Changing the color of your surroundings is one easy way to change your mood:
Yellow–Loss of temper in adults/crying in babies; hard on eyes
Blue–Reduces appetite; tranquilizing
Pink–Energy zapper; sedating
Green–Easy on the eyes; relaxing
Red–Energizing; stimulates appetite
Orange–Welcoming; similar to red but less intense effect
At Barcelona Bath & Body, we’re all about empowering you to set the mood for your life through aromachology. Food is another powerful mood influencer because what you eat makes adjustments to your body’s dopamine, norepinephrine (energy and alertness) and serotonin (calm and relaxation) levels. Results usually last a few hours.
Choose a mood of…
+ Calm = Pasta
+ Focus = Tuna
+ Optimism = Bananas
+ Romance = Chocolate
+ Energy = Oranges
Though “you are what you eat” has become a cliche, you may want to choose your food as if your mood depends on it. While there are plenty of things that we may not be able to control in life, aromachology and good mood food choices are two powerful tools that empower you to choose the mood for your life. Make it a great one!
~ Sweet Orange Essential Oil is an awesome adhesive remover. My husband gave it the ultimate test recently by using it on a soft cloth to remove the residue from all the dealership stickers he’d taken off his new car. Passed with flying colors!
~ Hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle has taken the place of bleach sprays for kitchen surfaces. I even clean my cutting boards with it before running them through the dishwasher.
~ Vinegar is my glass, surface and faucet cleaner of choice. It works well in the dishwasher additive reservoir to leave your glasses sparkling. It also makes a great tile floor cleaner that leaves no sticky residue behind to attract dirt. My husband hates the smell, so I just finish up with a spritz of Room Refresh!
~ Baking soda and salt take the place of scouring powder. For example, if there’s still discoloration on my cutting board after I use hydrogen peroxide on it, I use baking soda and salt to scour out any remaining residue food may have left behind. Then I put it in the dishwasher and give it a final spritz of hydrogen peroxide.
~ Water in a spray bottle and a soft rag have taken the place of aerosol dusting sprays and dusting wipes. Let’s face it. Dry dusting doesn’t work! But spritzing a soft rag with a little water works well and is safe to breathe.
~~Bonus tip: Conventional wisdom tells us to sort laundry first by color, then by soil level. Washing heavily soiled items with lightly soiled items causes unwanted soil transfer. I save my rags for a separate load from my regular laundry. When my husband comes in from mowing the yard, I take the dirty yardwork laundry and toss it in the wash with my rags to make a fuller load. This would also work great for sports uniforms or work uniforms if you happen to have those in your household.
Home fragrance industry trend-spotters say home fragrance is no longer only for special occasions, but for everyday use. Home fragrance is arguably the fastest, least expensive and most available room makeover, but the same case could be made for home fragrance as a mood makeover. Why is that, you ask?
Scientific research has proven that the sense of smell affects mood—easy to understand since aromas are processed by the brain’s limbic center, also responsible for memory and emotions. This phenomenon called aromachology*, as defined by The Fragrance Foundation, is the scientifically observable influence of smell on emotions and moods.
The average person has 10,000 “scent memories” stored in the brain. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2004 was awarded jointly to Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck who proved this with their discovery of “odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.”
“[The sense of smell] helps us to respond to those we meet, can influence our mood, how long we stay in a room, who we talk to and who we want to see again,” according to www.senseofsmell.org, the organization that founded National Sense of Smell Day.
When we talk about “home fragrance,” we often think of kitchens, baths and living spaces that we like to keep smelling fresh. It’s important to remember that we spend the majority of our time in our workplaces (if we work outside the home) and in our bedrooms. Many of us spend time traveling for work or leisure and many spend hours commuting each week. So as we venture further afield, so must our “home” fragrance.
Fragrance adds a rich, luxurious dimension to life and is an important aspect of the spa lifestyle. Instead of just letting smells happen, it’s empowering to put a personal stamp on indoor environments by choosing fragrances that soothe the spirit, sharpen creativity or lend excitement to a time or place. In light of what we’ve learned from aromachology, there’s never been a better time to adopt the Barcelona Bath & Body home fragrance philosophy of scent layering—moisturizing soaps, soy candles, sachets and Room Refresh® sprays—into all these environments where we spend our time.
Your mood will thank you—and most likely so will your friends, family and co-workers!
*Similar to aromatherapy but without the therapeutic claims
Scent Layering Is For Home Fragrance Too!
Most women are familiar with the concept of scent layering in the context of personal fragrance. Remember the first gift set you received with soap, lotion, powder, shampoo and cologne all in the same lovely scent? Or for men—soap, aftershave, deodorant and cologne?
Wow, that takes me back to a wonderful girlhood memory of Christmas morning and Tinkerbell, LOL!
Each layer adds a subtle hint of fragrance, a long-lingering whiff of your signature scent surrounding you in delicious luxury. That same concept works wonders in our homes!
Based on a home fragrance philosophy that is all about layering, our combination of handcrafted soaps, soy wax candles, embellished sachets and Room Refresh® sprays creates harmony throughout personal surroundings—home, office and travel.
Researching Mood Led Me to Aromachology
Scientific research has proven that the sense of smell affects mood—easy to understand since aromas are processed by the same part of the brain responsible for memory and emotions. This phenomenon called aromachology*, as defined by The Fragrance Foundation, is the scientifically observable influence of smell on emotions and moods.
During my days as Director of Marketing for Mood Spa, I did tons of research on everything that affects mood. When I started my own company, I knew that I wanted to create fragrances that set a mood of balance. I love to be in a great mood, all of the time! Based on my research, I know it’s possible to stack the deck in favor of being in a great mood even though many things in life are outside of our direct control. Fragrance is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this goal.
So when I formulated our five fragrances, I used the principles of aromachology. Each mood-balancing fragrance contains components that both calm and energize. You take from it what you need at the time! This concept is very effective in a group dynamic like families, offices or spas where one person may feel exhausted and need a pick me up and another may be keyed up and need to relax. You can set the mood for your life, your loved ones, even a meeting. Go choose a great mood!
*Similar to aromatherapy but without the therapeutic claims
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