Product Review: Essence of Vali

The last few weeks of summer always seem to be overly hectic for me, and this year has been no different. You've already heard a little here, and now I have that review I've promised you. 

The Company
Valerie, the founder and president, is remarkable person. Any woman who has the courage to leave her career and make a business out of what she loves is truly amazing. The company's philosophy revolves around self care, and their card reads "Inspiring people to love themselves, age gracefully and experience a whole new way of live. Challenge your mind. Honor your body. Celebrate your spirit."

I had the opportunity to review Massage and Bath Oils, Botanical Mists, Perfume, Sleep Aids, and Pain Relief Balm.

The Products
These products are not tested on animals, 100% natural, and except the balms, 100% vegan.

The Oils: I know these products are intended to be massage and bath oils, but I've found my favorite way to use them was as a body oil upon getting out of the shower. While they weren't as moisturizing as the lotion I generally use, the scent lingered all day and well into the night, but was never overly powerful or distracting. For massage I found the oils to absorb quite quickly. I would prefer a massage oil to last longer, but I liked that I didn't feel like I had to shower after a massage.

The Mists: I loved how easy the mists were to use. They really make aromatherapy accessible. I appreciate that they were concentrated enough to use a minimal amount. Two sprays and the whole room was scented, and it lasted! As the oils, the mists come in lovely blue bottles with solid color labels associated with the scent.

The Perfume: Its hard to find an natural perfume that doesn't smell too, well... natural. While the scent doesn't mirror a traditional perfume, and such takes time to get used to, it is a very pleasant scent. If you'd like to try it out, you can request a sample here!

Sleep Aid: The vial of sleep, a bedtime ritual, was one of my favorite products. I have a whole collection of aromatherapy sleep aids, most of which are simply lavender essential oil in a jar. I appreciated that Vali's sleep ritual was a more complex scent, and oh how relaxing it was! Most of all, it was lovely that just a drop lasted all night. With the mini vials, however, it is difficult to dispense just a single drop. I found it is easiest to turn the vial up side down, getting some of the concentrate on the lid, open the vial, and touch the lid to the corner of your pillow. Make sure it is the corner as it is too concentrated to be used on skin. The full size version has a dropper which makes this issue null and void. 

Pain Relief Balm: If you've ever used icy hot, this product has a similar effect, but more mild. It smells lovely, like peppermint. As far as application, the product was a very soft solid, and very easy to spread on the skin. I have chronic back pain, and utilized this product when I was having a particularly hard time. The effects were noticeable in a couple of minutes and helped ease the pain.

The Results: I believe aromatherapy is like exercise, or college. You get what you put in. Of course, you can spray "Calm" around you while stomping your feet and throwing things, and it may have effect, I'm sure it is much more beneficial to utilize the product and take a quick quite moment to sit still and take a couple deep breaths.

That being said, I was in a particularly hysterical mood a couple of days ago, feeling a mixture of self pity, anger, frustration, and sadness all mixed into one. As I stormed downstairs, I noticed the Essence of Vali's products sitting on my living room table. I saw the bottle of "Uplift" mist first, and no joke, actually said "Freaking uplift!" in a pretty angry tone. None the less, I sprayed the mist around me a couple times and continued storming around the house. 
The effect was remarkably similar to this thing my dad used to do when were were particularly angry with him as children. He would put on this goofy grin and point at our faces, all the while saying "I see that smile creeping up! Right there, I see it. Your smiling!" (There was no staying mad at that man). Eventually I felt the mood slipping away, despite my resistance. While it didn't turn me into a glowing ball of sunshine, it noticeably eased my tension.

While I am an aromatherapy junkie, everyone I showed these products too loved them. The quality is outstanding, and the price is affordable. I can see these products being perfect as hostess or christmas gifts. The mini vials of sleep would also be great for travel, when a good night's sleep is often hard to attain. At only a dollar, who could resist?

The only issue is deciding what blends to choose! Valerie's favorite mist is Uplift. I loved Fortify, Detox, and Refresh. The website even has a handy symptom checker to set you up with the right blend for your needs. You can check that out here.

*Samples of these products were sent to me for review. As always all opinions are my own. You can read my full disclosure here.

Which would you choose?