Smell is such a complicated thing, isn't it? One person's eau de yum is another's eau de yuck. So I'm not going to say that I am in love with the smell with every single essential oil out there. I definitely have my favorites. But there are a couple things I want to mention to you, preferably before you open up your Starter Kit.
There were two oils that I was especially excited to receive after I ordered my Premium Starter Kit: DiGize, for its gastrointestinal support, and Stress Away, for the emotional support. I had heard great things about them both, and I had a terrible need for gastrointestinal support.
But, when the moment came and my starter kit arrived, I twisted the top off of my DiGize and blech! It was horrible! Peeeee-ewww! It said to put two drops in a cup of water with a drop of Peppermint, and I thought, "Well, if they say that's good for you, I'll give it a go. It can't be that bad, can it?"
Oh, it can be that bad.
Then I was stuck because I didn't want to waste 3 drops of oil by pouring it down the drain, but even adding more than a serving of hot chocolate powder did nothing to disguise it. I don't actually remember what it tasted like because it was the smell that really bothered me.
Abrupt segue here, but don't worry . . . I'll be coming back around.
I was also excited about Stress Away, and although when I opened it the smell wasn't nearly as bad to me as the DiGize was, it still wasn't all that and a bag of sweet smelling potpourri either. It was more odd to me than stinky; vanilla and lime?! Too weird.
So I left the Stress Away in the box, and I mixed some DiGize and Peppermint into a roller bottle, and pretty much forgot about both of them. That is, until one night when my five-year-old son told me he had a stomachache. I suddenly remembered my DiGize/Peppermint roller, so I told him I had just the ticket, and applied it to his abdomen. I waited for him to complain about the smell, but was surprised when he never did. My three-year-old daughter watched the process, and wanted some oil too. Again, I was expecting complaint about the smell, and again it never came.*
I filed the experience away in my memory bank, and in the meantime I read that some people don't like the smell of this oil or that, but if they carry it around in their pocket for a few days, they get used to it. Say, what? That couldn't possibly be scientific, could it? I tried it out, but I did start wondering if I should give Stress Away another chance. I figured DiGize was a lost cause.
I had ordered some Cedarwood on my ER order, and decided on the fly to try mixing my Stress Away with a few other oils and see if it made a difference. Lo and behold! Stress Away with Cedarwood, Orange, and Valor suddenly smelled delicious. I couldn't get enough of it! And it wasn't that I had disguised the smell beyond recognition, it was just that by using a few other oils, some how, some way, it changed for me. Kind of like when you smell something while you're eating, I'd say.
There was no hope for the DiGize; I didn't even try mixing it with anything. But a week or two or three (no idea) after the first time I put it on the bellies of my children, a day came when my daughter was trying to communicate something to me, and I just wasn't getting it. Which is to say, she communicates spectacularly well and clearly she wanted something, but she didn't know what it was called and was pointing in a seemingly-randomly fashion into the kitchen saying she wanted "That."
Finally, she went in and pointed directly to where my oil was sitting on the shelf out of her reach, and the light bulb switched on. "You have a stomachache?" "Yeah!" "You want some oil?" "Yeah!"*
Mind. Blown. Not only did it clearly not smell gross to her, it evidently worked so well that she remembered it from whenever that night was that I had put it on her the first time, and now when she was having the same symptoms she wanted it again. Skip forward a few weeks, my son requested it again too.
My takeaway from these experiences has more to do with smell, and it also brings up another interesting concept as well.
First of all, to do with smell: Things smell differently to different people. So, like I said in the beginning, one person's yum is another person's yuck. When sharing with your family and using the essential oils as the wellness tools they truly are, remember you should never let your own preferences get in the way. You might think an oil smells terrible, but it might be just the ticket for your spouse, child, parent, neighbor, or whomever.
Secondly, the other interesting concept. I don't know the scientifically correct way to say this, but I will prove with an anecdote the truth of this statement: your sense of "Pew! Yuck!" or "Mmmm! Ahhh!" changes according to what your body needs.
It was the first bad belly night I'd had in a long time. Heartburn, indigestion, bloating, the works. I knew what I needed to do, but I wasn't thrilled at the prospect. I delayed until right before it was time to crawl into bed because, in all honesty, I figured I'd let the DiGize work while I was sleeping and not have to smell it, and then I'd at least wake up more comfortable. It was never a question of if it would work or not; of course I knew it would.*
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, got into my jammies, and walked to the kitchen to anoint myself just before crawling into bed. I braced myself as I always do just before opening the roller bottle, and . . . What the?! It didn't stink. I kid you not! I remember just standing there and sniffing for a few seconds, completely shocked.
I'm not going to go so far as to say it went all the way from yuck to yum, but I find it absolutely incredible that my least favorite scent, the one that pinches my nostrils together and lingers on the back of my tongue, suddenly smelled . . . pleasant.
Eureka! Remember, listen to your body folks. The heart(burn) wants what it wants!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Young Living products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.