters, what are allergies and why do 40-60 million Americans annually feel like we’re chopping fresh onions when we’re outside?! Allergy symptoms are caused by your body attempting to do its best to protect you from allergens like grasses, plants, animal dander, bee pollen, dust mites, etc.*(1) Your immune system is scanning these allergens as evil intruders. The allergic reactions you may experience are your cells sending out histamine in which blood vessels expand and cause symptoms like runny noses, itchy/watery eyes, headaches, sneezing, and coughing.*(1) Gee, thanks body! In its defense, your body is on your offense team. It’s just tryin’ to help. To keep allergies at bay, it’s best to support your body in all its tireless efforts to keep you healthy. We can do our part to support our immune system by clearing allergens from our environment and quickly calm these allergy systems with all-natural remedies. Here are ways to support our immune system plus 10 easy, natural tips to clear up allergy symptoms. 5 Ways to support our over-worked immune system naturally: Get plenty of sleep. Sleep is paramount to good health. Stress management. Way easier said than done, but take time out of your day to practice mindfulness and mental relaxation. Essential oils work wonders for stress release! Wash bed linens frequently to prevent allergens and dust mites for accumulating. Bonus- freshen the sheets between washes with Nightly Ritual air & body spray to reduce dust mites and help relax and calm the mind before bed. Use all-natural skincare products. Products made with synthetic ingredients and fragrances are filtered through your blood, which can be harder for your body to process and in turn makes your immune system work much harder than it needs to. By switching to you support both your skin and your body’s immune system. Use all-natural cleaning products for many of the same reasons above! By using essential oil-based cleaning products you are using natural antibacterial agents to remove germs, purify the air (instead of masking the air with non-natural fragrance odor), and also support your immune system. Clean & dust regularly. Think of it as when you use non-natural cleaning and skincare products, you are stressing out your immune system. We don’t want that- My mind does more than enough stress I’d prefer to manage, thank you very much! ESSENTIAL OILS FOR ALLERGIES and how to use them Essential Oil Steam - Calm inflammation and clear your respiratory tract by adding 1-2 drops (no more than that!) of Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, or Respiratory ReLeaf to a bowl of hot water. Close your eyes, cover your head over the bowl with a towel, and breathe deeply in and out for as long as possible. Try to do 2-5 minutes for the best results. Aromatherapy inhalers are the BEST if you are out and about. Particularly the Breathe Easy inhaler. So handy. Diffuse leafy, respiratory-supportive essential oils like Eucalyptus, Ravintsara, Peppermint, Basil, Fir, or the Respiratory ReLeaf blend. This supports your immune system AND helps neutralize airborne allergens in your home. Flush sinuses with water saline solution with a Neti Pot. Use an aromatherapy room spray! Bergamot Forest works wonderfully as an anti-allergen room mist. Herbal Tea: Drink Nettle or Eucalyptus Mint Tea (Traditional Medicinals has a great Breathe Easy tea!) Take an aromatherapy bath. By adding 6-8 drops of Lavender or Eucalyptus to 1 tablespoon of castile soap or a carrier oil of your choice, you can ease stress and tension while opening your breath and supporting your immune and respiratory system. Rub it on. Super stuffed up? Try applying the ReLeaf Rub on your chest, throat, and a small amount under the nose to clear sinus congestion and act as a traditional vapor rub. Sinus Relief Tissues! Add a few drops of Eucalyptus or Respiratory ReLeaf essential oil to the cardboard sides of a tissue box to clear your sinuses every time you grab for a tissue! Try a daily aromatherapy shower by adding a few drops of Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Peppermint, or Respiratory ReLeaf to the shower flower, out of the direct stream of the shower and create a spa-like steam that opens airways, clears sinus congestions, and awakes the mind and body. Essential Oil Steam Shown Here So, why do essential oils work to help with allergy relief? Essential oils are made up of molecules that relieve inflammation, coughing, phlegm/mucus, runny eyes, and congested airways.*(2) The 2 key components are 1,8 cineole (found in oils like Eucalyptus) and Terpinen-4-ol (found in oils like Tea Tree). 1,8 cineole helps clear breathing and calm inflammation. Terpinen-4-ol is a well known antihistamine, helps reduce inflammation, and relax the muscles. *(2) These are just a few of the benefits that essential oils and natural remedies can offer to support your immune system and give you the relief you need this spring. Questions?! Email me topsyblends@gmail.com and I’m happy to offer more in-depth information and personalized support depending on your needs. With wishes of good health and wellness, Rachel, your neighborhood aromatherapist *(1) https://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergic-reaction-causes#1 *(2) - Jennifer Peace Rhind - Aromatherapeutic Blending

HOW SELF LOVE PROMOTES BETTER HEALTH With Valentine's Day around the corner, you may be bombarded with advertising and promotions with gift-centered romance themes. I’m not much of a romantic, but I am all about love. It’s impossible to fully love another unless we love ourselves. This is the main reason why I feel Valentine's Day is an added reason to reflect on self-love. Self-love may seem selfish to some, but by filling up your own cup of love, it becomes effortless to share your love and attention with everyone else around you. There is no better way to foster love than by taking moments out of the day to mindfully breathe, turn attention within, and recenter thoughts onto feelings of gratitude for all that we have. This could be in the form of meditation, writing in a gratitude journal, while stretching, or simply spending quiet time alone focusing on the things we love about ourselves, our family, and those we encounter. Essentially, no distractions. No phones or TVs, just experience sweet solitude and silence. Gratitude = Peace, Acceptance, Oneness, and of course, Love. This daily gratitude practice is all the more powerful when accompanied by an aroma that brings you joy and comfort. Our sense of smell is one of the most powerful tools we can use to encourage love, intimacy, and opening up the heart. Just by inhaling essential oils, you make an immediate connection with your limbic system which governs the regions related to emotions and memories. Whether you are looking to release negative self-talk, have more emotional balance, or ignite your sensual spirit, you can use a therapeutic essential oil from the list below to encourage self-love. Essential oils also help keep us present. So when stress and worries get the best of you, turn to one of these essential oils to help refocus your attention which will allow more space for inner stillness. Stress and unhappiness often arise when we are focusing on the things we don’t have or putting blame on someone or something else outside of us. Take your power back. The more we choose to look for things we are grateful for, the more ease and comfort we have in our mind and heart. If you are in a relationship, make mental notes daily of the things you love about the person you're with. Verbally express them. Make them know you are grateful for their presence and actions. The more you share your gratitudes of the simple things like taking out the trash, making coffee in the morning, or making the bed, the more you encourage them to take these loving actions. Of course, be sure to return the favors! If you are feeling lonely, turn this feeling into all-empowered Aloneness. Aloneness is the opposite of codependence. It’s knowing you are whole and complete exactly where you are. The more you love yourself, the more others will love to be around you! Embracing aloneness is a state of being while feeling lonely is an emotion. According to numerous studies, “people who set aside time to be alone tend to be happier. They report better life satisfaction and lower levels of stress. They are less likely to have depression.”*1 Key takeaways, coupled or not, spending quality time alone, even for a few minutes a day, to focus on the various aspects of life to be grateful for, not only gives you more peace of mind and less stress, it encourages love on all levels. Using therapeutic essential oils coupled with a daily gratitude practice amplifies and supports mental and emotional health which in turn amplifies self-love. May your heart overflow with love today and every day, Rachel Resources *1 - Amy Morin. 2023 5-ways-solitude-can-make-you-more-successful-backed-by-science

Motivate even when all you want is to curl up under a blanket Here we are post-holidays, in the midst of winter, and it's dark and rainy outside. It can be hard to motivate when you want to just curl up with a blanket with a warm cup of tea. Mmm, that sounds nice right about now! But alas, regular busy life continues. "Girl's gotta eat!" So we muster up the energy to go to work, get the groceries, do the laundry, stare at clean laundry in bin for 3-4 days, and eventually put clean laundry away only to find it's already time to do laundry again. Hopefully, your life is more exciting than the laundry cycle, but you get my drift! We don't wanna do these things...but we must. The next time you are needing a little extra motivation, here are your essential oil allies to make today a happier day: Peppermint! Of course. An oil most all of us know and love. Peppermint essential oil is highly energetic and helps refresh and alert the mind. Perfect to start the day or for mid-day lulls. This is a great essential oil to diffuse or inhale if you are focusing on a creative project that needs your full attention. Big fan of Peppermint! Ginger. A warming oil that ignites a fire in your spirit! Another oil that encourages energy and the willpower to tackle your to-dos with more ease. Simply diffuse or inhale Ginger's strong, spicy aroma to get a jumpstart on your to-dos. Ginger makes a perfect oil to use in the wintertime with it's warming and immune-supportive properties. Kick the colds away with Ginger essential oil! Grapefruit. Grapefruit's sweet and sparkling aroma exudes a sunshiney disposition. If you battle with the seasonal blues, Grapefruit is your BFF. It's a happy oil that is well-known to combat tension and depression. It helps soothe stress and uplift the mind and body. Inhale straight from the bottle, or diffuse to purify your space. Rosemary is known as a central nervous stimulant. It has a strong herbaceous aroma that encourages mental clarity. It can help increase alertness and liveliness. Rosemary has even been known to increase cognitive performance. (Moss, M. and Oliver, L. (2012). Inhaling or diffusing Rosemary is a great oil to use anytime you need to focus your attention on a task. Boosts energy, uplifts the spirit and helps improve concentration and retention of information. If you are often on the go, or work in a space with others who are sensitive to scent, the Sniff & Smile Aromatherapy Inhalers are a perfect pocket-sized tool to use. You truly just sniff...and smile! Two of my favorites to use on busy work days are the Time to Focus inhaler and Pick Me Up inhaler. Time to Focus is blended with organic, therapeutic essential oils of Rosemary, Peppermint, Vetiver, and Lemon to help aid concentration, refresh and uplift the mind, and to increase alertness. Pick Me Up is blended with Peppermint, Ravintsara, Grapefruit, Lemon, and Orange essential oils. Perfect to use first thing in the morning when you wake up, before exercising to maximize your workout, if you are in a mid-day slump, or whenever you need a happy, energizing pick me up. If you are curious how aromatherapy inhalers work, watch this video below! I hope using these essential oils throughout your busy days helps you power through your to-dos with more ease and enjoyment. Wishing you peace & productivity, Rachel, your neighborhood aromatherapist

It's the holiday season! The "happiest season of all! "The most wonderful time of the year!" *Queue all holiday songs* Manage stress during the holidays, or any season at all! It really the most wonderful time of the year?? For most of us, this season can bring both joy AND a whole lotta stress. Perhaps it’s the heavier workloads, large family gatherings, traveling, gifts to buy…the lights are nice though, right?! If you are stressed, you are not alone. Practicing mindfulness is key for keeping the holidays more merry and less stressful. Tips for calming the mind and body over the months of holiday happenings. Take moments each day dedicated to gratitude. Write or make mental notes of a few things you are grateful for. Grief and stress can EASILY take over our mind in an instant. Discontentment and stress are often fueled by something we feel we are lacking. By flipping the inner narrative's perspective to gratitude, we feel more peace. Bringing attention to what you do have (health, abilities, a thing you love about yourself) can drastically shift your mood to a feeling of more contentment. You can even do this while lying in bed for a minute before your snoozed alarm goes off! Another easy way to recenter the mind is to focus on the breath for a moment. Are you feeling rushed? Are you taking short breaths, or deep, belly breaths? Taking long, diaphragmatic breaths can lower stress levels. Our mind is often piling on more tasks, guilt of things we haven’t yet accomplished, people to take care of, etc. Taking a moment to focus solely on our breath and nothing else for a full minute can help calm our entire being. Lastly, this time of year can feel like SOO many things are happening. With more social events and family gatherings taking place over the holidays, it can feel harder and harder to catch up on mental and physical health. Perhaps the biggest challenge of the holidays is balancing all these gatherings, work, home life, and health. One of the nasty sides of holidays is the feeling of being obligated to attend something. If there are too many events on your plate, and you don’t want or need to attend one of them, what’s the worst that could happen if you don’t? Take a moment to evaluate which events you feel GOOD about going to and which ones you don’t. It should be your choice! It’s for your mental and physical health after all. :) The biggest take away, slowww downnnn. I write a lot of these tips as reminders for myself. They help me release tension in my mind and thus, in my shoulders, low back, feet…you get the idea! I hope they help you too. To make these action steps all the more effective, try pairing them with your favorite stress-relieving essential oils from the list below! It truly just takes a minute to practice retraining negative or busy mental chatter. Of course, it helps to stop and evaluate your thoughts as often as possible, especially as soon as you start noticing your mind slipping into stress mode. Start with a minute and see how good you feel! As Anthony De Mello puts it so simply “Awareness Awareness Awareness.” YOU are the only person who can truly calm your mind down. It’s our mind and subconscious thoughts that we need to become more aware of. The more aware we are of the stress we often cause in our own mind, the easier it is to let the thoughts we don’t want pass through and take less control of us. Over the next month (and months to come) I hope you have more and more peace of mind, moments of stillness, and an ever-growing list of things to be thankful for. Wishing you quality rest, rejuvenation, and cozy holidays, Rachel

That’s right, it’s officially snuggle weather No wonder spicy, warming scents remind us of the holidays. They bring us warmth just when we need them most during the cold, wintery months. Cozy up with a pair of fluffy socks, a soft blanket, and warming essential oils! HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WARM US UP? In essential oil terms “warming" refers to warmth in two ways- emotionally and physically. Emotionally, these oils can be used to generate motivation, confidence, and energy. This is done by inhaling the spicy notes of these oils’ therapeutic aromas. Great to diffuse on these darker, colder days when we need a little extra help tackling the day’s to-dos. Physically, they increase blood flow! These oils are considered “rubefacient” which means they are known to promote blood circulation, open the blood vessels, and literally warm the area with increased localized blood circulation, which is excellent for topical pain relief. My top 5 essential oils for warming Try one of these favorite warming oils topically to increase blood flow for cozy comforts: Please note- warming oils can be irritating to the skin. These essential oils are not an oil to use willy-nilly on the skin! They are powerful, heavily concentrated plant matter and are to be used with care and caution. It’s best to use proper dilutions when using topically. MY FAVORITE WAYS TO WARM UP WITH ESSENTIAL OILS If you want to get super cozy this winter season, try the Sweater Weather essential oil blend! It’s a perfect balance of sweetness of tangerine, lemon, & orange with the warming spice notes of clove, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. It truly smells like holiday happiness in a bottle. You can use this blend in a diffuser, on diffuser necklaces or diffuser bracelets, simply inhale out of the bottle, OR dilute for topical use for aches and pains! Whichever oil you try, I hope it brings you a sense of ease and comfort. Feel free to reach out at any time with questions! You can email me at topsyblends@gmail.com :) All the very best to you this holiday season, Rachel, your neighborhood aromatherapist.

DISINFECT YOUR HOME NATURALLY Benefits of All Natural Cleaning It's Easy Cleanin' Green! Using ingredients derived from nature can do the same jobs that those chemical-based products do! It’s easy, it’s affordable, and you might even find yourself enjoying the process. Green Cleaning disinfects your home naturally, as well as fills the rooms with a lovely, natural aroma. It’s safe for your home, family, and the planet. Chemical-based cleaners can be tough on our immune system and can even cause allergies or respiratory issues. They can dry out our hands, cause irritations, and some synthetic ingredients contribute to indoor and water pollution... they seem to be causing more harm than good. By using natural ingredients, on the other hand, you are improving your indoor air quality, helping environmental impacts, and might even boost your mood while you are at it! Essential oils are incredibly effective and versatile for cleaning. Many of the antimicrobial essential oils also have uplifting therapeutic benefits like Peppermint, Lemon, and Sweet Basil! How Essential Oils Disinfect your Home Naturally These essential oils are our germ-fighting allies. Citrus oils have a chemical compound in them called d-Limonene. d-Limonene has been studied and found to calm inflammation, get rid of germs (things like bacteria and viruses), support immunity, and clear congestion. These oils are pretty darn handy to have around! While these oils have been studied and proven to support these claims, we cannot make medical claims on product labels unless they are approved by the FDA. So just because it’s not on the label, doesn’t mean they aren’t as powerful as chemical-based cleaners! Science does not have to mean artificial or synthetic. Two easy-to-make essential oil-based cleaning recipes that will give your home a thorough Deep Green Clean! *You can swap out the essential oils or mix and match with any one of the options above. I hope you give these a try and enjoy the all-natural freshness of green cleaning! Check out how easy it is to make in just a few minutes with simple steps in the video below. All the best, Rachel

What the Nose Knows Our sense of smell is our only sense that sends messages to our brain instantaneously. This means, inhaling essential oils is the quickest way to receive therapeutic benefits directly to our whole internal system... ... making Aromatherapy Inhalers your secret life hack for a boost of energy at work, study time focus, or calming that monkey mind before bed. Using aromatherapy inhalers is one of the easiest ways to use essential oils — especially on the go — to make the days bumps and trudges a little bit smoother. That underestimated sniffer just became your secret weapon. As you can see in the video below, they're as easy to use as one, two, BREATHEEE. Simply unscrew the cap, hold under one nostril, and inhale as deeply as possible (about 8 seconds). Exhale out through the mouth. Repeat on the opposite side. Repeat process 3-4 times. Use as often as necessary. You can't overuse them, so sniff the day away! What are Topsy Blends essential oil aromatherapy inhalers good for? Quality, unadulterated, pure essential oils can help with a variety of daily needs. Research has shown us that their therapeutic benefits are infinite — ranging through pain reduction, sleep support, stress relief, hormone balancing, skin healing, and immune support. It’s important to use 100% pure essential oils to receive their benefits. Topsy Blends uses only high-quality oils that contain 100% pure volatile aromatic compounds extracted from plants without any additives or synthetic substances, so you get maximum benefits from our essential oil inhalers. Since the scent is contained within the tube, inhalers are convenient, personal tools that don’t affect those around you. Perfect to use at the office, the classroom, the waiting room, or when you’re in the car, bus, train, or plane. You get the idea. You can use them anywhere and everywhere! Topsy Blends has 5 different Sniff & Smile aromatherapy Inhaler options to choose from — your perfect pocket-sized companions for whenever you might need a little extra help with allergies, concentration, productivity, relaxation, energy, headaches, stress… the list goes on! Try a new (or a few) aromatherapy inhalers of your choice with 15% off your next order using promo code: sniffandsmile Feel free to get in touch with any questions you may have about these handy tools or special orders. Wishing you an abundance of health and happiness, Rachel

Our skin requires different care and attention throughout the seasons. It does such a good job protecting us day in and day out that we can thank it by simply treating it with all-natural skincare ingredients and paying attention to what it needs throughout the year. In the cooler months, we are either indoors hovered around our fireplaces, blasting our heaters, or spending time outside in the cold air. With low humidity, the dry indoor heat or brisk winter air zaps our skin’s natural oils, leaving us with dry or dull skin. Here are some helpful tips to revive and rejuvenate dry, cracked, or dull winter skin! Moisturize More! We can rejuvenate dry, cracked, or dull skin by adding in more all natural body and face moisturizers throughout the day. Moisturize Right Before Bed Applying moisturizer is especially helpful to use at night right before bed. While we sleep, our cells are busy at work. By using a face antioxidant serum, organic face cream, hand, foot and body lotion or oil before bed (or all of them!) our body can slowly absorb them into our skin to hydrate all throughout the night without having to worry about protecting us against the outdoor elements and pollutants. Cleanse Less and Use Cool or Warmer Water in the Winter Months To keep the moisture our skin naturally produces healthy and happy, it also helps to cleanse less in the winter months. If you usually wash your face twice a day, try only washing with a gentle cleanser once at night before bed. After cleansing, swap your morning routine with just cool or warm water, a face cream, and/or all natural sunblock. If you usually wash your face once a day, try skipping a day by washing with just cool water and amp up your moisturizing. Though, do remove all makeup before bed. In short, moisturize moisturize moisturize! Keep that beautiful glow all year round with your all natural skincare routine, eat high-antioxidant foods, drink plenty of water or tea, consume foods with high omega-3 fatty acids, and apply natural face serums, antioxidant creams, and hand and body lotions in the morning and at night, and as often as you like to revive dry winter skin. Feel free to email me with any questions or guidance about your particular skin type! Wishing you a very happy and healthy winter, Rachel

Redfin recently reached out for pro tips for creating just the right mood for each room in your home using the power of scent!* 15 Tips from the Pros to influence the mood of any room Smell can play a huge role in influencing our mood. Just as certain paint colors can impact the way you perceive a room, fragrances can instantly elevate and set the room's tone. While many of us turn to candles, diffusers, and scent machines to waft aromas throughout our living spaces, there are some scents that are best suited for different parts of the home. To help kick off your home fragrance journey, Redfin reached out to experts from Denver, CO, all the way to Regina, SK, to get their recommendations and best tips on how to make your house smell amazing. Here are the best scents to use in different spaces throughout your home: Make every room in your house smell and feel amazing. The best scents for the living room: neutral with hints of freshness and warmth 1) Comfy and cozy or fresh and clean. Your home aroma options are endless with essential oils. Diffusing ultra comforting and stress relieving essential oils like Geranium, Frankincense, or Clary Sage will create a cozy and relaxing environment for your living room. Or try a fresh and clean combo of purifying and invigorating essential oils like Ravintsara, Peppermint, Lemon, or Grapefruit to a diffuser in your entryway to elevate the mood and welcome your guests! Using essential oils not only make the air smell fresher, they actually help reduce airborne microbes! Take a deep breath of these therapeutic aromas, sit back, and enjoy! - By Topsy Blends, Rachel London, Certified Aromatherapist 2) Destress with relaxing coniferous essential oils. Forest bathing is the Japanese practice of relieving stress by spending time immersed in the sounds and scents of nature. If you’re not able to escape the urban jungle for a trip to the forest, bring the relaxing scents of the outdoors in by diffusing coniferous essential oils such as juniper, pine, spruce, fir, and cypress in your home. Breathe deeply and imagine yourself bathed in the fresh forest air. -Shannon Bachorick 3) Soft lavender, woodsy sandalwood, or warm vanilla. Want to turn your home into a zen, aromatic haven but have kids running the roost? Open a tub of Aroma Dough for your little ones infusing your home with rich, relaxing natural aromas of soft lavender, woodsy sandalwood, or warm vanilla. As the kids squeeze the playdough – the natural essential oils are infused into the air, bringing your home the zen you "knead". -Aroma Dough 4) Incorporate versatile and refreshing lemongrass scents. Feeling anxious or on-edge? The scent of lemongrass can help calm your nerves, release tension, and reduce anxiety. Lemongrass candles have a light, refreshing fragrance similar to fresh lemons or limes and blends well with other soothing scents like chamomile, lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus. -National Candle Association 5) Bring the outdoors in by using scents that remind you of your favorite outdoor places. Scent is directly connected to memory and emotion, so bring back the memories of salty waves and sandy toes with scents like Ocean Driftwood and Sunny Daze. -Connect’d Candles The best scents for the kitchen: bright citruses & cozy spices 6) For sanguine and choleric types - a blend of sage, chamomile, or ylang-ylang would help relax, while melancholic and phlegmatic individuals would use rosemary, coffee, ginger, and eucalyptus. Aside from helping with your temperament, scents tend to evoke subconscious memories that we are seldom aware of. The cinnamon blend will most likely bring up childhood memories, while the Christmas tree and birch will most likely set your mood for holidays. When it comes to picking the best scents for your home that can perfectly fit one's desired objectives and individual preferences, you have to keep in mind that general rules are more for guidance than for strict following. Exploring oneself through scents may help establish a unique relationship with them that lasts a lifetime and fill in any temperaments' shadows or even downfalls of life's roller coasters. -Hazelwood Soap Co. 7) Scent, emotion, and memory are deeply and intricately intertwined, which is why the rich scent of ginger and cloves brings back precious moments of coziness. It's a reminder of the start of a new chapter while watching the moody weather outside bundled up with loved ones indoors. And since so many autumn memories are created in the kitchen, what better place to ignite a pumpkin spice latte candle? - Kobi Co. 8) Lemon essential oil is one of the most versatile oils in your kitchen. Not only does it have antibacterial properties, but its fresh fragrance can freshen up any room. Lemon oil also has many uses for cleaning, such as removing dirt and grime from kitchens or multipurpose sprays that are great at getting rid of grease on a stovetop. -Vinevida The best scents for a bedroom: woody and relaxing florals 9) Unwind with woody and musky scents. Create a calm, safe, and sensual bedroom atmosphere with earthy tones like Sandalwood, Ozone, or Amber. These woodsy, sometimes musky, fragrances are calming and comforting and inspire positivity to help you feel better instead of just making you drowsy. We recommend our Black Sea or Tobacco & Bay Leaf candles. -Mountain City Candles 10) My most recommended scents are lavender and jasmine. When you choose a scent to use in your bedroom, whether you use candles, mist, or diffusers, you want to ensure that these fragrances help you rest and relax to have a better quality sleep. - House Fragrance 11) Soft amber or black currant. Introducing the warm hues of amber or the floral and woody notes of black currant into a space offers a surprisingly soft bouquet perfect for evoking a tranquil mood. These notes, especially when blended, bring a harmonious aura to the room embodying peace and repose. -Blue Jar Candle 12) Calming, neutral, and earthy scents are essential for grounding yourself in your space. Bamboo, Coconut, and Pacific Woods are great options for turning your bedroom into your personal retreat and are gentle enough that everyone can enjoy them. -Unhinged Craft Candles 13) Incorporate dry diffusing essential oils in eucalyptus, cedar, or lavender for a relaxing oasis. Dry diffusing is one of the sweetest, safest, and simplest ways to enjoy the aroma of essential oils. The scent releases naturally: no heat, no power source, or special equipment required. A folded handkerchief with 6-drops of Eucalyptus oil tucked in your pocket makes a pleasant reminder to breathe deeper. Sweeten the bathroom with cedar, soften the mood with lavender under the pillow, or frost and freshen your shoes with a drop of cooling peppermint. Virtually any absorbent medium such as fabric or paper will do but beware that oils can stain. -Circle Green 14) Try a blend of lavender and white tea. Hard day? Grab your favorite book, light your bedroom candle, get cozy in your favorite soft plush blanket, and enjoy the relaxing "Serenity" aroma. It’s the perfect blend of lavender and white tea, ideal for creating a serene environment. -Petals & Wicks 15) To set the perfect mood for your bedroom, think of fragrances in 3 categories: relaxing, romantic, or refreshing. For romance, try jasmine, amber, or sandalwood. For relaxation, try bergamot, lavender, or chamomile. For refreshing, try eucalyptus, mint, or vetiver. The best scents for the bedroom are going to be different from the scents you'd use in the kitchen or other shared spaces in your home, so it's important to consider the mood you're trying to set in each space. -Candelaria Candles *Originally published by Redfin

Essential Oils for cooling you and your space on hot summer days We are in the thick of summer and some of us are really feeling the heat- especially those of us without A/C in our houses! 3 tips to cool down you and your space down on hot summer days. Tip #1: Diffuse with Cooling Essential Oils! Cool down your home by diffusing essential oils with cooling therapeutic properties. Try diffusing any of the following essential oils to refresh, uplift, and add some cooling comfort to your space: 🌿Geranium 🌿Lemongrass 🌿Eucalyptus 🌿Peppermint 🌿Lavender This is so wonderful to give yourself a nice, calming cool after a long day and is particularly helpful to cool down right before you go to bed, or just as refreshing when you wake up. Not to mention, diffusing these essential oils will help purify your space! Add 15-20 drops of straight essential oil to your diffuser (or per your diffuser's instructions) and feel the cooool. Tip #2 • Throw in the Towel If your room is extra hot, try soaking a hand towel in water and add a few drops of soothing lavender, then place it in the freezer. When you are ready for bed, take it out and press it against your chest, face, and neck as you lay down. Be sure to take deep inhalations of the relaxing lavender essential oil. Though you might think the icy towel would wake you up, this actually helps lower your body’s temperature and will calm your mind with the soothing scent, and will prepare your body for a good night’s rest. Tip #3 • Aromatherapy Sprays If you want the super simple solution for a full body cool down, try spritzing your Sunrise Mint or Lavender Rose Water aromatherapy sprays on the back of your neck, back of the knees, and on the face! I love doing this before I head out the door and after I come home from a long day of markets. Whichever method you decide to use, stay cool out there. :) Your neighborhood aromatherapist, Rachel ♥

Build your own Natural First Aid Kit with these Outdoor Essentials Spending time in the great outdoors sometimes comes with just a few downfalls- bug bites, scrapes, sunburns, poison oak... Here are some easy D.I.Y. all natural travel-friendly blends to add to your camping checklist to help keep your adventures nothing but sunshine and smiles. :) Yay for sunny adventures! Band-Aid In a Bottle! The Band-Aid in a Bottle can help: • Calm inflammation • Ease pain • Restore damaged skin • Heal small wounds • Relieve itching of a Bug Bite • Reduce itching and spread of Poison Oak • Soothe stress • Reduce germs & Support the Immune System! All while being gentle enough for injured skin! In a 2oz Squeeze Bottle: 1) Add 0.25oz Witch Hazel 2) Fill the rest almost to the top with Aloe Vera Liquid 3) Add Essential Oils: 4 drops Frankincense 10 drops Lavender 10 drops Cedarwood 4 drops Tea Tree 4) Add Cap, Shake well, clean wound, and gently apply as necessary. *Make fresh every couple of weeks as this blend does not contain a preservative. Cool the Burn with This Sunburn Soother! This Sunburn Soother will also help repel bugs, soothe pain and inflammation, soothe headaches, and relieve itchiness! In a 2oz spray bottle: 1) Fill bottle almost to the top with Aloe Vera Liquid 2) Add Essential Oils: 16 drops Lavender 8 drops Peppermint 3) Apply cap, shake well, and spray for a cool down, to soothe sunburns, and to hydrate sun-drenched skin! Apply as often as needed. Store in the fridge or cooler for extra cooling benefits. *Make sure to shake thoroughly before use to combine essential oils and aloe. *Make fresh every couple of weeks as this blend does not contain a preservative. The best essential oils for any outdoor adventure: Lavender: antibacterial, repels mosquitos, soothes bites & sunburns, and great for getting to sleep. Lemon: antibacterial, pain-relieving, astringent, & cooling- also helps remove the stickiness of tree sap! Peppermint: antibacterial, pain-relieving, repels mosquitos, soothes bug bites, & helps cool you down. Tea Tree: antibacterial, anti-fungal, soothes bug bites, repels mosquitos, can be mixed with Aloe to reduce redness and swelling of Poison Oak. If you need any of these supplies to make your Natural First Aid Kit, The Topsy Blends Apothecary has everything you need! Not to mention Natural Bug Spray, SPF antioxidant cream, and SPF rich Red Raspberry Seed Oil! Happy sunny adventures ahead! Your Neighborhood Aromatherapist, Rachel London

Being a well-rounded healthy human comes with the fragility of balance. To find our healthy mind/body balance more easily, we need to make self-care a habit instead of an afterthought. If we aren’t used to nurturing ourselves, self-care can seem like work. If it isn’t already part of our daily routine, it takes conscious, diligent effort to create and stick to healthy habits to maintain homeostasis of both mind and body. Throughout the day we have to take care of our needs, along with our family’s needs, our work’s needs, and if you are an empath, you may even take on your community’s needs, the world’s needs… No wonder we are stressed out so easily! We humans are creatures of habit after all! Once habits are part of our daily life, they are not a chore, they are not something we resist doing, they just become naturally part of our life. We will likely start to enjoy our new self-care habits and once we find a rhythm and routine with it, it’s hard to go about our day without them. This is the goal for self-care. Make it part of who we are. Part of our daily rituals. The more we take good care of ourselves, the easier it is to care for others without it feeling like a chore. What is self care? Any activity that makes your life better is considered self-care. This can be as simple as doing laundry, washing and moisturizing our face, meditating, reading, watering our houseplants, doing a puzzle… this is self-care. It does not have to be a full-blown spa day with massages or an hour long bath, though those are oh-so-lovely. In fact, small acts of self-care actually make more of an impact to reducing daily stresses. The Peace of a Daily Routine Once we create more self-care related habits, we fall into a routine. Routines, just as the sun rises and sets, are natural. Once we have our healthy routines, we may find it easier and easier to fall asleep at night, wake up and work out, take care of our skin, eat healthily… Once in place, healthy habits will start to transpire into all aspects of our life. No matter where you are at in your journey, take a few minutes to add one new self-care act into your daily life. Set your mind on it! If you are extra busy, it might be helpful to even set a reminder on your phone to make sure it comes up on your to-do list. Try this Simple One Minute Ritual Take a deep breathe in through your nose, filling your belly — and out through your mouth. Do this 3 times, just focusing on your breathe. Breath is the most valuable resource we have to navigate through stress. It’s always in our control, and by focusing solely on how deep our inhales and exhales are, stress can melt away. You will come out of that minute feeling better than you went in, I promise! Add Easy Aromatherapy And since you know how much I love aromatherapy, I have to add that using the Zen Blend inhaler as a meditation, self-care, breathing, stress-relieving, and balancing tool is one of the easiest and handiest pocket-sized blessings to have around when you need a moment for just you. “One conscious breath in and out is a meditation.” - Eckhart Toll Use the inhaler as a reminder to take deep, nourishing breaths and set your self-care intentions. Soon enough with mindfulness, these good intentions will naturally become happy habits and you will move through life with more ease and enjoyment. Next time you get flustered or feel stuck, remember to just breathe. Keep giving yourself these gentle reminders and overtime, you'll find you need to remind yourself less and less because you have created your happy habits and are living a life well balanced. ♥ Sending you all the best wishes today and always, Your neighborhood aromatherapist, Rachel

If you wear makeup, this recipe is a must-try! It's effective, natural, and it could not be easier to make. It always leaves my face feeling so soft afterward. Best of all, you will just need 3 ingredients! 3 Ingredients for Natural Makeup Remover Organic, Golden Jojoba oil is one of the best oils you can use on your face. It's good for all skin types- acne-prone, oily, dry, or combo. Next up is Witch Hazel, which is a natural astringent. It's deeply cleansing and refreshing. It also works great as a toner to use between washing your face and before applying moisturizer. The two of these ingredients together make the best makeup remover. It's especially beneficial for those with sensitive skin! If you are looking for either of these two ingredients, I offer organic Golden Jojoba Oil & Organic Witch Hazel! If you have a chance to make this all natural makeup remover, I hope you love it as much as I do! Enjoy!

Essential oils to support your family’s health Health and wellness- what a hot topic right now. I’m here to share easy-to-implement ways to support you and your family’s health using essential oils. NATURE'S MEDICINE Essential oils, herbs, and healthy foods all offer incredible all-natural immune support. I recommend utilizing all of nature’s medicines for full-body health, but today we will focus on the power of essential oils. Essential oils are extremely potent plant allies that can be used throughout the household in an assortment of ways to help boost immunity. Not to mention they help relieve stress and help calm the mind and body in the process. I don’t know about you, but my household has needed extra, extra help with stress relief these days! It’s a wild world out there. Essential oils are heavily concentrated plant matter made up of dozens of natural chemical constituents. Some plants carry specific chemical compounds that can help support the immune system in different ways. Essential oils for your immune system When life give you lemons. Lemons have many valuable compounds, but 2 of the most important ones are called "y-terpinene" and "d-Limonene". The y-terpinene is an antioxidant and the d-Limonene helps activate white blood cells and can help us fight off infections. It's also an antibacterial oil! So having these compounds that are antioxidants, antibacterial, antimicrobial, etc. in their super-concentrated form of Lemon Essential Oil can help support our immune system.(1) Clove Bud. Clove can also help stimulate the immune system based on its high percentage of "eugenol" which has an effect on interleukins that regulate cell growth and are particularly important in stimulating immune responses. This one compound has been known to be antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Pretty powerful stuff and especially helpful as anti-infectious agents! (2) Those are just 2 examples of a long list of oils that support the immune system. All plants carry different compounds or different percentages of them. Only some oils have immune-boosting properties. Some of my favorites to use are Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Clove Bud, Orange, Sandalwood, and Vetiver. Use essential oils to support your family’s health • Diffusing- So easy! Just add essential oils to your diffuser to purify the air you breathe. (Each diffuser has it’s own recommendations as to how many drops to use while diffusing). Not only does this purify the air, but it also supports our respiratory health. Need a diffuser? Check out some beautiful diffusers HERE. • Inhalation- Also super easy! You can simply inhale directly out of the bottle, or use an aromatherapy inhaler. Whenever we smell something, the molecules travel throughout our body through our blood. This is an excellent way to also support respiratory health, preventing and aiding illness, and for mood-boosting or calming the mind and body (depends on the oil!). • Topically- Essential oils can be used topically. Whatever we apply to our skin makes its way to our bloodstream, so be extra cautious about what you are putting on your precious skin as it is our biggest organ that protects us! But we can use this to our advantage because we can apply diluted oils to our skin to support our immune system and smell great while doing it! Sandalwood, Vetiver, and Lavender are excellent skin-nourishing essential oils that also support the immune system. Add up to 12 drops of oil to every ounce of a carrier (water, oil, lotion) to apply to the skin for daily use. (Recommended for adults. For children add up to 6 drops per ounce of carrier oil.) • Clean with them! A fantastic way to boost immunity is to rid your home of germs and nastiness while also using essential oils that are antimicrobial AND immune boosting! Just about all citrus oils carry the d-Limonene molecule which has antimicrobial benefits. By using these to clean, we are naturally removing bacteria and microbes that could potentially enter our internal system that then may cause issues to our health. Using citrus oils like Lemon and Sweet Orange to clean not only disinfects your home, but it’s safe for the environment, boosts your mood, and of course, supports your immune system. *More to come on this topic soon! Stay tuned! So there you have it! Easy peasy Lemon Squeezy! (Had to say it.) You can find all of these organic, therapeutic essential oils HERE, and find immune-boosting products HERE! Questions? Comments? Please let me know! Feel free to email me at topsyblends@gmail.com for more information. Stay healthy out there! Sending healthy and happy wishes from afar, Rachel London Certified Aromatherapist www.topsyblends.com Resources: (1) Lang, G. and Buchbauer, G. (2012) A review on recent research results (2008-2010) on essential oils as antimicrobials and antifungals. A review.Flavour and Fragrance Journal27, 13-39. (2) Fu, Y.-J., Zu, Y.-G., Chen, L.-Y., Shi, X.-G., Wang, Z., Sun, S. and Efferth, T. (2007) Antimicrobial activity of clove and rosemary essential oils alone and in combination.Phytotherapy Research21, 989-994.