by Elspeth's Airs | Mar 19, 2026
Winter is often misunderstood as a season of emptiness—but in close observation, it reveals itself as something far more complex. It is a season of subtle change, of quiet transformation, and of thresholds.
In this reflection, I explore what Winter has revealed to me through a daily walking practice along Bayou St. John in New Orleans—how stillness holds movement, how growth and decay coexist, and how the transition toward Spring offers its own kind of wisdom.
From the interplay between Winter and Spring in a subtropical climate to lessons on timing, simultaneity, and seasonal living, this piece is an invitation to notice what is unfolding beneath the surface.
Read the full essay on Substack: Why I Walk the Same Land Again and Again
This piece is part of an ongoing body of writing shared through my Substack, Heart Notes.
by Elspeth's Airs | Jan 25, 2026
Recently, my daily walks have shifted into a more intentional practice—one of returning to the same land again and again, noticing seasonal change, and paying attention to what unfolds when we slow down enough to really see.
I recently wrote a longer reflection on why this practice matters to me and how it connects to my creative and sensory work. I’m sharing an excerpt here, with a link to the full essay.
Why I Walk the Same Land Again and Again
I walk the same stretch of land most days. Not to get somewhere. Not to exercise. But to notice.
Over time, I’ve learned that when I slow down and pay attention, the place begins to reveal itself differently. Walking the same path again and again has changed how I relate not only to the land itself, but to my own inner landscape as well.
Read the full essay on Substack: Why I Walk the Same Land Again and Again
This piece is part of an ongoing body of writing shared through my Substack, Heart Notes.
by Elspeth's Airs | Dec 9, 2024
The holiday season is often celebrated as the “most wonderful time of the year,” but for many, it comes with its own set of challenges. Whether it’s the stress of year-end deadlines, an overflowing calendar of social obligations, financial strain, or the emotional weight of family dynamics and loss, it’s not unusual for our nervous systems to feel overwhelmed.
I know this firsthand. Between managing two retail businesses—Elspeth’s Airs and Miss Anne’s Maypop Herb Shop—balancing side gigs, community commitments, and squeezing in moments of joy with loved ones, I’ve felt like I’m running a marathon while juggling too many balls.
Amidst the busyness, one of the most powerful tools I’ve found to help me pause, reset, and create moments of stillness is aromatherapy. Essential oils can be a simple yet effective way to center yourself, calm your mind, and reconnect with your body during this hectic time. Let’s explore how you can use aromatherapy as a form of holistic therapy to bring ease into your holiday season.
Two pink roses in a glass chalice by a lit white candle
Embracing Stillness: A Seasonal Shift
In many earth-based traditions, winter represents a time of stillness, introspection, and slowing down. The cycles of nature encourage us to rest and restore, much like the trees that conserve energy by shedding their leaves and retreating inward.
While we often romanticize this “cozy season,” the reality of modern life—especially during the holidays—often feels like the exact opposite. The push to do more, spend more, and make everything “magical” can make it difficult to honor the season’s (and our bodies’) natural rhythms.
But here’s the good news: you don’t need to overhaul your life to find calm. Small, intentional moments of stillness can make a world of difference. And aromatherapy, a practice rooted in the use of essential oils to support well-being, can help create these moments of tranquility.
Why Aromatherapy Works
Aromatherapy works by harnessing the natural power of essential oils, which are extracted from plants, flowers, and resins. These potent oils influence your limbic system—the part of the brain that governs emotions, memories, and stress responses—through the simple act of inhalation.
For stress and anxiety, essential oils such as lavender, chamomile, bergamot, and frankincense are particularly effective. Whether used in a diffuser, inhaler, or as part of a body oil blend, they can help ground you, ease tension, and promote relaxation.
Creating Moments of Calm With Aromatherapy
Here are a few ways you can incorporate aromatherapy into your daily routine to reduce stress and reconnect with yourself this holiday season:
1. Start Your Day With Intention 
Instead of diving headfirst into the day’s to-do list, take a few minutes to center yourself. Add a few drops of an essential oil blend designed for focus or calm to a diffuser while you sip your morning coffee or tea. For example, Elspeth’s Airs’ Cozy Diffuser Blend combines grounding and uplifting notes to set the tone for a peaceful day.
2. Pause During Moments of Stress 
Stressful moments are inevitable, but how you respond to them can make all the difference. Carrying an essential oil inhaler, like Elspeth’s Airs’ Aromatherapy Inhalers, in your bag or pocket can provide an instant sense of calm. Simply take a deep breath, inhale the soothing aroma, and let it help you reset.
3. Create an Evening Wind-Down Ritual
Restful sleep is foundational for managing stress, yet it’s often the first thing to suffer during busy times. Incorporate a bedtime ritual that includes aromatherapy to help signal to your body that it’s time to relax. Try spritzing Elspeth’s Airs’ Sleep Peacefully Spray on your pillow or using a few drops of lavender essential oil in a warm bath.
4. Meditate or Journal With Essential Oils 
Taking time to meditate or journal can help you process emotions and stay grounded. Enhance your practice with a calming blend like Elspeth’s Airs’ Meditation Oil. Apply it to your pulse points or diffuse it in your space to deepen your connection to the present moment.
Saying Yes to Calm, No to Overwhelm
The holidays are a time of giving, but that doesn’t mean giving away all your energy. One way to stay aligned with your values and well-being is by intentionally choosing where to focus your time and energy.
Here’s a helpful guide for navigating the season:
| Say Yes To |
Say No To |
| Gathering with loved ones |
Trying to make everything “perfect” |
| Creating meaningful rituals |
Overloading your schedule |
| Prioritizing rest and wellness |
Burning the candle at both ends |
| Practicing gratitude |
Comparison and guilt |
By saying yes to what truly matters and no to unnecessary stressors, you create space for what the season is really about: connection, reflection, and joy.
A Ritual for Stillness 
Here’s a simple aromatherapy ritual to help you find moments of stillness during the holidays:
- Set the Scene: Find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Light a candle or dim the lights.
- Choose Your Scent: Select an essential oil or blend that resonates with you. For stress relief, consider lavender, bergamot, or frankincense.
- Diffuse or Apply: Use a diffuser to fill the room with the aroma, or apply a diluted blend to your wrists and neck.
- Breathe Deeply: Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and take 10 deep breaths, inhaling the calming aroma and exhaling any tension.
- Reflect: Spend a few minutes in stillness, journaling, or meditating.
This practice can be as short or as long as you need, and it’s a powerful way to reset your mind and body.
The Power of Small Moments
Finding stillness doesn’t mean stepping away from your responsibilities or creating a perfectly serene life. It’s about weaving moments of calm into the fabric of your day. Aromatherapy offers a simple, accessible way to do just that.
Whether you’re diffusing essential oils while wrapping gifts, pausing for a moment of deep breathing with an inhaler, or ending your day with a soothing sleep spray, these small practices add up to create a profound sense of peace.
This holiday season, I invite you to give yourself the gift of calm. By embracing tools like aromatherapy, you can navigate the hustle and bustle with greater ease—and even find joy in the stillness.
Discover the full range of Elspeth’s Airs aromatherapy products here to support your journey to calm this holiday season.
by Elspeth's Airs | May 9, 2024
How Natural Perfumes Changed My Life
Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions? That was me in 2015, before I started making natural perfumes. It was a few years after I had returned from life-changing travels in South America. I felt trapped in a spirit-sucking job. How did I end up here? This was not what I envisioned for my life.
I needed a change. Perhaps a creative outlet would help get my juices flowing again, help me to reconnect with my intuition…
Ever been mesmerized by someone’s scent?
While working at this draining job and trying to figure out how to shift my life in another direction, I encountered someone whose scent was captivating. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted my own signature scent, something people would remember me by. I tried a few different commercial perfumes, but I found that they gave me headaches. I read about the synthetic ingredients used in many popular fragrances and decided to see if natural perfumes worked better for me. I had some essential oils on hand and began to experiment with combining them. I started with simple combinations- jasmine and sweet orange, vetiver and cinnamon. The results were promising and I found myself wanting to learn more about creating my own perfumes.
I made a New Year’s resolution to dedicate myself to a creative hobby and chose to pursue natural perfume making.
Natural perfume is deep!
At first, I honestly felt a little embarrassed about my obsession with finding the perfect scent. It seemed superficial, frivolous even, compared to the other substantial matters I cared about. But, everything changed when I stumbled upon “Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume” by Mandy Aftel.
This book was a revelation, validating my interest in perfumery and opening my eyes to its depth and complexity. Perfumery, I learned, is simultaneously craft, science, poetry, and magic—a practice with roots that stretch back to the dawn of humanity. I devoured every page, soaking in the history, physiology, beauty, and alchemy of scent.
Intuition guides the way…
I began to construct perfumes. Intuition & experimentation formed the foundations of my early practice of natural perfumery. I applied the structures that I learned from “Essence and Alchemy”, and continued to research and study formal and informal sources. However, it was critical to me that I find and develop my own “voice” through this work. This included listening- to myself, to the plants, to the natural cycles around me. I found that my creative energy was strongest during Full Moons. I began to notice the nuanced scents of each season. I began to associate particular scents with particular energies.
As I listened and wove scents together and transformed individual plant essences into complex compositions with their own archetypical essences, I found that I was also transformed.
Scent as medicine
For me, sharing Elspeth’s Airs perfumes isn’t just a business—it’s about the transformative power of plants and scent. It’s about reconnecting with our bodies, our senses, the earth, and our own inner wisdom and power.
The first time that I wore one of my creations in public and witnessed what the scent stirred up in other people, I knew that my perfumes weren’t just for me.
Since then, so many customers have told me how my perfumes make them feel, how the energies and intentions of the scents resonate with what they’re currently working on, how they help them to feel present and centered, how they use them to tap into the cycles of nature, and so much more.
Ready to embark on this fragrant journey with me? Shop our natural perfumes now or sign up for my newsletter to stay connected and be the first to know about new releases, behind-the-scenes peeks, and exclusive offers by signing up for my newsletter (below). Don’t miss out on the scent-sational adventures ahead!
by Elspeth's Airs | Sep 1, 2023
What is the Air whispering to you? What scents call you through the wind?
Working intentionally with the element of Air can help us to observe the unseen and notice its effects on the world around us. Like the scents that it carries, it bridges our inner world with the outer world through breath. We see & feel it by its effects- the breeze rustling the leaves, mist rising from the water, smoke carried from the fire. Air allows us to share space with all of life across distances. It touches everything; it spreads seeds; it moves with freedom. It can exist without form. We depend on Air for life. Like all of the elements, it has its destructive sides but these, too, can serve as a catalyst for change.
We can intentionally channel the energy of Air within us and around us, through focus and visualization, as well as through rituals, scents, plants, and symbols. Below are the qualities & correspondences associated with Air, Elspeth’s Airs most airy perfumes & some of my favorite ways to connect with this energy. What are some of yours?
The photos in this post are of my friend, Chad, embodying the element of Air for our Elemental Magic photoshoot in March. Read more about Chad below!
Chad’s makeup by Sabrina Blunt and photos by Trevor Mark.
Air Qualities & Correspondences
Nature: Thinking, observing, learning, wisdom 
Colors: Yellow, white, silver
Direction: East
Season: Spring
Sense: Smell
Astrological Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Planets: Jupiter, Venus
Plants: Rosemary, yarrow, fennel, lavender, dill, cattails
Perfumes: Elspeth’s Airs Cypress Rose
Rituals to Connect with Air
*Take a walk outside and inhale as you go. What scents do you notice? Which call to you & do you know where they’re coming from? Get curious & follow your nose on a journey to find its source.
*Choose a scent that helps to invoke a feeling you want to experience. Sit in a quiet place & either apply it to your skin or diffuse it and take long, deep breaths. Tune in to the emotions that arise and how they feel in your body. (Elspeth’s Airs Meditation Oil is great for this!)
*Burn incense or diffuse your favorite oils & incense.
*Bring consciousness to your breath. As you inhale, imagine being filled with vitality and nourishment. As you exhale, you share your gifts with the world and release what’s ready to be transmuted. Feel into the reciprocity available in this exchange.
*Work with plants that have Air correspondences. Think: feathery leaves & veins, wispy formations, and plants with fragrant, diffusive scents. See the graphic for some ideas but there are lots more! If they’re edible, drink them as a tea; inhale their aroma; or just hang out & breathe with them!
*Engage in flowing movement, ideally in the open air.
*Notice how the wind moves across your skin, in the leaves, in the clouds.
*Speak your intentions and let the wind carry them.
Elspeth’s Airs Perfumes to Connect with Air Energy
Cypress Rose
Affirmation: I am sacred.
Key notes: Rose, frankincense, cypress & lemon
Intended to both ground and inspire, Cypress Rose forms a protective bubble in which to center and open up to what’s inside.
Frankincense keeps you rooted and safe, while Rose inspires your creativity and opens your heart. Cypress serves to cleanse and purify, while Lemon uplifts.
Bright, tart top notes bloom into a sweet, rosy heart that lingers throughout the day as a joyful, comforting reminder that you are safe and well.
About the Model
Chad is one of the most thoughtful & observant people I know, and he applies his observations to transforming the world around him. He spreads seeds that manifest his dreams & embodies both the gentle breeze and the righteous storm, when necessary.
Chad Morris is the owner of Endless Journey Collection, where he makes handmade bowties, jewelry, t-shirts & upcycled denim. His goal is to spread happiness and confidence with his creations. He is also the Medical Case Manager and Communications Specialist for Frontline Legal Services, where he helps to address HIV stigma and connect people to services. A New Orleans native, Chad got his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loyola University New Orleans. Long committed to helping people on a better path to health, Chad worked for CVS pharmacy for 11 years until joining the Frontline team in 2018.
Chad & I met at the library in college. In the early days of our friendship, we were out & about across town with a crew, but over time, Chad & I bonded over our shared love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, old Mariah Carey songs and witnessing & supporting each other through both hard and joyful times. We both started our creative businesses around the same time & have been market buddies and sounding boards since then. Chad moved to Atlanta last year & it was so wonderful to have him back in New Orleans for this magical photoshoot!
by Elspeth's Airs | Aug 5, 2023
I’ve been growing a Sambac Jasmine plant for about 3 years and this is the first year it’s really poppin’ off. I use an absolute of its flowers in one of my perfumes and it’s been such a pleasure living next to this plant, learning what it likes & watching it flourish. Sambac Jasmine starts blooming heavily in May in my region (9b) and sends its sweet, floral fragrance far & wide. It feels sensual, relaxing & uplifting at the same time. Here are a few facts & observations about Jasminum sambac:
In my yard: The variety that I have is like a mix between a shrub and a vine. It loves to sprawl out and send its branches in many directions, though it doesn’t send out tendrils. The flowers on my plant are double-layered. The last time I repotted it, it had spread its roots out of the pot and down into the tiny amount of soil available in my otherwise concrete yard. From its limbs to its roots to its big, loud, delicious fragrance, Sambac Jasmine is not afraid to take up space.
Plant names: Jasminum sambac, Sampaguita (Philipines), Melati Putih (Indonesia)
Elemental correspondences: Water + Earth
Family: Oleaceae (olive)
Native to: tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It’s the national flower of the Philippines and 1 of 3 national flowers of Indonesia. Widely cultivated in Southwest of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. Naturalized in many places, including Mauritius, Madagascar, the Maldives, Chiapas, Central America, southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
Botany: Frost-tender evergreen vine or shrub; highly variable; ovate, simple leaves, either opposite or in whorls of 3. Blooms in clusters of 3-12. The flowers open at night and close in the morning.
Lore/traditional uses: In the Philippines, Sampaguita garlands are used as a form of bestowing honor, veneration, or accolade. Jasminum sambac is the subject of the danza song La Flor de Manila, composed by Dolores Paterno in 1879.
In Indonesian tradition, it has long been considered a sacred flower, as it symbolizes purity, sacredness, graceful simplicity and sincerity. It also represents the beauty of modesty; a small and simple white flower that can produce such sweet fragrance. The jasmine has wide spectrums in Indonesian traditions; it is the flower of life and beauty, yet it is also often associated with spirit and death.
Zones: 9-10
Scent profile: Sweet, creamy, floral, vanilla, fresh (like bath soap up close), lush, sweeter, more of a creamy floral from a distance, coumarin, indolic, lactonic; very diffusive (projects its scent far)
Energies & Aromatherapy: “Paradoxically strong yet serene, jasmine can settle and open the heart to self-love, compassion for others, and new experiences.” (from Aromatics International). Euphoric.
Elspeth’s Airs perfumes: Fleurs et chocolat*
*Fleurs et chocolat has been out of stock for a long time because I’ve been unable to find one of the essences (Tiare.) I’m currently growing both Tiare and Sambac Jasmine and enfleuraging them to hopefully use in perfumes again!
