This is eucalyptus with the edges smoothed off. Eucalyptus smithii is the mildest of the eucalypts, which is why it's the one to choose when the others feel too sharp. It's distilled from the leaves of a tree native to Australia, and its soft, clean, camphor-fresh scent comes from cineole — the bright compound that gives the whole eucalyptus family its lift. Ours is grown and distilled on the farm: nothing added, nothing hidden.

It's the fresh-start oil. Reach for it to bring a crisp, spa-like freshness to a shower, clear a foggy head, or diffuse it through the house on cold-season evenings. It's the gentler eucalyptus, but still concentrated, so dilute it well for the skin and patch test first.

Good to know: keep eucalyptus well away from the faces of babies and young children, the cineole that makes it so fresh is too strong for little airways. Lovely for the grown-ups' shower; not for the nursery.