Aromatherapy & Retail

Pardon the pun! It takes sense to run a business…and scents are something we’re bombarded with every day. Sometimes it’s a pleasant thing, and sometimes not. Many people are sensitive to fragrances, and in the massage and spa environment, we have to be sensitive to that. Many of us have gotten so used to them, we don’t even notice, but consider this: unless you are using totally unscented products in your everyday life, by the time you’ve washed with soap, applied deodorant, used shampoo and conditioner, put on lotion, nail polish, hair spray, cosmetics…well, that’s a half-dozen smells at least on your body (competing with each other)–and that’s before you’ve even applied perfume or cologne, if you wear it. Smell is a wonderful thing. It can evoke pleasant memories. The aroma of vegetable soup bubbling on the stove reminds me of my grandmother, who has been gone for a long time. I’d spend my last dime just to taste one more bowl of her soup. I also still have the bottle of perfume that was on her dresser when she died many years ago…it’s just a dime store bottle of something called Floral Bouquet, not an expensive designer brand, but it is sweet-smelling, and occasionally I put a little spritz in the air just to remind me of her. Certain places have their own unique smell. Chalk has gone by the wayside in a lot of schools now in favor of white boards and digital technology, but I’ve always thought I could be blind-folded and would know that I was in a school by the smell. A mechanic shop has that smell of gasoline, oil and grease. Restaurants have their own smells; McDonald’s has a different smell from the neighborhood Italian restaurant. The beach has that wonderful salty, fresh air that you can smell a few miles before you get there. And nothing smells better to me than breathing in clean, mountain air, smelling the evergreens, and the occasional whiff of wood smoke coming