Back in the day, there was a television advertisement for audio cassettes that used that line. I don’t know if I can use the brand name so I will let you Google that if you want. The point of the ad was sometimes you can’t tell the difference between real and artificial.

As someone who has sensitivities to synthetic fragrances, I want to know that the oils I buy are true essential oils. When it comes to making products for other people I need to make sure the oils I use are pure and unadulterated. It is important to me that customers are confident in my knowledge of the ingredients I choose. It is not always easy to know if it is real or …..

I was once given a bottle of fragrance oil by someone who did not know there was a difference between fragrance and essential oil. They did it with the best intentions and I thanked them for the thought. I accepted the gift and did a little educating about the differences. This person was very apologetic and offered to take the bottle back. I felt really bad. This was someone trying to do something nice because she felt she had to “win me over”. She did not have to win me over, but I took the gift and never used it.

I read a blog post at Aromahead Institute this morning which covered this subject. It is only through reading and learning from reputable aromatherapy educators did I begin to understand. Not everyone knows what they don’t know.

Another time I had a coworker tell me she had a friend who sold rebottled essential oils that they had bought in bulk. Their target market was people who had limited funds. I am all for helping people who don’t have disposable income but want to create natural and clean living environments. Selling them an inferior untested oil is not what I want. Did my coworker know the difference? I don’t know. Did her friend understand that he could be selling a product that had been tainted with synthetic ingredients? I do not know that either.

I do know that I will only purchase oils from companies that source responsibly and ethically such as Aromatics International, Rocky Mountain Oils, or Plant Therapy. I will keep a GC/MS report for each oil that I buy. As I create products that will be sold or gifted, I will keep a record of the batch numbers for each oil used. Yes, it means more record-keeping for me, but it also means I will stand behind every product that I make.

My plan is to move Scented by Nature in the direction of personalized product design. I feel very strongly about eliminating as many synthetic and potentially toxic substances from our lives as possible. I also believe that people who have synthetic scent sensitivity should have options.

I apologize for the delay in new material. I am maneuvering around speedbumps and roadblocks. While I create a plan for the move to product development I will continue to add herbal monographs and essential oil profiles. This takes some time as I want to provide information that comes from knowledgeable sources and has been researched. The internet is a wild place where anyone can claim just about anything. I do not want to contribute to that kind of free for all. It’s important to me that I check references, follow up on statements, and do my own research.

I hope you will reach out with any questions or if you would like to begin creating your own signature scents. Ann@scentedbynature.net