Worst-smelling essential oils
 

Whether you’re a connoisseur of essential oils particularly or not, your nose has probably come into contact with some of them at one point or other and depending on who you are you may or may not be quite prickly about their individual smells (some people even have mini allergic reactions to them). Which ones (if you recognise the scents by name) do you really not like?

Lemon eucalyptus is one for me. I do like the fact that it’s a blend between two valuable oils (lemon and eucalyptus) so I try and work around it but it just smells like … citrusy ham (don’t know how to explain it) and it’s just so potent with it. Very unpleasant.

Valerian. It’s supposed to have a Valium-like calming effect but it absolutely stinks.

Lavender. Doesn’t smell nice to me. It’s a very weird one.

Tea-tree isn’t exactly known for being aromatherapeutic but it’s not supposed to be. Nor does it actually smell that rank. Just smells like what an anti-bacterial one would. Not an oil to scent your candles with but I don’t think it’s too bad or pungent.

I don't like lavender either. Anything that smells of vanilla that isn't food, like oils or candles, makes me want to throw up.

Citronella. Same reasons as lemon eucalyptus. The citrus-y smell is just incredibly pungent and overpowering.

Yeah, lavender sure is a funny one. I wouldn't get it just because it seemed to be the only one with a "buy one, get one half-price" deal at Holland and Barrett. I only needed one for cleaning anyway (this was actually something that happened to me today in this case) so I just went with tea-tree. Again, not one to light your candles with but it smells like what you'd expect an earthy deep-cleansing/anti-fungal-bacterial to smell like so you know what you're getting with that one before you even sign up to it. Lavender sounds like something that should smell nice but it actually doesn't.

There was a time when I thought I'd never rebuff an essential oil for its smell (I thought they'd all have a divine aroma) but I was clearly wrong.

When you're cleaning it's probably best to dilute some of these oils with white vinegar. W.V.'s a great neutraliser of smells. You still get the benefits of what you using but the kitchen/bathroom doesn't stink of pungent citrusy/herbal oils that aren't to everyone's liking and bleach. At least not as much.

I know apple cider vinegar's more popular for the body and as this weird tonic with global health properties but I'm sceptical about using it to clean anything. The fruity apple scent might be bait for insects and mice and I obviously don't want that. So that's why we tend to single out white/white wine vinegar specifically for cleaning.

I wonder why Bernie thought even lavender tea would be particularly appropriate for a kid. I wouldn’t have dotted the dots and thought of giving Joseph that.