Aromatic Bath Oils

Dried flowers are just for looks;
the fragrances come from the
essential oils.

• Decorative 16-ounce bottle with cork
• Assorted dried flowers
• Raffia
• 16 ounces of almond oil (for Soothing Bath Oil)
• 16 ounces of soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, or wheat-germ oil (for Stimulating Bath Oil)
• Essential oils: lavender, rose, rosemary, juniper
• Vitamin E capsules
• Funnel, large coffee can, and saucepan
• Paraffin (available in grocery stores)

1. Wash the bottle in hot, soapy water, rinse, and let it dry. Stuff dried flowers into the bottle for decoration.

2. Blend the oils in a separate container. For Soothing Bath Oil, mix the almond oil with 24 drops of lavender essential oil and 8 drops of rose essential oil. For the Stimulating Bath Oil, blend the carrier oil (soy oil or one of the suggested substitutes) with 24 drops of rosemary essential oil and 8 drops of juniper essential oil. For each mixture, break open 8 capsules of vitamin E and stir the contents into the oil mixture.

3. Using the funnel, pour the oil mixture into the bottle and cork it. To seal the cork with paraffin, place the wax in the coffee can and stand the can in a saucepan with several inches of water. Bring the water to simmering and let the paraffin melt. Dip the corked top into the melted paraffin several times to seal it and to keep the closure airtight. Tie additional dried flowers to the neck of the bottle with raffia.