Where to Begin: Basic Scent Guidance for Beginners

Where to begin: basic scent guidance for beginners — this article will help you take your first steps into the world of aroma. Whether you’re just curious or already sensing the power of scent, here you’ll find practical, emotionally attuned advice. Learn how to choose essential oils that resonate with your inner state, discover how scent connects to memory and the subconscious, and understand what makes an aroma truly alive.

Scent is not just something pleasant.

It’s a way to feel yourself more deeply.

It reaches where thoughts can’t go — into memory, emotion, unconscious reaction.

That’s why working with scent can be so powerful — if you know how to begin.

This site was born out of years of research and personal exploration.

I spent a long time experimenting with how to use scent in therapy —

as a tool to become aware of what’s happening on a deeper level.

To make this journey more accessible, I’ve divided essential oils and hydrosols

into psychological categories. Each one reflects a level of the unconscious —

where much of human experience is stored: our growth, our stories, our unresolved themes.

Main Categories by Psychological Impact

🌿 Essential oils that bring hidden material to the surface

These work with themes that keep us stuck: fear, resentment, emotional stagnation.

They help you recognize, release, and complete.

🌿 Essential oils that support growth and nourishment

These bring strength, resilience, a sense of inner support.

They help restore energy and awaken your vitality.

🌿 Hydrosols — for restoring connection and integrating experience

Hydrosols address communication issues, disconnection, inability to express or understand.

They gently help you reintegrate experiences and return to a sense of connection with self and life.

How to Choose a Scent to Begin

If you’re just beginning your scent journey — start with your feelings.

Listen within. Let the aroma guide you.

It can be any scent that stirs something in you.

Sometimes we feel an unexplainable pull.

Sometimes — resistance. A scent may seem “not yours,” “too sharp,”

or, on the contrary, too light — yet it lingers in your memory, grips you.

These kinds of aromas — the ones that spark a real response —

point to something you’re ready to explore.

🌿 Not sure where to start?

Try one of these beginner-friendly scents: lavender, orange, lime, benzoin, or thyme.

They gently open the door and are perfect for a first step.

Why the Scent Must Be Alive

For your scent work to be deep and transformative,

the essential oil must be alive — whole, natural, and respectfully sourced.

By “essential oils,” I also mean extracts, absolutes, and other concentrated natural aromatic forms derived from plants.

The aroma you work with should be pure, recent, and vibrant.

Only then can it reach the memory hidden deep within.

Avoid synthetics, old oils, overly diluted products or perfume blends —

they may smell nice, but they won’t open those inner doors.

🌿 Not sure where to find high-quality, living oils and hydrosols?

I’ve compiled a list of trusted suppliers around the world —

sources that truly “breathe,” proven through practice, and can be reliable companions on your aromatic path.

👉 View the list of recommended shops for living scents

How to Work with a Scent That Resonates

1. Smell the aroma in silence and solitude

Take a few minutes. Don’t rush. Don’t analyze.

Just observe what arises inside — images, memories, feelings, bodily sensations.

2. Write down what comes

It might be random associations. Or pain. Or unexpected anger.

Or a childhood image. Scent works beneath words — you’ll find them later.

3. Don’t try to “fix” the scent

Don’t add other oils to make it “nicer.”

Its power lies in the fact that it evokes a response — that’s how the process begins.

4. Return to it for 3–5 days

You’ll notice your perception change. It might soften.

Or bring tears. Or reveal new imagery.

This is the process of inner release.

What Happens Inside?

When we breathe in a scent that touches something within,

we are agreeing to hear what has been repressed.

What we didn’t want to feel. Couldn’t face. Never got to release.

It might be something personal.

Or something inherited — from family, ancestors, culture, or collective time.

Scent is a form of memory.

And essential oil is its key.

For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

If you feel ready to explore these aromas more consciously and gently,

I created a small online course.

It’s a step-by-step practice that helps you untangle inner knots through scent —

without force or self-pressure.

This course isn’t about the “right use of essential oils” —

it’s a quiet conversation with yourself on the most subtle level.

A Scented Message

If you feel drawn to a scent that seems too strong,

too vivid, too “not about you” — pause.

Don’t push it away.

It came so you could see something.

Maybe it carries a part of your story —

one that’s ready to be released.