Fab Find of the Week: This Works Own Time fragrance
So, a funny thing happened the night we got our hands on this fragrance. Expecting little immediate impact on sleep – because during its launch, This Works CEO Dr. Anna Persaud told us that it would take a wee while of using, to take effect – we duly spritzed at 6 p.m., ‘to start the evening wind-down process’… and slept like a log.
Second night: same. And so it has gone on, resulting in easier falling asleep, and fewer night-time expeditions for a wee. That is some achievement. At first, we thought it might be coincidence, but it’s been about six weeks, now, and the benefits are crystal clear.
This Works Own Time has been formulated in a really interesting, almost back-to-front way. The specific components of essential oils in the blend were chosen for their power to relax and calm, and the fragrance almost ‘retro-fitted’ from there.
To be honest, having first got wind of this launch much earlier last year, our biggest worry was that we might not want to wear This Works Own Time on our skin. (Much as we love – and find super-effective – the proven sleep-beckoning blend in the many products based around This Works Deep Sleep blend, it smells like what it is: a potent aromatherapy blend. Not something you’d want to trail behind you on an evening out…)
Independent user studies, in collaboration with neuroscientist Professor Gaby Badre, confirmed that the scent ‘engages the parasympathetic nervous system with the mood-altering potential of terpene-rich aromatic essential oils.’ In other words – like the rest of the This Works range (many of the products multi-Beauty Bible Award winners, of course) – this works.
The big challenge with This Works Own Time, however, is that it smells so glorious, we want to wear it all the time – and that’s not really the idea. (Not that anyone would fall asleep at the wheel, or drop off at their desk, but it’s definitely designed for ‘wind-down’ time. Having said that, at stressful moments working from home, Jo has been found sneaking a spritz in the middle of the day, to centre and still her mind.)
It’s creamily woody with sandalwood, warmed by spicy pink peppercorn and cardamom, all wrapped in a cloud of musks and a rosy softness. There are drifts of incense wafting through the scent, too, including frankincense, and overall, This Works Own Time is a veritable pashmina of a scent – but with the superpower of calming the mind.
There has been a buzz about the role of neuroscience in fragrance creation, in recent years – but to be honest, this is the first of those clinically acclaimed mood-shifters that we’ve found ourselves reaching for, time and again. (And again.)
Do let us know what you experience, when you’ve tried it?
This Works Own Time/£80 for 50ml - buy here
