A spring scent ritual with mindset coach Claire Aristides
Claire Aristides is a mindset speaker, clinical hypnotherapist and founder of Mindology.App to help calm and empower your mindset. She’s also a jewellery designer and creative director of luxury fine jewellery brand Aristides Fine Jewels and Futurae Diamonds, lab-grown diamond jewellery.
With multiple businesses and two small children, Claire is a master of the calm and focused creative mindset. We asked her to share some of her favourite ways of introducing scent into a mindfulness ritual.
How can scent be used to help set or change our mood?
Our sense of smell is powerful, and it can evoke memories and emotional responses. When we smell something familiar, we can go back in time, recalling memories with surprising clarity. It can take us back to a moment in time, and we can even feel the same feelings we felt back at that moment. Our sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses we possess, and it's thought we can distinguish over 100,000 different smells. The merest hint of something familiar can trigger a special memory or wonderful moment in our lives that we treasure forever. The reason for this is simple: it's because there is a direct, scientifically proven link in our brains between memory and smell.
In what ways can scent be integrated into a mindfulness ritual?
As you meditate or do yoga, bring in candles in a scent that fills your mind and body with relaxation and positive thoughts. When you have a bath or shower, light a candle to add to the relaxing atmosphere.
Really enjoy the scent, stopping for a moment to connect and savour it. Identify the different elements of the fragrance. One of my favourite candles is Persian Rose – I take a few moments to enjoy the fragrance and connect to the different ingredients that make the scent so unique. Practicing small little mental breaks like this helps calm a busy mind and press pause.
Which fragrance notes do you recommend to help impart a sense of contented calm?
You really need to find what works for you. Find the scents that calm you and connect you to emotions that are positive and empowering for you. Fig might calm one person, whereas ylang-ylang might be more relaxing for another. Find what works for you.
On a personal note, are there any specific fragrances that you enjoy in the springtime?
Spring, for me, is freshness! The air smells alive, and you can feel a change – the warmth and sunshine of summer is coming. I love Tahitian Coconut; coconut always makes me feel like I am on holiday, a time for fun and happy adventures.
Can you share a favourite fragrance memory?
I can remember my mum's perfume as a child. She loved perfumes that were rose-based, and for me, it brings such a feeling of ‘home’ and feeling safe.
Which LUMIRA scent are you loving now?
I love Desert Nights Parfum. I bought it for my husband for his birthday – and I love wearing it now! There’s a rich earthiness to the scent and it lasts all day, which I love.
Written by Michelle Bateman
