Aromatherapist-Approved Essential Oils To Add To Your Beauty Routine

“One of the most beneficial effects of essential oils is their ability to change our mood within just a few seconds. A pleasant aroma, especially one we like, will trigger positive emotions. But, at the same time, offensive smells make us feel more irritable and negative – sometimes even physically nauseous,” Anne Murray, Registered Aromatherapist and Holistic Therapist with over 25 years of experience, tells Beauty Daily.  

Aromatherapy and essential oils are a buzzword in the beauty and wellness world that celebrities and influencers swear by for the holistic skincare benefits. In addition, brands tapped into spirit and skin enhancing skincare products, hence the emergence of the so-called emotional beauty trend.    

Beauty Daily speaks to Anne Murray to explain everything you need to know about aromatherapy and the six different essential oils proven to conjure different moods.  

What are essential oils?

“Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts derived from many types of plant material – flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots. They are powerfully aromatic, and are usually diluted before being used in massage, baths and skincare,” Anne Murray tells Beauty Daily.  

They are called ‘essential’ because the oil contains the plant’s essence. Each essential oil has its characteristics and has different therapeutic properties. 

“Research into our sense of smell – the olfactory system – has shown that aromas affect some of the most primitive parts of our brain, and can trigger physical and emotional changes,” Murray adds.  

What is aromatherapy?

The practise of using essential oils for therapeutic benefit is called aromatherapy. It uses the power of essential oils, which have physical and emotional effects.  

Proven benefits of aromatherapy include lowering stress and anxiety levels and promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. Other benefits include increased energy and focus, reducing inflammation and irritation and improving sleep and muscle pain relief. In addition, they fill your home with an uplifting scent, boosting immunity and enhancing your overall mood. 

Aromatherapy is best used through inhalation or as a topical application.  

Word of caution: If using pure essential oils, experts advise that they should be diluted in another safe substance, like water, a carrier oil such as hazelnut oil or an unscented lotion or liquid soap to prevent adverse reactions. People should not ingest essential oils; doing so may cause organ damage and adverse reactions. Consult your doctor first 

Inhalation: The oils evaporate into the air using an electronic diffuser, humidifier,  spray, or oil droplets, or breathed in, for example, in a steam bath or steam bowl.  

Topical: Experts say you can apply essential oils topically using compresses, sprays, baths, or massaging them into the skin. Always do a patch test on your skin to see reaction and sensitivities.  

If you don’t want to take risks, there are a plethora of ready mixed essential oil blends for face and body oils in the market that could take out the guesswork and apply directly onto bare skin.  

6 different essential oils proven to conjure different moods.

Essential oils are amazingly complex and never work on just one thing – instead, they act holistically to balance the body, skin and emotions.”  

Murray shares some of the many essential oils known to bring about emotional change.  

1. Lavender

A mild sedative, in clinical studies, this oil has shown to ease anxiety and improve both the quality and duration of sleep. It also helps with pain, especially headaches. 

“The ever-popular lavender essential oil not only heals blemishes but also eases a busy mind, so is ideal to use before bed to encourage better sleep,” Murray recommends.  

Try this: Before going to bed, add a few drops of Santal Face Treatment Oil onto your face mask or night cream for a good night’s sleep. It has the skin-calming Lavender that soothes, comfort and decongest skin that is dry, irritated or stressed, at the same time, lulls you quickly as a baby.  

2. Chamomile

Another calming essential oil best known to promote sleep and reduce anxiety, as endorsed by The Sleep Foundation.  

Try: Spritzing  Eau Ressourçante on your pillowcase or your bed linens to give you that calming and relaxing scent of chamomile that gives you the REM sleep you deserve.

Or wind down by massaging Relax Treatment Oil onto sore muscles. Murray also adds that chamomile oil can calm sensitive skin and soothe a stressed nervous and digestive system.  

3. Geranium

This richly floral oil seems to have a sedative and stimulant effect on brain activity, which matches its traditional use to balance mood swings, especially when hormonally related.  

Try this: Beauty Daily recommends Clarins Tonic Treatment Oil and Contour Treatment Oil powered with Geranium. Apart from the wellness boost, the tonic oil firms and tones, while the contour oil detoxifies and removes toxins. Thanks to the carrier oil, Hazelnut Oil,  it locks moisture. The concentration of essential oils in the Clarins Aromaphytocare Range is pregnancy-approved and suitable for all skin types, even people with sensitive skin.    

4. Frankincense

This beautiful and complex oil has been used for centuries to enhance spirituality and help achieve a quiet, open and uplifted state of mind. 

5. Sweet Orange

This fresh citrus oil helps regulate the autonomic nervous system, increasing the parasympathetic activity that calms and relaxes while decreasing the sympathetic activity which triggers anxiety and stress.  

Try: How we love the Eau Des Jardins. It is infused with citrus essential oils that uplift, refresh and captivates the soul. It definitely will help to ward off bad mood and negativity.  

6. Clary Sage

Studies have shown that this powerful oil acts as an antidepressant, seeming to increase levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin while decreasing the stress hormone cortisol.  

Try this: For people with weakened and sensitive skin types, Clarins Calm Essential Range is worth checking out.  

All four products in the range from the redness correcting gel, soothing emulsion, restoring treatment oil, and repairing calm balm, have Clary Sage as their main ingredient.  

Apart from the emotional support it gives, Clary Sage is clinically proven to reduce skin sensitivity to irritants and it is effective in soothing, repairing, and hydrating sensitive skin, increasing its tolerance.  

To fully benefit from the aromatic properties of face oils, Clarins Therapists advise pouring a few drops of oil into your hands, rubbing them together to warm the product up, and then breathing in deeply. Dab lightly onto the face, avoiding the eye contour area, and move down towards the neck and décolleté. 

Read next: The Best Essential Oils for Good Skin