Jan 18 2010
Country of Origin and Essential Oil Synergy
I find it fascinating to smell and blend with essential oils that were cultivated in the same country. Despite a wide variety of chemical components, plant families and plant parts—plants that grow in the same region have a distinct synergy with one another.
For example, oils from Nepal have very unique aromas that stand apart from all other oils I know.
- Xanthoxylum – Zanthoxylum armatum
Floral, fresh, fruity and quite exotic!
- Rhododendron – Rhododendron anthopogon
Balsamic, fresh, sweet and herbaceous.
The oils from India tend to have a softer aroma when compared to the same oil cultivated in another country.
- Lavender – Lavandula angustifolia
Sweet, floral, soft.
- Cedarwood (Indian) – Cedrus deodara
Earthy, warm, radiant, woody.
The oils from Madagascar have a medicinal aroma that explains why so many of the Madagascar oils are used for healing.
- Saro – Cinnamosma fragrans
Camphoraceous, fresh, warm.
- Helichrysum bracteiferum – Helichrysum bracteiferum
Camphoraceous, fresh, herbaceous.
To take advantage of this special synergy, I create blends using oils that were grown and distilled in the same country.
Nepalese Ease
to calm anxiety
Spikenard - 10 drops
Xanthoxylum - 5 drops
Lemongrass – 2 drops
Add to a blank inhaler and use often.
Indian Perfume
exotic and warm
Jasmine – 5 drops
Lavender – 3 drops
Sandalwood – 10 drops
Black Pepper – 1 drop
Blend into 2 oz. of jojoba oil or unscented lotion.
Madagascar Steam Blend
for tightness and congestion
Saro – 20 drops
Helichrysum bracteiferum – 10 drops
Ravintsara – 15 drops
Niaouli ct 1,8 cineole – 5 drops
Blend into a small orifice reducer bottle and then use one drop total of the blend in a bowl of steamy hot water. Close your eyes, cover your head with a towel and breathe for a few minutes.
If you are interested in exploring essential oils by their country of origin, we have a fun search tool on Aromatics International. Begin by clicking on an oil that interests you. Then click on the country of origin to view a list of oils from that county. Click on any individual oil to learn more.
Are you using Avocado oil (Laurus persea) in your aromatherapy and massage blends? If not, you’re missing out on a natural, fresh oil that has a really nice aroma. While you and your clients enjoy the scent and texture of this carrier oil, it goes to work behind the scenes restoring and rejuvenating the skin naturally.

The heavy scent of YlangYlang fills our heads during warm humid nights and early mornings. The scent is so strong and carries so far that we have neighbors a few houses down inhaling deeply whenever the tree blooms. Our little neighborhood is indeed mellow and sweet smelling these days as the tree has sprung an incredible amount of flowers for the new year!
Fragrances are experienced through the breath, and greatly impact our experience of the world. Think of how you feel when you step out the front door and take in that first breath of springtime. What happens for you when you bury your nose in a delicious gardenia? We can create deeply therapeutic and purely pleasurable experiences with aromatherapy. When we inhale, bringing in fresh oxygen, we also breathe in the molecules of fragrance. The chemical constituents of each scent have the ability to alter our spirits, influence health and immunity, create and recall memories, and shift our bodies’ chemical balance. Our inner worlds are deeply affected by what we breathe in.
What a great year! Are you tempted to reflect at the end of the year? My tendency is to work, learn, create, and then work more… and on the cycle goes.









