Episode 250: Here Come BOGOs

doTERRA: Welcome to a special episode of Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA. Right now is one of the most exciting times we have at doTERRA. It's BOGO time! To help you get excited for this amazing week, let's look at some of the oils featured in our BOGOs. We'll talk about some of the fantastic history of the plants and will ask some of our amazing Wellness Advocates, Renata Rivera, Ashley Gernand, Spring Esteppe, and PJ Hanks, about how they love to use the oils. If you're interested in any of the products we talk about today, make sure to click on the link in the episode description.

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Today, we're going to talk about some internal historical uses for some of these plants. But we want to remind you that not all of these oils and blends are for internal use and should only be used aromatic or topically. Any internal benefits discussed for the individual oils in the blend are not applicable to aromatic or topical use. Also, various plant parts such as the leaves bark, flower, stem fruit, peel, bud, resin, etcetera were often used for many different practices and benefits. These historical uses are mentioned here to offer insight as we explore the history of oils and plants. As such, these ancient uses are solely for informational purposes and are not being advocated or recommended by doTERRA. Proceed at your own risk with such uses.

It’s hard to describe the scent of neroli until you have the opportunity to experience it for yourself. It’s fresh and floral with hints of citrus and honey and can completely envelope you as you breathe it in. It’s a scent that can be traced back for centuries, Neroli has found popularity in ancient and modern cultures around the globe.

Neroli oil comes from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree but it’s not the only gift the tree gives us. Distilling the leaves and twigs of the tree is what produces Petitgrain essential oil.

Ancient Egyptian priests and priestesses used Neroli oil in their houses of worship, much like incense is used in churches today. In certain cultures, it is thought that the aroma of neroli is able to promote an air of tranquility and love. As a result, it has deep associations with romance, and perhaps the most notable example is its symbolic use in weddings. In Ancient China, neroli was also a symbol of purity, innocence, and fertility, and brides would use the blossoms in their bridal bouquets. Because of this tradition, the expression “to gather orange blossoms” would eventually come to mean “to seek a wife.”

The name “Neroli” is widely believed to have come from a small Italian city near Rome, and the 17th century royalty who lived there. Princess Anna Maria de la Tremoille of Nerola, Italy fell in love with the fragrance, which perfumed the air in spring. She loved the scent so much that she became the first person to distill the bitter orange blossoms to make Neroli Essential Oil, which she used to perfume her clothes, gloves, and baths. Because of her immense love for neroli she became known as “Princess Nerola,” introducing the scent to her homeland and kickstarting the popularity for the scent.

Renata, thank you so much for joining us today. How do you use Neroli Touch?

Renata: I love the smell of Neroli, but I also love using a Neroli as perfume. I actually carry a four mL roll on in my purse and any time I need a touch up, I need a new fresh smell, I use Neroli to just give me a little touch up of smell throughout the day and I love it.

doTERRA: One of the powerful ingredients inside the MetaPWR Advantage is NMN. NMN stands for Nicotinamide mono nucleotide, what a mouthful. Even though it’s a little difficult to say, NMN is an essential building block in the production of another mouthful, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or NAD+. So, what does all of this mean, why is it important for your body? Well, NAD+ is what’s called a coenzyme or a compound that is necessary for the functioning of an enzyme, and it’s found in every cell of the body. NAD+ does a lot of different stuff for your body but the most important areas it impacts are your metabolic processes and mitochondrial function.

Simply said, NAD+ converts your food into energy and offers protection to the energy factories of your cells. This means that if you don’t have enough NAD+ your cells can’t generate the energy to survive and carry out their functions.

By the time people turn 50, NAD+ levels are usually half of what they were at age 20. This decrease can contribute to various health challenges, like difficulty managing weight and lower energy levels.

But by supplementing with the naturally derived NMN found in MetaPWR Advantage, you can support your body’s ability to produce NAD+, optimizing metabolic health and adding health to your lifespan. And who doesn’t want that?

Ashley, thank you for being here, how has MetaPWR Advantage affected your life?

Ashley: I am 43 years old and the very first thing that I noticed once I started taking it on a daily and regular basis was the way that I woke up just kind of ready to go. Before, I didn't really realize how sore I was in the morning, how long it took me to kind of just get up and feel like I was at my best. I felt like I had to stretch and just was just didn't feel right in my body. And once I was on MetaPWR Advantage, I literally was shocked because I could just wake up and be like I was when I was 30 again, just hop out of bed, get ready to go without feeling like I had to like, warm up to the day at all. This is the product I'm sticking with and it's been a joy to share about how it has helped me so much.

doTERRA: There are amazing floral oils in our Beautiful Touch blend and one is the incredible osmanthus. Historical records show that osmanthus has been cultivated in China for more than 2,500 years where it has beautiful symbolism and meaning. The blossoming of the sweet osmanthus is closely associated with the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. And osmanthus wine is a traditional choice for the "reunion wine" shared with one's family.

Chinese mythology held that a sweet osmanthus grows on the moon and was endlessly cut by Wu Gang: some versions held that he was forced to cut it every 1,000 years lest its luxuriant growth overshadow the moon itself, others that he was obliged to cut it constantly only to see it regrow an equal amount every day.

To this day osmanthus symbolizes true love, faithfulness, fertility, and peace, which is why it’s often used in wedding bouquets and floral design. In Chinese culture, the flowers are used in weddings or given as a gift from a bride to her new family, representing peace. And in the language of flowers, osmanthus flowers carry the meaning of good fortune, prosperity, and nobility.

Spring, thanks for sitting down with us today. What is your favorite thing about the Beautiful Touch blend?

Spring: When I first smelled it a few years ago, I was kind of like, "Hm, I don't know if I'm going to love that," but I put it on my skin and it was a moment of just like, "Oh my gosh, I love the scent of this."

As I've been on this journey over the past 11 years of really working to eliminate all of the toxic stuff like scents and personal care products and cleaning products from my home, one of the things that has been just kind of like always a challenge is how do you make yourself smell good? And the Beautiful blend has really been that for me.

I love it because it smells so good. And again, I'm a blend person. I love those oil toolboxes, those little blends or those oil toolboxes, and it has Lime, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Osmanthus, Frankincense, and then Bergamot in it. And those oils are all really powerful, but they're also really grounding and smell delicious when combined.

And the beautiful blend has just been a go-to for me. I keep it in my purse, I keep it in my bathroom, I roll it on all of my pulse points, like my wrist behind my ears on the sides of my neck. And I use it as a daily, like pure-fume (like perfume). But it's a great option for those of you who are looking to, like swap out some synthetic scents and perfumes and really go the route of more natural, but also really supportive.

And the Beautiful blend, it smells so nice. It just kind of pulls you out of a slump. It's a little invigorating, but also grounding at the same time. So that Beautiful blend has really become like my perfume partner. I always wear it. I've got it not just in the roller bottle, but the body oil that we have with doTERRA, the Beautiful body mist. I spray that on, especially in the summertime when I seem to be outside a lot more. I use that Beautiful body mist to help my skin from looking dry and also really soothing to the skin. And it's great for if you've spent too much time in the sun, so grab you some Beautiful. It really is truly a Beautiful blend.

doTERRA: The peppermint in our Island Mint blend brings an incredible freshness to the scent. Did you know that some of the earliest mentions of peppermint appear in Greek mythology, by Roman philosophers, the Christian Bible, and by Monks in the Middle Ages? There are even Ancient Egyptian texts dating as early as 1550 BC that include peppermint.

Pliny, a Roman scientist and historian, recorded that the Greeks and Romans used peppermint to flavor sauces and wines. Sprays of peppermint also adorned their tables.

Peppermint is said to get its name from Minthe a nymph who appears in Greek mythology, but it’s also mentioned in another myth about the importance of hospitality and a beautifully scented home. The story says that two people visited a strange village and were greeted with rudeness. No one in the village offered food, drink, or a place to stay. Finally, they came across two elderly people who invited the strangers in for a meal. Before the meal, they wiped down their table with mint. The two strangers revealed themselves to be Zeus, king of all the gods, and his son, Hermes. As a reward for the kindness shown they turned the couple’s home into a temple and made mint a symbol of hospitality.

In the Victorian language of plants, mint symbolized virtue. From the mid-1600’s to the mid-1800’s, the position of Herb Strewer was an official royal job. Herb strewers literally tossed handfuls of fragrant herbs, including mint, around the British royal chambers and during public ceremonies, to cut down on unpleasant smells.

In addition to virtue and hospitality peppermint has also been known to symbolize protection, and personal strength. People also say that if you dream of mint, it can be a sign of pleasant surprises headed your way.

But peppermint has been used for way more than just symbolism. It appears in many traditional wellness practices including those of the Chinese, Greek, and medieval European people. It is even mentioned in thirteenth century Icelandic writings.

PJ, thank you so much for being with us. How do you like to use Island Mint?

PJ: My favorite way to use Island Mint Essential oil blend is to diffuse it. It includes the oils of distilled Lemon, Lime and Peppermint and Spruce. The aroma of this combination of oils helps me. It's like a zesty pick me up. I also like to put about five to ten drops in a one-ounce spray bottle with some water, shake it up, and spray it around my home or office to give me that aroma of freshness.

doTERRA: Renata, how about you? How do you like to use Island Mint?

Renata: Island Mint is actually one of my husband's favorite essential oils. Every time I come home and my husband has been home for a while, my house smells like Island Mint because that's what he uses in the diffuser every single time. But more than that, he works as, he's a police officer. So when he's at work, he loves using Island Mint to just give him that pick me up. Because it's not easy doing what he does, but it also it's great to open their airways. So we love Island Mint at home.

doTERRA: One of the precious oils inside the Immortelle blend is Myrrh. Myrrh has been treasured for thousands of years with mentions in the Bible and appearances in ancient Egyptian relief paintings. Having been a prized, invaluable trade commodity along the ancient spice routes, Myrrh was so esteemed that there were legends about where it came from. There is a Syrian and Greek legend about how the tree received its name. It tells of the Syrian king Thesis who had a daughter named Myrrha. Who in fleeing her father’s fury plead to the gods for protection. They transformed her into a Myrrh tree and the legend says that the tree’s resin is actually Myrrha’s tears.

Myrrh was used in many, many ways throughout history. It was mentioned as a rare perfume in the Hebrew Bible, used in traditional Chinese wellness practices, especially with women, as well as Ayurvedic practices. In ancient Egypt myrrh was used in self-care practices as well as in their embalming practices.

According to Alain Touwaide, a US historian of traditional wellness practices and sciences, myrrh appears with more frequency than any other plant substance in the writings of Hippocrates, who revolutionized his field in the fourth and third centuries B.C.

Spring, how do you like to work Immortelle into your daily routine?

Spring: Immortelle is one of those blends that I'm slightly obsessed with and have been for many, many years. When I was asked like, "How do you incorporate Immortelle into your daily life, your daily routine, all the things?" Well, it's more than that for me. So it's labeled the anti-aging blend. I love blends because they're really like an oil toolbox. They have multiple essential oils in them combine to make a beautiful blend, but blends really kind of like take a backseat for a lot of people because they maybe feel overwhelming or if they're labeled like Immortelle, the anti-aging blend, they think, "Oh, well, it's only for aging issues of the skin." But that's not really true. My background is in nursing and I kind of dissect things when it comes to the blends, and I look at what's in Immortelle and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, all of these really powerful oils like Frankincense and Lavender and Myrrh and Sandalwood and Rose and Helichrysum and so many things that are really powerful." They do so many different things in the body.

So I keep this blend on me in my purse. I do not go anywhere without it because it's so good for supporting many different things, not just anti-aging. It's great for anything skin related. So from bumps and blemishes to whatever, but also when it comes to like summertime and anything that's on the skin, you want to grab your Immortelle, that frankincense that's in there goes to work to kind of soothe anything that you're like, "Oh, what oils should I grab? Because I don't really know what to use." Immortelle is a go-to.

And let me tell you a little like pro tip. I take the bottle of Immortelle and I split that roller bottle into two or three other roller bottles. So I take a whole bottle and then I take it and put it into two more roller bottles. So essentially I have like a third in each roller bottle, and I top it with Fractionated Coconut Oil. So I end up with a pre-diluted roller bottle for sensitive skin.

So Immortelle is more than just a daily go to for me. I really use it for all the things and I keep it in my purse because you never know when you're going to come up on somebody who just needs help with something. And Immortelle is that roller bottle that you can grab. So anti-aging, yes, it's good for that. But also all the other things I love Immortelle.

doTERRA: The Ylang Ylang in our Deep Blue blend provides so many benefits. The scientific name for the Ylang Ylang tree is Cananga odorata, but it’s also sometimes referred to as The Fragrant Cananga, The Perfume Tree, and The Macassar Oil Plant. Ylang ylang comes from the Tagalog word “ilang”, meaning wilderness and it may also be related to the term “ilang-ilan”, meaning rare. Ylang ylang is also sometimes translated as “flower of flowers”.

Everywhere that ylang ylang grows, the flowers are a popular decoration, whether placed into the hair, woven into wreaths, or placed in rooms to fragrance the air. The pleasing floral scent of the flower, which has been described as both delicate and powerful is highly cherished.

Ylang Ylang appears in many cultural traditions where it grows naturally. In Indonesia, ylang-ylang flowers are spread on the bed of newlywed couples. In the Philippines, its flowers are strung into a necklace and worn by women and used to adorn religious images.

In the Philippines there is a myth about the origin of the ylang ylang tree. The myth says the lovely, flowering ylang ylang tree came about when Ilang, a beautiful girl, fell in love with a boy she was not supposed to marry. Before they could come together, she was transformed into a tree and her lover cries for her: “Ilang! Ilang!”.

In Ayurvedic tradition, ylang ylang essential oil is believed to have many benefits including helping vata imbalances by encouraging self-esteem.

PJ, what is your favorite way to use the Deep Blue Stick?

PJ: Deep Blue Stick is one of my most used doTERRA products. I don't think a day goes by that I don't use it. I have this stick in my overnight bag so that I never forget to take it with me when traveling. I have one in my bathroom so that it's there to apply to my lower back after long periods of sitting or standing or stretching or a long day of workouts. I also have one by my bed so that when I wake up in the morning I can easily apply it to my knees that sometimes need assistance to get moving in the morning or at the end of the day.

doTERRA: Thank you to our Wellness Advocates for joining us today and sharing with us their tips and tricks on how to use some of the amazing products in our BOGOs.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today. And remember, if you liked what you heard today. Rate review and subscribe wherever you listen.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.