UPDATE: Names have been drawn and winners have been notified. I’ll announce the names sometime on 3/15!
In December of 2015, Jeff purchased an essential oil diffuser for me and suddenly our entire house was filled with the scents of lemons and oranges and eucalyptus and lavender and peppermint and I think you’re getting the idea. Because I find that certain scents actually improve my mood, I bought a diffuser necklace last year so I can have easy access to calming oils. (I think the world would be a better place if everyone would just sit in a dark room, smell an orange, and listen to Chopin.)
A few weeks back, Jennifer from Better Essentials contacted me and I immediately liked her because she is a yoga instructor, a young mom, and someone who started her own company with the goal of selling the best oils at the best prices. She asked if I was interested in offering a discount on oils at Fluid Pudding. I asked her if we could host a giveaway instead of a discount. She was in.
A few days later, four oils arrived: Lemongrass, Orange, Lavender, and Best Friend Blend. I decided to keep the Best Friend Blend for a demonstration video and give the rest away, and I’m so glad I kept the Best Friend Blend because get this: On Tuesday morning I woke up all lousy with a cold. For grins, I put some of the Best Friend Blend in my diffuser and I rubbed some of it onto the bottom of my feet. My cold was completely gone on Wednesday and I’m not even kidding. (Meredith asked me to not share that story because it makes me sound like “one of those people.” But, listen. If I can shake even 23% of my head colds within a day? I’ll sign on to be one of those people!)
If you don’t have a diffuser and you’re not quite sure how to deal with essential oils, the easiest thing to do is make an air freshener, so that’s what I’ve demonstrated in the video below. AND, before you say it, please know that when I’m nervous my declaratives sound like interrogatives. Also, my glasses need to be adjusted so I tend to do a nose dance to straighten them out. My white balance is off. I say “Anyway” a lot. Aren’t you glad I don’t have a vlog? (Vlog.)
Here goes!
After watching that video, don’t you want to make an air freshener of your own? You do? You do! Leave a comment below and and tell me about your favorite scent. Or tell me how you use oils. Or write a poem about your nose. In a few days I’ll do a random drawing and three people will win a bottle of Better Essentials oil! (Giveaways are fun. I really should do this more often. But probably without the videos.) Meanwhile, please hit the Better Essentials ad at the top of the page and check out all of their oils! The site suggests different ways to use different oils, the prices are great, shipping is free in the US, and the idea of supporting a small business owned by an awesome yoga instructor mom jazzes me to no end. ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>
Three sinus infections in four months.
So I went to an ENT.
“Your nose is crooked and there’s a spur.”
So a CT scan is for me.
“Surgery,” he says. I can not wait!
(A little sarcasm you see.)
But if it works and my nose is fine,
No more antibiotics for me!
My daughter and I made bath bombs before Christmas using coconut oil and essential oils. I was looking on Etsy at one of those diffuser necklaces for myself. Lemongrass sounds nice and fresh.
I use them in diffusers and vaporizers – that’s about it, though! I’d love to widen my array of scents!
I use essential oil in the soaps and lip balms I make. My favorite blends are citrus/ginger, lavender/lemongrass, and tangerine/spearmint/ylang ylang. I think you did a great job vlogging! Going to make air freshener later today, thanks for the recipe.
I have never used essential oils but would love to try them out. Orange sounds lovely!!
I just got a USB diffuser for my cubicle at work, so I think I may be “one of those people” too. I have a blend that is supposed to help me be more creative, but really it just makes me hate being in my cubicle a little less.
Right now I can’t touch my toes,
Because snot runs out of my nose.
I was sick for a few days,
My head still feels in a phase,
And your bamboo diffuser is glorious!!!
(Who needs to rhyme all of the time?)
Please please vlog more- it is amazing. And I adore you more now than ever!!!!!
My favorite scent is lavender
I sniff it with my nose
Some other faves, I’d have to say
Are peony and rose
I do not care for fake banana
Neither smell nor taste
Good news – you’re not gifting those
For me, ‘twould be a waste
I’m not sure if I buy the hype
It’s just a smell, ’tis true
But even if it’s just your mood
Improves, I say, Go! Do!
I am considering getting an essential oil diffuser for my home because I have 2 dogs (one large, one medium) and three boys (all occasionally sweaty). Would you recommend yours, and is it easy to use? The friendship blend sounds amazing, and I love citrus scents, but I have to say that I would vote for one of the creative poem-writing types. They all made me smile!
I like to use these sprays to freshen up my hair. The mousture calms down the flyaways and my hair smells great!
I’ve been using oils for stress relief recently and it’s helped a lot with loosing my top. As in keeping my head calm. My shirt stays on all day regardless of stress level.
Yeah, I was about done with a poem and my app closed on me. It’s really better this way for everyone.
I’ve never tried essential oils but would love to. I find the scent of lavender to be very relaxing.
My 12 year old son gets migraines and I use a blend that includes Chamomile, Frankincense, Lavender, and Peppermint in a roller ball bottle when he gets one. I put it behind his ears, and massage it at his temples and forehead, which he loves.
I’m not sure it necessarily helps with the headache directly, but it helps relax him and calm him while meds start working.
I’d love to use more oils, but I’m definitely intimidated by them. Pricey! Confusing! Carrier oils!? I read all about their benefits, but when it comes time to buy them , I chicken out. You made yours seem easy, so I think there’s hope for me yet!
I’ve also gotten into essential oils. They help with some of my daily symptoms. Frankincense is great for meditating. I use peppermint oil for my migraines, it rub it on my temples, I also use it for nausea, just a small drop on the roof of your mouth. I use lavender to make bath salts, I add the oil (however strong that you like) into Epsom salts, shake it up and it’s ready for the tub.
The uses of oils can be intimidating, luckily I have a great guide book that came with mine. I bought the entire starter kit back in December. I can now sell it, but I don’t feel I know enough about them yet and I’m okay if I never sell the stuff. I do believe that it helps me and makes the house smell so good.
I’ve never used essential oils but, like you, I really like the smell of oranges and lemons around my house/workplace.
Lavender. Always lavender. When I first smelled the actual flowers on the actual plant I was in heaven. I have a microwavable heat pack of barley and lavender that I use on my neck and jaw every night.
I love lavender.
Maybe I should try something else… someday.
My favorite smell is wet earth, but I’ve never seen that in an essential oil. Orange is great for me to sniff in my slumpy part of the day. I dab it on my wrist and then sit for a minute with my wrist pressed up to my face. I don’t even care what I look like.
My massage therapist used to spray my pillow with lavender, but to me it smelled like Fruit Loops (yes, the cereal). So I haven’t gotten in to essential oils for fear my life would start to smell like Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles. If you can help dispel that feeling I’d be indebted to you for a very long time. Lemons and oranges would awesome.
Love oils! Depends on my mood. Lemon for brightening things up. Rose or lavender for calming things down. Peppermint for headaches. Never patchouli, though. Patchouli makes me angry. (Sorry to patchouli lovers.)
I put essential oil onto a cotton ball and stuff it into the vacuum cleaner bag so that the house smells pretty while I vacuum.
I am an avid Better Essentials oil user and I love them. For the last couple weeks I have been sick and I couldn’t kick the last little bit. This weird onus pressure would start, I would blow my nose, it wouldn’t look good (like, it was neon, TMI but I had to say it) but I would feel better for a while, then it would start again within 30-45 minutes. This morning I dabbed a little Frankensince (please don’t judge my spelling!) on my still swollen glands on my neck. Within two hours the neon snot was gone and so was the sinus pressure! No OTC medicine can give lasting results that fast and naturally! So glad I used them! Everyone should use Better Essentials!
Lemongrass sounds great. I am interested in oils but the cost and the “what if I get the wrong one”….I stand oilless…
LOVED the video!
I always have witch hazel in the house, but I have no idea if it has alcohol or not. The only essential oil I have is tea tree, but I think it works miracles.
I use peppermint oil or lavender in a sock filled with rice and heated for headaches. But that’s about the extent my essential oil use.
I really love lavender and tea tree combo oil. Smells great and was the best relief I found for bug bites when I was in Costa Rica for 3 months recently.
Lemongrass. Anything citrus. Because Spring and Summer must come soon.
Last week I decided to work in a cafe because I had writing to do for a project, and if I’m in my office, people come in and ask me to do things. I could be juggling flaming cats and someone would come in and be like, “Can you please solve this math problem for me?”
So I’m at my neighborhood family friendly cafe, lots of kids, and the women next to me having a really awful and totally incorrect conversation about Common Core, and I can tune them out but the woman on the other side of me is opening eight bottles of essential oils and dripping them on things. In her coffee. On her throat. On her ankles. On her lap. On the bridge of her nose.
In public.
It was an olfactory assault. Too many scents at once. Too much of me thinking THAT IS NOT GOING TO COME OUT OF YOUR CLOTHES. Too much WHY are you putting that IN YOUR COFFEE?
Anyway, usually I dig essential oils, and I’m hoping I win so I can replace that experience with a better one. One in which I get work done.
I have a vaporizer that I use but not often enough. Lemongrass sounds amazing!
We’ve recently become obsessed with essential oils. The cost was always intimidating, but I recently discovered Eden’s Garden. Comparable quality to Young Living oils, but much, much cheaper. I will go to the website you advertised and compare. I came up with my own awesome blend last night. It is clove, wild orange, petitgrain, cypress, and cedarwood. We have a diffuser in our bedroom, the main living area of the house, and a small one in my car.
I know nothing about essential oils. But your video and post make me want to learn! I will definitely be attempting to make my own air freshener. Thank you for the inspiration!!
I rub a few drops of essential oils on the backs of my hands before bed so I can smell them as I drift off to sleep.
I have two diffusers – one for my living room and another in my bedroom. I love my lavender but have really been enjoying grapefruit lately.
Love the idea of a diffuser necklace! Bought some essential oils last year but then got overwhelmed when trying to decide on a diffuser to purchase on amazon. Right now I just sprinkle a few drops in my showers – eucalyptus, tea tree or orange for morning showers. Lavender for bedtime. Thanks for the air freshener recipe!
The lavender is wonderful, it relaxes me at night and lets me sleep! I use it every night.
I haven’t used essential oils in a while, but would love to again. Lavender is my very favorite scent!
I love essential oils and buy them from various companies. Better Essentials does not appear to be MLM so it has my vote! That best friend blend sounds awesome.
I’ve only used an essential oil for headaches and it worked wonderfully. Who knows what else I’ll discover with, say, an orange one!
I put eucalyptus and tea tree oils (and sometimes lavender) in my shower when I’m sick (which this winter was a lot) and then I rub them on my chest and neck when I go to bed. I don’t know if they help, but they make me feel better or at least like I won’t suffocate when I go to sleep.
I’m very sensitive to artificial scents, so I buy unscented lotion and then put lavender oil in it.
Not an oil-using person myself, so please don’t enter me. But boy howdy could I ever wax poetic about my nose! None of it would be good!! Fun reading these comments though, so carry on :-)
My favorite scent in all the world is JOOP! men’s cologne; truly the most beautiful smell ever. My second favorite smell is Happy women’s perfume by Clinique, but not on me, only on others. My third favorite smell is my sweet olive tree. For oils, I think the only smell I’d be keen on is lavender. :)
I recently rediscovered navel oranges after a long, monogamous relationship with clementines. So flavorful, juicy and *fragrant*! Sometimes I hold one against my nose and sniff deeply while I read work emails. It definitely lifts my mood, the smelling of the orange.
Loved your video.
I’ve never used essential oils, but my yoga instructor fires up her diffuser at the start of our hot yoga class, and for that I am always grateful. Loved the video as well, your little nose scrunch was cute.
I’ve never tried essential oils. I do love citrus scents!
I have recently discovered the awesomeness of essential oils. My current favorites are eucalyptus, tangerine and a cool perfume blend that has rose and jasmine. I didn’t know about the witch hazel and have been making a spray with just water and a few drops of oil, but I will definitely try out your recipe!
Hmmmm, I have frequently pondered the purchase of a diffuser so if I were to acquire a bottle of essential oil I may have to just take the plunge!! ????
Great instructional video BTW!
I just became interested in essential oils recently and am new to it. I love lemon and citrusy scents!
I make a bug repellent spray that I try to always have on hand to send off with guests with kids. In my mind, much safer than the commercial products. It’s time for me to learn more uses, so I thank you for this opportunity.
My favorite scent is jasmine, but yesterday a coworker was wearing gardenia perfume and it smelled amazing, so perhaps that’s something I need to explore! Also, I loved this instructional video, I would totally watch your vlogs.
I wanna smell like Fluid Pudding so pick me!
I have a diffuser in my office at work and I love it. I’ve also used Epsom salts mixed with essential oils after that 24-hr walk I did last year. That was amazing and soothed my muscles completely.
I have used lavender spray on my pillow to help me sleep. Smells lovely.
I just recently started using a diffuser and I love it. Favorite scents are lavender and very light citrus scents. Also love peppermint, but more for lotions and shampoo.
Oh! I love peppermint for headaches! It has been a game changer, except for the fact that I smell like Altoids all the time:)
I love lavender. Mmmmmm lavender.
Lavender helped with sleep when I was pregnant. Beyond that, I am intimidated by oils but would like to be less intimidated. Thanks for the giveaway! Your raves also have convinced me to try Yoga Camp with Adriene–thank you!