Creating an Inviting Aroma in Your Home Plus the History of Laurel Leaf

doTERRA: The power of scent is well known and has been heavily researched. We've all had the experience of walking into a room and having the smell be the first thing we notice, for better or for worse. Essential oils can help you utilize that power of scent in your home and help you create a custom atmosphere that you love.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field. If you like what you hear today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you

Today, we're excited to talk to Samantha Lewis, a member of the doTERRA product marketing team, about creating an inviting aroma for your home. Samantha, thank you so much for being back with us today.

Samantha Lewis: I'm so happy to be here!

doTERRA: My first question is just kind of a broad starter question. Why is it that aroma is so important in the home? Why are we even talking about this?

Samantha: I love that question, and honestly, aroma is so connected to our memory and all of our senses. I mean, honestly, our sense of smell works way better than we might even realize. Smell is a really powerful sense that can pretty much override your other four senses if something foul or something delightful wafts your way.

How your home smells can leave a big impression. In many cases, you could even argue that the scent of your home is as important as its look. The right home aroma really allows you to express your individuality and creates a very personal stamp of ownership over the space.

I'm a firm believer in creating just the right ambience you need for whatever comes your way at home, especially with powerful essential oils.

doTERRA: I think you are absolutely right, and our smell is such an amazing sense. You know, whenever you walk in a room, that's one of the first things that hits you, and it definitely changes the way you feel about the space.

Samantha: I totally agree. I mean, like I said, if something really nasty comes your way, it's going to change your impression of the space. Or if you walk in and it's the smell of super warm, cozy, kind of sitting by the fire, it's going to change your opinion about the space completely.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now what are some of the different ways you can actually use scents in your home?

Samantha: I think there are a few ways you can cleverly use essential oils to add or honestly even remove scent in your home.

I like to start off with cleaning. I feel like this is a very basic way to change up the aroma of your home. Using clean aromas like citrus or even the new abōde™ essential oil and can help enhance your home care routine. Something as simple as a cotton ball or a paper towel with abōde and toss it in the bottom of your trash can bin before you put a new liner in. I feel like that can really make a difference. There are some really clever DIYs on our blog about how to improve your home care routine with essential oils, so I recommend you go check those out.

And then when you're trying to set the scene, whether it's for a holiday gathering or just cuddling up on the couch to watch your favorite movie, I feel like diffusers really help fill the space with whatever aroma you're looking for. What I love about diffusers is you have one appliance and can change the scent constantly. I actually love our Roam diffuser for this exact purpose. Since it can go wherever you want, my favorite thing to do right now with the colder weather is load up with the special Hygge™ cozy blend, set it on the coffee table, and cuddle up with a good book and a warm cup of homemade wassail, which I highly recommend using the new holiday baking spice blend in.

doTERRA: I think those are amazing! Like you said, the Roam diffuser is so convenient because it can just follow you around the house. You don't have to worry about filling up 10 different diffusers in every room. You can just take that with you as you go throughout the day.

Samantha: Yeah, I love it. And it's kind of cute, right?

doTERRA: Absolutely! I love it. And so, Samantha, everyone kind of has a different preference when it comes to the smells that they like. What is your advice for finding the perfect aroma for my home?

Samantha: Oh, I love helping people find the signature scent for their home. This is a weird passion of mine.

Find Your Base Scent

I think it should evolve with the seasons, honestly, but it's always good to find a base scent. I think you have to figure out what speaks to you and look at the plant categories because you have your citrus, spice, wood, floral, herbal. Hope I'm not missing any.

Factor in Your Home Decor

And then I recommend thinking about what your home decor is as well. Is it more modern, farmhouse, rustic, maybe traditional. And I feel like those plant categories almost connect with the home decor category. This really isn't like a specific science, but these can sort of pair together.

I would say scents like woods and florals would maybe lend themselves well to a traditional or rustic home. Clean scents like citruses could be more modern, even herbal can kind of go in there. And then I would say, like spices, maybe with a little bit of woods, could be like a cottage, rustic interior design vibe. So once you've identified your base aroma, I would go look for blends that have that base as a primary aromatic description or even look for blend recipes, like DIYs, on our blog or on Pinterest or wherever on the internet and build on that.

You can start with something as simple as searching doterra.com with whichever base aroma you've identified. So scroll through the products and even the recipes you'll find on the blog. When I did this myself, I searched citruses and herbs and was able to identify a few really cool blends and then pulled some oils out and was able to kind of blend and create my own signature scent.

doTERRA: I think that is such a good idea, and like you said, either on doterra.com or Pinterest, there are so many excellent resources out there for people who have tried different blends and tried different oils together, and it might spark some creativity in you and help you down the line as you figure out what you want your signature scent to be.

Samantha: Yeah, and I can't wait to see what people create! I'm super excited.

doTERRA: Me too. I think everyone is a little bit more creative than I am, so I love seeing what people come up with. So my final question for you is what are your favorite oils to use in your home?

Samantha: Well, when I went through the activity of finding my signature scent or my perfect home aroma, I realized I actually really love herbal oils when diffused. I kind of always strayed away from them, but playing around with them in my diffuser, I realized they work pretty well. I started playing with herbs and spices like Cardamom, Coriander, and even Rosemary. Right now, my go-to home aroma is a cozy, homey combination of—and this is give or take—but four drops of Coriander, two drops of Tangerine, one drop of Ginger, one drop of Douglas Fir, and then one drop of Sandalwood. I prefer the Hawaiian for this blend, and then I'll like increase or decrease that depending on the size of the diffuser.

In all honesty, sometimes I'm a bit too lazy to put these all together, though. So and I mean, who has the time sometimes? So I'll just take 10 or so drops of the Hygge blend and then add one or two drops of Harvest Spice, at least for these like colder months, along with maybe some Cardamom and let it just warm up my home. I love the ambience that it creates.

And I've actually had people compliment me. “What candle are you using?” or, you know, “What room spray are you using?” And I get to say, “Hey, guess what. These are natural essential oils, and they're just diffusing,” so super great.

doTERRA: Those combinations sound amazing, like you said, especially for these colder months when you're wanting just that warm, inviting aroma in your home. And I can't wait for everyone else to try and come up with their own signature scent and find what works best for them.

Samantha: Yeah, honestly. Like I said, I can't wait. I totally echo your excitement. So I want to challenge everyone to use #doTERRAsignaturearoma on Instagram and share your new signature home blend. And then also search that hashtag to see what others have come up with. I'll definitely keep my eye out on Instagram, and I will be posting mine soon. I challenge you to! Let's all get on this. Let's all share our new signature home aroma. I'm pumped to see what you guys are going to create.

doTERRA: I am so excited as well. Samantha, thank you so much for being here today. We love having you with us always.

Samantha: Thanks so much for having me.

doTERRA: When you think of a crown you probably think of gold and jewels—precious, expensive materials. Well, in ancient Greece athletes of the highest status could be found adorned with a crown fashioned from laurel leaves. It was a symbol of honor and victory.

And it was a symbol of the god Apollo. In ancient Greece, the plant was called daphne, named after the mythic mountain nymph.

The myth of Daphne describes how the god Apollo fell in love with Daphne who was a priestess of Gaia, or Mother Earth. When Apollo tried to seduce Daphne she pled for help to Gaia, who transported her to Crete. In Daphne's place Gaia left a laurel tree, from which Apollo fashioned wreaths to console himself. In other versions of the myth, including that of the Roman poet Ovid, it states that Daphne was transformed directly into the laurel tree.

The high regard the Greeks had for laurel carried over into Roman culture, where it was also seen as a symbol of victory. It was also associated with immortality, with ritual purification, prosperity, and with health.

In his writings, the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder stated that the laurel was not permitted for what he called "profane" uses, things like lighting it on fire at altars "for the propitiation of divinities" were strictly forbidden. He said this was because ". . . it is very evident that the laurel protests against such usage by crackling as it does in the fire, thus, in a manner, giving expression to its abhorrence of such treatment."

Laurel was also closely associated with the Roman Emperors, beginning with Augustus. At the entrance of Augustus’s house on the Palatine Hill in Rome there were two laurel trees, which flanked the entrance. The laurels had the dual purpose of advertising Augustus's victory in the civil wars as well as his close association with Apollo.

Suetonius, a Roman historian, additionally tells the story of Augustus' wife, and Rome's first Empress, Livia, who planted a sprig of laurel on the grounds of her villa at Prima Porta after an eagle dropped a hen with the sprig clutched in its beak onto her lap. The sprig grew into a full-sized tree, which fostered an entire grove of laurel trees, which were in turn added to by subsequent Emperors when they celebrated a triumph.

Even in the modern-day, laurel’s association with victory and triumph remains. And in Italy, laurel wreaths are worn as a crown by graduating school students.

In addition to its symbolism of victory the laurel was also the symbol of wisdom, both acquired wisdom and intuitive wisdom. Plus, it’s also from the laurel that we get the words baccalaureate and poet laureate, as well as the phrases “assume the laurel” and “resting on one’s laurels.”

Uses of the herb stretch back through history as well. It was found in the traditional practices of the Romans, the English, as well as many others. These traditional practitioners found use for every part of the laurel plant.

With such a long and impactful history, Laurel Leaf will be an excellent addition to your collection. Bring it home, and we know you’ll fall in love.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. Also, if you want to try any of the products you learned about, go to doterra.com or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.