An interview with Mette Skjærbæk on the power of scent
For Mette Skjærbæk, a single breath of orange brings childhood memories and lost moments back to life. For our founder, scent is more than wellness – it’s memories, emotions, and nature in its purest form. Aromatherapy has been a part of her life since her youth and has become a passion and a guiding force in both her personal and professional life. In this interview, Mette shares her love for nature’s fragrances and why she believes aromatherapy is a gift available to all of us.
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My strongest childhood memories are scents from my parents’ garden and kitchen. We encountered some difficult losses when I was 11, and many memories from that time are a bit distant – but scents, I remember as if it were yesterday. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons in the greenhouse, lilacs on the neighbor’s tree in spring, homemade buns, and more. I think I was born with a love for scent and nature, and I do have a well-developed sense of smell. I smell everything around me – it’s both wonderful and a bit overwhelming at times, because not everything smells good.
At 18, I fell in love with aromatherapy (essential oils from flowers, leaves, bark, stems, fruit, peels, etc.), and it has been my faithful companion ever since. I only like pure, natural scents – synthetic ones just don’t resonate with my nose, and I feel the urge to leave the room if there’s a strong smell of synthetic perfume.
Our sense of smell is our strongest sense, and we rely on it to be able to taste. I just love how aromatherapeutic scents can lift my mood, calm me down, energize me, connect me with my femininity and all other aspects of my feelings and emotions.
My strongest childhood memories are scents from my parents’ garden and kitchen. We encountered some difficult losses when I was 11, and many memories from that time are a bit distant – but scents, I remember as if it were yesterday. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons in the greenhouse, lilacs on the neighbor’s tree in spring, homemade buns, and more. I think I was born with a love for scent and nature, and I do have a well-developed sense of smell. I smell everything around me – it’s both wonderful and a bit overwhelming at times, because not everything smells good.
At 18, I fell in love with aromatherapy (essential oils from flowers, leaves, bark, stems, fruit, peels, etc.), and it has been my faithful companion ever since. I only like pure, natural scents – synthetic ones just don’t resonate with my nose, and I feel the urge to leave the room if there’s a strong smell of synthetic perfume.
Our sense of smell is our strongest sense, and we rely on it to be able to taste. I just love how aromatherapeutic scents can lift my mood, calm me down, energize me, connect me with my femininity and all other aspects of my feelings and emotions.
I often hear that many “discover” real scents through Karmameju products, and I frequently get asked: “Why do Karmameju products smell so good?” – by both men and woman, young and old. Many people don’t know the difference between synthetic and pure, natural scents, but once they smell the real scent and get to know it, they often prefer it. A real scent is, for example, extracted from roses, while a synthetic scent is a lab-made copy of a rose scent.
I think as young women, our sense of smell gets a bit sidetracked – with hairspray, cheap synthetic perfumes, creams, etc., whereas I find men’s noses are often more “clean” and discerning. I’ve never met a man who didn’t genuinely appreciate aromatherapy – women do too, of course – but several men have specifically told me: “I’ve told my wife she should only use Karmameju,” because they appreciate the scents so much.
But overall, I think Danish women have a really good take on beauty and a great sense of balance.
How effective it is. How it can be used as an “emotional pharmacy”. And how it’s around us all the time: smell your orange peel, your basil leaves; when you're out in nature, pick a leaf or a flower, or pull up a root. Rub it between your fingers, and the essential oils are released – each time you smell them, your mind is affected. I think that’s quite magical.
In many countries, when you’re admitted to the hospital, you’re met by a clinical aromatherapist who helps you feel relaxed, boost energy, relieve nausea, and ease pain, etc. Scents tends to get a bit of a bad reputation in Denmark, while in other countries they’re used to help people feel better.
Aromatherapy is the extraction of plants, and they contain many properties for the skin, body, and mind. There are now many scientific studies documenting the effects of aromatherapy, and in my view, we should use nature as much as possible. Nature is here for us. A good example is weeds: dandelions, nettles, and so on – they’re literally medicine for us humans, but some people see them as a nuisance and spray them with Roundup to kill them off. Maybe weeds are here because we people need them - it’s nature in abundance.
That changes all the time depending on where I am in life: my cycle, whether I’ve been too busy, or whether I’m in a good balance.
I created the LOVING, CALMING, and ENERGIZING series to support people in their everyday lives: What do you need? Your subconscious knows, and you’ll reach for the right one. I love bringing HOPE, MILD, and WILD body oils in travel sizes on vacation, like a little “mood pharmacy”, and I think it’s so beneficial to check in with yourself: What do I need?
One of the scents I use most in my daily life is orange, and I recently realized why: it’s one of the last memories I have with my father, who passed away when I was very young. So maybe I get a little “meeting” with my late father every time I smell orange – the scent of orange always makes me happy.
When we start developing a new product, we thoroughly review what we want the product to do in terms of the user’s skin condition and which scent category it needs to be in: LOVING, CALMING, or ENERGIZING.
As an example, we’re currently working on a foot cream. We know many people use foot cream in the evening, and to promote good sleep, we’re basing it on the scent of cedarwood, a scent also used by monks to support deep meditation. For the skin, cedarwood is known to be antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal – perfect to support healthy feet. Our development always starts with this mindset: for the mind and for the skin.
Our collaboration with our perfumer in England, Richard, has taught me so much over the years, and I’m incredibly grateful to work with something as precious as nature in its purest form.
Our first product was CALM balm, and I love that it was the first one, as it is the one product I would take to a desert island if I could only bring one. Multifunctional products are wonderful because they can be used in so many ways – and by the whole family. CALM is beautifully relaxing with ingredients like Lavender and Chamomile oil. Rest and peace are some of the most important things to focus on in our fast-paced world, I believe.
To offer people what I believe is the very best. We also have a perfume-free line for those who prefer that, but aromatherapy is a gift in life that I want to make accessible to everyone. For the skin, aromatherapy has many of the same benefits as it does for the mind: just as Lavender relaxes the emotions, it also soothes the skin.
I simply want to bottle up nature so it’s always within reach – so everyone can benefit from what it has to offer.
Also read: “How does our sense of smell affect us?”
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When we ask, “What suncare do you wear?”, we’re not looking for the perfect answer – but for awareness. With the recent relaunch of KARMAMEJU SUN, Mette Skjærbæk has made it her cause to inform about how choosing sunscreen is an important decision for both our skin and overall health. In this article, she highlights the differences between sun filters and shares why she only chooses mineral sunscreens – for herself, for Karmameju users, and for her daughters.
