Love Potions: How Essential Oils Can Improve Your Love Life

(ARA) - Whether you're in a brand new relationship or a marriage that has lasted for decades, you can use aromatherapy to enhance the romance. A selection of fragrant essential oils can help create a passionate connection between you and your partner.

How do the aromas of essential oils impact romance? The olfactory lobe - the part of the brain that processes scent - is part of the limbic system, which is associated with emotion and the formation of memory. Tom Havran, aromatherapy specialist at Aura Cacia, says essential oils can be used to facilitate a wide range of moods -- including romantic ones.

"There are a number of oils that lovers and aspiring lovers might find useful," Havran says. "Depending on the situation, you might want to create a relaxing atmosphere, or a stimulating or sensual one -- and essential oils are the perfect starting point." Essential oils have the potential to elicit romance on four different levels. Some oils offer calming effects that reduce anxiety and self-consciousness, thereby opening the path to intimacy. Other oils are known for their stimulating and inspiring properties and can impact the hormonal system directly, increasing sexual desire. Some oils have been used throughout history as sexual attractants -- it's said that Cleopatra, one of the most well known seductresses in history, used a variety of scents and essential oils to create an atmosphere of passion for her relationship with Marc Antony. Here is Havran's rundown of the most popular essential oils in each of these romantic categories: Calming: geranium, clary sage, lavender, sweet marjoram Stimulating: cardamom, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon bark Arousing: neroli, rose otto, ylang ylang, rose absolute Attracting: sandalwood, patchouli, jasmine, cedarwood

A good candidate for the "ultimate love oil" is vanilla essential oil -- especially in combination with cocoa butter. "The vanilla and cocoa combination has a tradition as an irresistibly arousing scent that goes back at least to the Aztecs," Havran says. "And, it has a strong appeal for both men and women."

Whichever essential oils you choose, they will work best if you create an environment where emotional and sensual closeness can thrive. If you have children, for example, make arrangements with friends or grandparents to take them for the evening, so that you'll have uninterrupted time to focus on one another. Draw a hot bath for your partner, adding a few drops of essential oil to the water, and light some candles around the tub. Pour a couple of glasses of wine, give your partner a heartfelt massage, and your evening of romance will be under way.

Preserve the romantic feelings with essential oils as the night progresses. Keep the scents fresh by using an essential oil diffuser or placing a few drops on your pillows, your bed clothes, or on top of the light bulbs in your bedroom lamps. Or create your own special massage oil by combining a seductive essential oil like jasmine with a carrier oil such as almond oil.

Because essential oils are very concentrated, it takes only a few drops per tablespoon of carrier oil to derive their benefits. However, you should never apply essential oils directly to the skin - always dilute them first in water or a carrier oil such as almond, grapeseed, or jojoba. Some oils such as cinnamon bark and clove have the potential to be irritants and should not be used on the skin at all.

If you'd like more information on creating your own love potions and how to inspire or rekindle the spirit of love with essential oils, visit Aura Cacia's archived on-line chat from February 6, 2008. For more information on aromatherapy and a complete selection of pure, high-quality essential oils, visit www.auracacia.com.