FAQ

At Symbiosis, essential oils aren't just about scent — they're about connection.
We use them as tools to explore the bond between self and space, inspired by Gaston Bachelard's Poetics of Space. The idea is simple but profound: your home is a mirror of your inner world.

Our single oils are high-quality and pure — that's a given. But what truly sets us apart is how we guide you to use them: to reconnect, reflect, and feel at home in both your space and yourself.

The Self–Place Bond is the emotional connection between you and your home — the way your space reflects who you are and shapes how you feel.

Your home is more than walls — it's a quiet echo of you.  That bond is the unspoken dance where your space knows you back, shaped by the emotions you spill into it and the senses that cradle you there.

Picture a chair holding your sighs, a window framing your daydreams.  When your home mirrors your heart, it's not just a house — it becomes alive with you.

Light spills softly.  Texture brushes past. Scent drifts in like an old friend — cedarwood grounding a corner, lavender softening the night.  This is the bond, alive in your senses.

Why does it matter?   Because when your home fits you like this, it lifts your soul — easing stress, sparking creativity, and wrapping you in belonging.  It becomes a place that knows you, whispering your story back to you.

That's what we're here to help you explore: the scent your space is asking for, and the mood it wants to hold.

Our Self–Place Bond synergy blends are created to support emotional well-being through scent — they're tools for tending to how you feel, not just how your space smells.

Each blend speaks to one of the six ways your home holds you — Storage, Restoration, Kinship, Intimacy, Productivity, and Stimulation — whether you need grounding, ease, connection, or spark.

These blends invite you to tend not just to your space, but to the emotional atmosphere within it — to see and name what you feel, to be with it rather than push it away, and to let go when you're ready, returning to your natural state.

Your home isn't just bricks and beams — it's a living, breathing companion.  Some corners draw you close, others push you away.  One room hums with energy, another feels heavy with stillness. You don't just walk through it; you feel its pulse.

That pulse is your home's emotional landscape — the unseen weave of mood, memory, and air that colors your every day.  It's the echo of a laugh in the kitchen, the sigh of a quiet evening by the window.

Scent slips into this weave like a storyteller, needing no invitation.  It curls around you the moment you cross the threshold, shifting the mood before you even notice.  One scent might ground you in memory, another might pull you into lightness.  A home without scent can feel like a stranger, but with it, it's yours — alive, personal, a mirror to your heart.

Your space is already whispering its story.  Does it sound like you? If it feels off, scent can help you find your way back — one breath at a time.  Our Moodboard Gallery can help you listen.  Each board is a visual interpretation of a single oil — a way to understand scent through imagery before you bring it into your home.

When you breathe in an essential oil, its scent travels straight to the part of your brain where emotions and memories live — bypassing thought entirely.  That's why a breath of lavender might soften the edges of a hard day, or peppermint might pull you back into focus when the world feels blurry.

It's not just about smelling something nice; it's about how quickly it shifts your inner landscape — and with it, the mood of your space.

This simple act can turn your home into a place that holds you, whether you're settling into a quiet corner or opening up space for connection.  It's like your breath inviting nature in to rewrite the air.

Yes — scent is one of the quietest, most powerful ways to transform a space.  No paint, no furniture, no rearranging.  Just a shift in the air, and a room that felt off suddenly feels like yours.

Imagine a weary living room.  Diffuse orange, and it's suddenly warm, alive — like a friend's laugh spilling through.  Or picture a cluttered desk.  Peppermint's sharp breath slices in, making it feel crisp and focused.

Unlike décor, which demands effort and upheaval, scent works invisibly.  One day it's citrus waking the kitchen; the next, sandalwood wraps it in warmth.  Lavender softens restless corners.  Peppermint clears the fog.  The room stays the same, but the way it feels changes entirely.

Scent doesn't just tweak a room — it breathes life into it, adapting to whatever you need that day.  Feeling off?  Pause.  Maybe breathe before you rearrange — a new scent might make it yours again.

A place that holds you doesn't just shelter your body — it steadies your breath, cradles your weight, and whispers, You can land here.

Scent is one of the quietest ways to create that feeling.  When you walk into a room and breathe in cedarwood or vetiver, something in you softens.  The space stops being a backdrop and starts being a presence — steady, rooted, yours.

This is what we mean by Storage in the Self–Place Bond: your home as a vessel that holds not just your belongings, but your emotions, your exhaustion, your need to be still.  Scent marks a room as safe — a signal to your nervous system that says, Rest. You're held.

It's not about filling the air with fragrance.  It's about creating an atmosphere that catches you when you exhale.  A room scented with sandalwood, frankincense, or patchouli becomes more than four walls — it becomes a place you return to and feel yourself settle, every time.

If your home doesn't feel like it's holding you, scent might be the gentlest place to start.  One breath, and the room begins to know you.

When you're far away from home or feeling adrift within it, scent can be a soft thread, drawing you closer to that familiar hum.

Picture carrying an inhaler with vetiver — its earthy breath calls up your favorite quiet spot, steadying you no matter where life takes you.  Or spritz a scarf with lemon — a burst of your kitchen's light, bright and warm, even in unfamiliar air.

When you're home but it doesn't feel quite right, scent can settle the unease.  Diffuse lavender and let its gentle hush wrap you like a well-worn blanket.  In 30 minutes, the air feels like it remembers you.  Or breathe rosemary's sharp whisper to cut through the fog — suddenly, your space feels clear and close again.

Your home's more than a place — it's a feeling you can hold onto.  And scent makes that feeling portable.  Slip an inhaler in your pocket for a quick breath of peace on the go.  When you return, let vetiver drift from a diffuser or steam eucalyptus over a bowl — its warmth welcoming you like an old friend.

What scent feels like home to you?  Take it with you, let it weave through your space, and feel it call you back — again and again.

Have you ever noticed how certain places feel a certain way — not just look, but feel?  A library's hush.  A garden's ease.  A train platform's anticipation.  Scent is often the invisible architect of that feeling — and you can bring that architect home with you.

When you're out there — a windswept coastline, a vibrant market — breathe in an oil that feels like the place.  Cypress for grounding earth and wind.  Grapefruit for bright, open-air energy. Let the scent soak up the moment.

Then bring it back.  Diffuse cypress in your living room, and it's no longer just a scent — it's the pull of that coastline, the steadiness of stone and sea, stitched into your space.  Spritz grapefruit by your window, and your kitchen suddenly carries the brightness of that market.  Your home begins to hold not just you, but where you've been.

This changes how your space feels.  It's still yours, but richer — layered with memories of trails and tides.  Cedarwood echoes a woodland's quiet.  Sweet orange sparks the warmth of a sunlit square.  Each scent is a thread connecting here to out there.

What place tugs at you?  Carry its scent.  Let it drift through your home.  And watch how it weaves into your walls, making your space a living archive of the world you've touched.

Your home isn't just one feeling — and neither is any single room. A bathroom can be restoration one day, stimulation the next.  A corner of your living room might shift from focus to ease depending on what you need.  Scent is one of the simplest ways to shape these shifts, helping you move through your day and redefine your spaces without changing a thing.

When you pair a scent with a specific activity or time of day, it becomes a gentle signal to your body and mind: This is what we're doing now.  Diffuse peppermint while you work, and over time, that sharpness becomes the scent of focus — your space helping you settle into clarity.  Breathe rosemary during morning routines, and it starts to feel like the scent of beginning, pulling you into the day with intention.

This is what we mean by Productivity in the Self–Place Bond: not working harder, but moving through your home with more ease and awareness.  Scent creates invisible thresholds — from rest to work, from scattered to steady, from doing to being.

You might use lemon to brighten the kitchen in the morning, signaling openness and energy.  Eucalyptus at your desk to clear mental fog.  Lavender in the evening to mark the shift from productivity to rest.  Each scent becomes a bookmark in your day, helping you transition without effort.

What does your day at home ask of you?  Choose scents that support those shifts — not to push you, but to hold you through them. One breath, and the room knows what comes next.

There's no one "best" way to invite scent in — it's what resonates with your space and your needs.  Start by asking: How do I want this room to feel today?  Clarity?  Calm?  Let that guide you. 

Diffusers are the simplest way to fill a space.  Ultrasonic ones release a gentle mist — 3-5 drops of lavender for a few hours can soften a bedroom into ease.  Nebulizing diffusers are stronger, good for when you want a room to shift quickly — cedarwood grounding a restless corner, lemon brightening a tired kitchen.

Simpler methods work beautifully too.  Drop citrus on a cotton ball by a window.  Carry a personal inhaler with rose for a quick breath of calm.  Steam eucalyptus under a towel for ten minutes — it clears the breath and opens the senses.

You can also layer scent quietly: tuck sandalwood into a drawer, spritz lavender on a pillowcase.  Scent doesn't have to fill the room — sometimes a quiet trace is enough.

Your home's already breathing something.  Start small, and see if you can make it feel more like you.

It's less about a schedule and more about listening to your space. Start with 2-3 short sessions — 30-60 minutes each — spaced throughout the day.  Then adjust based on how the space feels.

Maybe a breath of rosemary in the morning sharpens your focus. Chamomile at night helps you settle.  When you're hosting, let bergamot drift for a couple of hours, then pause.

Here's the key: less is more.  The most effective scent is one you barely notice — a whisper in the air, not a shout.  If you're constantly aware of it, you've likely used too much.  When scent works best, it shapes the mood without announcing itself.

And let your space breathe.  Keep a window cracked or a door open — good airflow helps scent move naturally rather than settle heavily.  It keeps the atmosphere alive, not stagnant.

Bachelard saw homes as alive — let scents rise and fall with your day's rhythm, not drown it out.  If the air starts to feel thick or cloying, let it rest.  If you can barely sense the scent, you're probably in the right place.

Notice.  Adjust.  Let scent breathe with you.

Essential oils are potent, so a little goes a long way.  Start small: 3-5 drops in a diffuser is plenty.  If you're applying oils to skin, always dilute them in a carrier oil first — essential oils are too concentrated to use undiluted.

Don't run a diffuser all day.  Aim for 30-60 minutes at a time, then pause.  This keeps the scent subtle and avoids overexposure, especially if others are in the space.  Keep the air flowing — open a window or door to let fresh air circulate.

Store oils out of reach of children and pets.  Essential oils are potent and should be handled with care.

If you have pets, be cautious. Some oils (like tea tree, eucalyptus, and citrus) can be harmful to animals, especially cats.  Check with a vet before diffusing around pets, and always keep oils out of their reach.

If you're pregnant, nursing, or managing a health condition, consult a healthcare provider before using essential oils.  Some oils aren't recommended during pregnancy or for certain conditions.

Use pure essential oils only.  Synthetic fragrances don't offer the same benefits and may contain unknown additives.

Synthetic fragrances smell familiar — a lavender candle, a "fresh linen" spray — but they're lab-created imitations.  They might smell pleasant, but they lack the complexity and depth of pure essential oils.

Pure essential oils are drawn from plants through steam distillation or cold pressing.  They contain dozens or even hundreds of natural compounds working together.  Real lavender doesn't just smell sweet — it calms your nervous system (psychological) and slows your heart rate (pharmacological), thanks to compounds like linalool and linalyl acetate (Sowndhararajan & Kim, 2016).

Even isolated synthetic compounds — like synthetic linalool — can affect mood. But they're just one thread.  Pure essential oils create effects that a single molecule can't replicate, because the compounds work synergistically (Heuberger & Ilmberger, 2010).

Artificial fragrances are fantasy scents — "summer breeze," "clean cotton" — designed to smell nice but with no basis in nature.  They can be pleasant, but they don't interact with your body the way plant compounds do.

At Symbiosis, we choose pure essential oils because they don't just scent a space — they shape it, alive with you.  Cedarwood grounding your quiet corners.  Citrus lifting a tired room.  Rose softening your private moments.  These aren't just pleasant smells.  They're living compounds that work with your body, not just your nose.

Pure oils are also transparent.   You know exactly what you're breathing.  Synthetic fragrances often hide behind vague labels like "fragrance" or "parfum," which can contain dozens of undisclosed chemicals.

That's the difference: pure oils don't mask or decorate.   They transform.

This is completely normal — it's called olfactory fatigue, or "nose blindness."  Your nose adapts to scents you're exposed to continuously, so after 15-20 minutes, you might stop noticing the scent even though it's still in the air.

This doesn't mean the scent isn't working.  Others entering the space will likely smell it, and it's still shaping the atmosphere. Your body is still responding to it, even if your conscious awareness has faded.

If you want to refresh your perception, step outside or into a different room for a few minutes. When you return, you'll notice the scent again.  You can also take breaks between diffusing sessions — 30-60 minutes on, then pause.  This prevents overexposure and keeps your sense of smell responsive.

Remember: the most effective scent is one you barely notice.  If you're constantly aware of it, you've likely used too much.  Let your nose rest, and trust that the scent is still doing its work.

If you're not sure where to start, begin by asking: How do I want to feel in this space right now?

The six functional aspects — Storage, Restoration, Kinship, Intimacy, Productivity, and Stimulation — aren't rigid categories. They're invitations to notice what you need.  Sometimes you'll know immediately.  Other times, it takes a bit of listening.

Try this:

1. Notice what's missing. If your home feels restless or unsettled, you might need Storage (grounding, anchoring).  If it feels heavy or draining, you might need Restoration (ease, renewal).  If it feels distant or disconnected, you might need Kinship (belonging, connection).

2. Think about your day.  Are you struggling to focus?  That's Productivity. Feeling creatively flat?  That's Stimulation.  Craving softness and privacy?  That's Intimacy.

3. Experiment without overthinking.  Choose a scent that calls to you and see how it shifts the space.  Sometimes the aspect reveals itself through the experience, not before it.

You can also explore our Moodboard Gallery, where each board is a visual interpretation of a single essential oil — my own curatorial translation of how that oil feels, looks, and resonates. Browse the images, and see which oils call to you visually.  Sometimes the mood you need reveals itself through imagery before you've even smelled the scent.

And remember: you don't need to get it "right."  Your needs will shift day to day, room to room.  The six aspects are a map, not a prescription.  Trust your instincts, and let scent guide you.