Essential Oils in Central London

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Essential oils in the heart of London’s Piccadilly. Widest range in central London. Reputable suppliers. Reasonable prices. Immediately available four days a week (Wednesday to Saturday inclusive) at:

havenessence
Piccadilly Market
St James’s Church
197 Piccadilly
London W1J 9LL

Tel: 07588 964 422
facebook.com/havenessence
Or visit our online store: http://havenessence.com


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Also available: natural soaps, argan oil, resins (e.g. frankincense, myrrh, benzoin) pure shea butter based body creams with natural absolutes (e.g. jasmine, frangipani, gardenia) aromatherapy candles, bath milks, fizzes and scrubs with essential oils, herbs bags, and a wide range of lavender essential oil varieties.

Piccadilly Market St James's Church Piccadilly London

Piccadilly Market, St James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL

Frankincense Sacra in London

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New at Havenessence — Frankincense Boswellia Sacra oil, available online or in person at Piccadilly Market, London W1.

The ancient Egyptians believed frankincense to be the sweat of gods, fallen to earth. The legendary Phoenix bird was believed to build its nest from twigs of frankincense and to feed upon the resin. Incense containing frankincense was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Havenessence Frankincense Sacra (Boswellia sacra) has a sweet, strong, almost floral aroma combined with balsamic and animalistic undertones. We hold just a small quantity of this special oil.

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Prickly Pear Seed Oil

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We have sourced a small amount of Prickly pear seed oil. Prickly pear is a rare, deeply moisturising oil which penetrates easily into the skin. Great for softening wrinkles, it gives the skin a velvety feel. Available in person in central London or online. If you visit us in St James’s the oil can be tried before purchase.

Prickly pear seed oil is from the seeds of the cactus Opuntia ficus indica. Originally from South America it has now spread to the Mediterranean and North Africa. It takes a huge amount of labour to extract the oil from the tiny seeds of the cactus fruit.

prickly pear seed oil

Beeswax Absolute

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bee-clusterComing soon to havenessence: Beeswax Absolute – Apis mellifera. Sweet, honey-like, faintly floral and musky. Solid at room temperature. Aids the anchoring of volatile notes.

havenessence absolutes are not cheap. They are scrupulously sourced and documented. Most are rare and not easily obtained in London. We are the first port of call for perfumiers and scent specialists who demand the rare, the unusual, the best, and a wide selection of precious natural oils.

Plumeria alba & Plumeria rubra from Cuba

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Exquisite images kindly sent to us by a Piccadilly Market customer, Renate Eder, of Frangipani cuttings from Cuba which she has grown until they bloomed.

We stock Plumeria rubra absolute and use it extensively in soaps, creams and massage oils. But Plumeria alba is an unknown quantity. It’s available but wildly expensive….

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Plumeria alba

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Plumeria alba

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Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

Plumeria rubra

The Search for Sandalwood

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…. is over. For a year I’ve been looking for a good sandalwood oil. I’ve had samples from India, Australia, the West Indies and New Caledonia. Most have been weak, watery, and generally unimpressive.

Which was frustrating because sandalwood is arguably the most important of the wood oils: a key ‘masculine’ scent, fundamental to aromatherapy and central within some cultures and religions.

So it was a joy and a relief to receive a TREMENDOUS sandalwood from Vanuatu, santalum austrocaledonicum, which we now stock.

Smokey, viscous, pungent, long-lasting, a dark honey colour. Produced in government regulated, sustainable, plantations and distilled in Vanuatu using biofuel (coconut oil).

The perils of buying Indian Sandalwood…

Veerappan

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, known as Sandalwood Veerappan, murdered some 184 people, including villagers, forestry officials and police personnel. He was killed by a special police task force in 2004.

Argan Oil Hair Treatment

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Argan oil is great for dry, damaged, or over-processed hair. Some tips:-

# Ensure the oil you use really is pure argan. Check the label. Has it been taken down with other, cheaper, oils, e.g. sweet almond? Is it, in fact, a blend pretending to be pure argan?

# Use a pure cosmetic grade argan, not cooking argan. The nuts used to produce the latter will have been roasted before pressing, giving it a strong, nutty odour. Roasting kills some of the natural goodness. Cosmetic grade argan is unroasted and cold-pressed. It should have a light, pleasant, nutty scent, which disappears after about 30 seconds.

# If the oil has no colour (it should be a beautiful golden brown, like Lyle’s Golden Syrup) it’s been bleached. Avoid. The process kills some of the goodness.

# If the oil has no scent (it should have a light nutty odour) it’s been deodorised. Avoid. The process kills some of the goodness.

# Apply a generous amount of argan to the hair. Massage it into the scalp. Wrap head in a warm towel and leave for 30 minutes or overnight. Shampoo, condition and style in the normal way.

# If you’ve got short hair, apply argan at any time. It makes your hair look like you’re wearing gel.

# Keep a lookout for cooking grade argan. It’s delicious but tends to be wildly expensive — roughly ten times the price of a good virgin olive oil. For those with deep pockets, use instead of olive oil in salads, or add a few drops to an olive oil mix. Blend with lemon, salt, pepper and garlic. Try it once and you’ll find a standard olive oil dressing bland and conventional.

See our sister sites havenessence and Argan Oil London for more information. Buy a good, pure, organic, fairly traded, cosmetic grade argan oil from us here.

argan oil hair treatment

Dionysus on Piccadilly

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Walk from Piccadilly Circus towards Fortnum’s and The Ritz and there, on your left, poking through the railings of St James’s Church, is a vine. It arches over one of the best stalls on Piccadilly Market — De Angeli Design (Bespoke Leathcraft/Made to Measure Belts) — bathing it in a soft green light.

 

Zenbow and Nirvana Diffusers

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zenbow diffuser

Our electronic diffusers get a lot of attention and sell like hot cakes. But why are they better than a standard heat diffuser?

The Zenbow and Nirvana diffusers use ultrasonic frequencies to create vibrations. These carry to the surface where the oils are floating and vaporise them, dispersing them into the environment without using any form of heat.

Essential oils are complex molecular compounds. When dispersed with heat, different molecule chains vaporise at different moments, depending on the degree of heat applied. Hence the temperature alters the chemistry of the essential oil, as opposed to delivering the whole oil into the atmosphere.

I notice the ‘heat factor’ effecting oils in other ways. We sell four types of sandalwood and as summer temperatures have arrived each has ‘blossomed’ becoming noticeably more complex, volatile and potent. The same has happened with our oakmoss, vanilla and rose absolutes.

Come and see, and smell, our diffusers in action at Piccadilly Market — the stylish Zenbow which resembles an erupting volcano and the mighty Nirvana which is almost a foot tall — and be amazed!

Or buy them online at havenessence.com