I have a love-hate relationship with Aveda. Love because their stuff
smells gorgeous, works great, and turns my shower into a mini spa. Hate
because it's expensive (sour grapes!), and because in spite of the
company's commitment to environmental sustainability and
cradle-to-cradle ingredient sourcing, they still formulate their
products with potential nasties like dimethicone and phenoxyethanol.
But like a lover spurned, I always go back for more. Today on my lunch break I popped into an Aveda store to try their new Dry Remedy line
so I could review it here (having a blog is a great excuse to shop, as
if I needed one!). The summer sun fries my hair and leaves it
scratchy as straw, which in turn leaves me susceptible to the promise
of a penetrating 'Deep-Moisture Complex'...
After I
chatted for a moment with the sales rep about the benefits of buriti
oil, things got interesting. The rep asked, "Do you have time
for a moment of wellness?"
As if I would say no to a question like that! Of course I had
time for a moment of wellness! Though I wasn't sure what sort of moment
and what sort of wellness she had in mind...
She guided me to a comfy chair and proceed to introduce me to another new product line they've just released: Chakra Balancing Body Mists.
It's a collection of seven different blends of organic essential oils,
combined in such a way as to stimulate the seven energy centers of the
body. I know a bit about Chakra theory through my yoga practice, and I
love the idea making this abstract (airy-fairy for us Westerners!)
concept more accessible through something concrete like smell.
(image courtesy of the Aveda website)
According to my girl at Aveda, each spray has been blended by
Ayurvedic masters in India, and all the plant oils are grown and
harvested sustainably at small farms. She presented me with seven
cards, one for each Chakra, and asked me to choose three that appealed
to me based on color and on the word written on the card. I chose
"wisdom", "insight", and "groundedness". She then let me smell the
scents associated with those three words and I picked the one I liked
best, a subtle, soothing scent belonging to the Crown Chakra.
My work in the moment of wellness was done. She had me close my
eyes, spritzed the air around my body with the Body Spray, and gave me
a heavenly neck and shoulder massage. I repeat: a FREE MASSAGE. I can't
remember the last time I got anything for free, let alone a massage!
Free-ness aside, my 'moment of wellness' has me wanting to collect all seven Body Mists. I'd keep number
five--grapefruit, rosemary, ylang ylang--at my desk to spark creativity
and self-expression. Then I'd sprinkle sandalwood, orange, and geranium
on my bedsheets to stimulate the second Chakra, the center of vital and
sensual relationships. Plus I adore the thought of those medicinal
brown glass bottles sitting neatly in a row with their labels arranged
in rainbow order.
And my on-again/off-again thing for Aveda? Maybe it's the freebie
massage talking, or maybe it's the enlightening angelica oil balancing
my seventh Chakra, but I think I'm in love.
