Monday, October 27, 2014

Aromatic Nostagia




Aromatic Nostalgia
By Christi R. Pugh

Maybe you reminisce about favorite concerts, football games, & extra-special events in your life.  Who doesn’t love a little nostalgia?

At Nature’s Gift we tend to reminisce about legendary & spectacular oils from years past---call it, “aromatic nostalgia.” Being natural products, each essential oil crop slightly varies from year to year, & we’ve learned to treasure the truly most special oils that have come our way.

In my (unscientific) mind, I tend to think of essential oil batches like snowflakes…no two are (exactly) alike. 

One of the oils we all wish we had stocked up on was our amazing Sweet Patchouli from a few years   We talk about it longingly with a tinge of melancholy.  What was it about that particular batch of Patchouli?  The soil, the amount of rain or sun that season…who knows?
ago.

Last weekend I found a bottle of the 10% diluted Sweet Patchouli hidden away in a drawer in my house & the happy dance ensued!  It seemed pretty close to empty, but I turned it upside down & waited & waited & waited, till Thursday evening.  The hardened resin made it tough to budge the top open but I finally succeeded & suddenly the room was flooded with a deep, dark, rich, gorgeous aroma---Sweet Patchouli from India.  I covered myself in it before going to sleep & felt like royalty! (I had been concerned the carrier oil might be getting too old, but it was still good.) 

Around here, other oils we recall fondly include the sparkling 2005 USA Pink Grapefruit crop (we bought every drop this producer distilled), a 2007 Rosewood I never thought would be beaten till the Rosewood we sourced this year (sustainably harvested) from Brazil, & of course the true Santal album, Sandalwood Mysore circa about 12 years ago.  (Raise your hand if you are still aging vintage Sandalwood from Nature’s Gift!)  Ah and how could I neglect to mention High Altitude Lavender from Provence, pretty much any crop.  

Most oils won’t last forever.  There will come a day when they no longer shine or the bottle is empty but you can’t bring yourself to recycle it or toss it away.  Perhaps a few times a year you’ll even unscrew the lid & deeply inhale, secretly smiling.  I know I will.

Do you remember any particularly special oil you’ve experienced from Nature’s Gift?


2 comments:

Diane C said...

I have some of that Patchouli oil, I think. I started to collect EOs around 2008 and that was one of the first I got, not crazy about it but wanted to see whether it would improve with age. It has, and it frequently sends me off to sleepland with a drop or two on the aromastone.
Another sleep buddy is the Mystery Rose - it was such a reasonable price - and a full ounce - so that is a frequent go-to for a variety of purposes.
It's hard to find a favorite since quality is consistently super. Keep it up!

Marge said...

Why bless your dear heart, Diane. Thank you. that "Mystery Rose" was just amazing. Glad you are enjoying it.