It happens to all of us, we discover we need a certain oil and order it. It gets here, we excitedly open it up, and Ewwww. Phew it stinks! This is me with geranium, my friend with ginger, my customer with cedarwood. My friend loves geranium, I love cedarwood, it is very personal. Every one has their own preferences when it comes to smells, so how do we get the benefits without gagging?
The answer: Mix with another oil! You can change the smell but still get the therapeutic benefits when in your diffuser or topical mix. Also, don't depend on how the oil smells in the bottle- that is the strongest it will be. It will be lighter when actually being used- that could be enough for you to tolerate it. To determine which oils will be good together, I try to complement the smell as well as the use. You want an oil that supports the benefit you need. For example, cedarwood is good for sleep- lavender is too. Try them together to see how they work for you. You wouldn't want to put an oil that is an energy booster in your sleep recipe.
To see if the smells complement each other, I hold the oils I want to try a few inches under my nose together to test. If one is really strong, add a few drops less of that one. It is really fun to test different combinations of oils to see what works for you!
Once you have a winning blend- write it down! You may think you will remember but after doing this a few times, you may not. I write all of mine down on notecards and store them in an accordian notecard holder.