Atlanta - November 27, 2006

Real Slick

Essential Oil Guru Michael Weed

Escalating gas prices, global instability, and environmental wreckage. All ugly outcomes of our addiction to oil.

How about redirecting that addiction to a far prettier version of the stuff: essential oil.

Oil aficionado Michael Weed of Scents ’n’ Suds will grease the wheels of your habit and share his best tips, from the obvious (a smidge on your neck, a few drops in the tub) to the not-as-much (the ideal timing for adding a few drops to the wash cycle, how a soaked cotton ball can freshen everything from the vacuum cleaner to a stinky gym bag).

Since his oils are undiluted, they last longer than department store perfumes. And though Weed has over 800 fragrances (the largest collection in the Southeast) he can’t promise a mimic of your favorite scent, but try him: He’ll bend over backwards to create something that you love, and will sell you a version that you can safely add to bath products, body lotion, diffusers, and more. (Who knows? You might even give your scored-it-once-in-Marrakech perfume new legs.)

Talk about renewable resourcing.

Scents ’n’ Suds, 1544 Piedmont Avenue, at Ansley Mall, Midtown (404-875-7568).

  Natural, Organic