Soothing Scents

Summer Garden Cologne

Ingredients:

* 4 tbsp fresh or 2 tbsp dried rose petals
* 1 tsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried citrus peel (orange, lemon, lime)
* 1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dried basil
* 1 tsp or 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
* 1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dried mint
* 1/4 cup of vodka
* 1/8 tsp glycerine or castor oil or orrisroot powder*

Mix together all ingredients in a glass or ceramic container and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Place in a cool, dark place and let sit for one week before using.

The best way to apply scents is by spraying them onto the skin, but you can also use your fingers to dab them on�� especially at the pulse points (on the wrists, behind the knees, inside the elbows).

Yield: 2 ounces

Used by arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, LLC
From: Natural Beauty at Home
By: Janice Cox
Copyright: 1995 by Janice Cox

* Look for these ingredients at your local drugstore or health-food store.”

Soothing Scents

Perfume has been used around the world for thousands of years�� Cleopatra used fragrances to attract and influence many leaders, while Napoleon, despite his small frame, used over 60 bottles of perfume a month. Whether it is perfume, aromatic oil, or cologne, fragrances continue to be just as popular today. Last year, 120 new fragrances were launched in the U.S. alone.

Kline & Company�s Carrie Bonner, a senior consultant at a firm that has been in the cosmetics and toiletries industry for 40 years, sees a new trend in the perfume business. She says that women wear perfume everyday instead of saving it for special occasions the way they used to half a century ago. Bonner also says that women are now wearing scents more for themselves than others and that lighter fragrances are more in vogue than ever. Perhaps indulging in a fragrance makes women feel sexier and more powerful. Maybe a scent calms and relaxes women throughout the day.

To the latter point, perfume does more than make us smell pretty. Aside from helping to define your individuality and boosting self-esteem, perfume has many therapeutic benef”