From Neal's Yard, the Dreamy Nights Sleep Duo, with 8 ml Pillow Mist ("...our award-winning bedtime mist, proven to improve your sleep from the first night. The tranquil blend of organic lavender, vetiver and mandarin essential oils promote a sense of calm for a peaceful night") and 9 ml Remedies to Roll Relaxation ("The comforting blend of lavender, bergamot and frankincense soothes body and mind while helping you to unwind"). $13.80 at Lookfantastic.
The daily lemming
Back-to-school stress? Here's Bodha's Aromatherapy Eye-Pillow, with a washable linen cover available in 5 colors: "Breathe in the relaxing scent of lavender & chamomile flowers while gently engaging acupressure points to soften the delicate muscles around your eyes. The perfect complement to your beauty, meditation or sleep ritual. Made from soft washed linen and filled with our custom blend of lavender flowers, chamomile flowers & organic oat groats." Shown in blush linen, $48 at Bodha (or for $60, you can get a cashmere cover, or for less, you can still get the pretty ElizabethW eye pillows, although the price has gone up to $30).
The daily lemming
From The Body Shop's new Breathe range, Calm Balm with Eucalyptus and Rosemary: "Cramped commute? Long meeting? Looming deadline? Give yourself a moment of much-needed serenity with our on-the-go Breathe Calm Balm. Just apply to pulse points (or wherever you need it). Now take a deep breath. Our balm has a refreshing and invigorating scent. And helps you take the time to reconnect with yourself and find a moment of mindfulness." £9 for 15g at The Body Shop UK.
A wellness provider
We have moved pretty far away from the superficial, social role that fragrance has had over the last 200 years. Scent has gone back to being used, as it was thousands of years ago, for health and healing; people are expecting much more from it. Over the last two years, 80% of the people we’ve surveyed have said they want emotional and physical benefits from scent; they are using it as a wellness provider.
— Psychologist Dr Céline Manetta of International Flavors & Fragrances, quoted in The importance of fragrance after the pandemic at Good Housekeeping.
The next wave
Perfume for the longest time was really the attainable luxury end of a luxury brand. And now I really think that that ideology for a certain group of people has faded, and the idea that the fragrance is made from better materials and it also, by the way, can help you relax, I think this is really the next wave of what we're seeing in personal wellness.
— Perfumer Douglas Little of Heretic, quoted in Inside the Murky World of "Functional Fragrance" at Allure.