10 ways to use perfume samples from magazines

What do you do with all those perfume samples from magazines? Give them a quick sniff? Toss them in the trash? Collect them? Perfume samples are handier than you think. Here are 10 ways to put them to good use.

1. Dress up your drawers. Tuck a few of your favorites in your underwear drawers as well as your other clothes drawers.

2. Stow them in your suitcase. Before hitting the road, toss an unopened sample into your suitcase. The sample won’t leak on your clothes and they will smell great for the duration of the trip.

3. Store them in your shoes (not while wearing them, of course). Your friends will think you have the best-smelling feet around. Not to mention your closet will smell much better. (See No. 6.)

4. Stash them under your car seat. Who needs one of those cheap, stinky air fresheners? Place a perfume sample under your seat and you’re good to go.

5. Put them in your purse. With all the stuff we load into our purses, it’s no wonder they sometimes smell a little stale. Nothing a perfume sample can’t fix.

6. Keep them in the closet. (See No. 3.)

7. Give gift bags a little extra something special. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Adding a perfume sample to a gift bag not only makes it smell great, but it also adds a personal touch.

8. Sleep tight on scented pillows. Toss a perfume sample into your pillowcase for some fragrant ZZZZZs.

9. Line your coat pockets. If you’re storing your coats during the summer months, placing a perfume sample in the pocket will help to ward off that musty smell. If you’re wearing your coat, even better. You’ll smell great the moment you enter a room.

10. Wear them. This is why they are in the magazines in the first place, right? Collect the perfume samples and try out different scents over time. You can test which fragrances you like before splurging on them.

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5 surprising facts about essential oils

Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots or other parts of a plant to enhance psychological and physical well-being. There are a wide number of essential oils available, each with its own healing properties.

Here are five things you may not know about essential oils:

1. Neroli oil, or “orange blossom,” is one of the most expensive essential oils on the market. It takes 1,000 lbs. of orange blossoms to make one pound of Neroli oil. This semi-precious oil is used to ease anxiety, depression, insomnia, and given its wonderful aroma, it can be considered an aphrodisiac.

2. Captain James Cook first mentioned Tea Tree oil in 1772 during his voyage to Botany Bay, Australia. He and his crew made a tea from the leaves to prevent scurvy. Tea Tree’s healing properties are abundant. Not only is it a natural immune booster, but it also fights all three kinds of infection. It works to heal skin conditions, burns and cuts, and also works as an insecticide. In addition, it helps to soothe and treat cold sores, respiratory conditions, muscle aches, the flu, Athlete’s foot and dandruff. Its uses are vast and its healing power is quick.

3. In the 1920s, French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse coined the term “aromatherapy.” The story goes that during an experiment, Gattefosse burned his hand and had nothing nearby to soak it in except lavender. Apparently the lavender quickly healed the burn, spurring him to begin research on the science behind essential oils.

4. Our sense of smell is the only sense directly tied to the limbic area of the brain, which is considered the emotional control center. This means that when essential oils are inhaled, they go directly to the brain. Our other four senses — taste, sight, touch and hearing — are first routed through the thalamus before reaching designated areas of the brain.

5. Essential oils are beneficial healers because they transport oxygen to the cells, which trigger great healing effects. It is safe to say that all of them are anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-infectious, anti-tumoral, anti-parasitic, and antiseptic on some level.

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