Ugh

[JazzieCazzie]

Muscle ache relief.

Wow ... am I really the first one to review this?

I couldn't resist "The Relief" ... tempted at first to buy all three as big bottles, given as I am to sinus problems, migraines AND muscle pain, I opted instead to start with the imp pack ...

When I unwrapped the packet I was hit with a huge whoosh of mint and eucalyptus from the trio ... but placed Oof and Grr aside and reached for the Ugh ...

IN THE BOTTLE: Wow. REALLY strong and pungent but a little difficult for me, with a less sophisticated nose than most here, to place the notes ... at first it reminded me of the smell of a very clean nursery school or elementary school room ... a "cleanser"-type smell but a pleasant one ... then I got serious citrus/lemon vibe with a little bit of bubble. And something underneath that which is slightly sweeter and a bit piney ...

ON WET: Dabbed liberally on my wrists and crooks of my arm (am guessing it's not supposed to be placed on the aching muscles, right?) ... This is great stuff ... definitely getting a strong citrus crossed with something very green and herbal though I can't place which herb ... I can't stop sniffing my wrists and it's also doing its job clearing out my sinuses!!!

DRYDOWN: The sweetness comes up when it dries like tangy lemon drops. It's clean and cold and delicious ...

There is nothing UGH about Ugh ... I only wish that the scent of most muscle-ache rubs was anywhere near as wonderful as this.

[Little Bird]

I'm honestly not quite sure how to use this for my muscle aches, so this is mostly a scent review, lol. I wouldn't want to rub this into my sore muscles because the smell would be overpowering, and I don't see how just sniffing it would really help. Unless it's not for sore leg muscles or anything like that and I'm completely misguided

 

Ugh isn't really a smell that I would want to have all over my person. It smells just like the herbal lemon cough drops that my father used to buy. They were either Ricola Lemon Mint or Ricola Honey Lemon... I can't remember exactly. Perhaps the mint because this does have a bracing chilliness to it that's more menthol than mint. Lemony, menthol, with a medicinal sweetness.

[twistygirl]

I don't evaluate Panaceas the way I do the other oils, because they're meant to be curative, as opposed to being strictly a sensual fragrance experience...

 

THIS STUFF WORKS. I have been treating my back homeopathically for years and I can tell that there is black pepper in this, which is absolutely far and away the BEST thing for sore muscles. And yes, I would definitely recommend dabbing a bit of it on your sore muscles before bed... the pepper loosens up the muscle tightness/spasm, which is why your muscles hurt. Try finding the "belly" of the sore muscle (the point where that muscle hurts the most) and dabbing it on there, then massaging it in with a circular motion. Works like a charm.

[supremegoddessofall]

Lemony, but not Lemon Pledge o' Doom. Very acidic and not me at all. Blech.

[hackess]

I love the Panaceas I've tried! Ugh is medicinal, for sure, but minty and soothing. It makes me think of Vicks Vapo-rub more than Oof or Grr do. If Bengay smelled like this, I'd use it for all my aches!

[Emma2403]

Very medicinal : lemon and eucalyptus. I tried it when I had sore ankles one day, put some “ugh” on before going to bed, and it gave me the impression to get some relief. Placebo effect, maybe, but as long as it works and the scent is not annoying, I’m not complaining.

[edenssixthday]

Ugh - I've been waiting for just the right time to try this out. I've been having a lot of problems with tennis elbow and the pain has been affecting all of the muscles in my forearm. This afternoon, I applied some Ugh to the part that was hurting the most, and rubbed it in, then placed a tennis elbow brace over the sore spot. It did seem to provide some temporary relief, which surprised me, because I'm pretty skeptical about topical ointments for deep tissue relief. The scent opens up with a massively huge blast of eucalyptus, but the eucalyptus quickly mellows out and the lemon rushes to the forefront, mingling with the eucalyptus in a way that reminds me of cough drops. I agree with the reviewer who said there's black pepper in this, because I smell a hint of the gritty note behind the lemon and eucalyptus. I am going to keep this on hand and keep on using it every time I get sore and achy -- which is likely to keep happening more and more the older and older I get!

[shellyshells]

I love Ugh! It is aromatherapy at its best! This smells soooo soothing and something minty and lemony come to mind. It is also very potent. I love that the scent lingers for a good while because I seem to associate these medicine type smells with feeling comfortable and relaxed. This is herbal minty lemon goodness!

[PurringPulsar]

Ugh

 

In the imp: whoa, medicinal. It’s like one of those heat rubs, a herbal-menthol scent with some warm spicy notes, lemon, herbs, and a menthol or eucalyptus note.

Wet on skin: now the lemon comes out even more, it smells just like lemon essential oil with herbs and spices and menthol.

Dry: citrus and spices! It smells like lemon with either cinnamon or clove, but now come to think of it the lemon smells like orange. In fact, this smells just like my Christmas blend, a room fragrance scent I make out of cinnamon, clove, orange and maybe some pine essential oils. This smells just like those festive oils, but blended with something warmer, possibly ginger or pepper, and something cool like menthol or camphor. Maybe also some lemon as it also reminds me of drinking honey and lemon for sore throats. It’s odd that a scent can be simultaneously warming and cooling, but this is just that. Citrus and spice and herbs…there may be a touch of rosemary here, maybe juniper or pine. But it smells mostly like a mix of orange/lemon, cinnamon and clove oils. The scent feels very soothing and warm on my skin.

After a while: as it fades, the scent becomes more and more like orange or tangerine peel. Another example of a citrus scent lasting for ages on me (after trying Fire Pig-I wonder if my skin is latching on to citrus more these days?) and it reminds me of the that lingers on my hands after peeling a tangerine. It also reminds me of a type of unusual, exotic citrus called ‘combava’. The fruit is dried and it’s dry, brown flesh is used to flavour savoury cooking. There may also be some bergamot here. This bittersweet, almost toasted, lemon peel and tangerine oil scent lasts for a very long time-an amazing feat for citrus!

Verdict: out of the relief scents, I thought this would be the one I needed least (the only muscle ache I get is if I get neck ache in my sleep, that’s how active I am these days, lol), but upon wearing it I realised how versatile this oil can be. With it’s spicy citrus scent with a hint of herbs, it’s like a natural deep heat rub, I could definitely rub this stuff neat (or maybe with a touch of carrier oil) onto any achy bits. But it seems also like an oil I could rub on any general ache-it reminds me of cold remedies with it’s almost Lemsip-like lemon scent (only more natural) and I think this could be rubbed on any sore parts I get when I have a nasty flu that makes me ache…in fact, that’s what I’d probably use this for as I am such an un-sporty person, so muscle ache isn’t something I get often. I do walk a lot though, so maybe I could rub this on achy legs and feet after long strolls or treks...or maybe after dancing too much? Maybe even to relieve period pains (in conjunction with Bitch)? Or even, as it smells very festive and almost pomander-like, as a warming winter massage to relieve the strain of Christmas shopping. I could think of many purposes for this healing concoction. I don’t need a bottle yet, but I will do a full test-run (ie, test it on any achy muscles I might get) and see whether this works as good as it smells-I have a feeling it might.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I think so-it smells good, it feels good, hopefully it works too!

[girl_android]

I figured, after a week of trying to deny that I've been sleeping funny (maybe I haven't been sleeping funny?) and waking up with a sore neck, it might be time to give Ugh a go ...

 

In the imp, it's lemony eucalyptus cough drops.

 

Wet on skin, it's cooling, and it's not just lemony eucalyptus. Citrussy (oranges and lemons?), but warm smelling, except cooling on the skin.

 

Once dry, the eucalyptus fades off, and what's left is a kind of muted lemony-orange scent. Not the juice of either of these, or the rind straight away, but more an impression that lemons and oranges had been in the vicinity recently.

 

My neck's not feeling quite as bad (it's still not great, but that's probably because of some non-muscle things going on there too), so I guess that's definitely something!

[angharad]

I've been horribly sore since wrestling with my husband's wet blanket this weekend (), so last night I tested this fantastic Ugh out. At first going on, it smelled like minty lemon Pledge. "Ugh, indeed," was my initial reaction. I don't like mint, and I don't like lemon. But as it dried the scent turned into sugar-coated lemon drops -- so much better! I fell asleep before noticing any other scent changes.

 

As for the aromatherapy of it, I didn't notice any beneficial effects to my sore muscles until I woke up this morning. When I was getting out of bed, I winced out of habit, then realized that I wasn't sore. I don't know if it was that extra night of sleep since hurting myself, or if Ugh really did it, but it's enough to make me want to dance with joy. I'm definitely holding on to this imp, and I'll wait to see about getting a bottle until I've tried it out a few more times.

[mooncityminx]

About a week or so ago I was suffering from headaches that lasted for days. I tried everything I knew, with minimal success at relief.

 

Well I had a frimp of Ugh stashed away, and I didn't have a lot of faith. Afterall Ugh is supposed to be for muscle pain. What I had felt like a sinus headache from hell.

 

To me it smells exactly like a really potent version of those Halls lemon hebal cough drops. I mean that in the best way possible. Even though cough drop is not a fragrance that I would perfume myself with normally, for theraputic use it is quite nice. It doesn't smell medicinal in an icky way, and its throw is subtle enough. I wouldn't worry about grossing anyone out if I wanted to wear this out of the house. Really it's more lemon verbena than Vicks Vapor Rub.

 

There is a slight cooling effect when applied to the skin, but not much. The citrus does not go wonky on me as most citruses tend to do. The smell is soothing and theraputic. It did help my headache, and did a better job than acetomedrophine. I had to reapply a few times but that's to be expected in an extreme case such as mine.

 

I need to get a bottle of this stat.

[jmchau]

I liked this. After about 10 minutes the main thought I had was Lemon Verbena.

[steelxrose]

Perfect timing for me to receive UGH. I woke up with the worst ache in my neck/upper back. Not a good for rubbing an imp all over - and I was dreading the scents of these. They remind me of some remedies my mother used for a while. But after rubbing the wand on my neck (and rubbing it in with my fingers - woo) I smell very lemonny. And I don't hurt quite as much. (I'd need the 5mL for my ache today.)

 

This makes me want to get the 5mL.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant bought on LJ

 

Initial Thoughts: I didn't look before I bought...I thought this one was the one for sinus headaches. But since walking my child to and from school every day, I've developed a bit of pain in my left Achilles tendon, so I thought I'd give it a try.

 

Scent: As others have reported, there's eucalyptus. There's lemon-citrus. There's a dash of pepper. All together it does smell rather medicinal, but it's not offensively so.

 

Effect: I rubbed some into the sore points on my ankle. There was a cooling effect at first, and gradually everywhere I'd rubbed turned warmer. About ten minutes after applying I tried poking at the sorest spot and got zero pain! The tendon still feels...well-used if I move my foot around, but at this time it doesn't ache.

 

This certainly seems to work as advertised. I'm going to get my husband to give it a try on his knee when he gets home.

[hkhm]

imp: eucalyptus. if there is anything else in this blend i can't smell it.

 

wet: still all eucalyptus. i've rubbed some on the back of my neck which is just a little sore from sleeping on it incorrectly.

 

dry: the scent vanishes almost instantly leaving a very faint sweetness on my skin. my neck feels a little looser and less achy.

[KaliVerra]

Scent: I'm an oddball... I love it. Medicinal, yeah... but the lemony-loveyness of it just slays me

 

Effectiveness: Hmmm... Like Ben-Gay LITE! But with deep massage, you get great circulatory benefits (as well as with the massage oil!! Woo woo!! Couldn't live w/out it!!)

 

5/5!

[alianthe]

Extremely medicinal, and very reminiscent of old-time sore-muscle salve. Hello, eucalyptus!

 

That said, it works very well, particularly in the massage oil form.

 

When I'm really bound up, besides rubbing it in to the achey muscle, I find a couple of drops in a hot bath does wonders. It is the perfect thing after a long day in the garden. Goodbye aches!

[ErinZ]

Cooling, camphorous - a bit like Icy Hot, but without the hot.

 

I can't speak to its effectiveness, though, because I don't think I know quite how it's to be used. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be used as purely aromatherapy, or if it is to be applied to the sore spots a bit like a muscle rub.

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm, I have to say I did get the herbally menthol smell from this. It doesn't smell like perfume - it smells like it cures things. On my skin, I do get a bit of the peppery blend.

 

I can't say I like the scent, but I think it would be very effective at massaging sore muscles.

 

I think the massage oil is probably fabulous!

[Schmoozy]

UGH! A sinus clearing blend that also works on sore muscles. Definitely herbal notes inside. I detect eucalyptus and camphor and when applied to sore/stiff joints and muscles produces a warming/cooling sensation. It immediately relaxes and soothes. When combined with GRR or OOF as an aromatherapy blend it clears up stuffed noses or conjested heads.

A huge thumbs up for UGH.

[AnArtfuldodger]

Very citrus/lemony, with a more herbal base. I just started to take up jogging (1.5-2 miles every morning) and naturally, because I've become a desk goober at work I'm out of shape, and thus my leg and calf muscles have been KILLING me all week (to the point where I'm...walking funny ) .

 

I tried massaging some of my imp of Ugh oil on my legs, and met with some success -- it definitely smelled good, but I'm not sure if the dabs I used were enough to really do any good, since I didn't really notice much difference in pain levels.

 

I may have to try again with more oil even if it uses up my imp rather quickly -- if that works, a bottle shall be mine.

 

So, I'm very unsure about Ugh as it stands now. Smells nice though, so I certainly wouldn't mind putting some on before going out (if the pain decreed it).

 

Will edit as necessary if conditions improve with a larger dose of oil...

[fairnymph]

Colourless or virtually colourless oil. Intensely mentholic - EUCALYPTUS GALORE! - in a way that is medicinal and reminds me a lot of Vicks - but this also has a nice sweetness to it that tempers the medicinal sharpness. And it's somehow strangely compelling - I want to keep sniffing it!

 

Still very sinus-clearing, but softer on my skin, with the sweetness more apparent as a result. It's possibly a fruity sweetness - it's familiar but I can't quite place it. The eucalyptus note here is really gorgeous too, very vivid - green, bright and fresh, invigorating without being biting.

 

Okay, as it dries - very quickly too - a sparkling lime note emerges! A delicious sweet, almost candied lime, juicy and fresh and truly sparkling. This blend is quickly becoming all about the lime and less and less about the eucalyptus.

 

Well, like all the citrus in the Panacea blends, this goes to that powdery Pez very rapidly - such sadness! The eucalyptus fades pretty rapidly imparting a cooling sensation to my skin, so 15 minutes in this is 90% Lime Pez with fresh Eucalyptus. The throw initially was great, but as the eucalyptus faded so did much of the throw.

 

Wow, the later drydown has even more citrus, which is totally unusual for me. A blend with no intial citrus reveals citrus over time that AMPS? Is this really my skin still? I get fresh squeeze orange juice for the most part - it reminds me A LOT of Gaiman's Orange - with a fair bit of juicy lime (as it was when it first appeared) as well as a hint of that powdery Pez note, but mostly it's juicy again. The eucalyptus is long gone, but this is a lovely, juicy, refreshing scent. It fades a lot but then holds pretty decently. Bottle!

 

 

Oh yes, definitely the best of the Panacea blends for me - bottle and a backup, ASAP! I'll update more when I've used it for actual therapeutic purposes.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

The herby citrus smell definitely started out like it was going to help unknot my horrible backache, but then it just went away. No throw whatsoever.

 

I like it, I just wish it would hang out longer.

[Gin]

Ugh! I love the Panaceas, but I don't really understand Ugh. It's lemony-eucalyptus, but what do I *do* with it? I ended up rubbing it on my sore legs, but my Lab-fresh imp wasn't very full so I didn't get much mileage out of it. I suppose I chould have mixed it with a carrier oil, but I was too sore to think about all of that. I used it right before bed and felt less sore in the morning, but I don't know how much of that I can attribute to the Ugh. I liked it well enough to give it another chance, though, either in the bath or in massage oil form.