One of my favorite ways to cheer myself up has been with perfume. The same way a scent from the past can remind me of everything I felt during that time, a new scent can give me a new perspective and hope for the future. For years it's been my practice to order sample sizes of expensive and hard to find perfumes from an online shop based on the the folklore of the power of particular scents. I usually just go for what sounds good after reading reviews and the detailed breakdown of the top, middle and bottom notes of the perfume blends I'm shopping and when I find something I love I do the research on what each scent is intended for.

I have a long term attachment to sandalwood which is said to reconnect us to a primordial state of being ("diminishing the need to overthink"), calm anxiety and help us to sleep better. As I'm naturally prone to insomnia, anxiety in severe times and feel my best when I'm not thinking at all -silly as that may sound, it's no wonder I've always loved it. I truly believe that our senses seek out for us what's most beneficial to us at any particular time and that it's important to pay attention to and honor what our intuition leads us to. 

Stay tuned for new adventures in perfumery. Virtual shopping carts have been filled, alchemy and perfume history books are littering my house, I'm plotting the workspace....