(Musicians and dancers on a fresco at Tomb of Nebamun, ca. 1400 BCE. British Museum.) After reading Alyssa Harad's Coming to My Senses, about her discovery of perfume, I was inspired to set forth my own approach toward arming oneself against the world with scent. I rank perfume up there with recorded music and books when it comes to tools for mental health. Read More Perfume therapy
In July 2011 Marla at Perfume-Smellin' Things blogged about perfumes featuring frankincense, a component of incense which, according to a 2008 research study that somehow completely missed me, is a psychoactive agent that can affect depression and anxiety. Apparently history is full of censer-swinging dope fiends: the use of frankincense, aka oliban or olibanum, goes back all the way to the ancient Egyptians. In addition to the usual religious ceremonial uses, it has been used to "benumb the senses" of condemned prisoners, among other applications. We will ignore the research paper's reference to an ancient Greek rumor about it causing madness. 11 incense perfume favorites As I read the discussion between Marla and her commenters about their favorite frankincense or incense scents, I realized that most of my favorite perfumes…
