Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The complete guide to the use of aromatic oils in aromatherapy, herbalism, health and well-being Paperback – Abridged, July 1, 2002

I’ve only been using EO’s for a couple years, and in all honesty I only use 3 or 4 of the many that I have. I’ll get all excited when I buy them, but they’re just sitting in the fridge because I don’t really know what medicinal thing to use them for. Some say you can’t put them on your skin and go out in the sun because of photosensitivity, then someone will say something else and it goes on until it becomes an overload of opinions and directions; hence the fact that they are just sitting in the fridge. I’ve started reading up on different herbs and then it really dawned on me to actually BUY an EO book, instead of just looking online and going nowhere.Now to the review…This EO Encyclopedia is absolutely amazing and informative! It gives you a good variety of information on the different constituents that each oil possesses and which ones will help with certain ailments. One of the things I thought was really cool is instead of just saying which oils go together they also tell you how to layer the scent for complexity, like in a perfume. I’m super happy with this book and wish I bought it much sooner than I did. I picked up a used one in ‘good’ condition, there wasn’t any marks and in all honesty it looks like it just sat on someone’s bookshelf. I’ll buy more used books from this seller again. If you’re looking for a book on EO’s this is the one you need!

This is the gold standard Essential Oil book. Do some comparing, and checking and you'll agree. It is an encyclopedia, as it says. The information is in good depth, and complete, and it includes nearly all the essential oils in current use. Julia Lawless is a world renowned expert. I use this book often. You can delve a bit deeper in the chemistry and I have some of those books. For the daily, in depth, practical and experienced but yet science-based information we need, this book is it. I am so exceedingly tired of thin little books with the same repetitive recipes for cleaning and skin care and air freshening etc etc etc. Or, big glossy books with pages of gorgeous photos with info that's been lifted from the same source as last year's big gorgeous glossy book. They have their place, to interest you, and give the short answers for those who only want quick and light information. This book takes you beyond the "dabbling in essential oils" phase to actual knowledge and useful application.

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! I wanted an encyclopedia of essential oils for quick reference, opposed to flipping through my gigantic essential oil reference book. I had purchased another book on amazon but it didn't have nearly as much information on the essential oils as this book does. I bought the Encyclopedia Of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless. It doesn't have photographs , which is fine by me. Each oils profile contains the common name, family, synonyms (other names the plant may be called), general description, distribution (where the plant grows indigenous, and where it's cultivated), other species, herbal/folk tradition, actions (what it's best used for), extraction methods, characteristics (including color, scent, and perfume note), principal constituents, safety data (precautions), aromatherapy/home use, and other uses. It has common essential oils and rare ones as well, many more than the last book I purchased. I am very happy with this book, and wish I had ordered this one in the first place.

I was actually surprised by two things:1. The fact that I have a now vast and still growing library of books on Aromatherapy and Essential Oils (Including from authors like Worwood, Cooksley, Schnaubelt and Tisserand) yet I now find myself reaching for this one more than some of these other authors.2. The negative reviews of others.I guess my expectations were different. While it is an Encyclopeia which should make it a valuble reference source, I feel it does what an Encyclopeia should do and what is standard for that type of reference - that is it covers a lot of information on a broad range of items that you can look up (in this case essential oils) and does a good job giving you the necessary background and basic information that you would need to get a good understanding of what it is you looked up. (Not be a master at that topic because that would result in something far more extensive and a very weighty book when covering so many oils.) Despite being concise and to the point Lawless still manages to give you a snap shot of each oil with information on 13 topics for each of the over 165 oils listed (one review said over 190 but not sure where that number came from, I counted something around 168, still quite a list!).The only thing I will say is that she is along the lines of Cooksley and Worwood where I sometimes feel like they are overly cautious. I believe in being responsible and informed with use but I prefer authors like Schnaubelt that don't discount an oil due to one study that was done once by someone and recorded and therefore it is now considered toxic, without looking at how the study was done and what factors were involved, if constituents of the oil were isolated, etc. However, if you are new to EOs than it is best to error on the more restricted use just to be safe.I will not list the chapters in the introductory Part 1 as another reviewer already covered. But in Part 2 "The Oils", each oil is listed with its botanical name and then given the following information in the following order:BOTANICAL FAMILYSYNONYMSGENERAL DESCRIPTION (Of the plant)DISTRIBUTIONOTHER SPECIESHERBAL/FOLK TRADITIONACTIONSEXTRACTIONCHARACTERISTICS (Of the oils, scent, appearance, etc.)PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS (Chemistry snapshot)SAFETY DATAAROMATHERAPY/HOME USEOTHER USESThis is what the majority of the book IS (just like an encyclopedia would be) and I believe it does a good job doing what it is designed to do. The fact that it is only missing about 3 of my favorite oils (probably because they are newer, i.e. Rhododendron, Palo Santo, etc.) and lists so many others, it truely is a nicely organized and very handy and useful reference.It is easy to find the information you need and quickly. Despite the lack of "color" complaints by other reviewers, I still found it one of the more attractive aromatherapy books. It is well laid out, in nice print, and has some lovely black and white illustrations. The book is actualy more attractive than some of the other more well know ones and I think I reach for it more often now because I don't have to wade through many reciepes and a ton of other chapters to get to hunt for the part that just profiles the oils themselves. (Other information is good, all of the recepies, uses on animals, household cleaners, etc. just not what I am looking for when I am grabbing an encyclopedia to give the basic background and profile.)ALSO - The Therapeutic Index in the back along with the General Glossary that defines the medical terms addressed in the book (and address in several others, but are not defined in a lot of other books) for those who do not have a health science background proves very useful. There is also a rather extensive Botanical Classification and a good Botantical Index in the very back.So I will be getting the newer Illustraded version eventually but not out of dissapointment for this one, if anything because I was so impressed with the layout and information that exceeded my expectaions of this author that I took a chance on. (Getting a good used copy of this edition will allow those pinching pennies to add a great reference book to their Aromatherapy library.)