“In Their Expert Opinion” features three bloggers who bring special expertise on living a natural lifestyle to The Clear Conscience Blog. Each month, we’ll share tips and advice on how to live a little greener from a few of our favorite experts.

By Elizabeth Dehn, BeautyBets.com

Photo Credit: We Heart It

What the world needs this Valentine’s Day are more essential oils. Distilled or extracted from flower petals or plant leaves, pure essential oils provide therapeutic, medicinal and mood-lifting benefits beyond any celebrity fragrance or box of chocolates. (Did you really want to smell like Jessica or J.Lo anyway?) For example: tea tree oil can clear up pimples, peppermint aids in digestion and eucalyptus can destroy airborne bacteria. All this for as little as a few dollars at your local co-op or Whole Foods. 

I have a special place in my heart for rose essential oils. Sweet, old-fashioned and endlessly romantic, rose takes me back to my childhood when my grandmother picked them wild, dried the petals, and made small batches of rose water for splashing post-bath or on a hot summer day. The scent was intoxicating then, and not just because I was a sentimental kid.  

Turns out that rose essential oil has been spritzed and dabbed for thousands of years to uplift, balance, and calm the senses. One deep whiff can center me in a moment of stress, like a natural anti-depressant. Used topically, rose can soothe eczema and rejuvenate dry, dull skin. I like to add a drop or two to my moisturizer or face oil and give myself a simple acupressure massage. You’ll be amazed what this two-minute ritual can do to de-puff, impart a rosy glow, and boost your mood. Who needs a dozen long-stems with a gift that keeps on giving?

xoxo,

Bets

Disclosure: The bloggers featured in the Clear Conscience Blog “In Their Expert Opinion” series have received product samples and compensation from Watkins, Inc.