DIY Life

Mmm-mmm. Fresh basil. It's so very fragrant -- the indispensable ingredient in a host of mid-summer recipes.

My basil is lush, green and ready for picking. Okay, I don't have a whole lot of it out in my garden; however, I'm planning on growing a lot more next summer. In preparation for that lofty enterprise, I thought it'd be cool to find out how the expert basil-growers harvest their beloved herb. Here are some tips I picked up:

1. Know your basil. There are lots of varieties out there, and it's always good to know which one you have, as the flavors vary quite a bit between them. Chances are good that, like me, you've got the most common variety: Genovese sweet basil.

Blending can be a tricky endeavor. Just because you love an essential oil scent blend that you have created doesn't mean that it will work as a soap. It may lack staying power, or it may fall flat, losing the complexity it had when it was just a mixture of oils.

How do you know when a blend won't work? Essential oils aren't cheap. You want to get it right, or at least know how to alter your so-so blend to make it great: balanced, long-lasting and not too overwhelming.

Your goal with soap scent blends is to make them hang around as long as possible. What can get in the way of that? The temperature at which you mix your soap, the age of your soap, and the balance of your blend can all play an important role.

After the break, you can read detailed tips on how to make soap scents that stick.

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY. Helpful recipes for your "scentual" pleasure: from essential oils, herbs, and other botanicals to soap-making, body care products and other useful blends.

Haven't you always wanted a signature scent? A scent so perfect for you that others even notice how well it suits your personality and style? A custom perfume, if you will, all your own: borne of you, inspired by you, designed by you.

Can you do it? Can you really create your own all-natural personal scent blend, even when you have had little or no experience with essential oils?

You can, and you will.

First, a few safety rules.

Always dilute essential oils in a carrier oil. You run the risk of sensitization if you use an essential oil on your skin neat, or undiluted.

I cannot recommend organic jojoba strongly enough. Since jojoba is actually a wax, not an oil, it will not go rancid. It also matches your skin's sebum more closely than any other substance, so it will help your scent blend really become a part of you, melding your own skin's scent with the oils to make it truly unique.

Please refer to this guide from Aromaweb for more safety information, and for the real deal about which oils are not safe to use, visit Nature's Gift's contraindication page. The information there may surprise you.

After the break, I'll explain how you can get started creating your own blend with little emphasis on rules and a big focus on what you love.

Sometimes I avoid using the blender for smaller tasks because I dread cleaning it. Next time you whip up your favorite peanut butter hummus recipe (ok, my favorite recipe, but try it and I'm sure you'll love it too!), you can blend it straight into the jar.

Our friends at slashfood pointed us to this tip by Elise, suggesting that most blenders can be used with a standard canning jar. Apparently this used to be a common way to blend spices and other small quantity mixtures. 40 years ago new blenders even came with a canning jar and a collection of recipes. I didn't know that this was ever the case, so the tip is inventive genius to me.

Regular size mason jars will fit perfectly onto most blender bases. Simply blend your mixes, unscrew the jar, and store it as is. If you accidently break the carafe, you don't have to run out and get a whole new blender either, just use canning jars for all your blending needs. Brilliant, pure brilliance.

Join me each week as I explore the naturally aromatic side of DIY.
herbs, and other botanicals to soap-making, body care products and other useful blends.

Valentine's Day romance . . . red wine and chocolate, candlelight, a dozen red roses and . . . . cinnamon buns?

According to research done by Dr. Alan Hirsch, cinnamon buns are the most aphrodisiac scent for men. How can you incorporate their scent into your romantic Valentine's evening without baking up a batch?

Use some essential oils. Combining cinnamon essential oils with some of the less spendy ancient aphrodisiac scents makes a great romance enhancer. Scent the room and some body oil and you are on your way to a Valentine's to remember.


Next page: a recipe for romance