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Press Articles about Cher

The Nose Knows: Episode of Chronicle
The Boston Globe: Scentual healing, By: Andy Levinsky
The Boston Globe: Eau de Allston, By: Will Kilburn
Boston Magazine: Heaven Scents By Erin Byers
Aprodisiac Glitter Oil Reviews: Playgirl Magazine and Sexherald.com
Stuff@Nite
Improper Bostonian
Allston/Brighton Tab

Download some articles written by Cher: Microsoft Word • Adobe pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)

Cher has been on Chronicle
Monday, June 5: The Nose Knows:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9306101/detail.html

Allston/Brighton Tab Article
http://blogs.townonline.com/ABTAB/2008/01/16/wellness-resolution-raises-2000/
http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/news/lifestyle/health/x469071231
By Richard Cherecwich, Staff Writer
Tue Jan 08, 2008, 07:38 PM EST
Allston, Mass. -

Allston, Mass. - Losing weight and doing more for the community are usually at the top of the list as far as New Year's resolutions are concerned, and are often the most difficult ones to get started on.
This Sunday, a group of Allston businesses will come together for the Wellness Resolution, a fundraiser for the Accelerated Cure Project for multiple sclerosis research, where participants can sample a plethora of health- and wellness-oriented services, such as fitness classes, massage and aromatherapy consultations, all while helping find a cure for MS.

"We're trying to parlay off people's resolutions to take better care of themselves and do good in their neighborhood. This takes care of two birds with one stone," said Ama Allara, who will host the event at her Rock City Body studio at 107 Brighton Ave.

From noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 13, attendees will have access to massages, henna tattoos, posture assessments and unlimited 30-minute fitness classes, including Pilates, yoga, martial arts, burlesque and balletone, a ballet-based workout. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $35 at the door.

The Wellness Resolution is the brainchild of Cher Kore, who owns Kameleon Healing Aromatherapy. A longtime volunteer and contributor to the Accelerated Cure Project, Kore was looking for a unique fundraiser. Her first idea was an aromatherapy party, and when she asked fellow Allston business owner Allara to donate the space, the idea blossomed.

Allara was more than happy to come on board. Unbeknownst to Kore, Allara's father passed away from complications related to MS at age 39. While Allara and her family participated in walks and bike races for an MS cure, she was still looking for an individual way to honor her father.

"This feels really right to open my business and host an event, instead of just participating," Allara said.

Several Allston businesses, such as Stingray Tattoo and Emerald Necklace Martial Arts, donated their services, and the Wellness Resolution quickly became both a fundraiser and a promotional tool for local businesses.

"It's kind of like the taste of Allston, except people will be losing weight instead of gaining weight," Kore said.

There is currently no cure for MS, and all the proceeds from Sunday will go to the Accelerated Cure Project, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on curing MS by determining its causes.

Multiple sclerosis awareness goes hand-in-hand with exercise and wellness, Allara said.

"I think it's nice for people to be here using their bodies and thinking how lucky we are to have our health," Allara said.

In addition to the health services, there will be a silent auction featuring artwork, life-coaching and interior design consultations. KnowFat! and Big City will provide a healthy lunch, and every participant will receive a gift bag. Live entertainment will be provided by folk musician Kim Davidson and a belly dance performance.

"We want people to feel like they're getting something, not just making a donation to charity," Allara said.

The event is a first for both the organizers, but they're hopeful it will become an annual Allston event. They're also hoping a special guest will attend.

"I'd like to get the mayor on a Pilates machine," Allara said.

Added Kore, who will give out aromatherapy samples on Sunday, "I want to make him a cologne. 'Mayor, how are you feeling? Are you feeling a little sluggish?'"

The Boston Globe: Scentual healing
February 11, 2007

What do you get when you cross blood orange, grapefruit, and sage? Quite possibly, a good night's sleep. According to Cher Kore, president of Kameleon Healing Aromatherapy on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston (www.khealing.com), the right combination of extracts can help treat everything from headaches and colds to depression and insomnia.

Kore, who began her practice as a creative outlet for her mathematical ability, calls aromatherapy "as much a science as an art." "It is very important to understand percentages and quickly figure out the puzzle of how many drops of essential oil go into the mix," explains Kore, 41, who was a finance major at Simmons College.

The formula is based on three scent notes. The top, including light oils like lemon, account for 20 to 40 percent of a blend. Middle notes, with moderate (lavender) to heavy (rosewood) oils, comprise 40 to 60 percent. Base notes, as deep as patchouli, make up 5 to 15 percent.

Psychotherapist Nicole Churchill and her husband John, an acupuncturist, visit Kore's kitchen laboratory to develop an acupressure oil and a welcoming scent for the reception area of their business, Samadhi Healing in Newton. The couple begins sniffing dozens of blue vials, using coffee to cancel out previous smells. Sandalwood reminds Nicole of her grandfather. Jasmine evokes John's memories of his childhood home in Spain.

Oils that pass the sniff test make the next round. Kore adds and records a precise number of drops to a tube and hands off the newly created scent to her clients. The consultation costs $25, with final products ranging from $5- to- 35.
"It would seem surprising that a numbers person would be interested in aromatherapy, but it makes perfect sense," Kore concludes without a whiff of irony.

The Boston Globe: Eau de Allston, By: Will Kilburn ahttp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/06/27/eau_de_allston/

Its essence is allspice, and everything nice

By Will Kilburn, Globe Correspondent  |  June 27, 2004

What does Allston smell like to you? For some, it might be a combination of beer and burgers, or pool chalk and the inside of a guitar case, or maybe fresh-cut grass and soccer cleats. But for local aromatherapist Cher Kore, bottling Rock City's essence for her Allston Spice blend of essential oils is about the feelings she gets when she walks around the neighborhood.

''Allston is my home, and I wanted it to be spicy like Allston is, Allston's diverse community and all that," she explains. ''You have to put in allspice when you're talking Allston, and then there's clove, cinnamon, tangerine, because it balances out the spice and it's also very relaxing, balsam peru -- that has a strong vanilla hint -- and then nutmeg's the top note. It's really an intuitive thing."

Kore, 38, came up with Allston Spice and hundreds of other blends at the kitchen table of the Commonwealth Avenue condo that has been her home since 1988. It's also the headquarters of her one-woman company, Kameleon Healing, but it looks less like an office than, say, the city apartment of Glenda, the good witch from the ''Wizard of Oz": Hundreds of pink paper hearts, left over from Valentine's Day, line the walls and spill out onto the landing, mingled with artwork and photos of friends and relatives. Even on a gray afternoon recently, it's the perfect setting for Kore to turn a hobby from her childhood in Peabody into something for the wider world.

''When I grew up, there was a forest in my backyard. I'd take dried flowers and make sachets, or put them in the tub, and do things with pine needles, whatever I found," she recalls, explaining that her backyard foraging was the basis for her first grownup creation, a warming lotion made during a particularly cold winter. ''I bought clove, cinnamon, anise, and I made a chai body lotion. And I was walking to work from here to Kendall Square, and it kept me warm."

Incorporated on Halloween 2002, Kameleon Healing offers a range of products from massage oils and colognes to soaps and bath oils, all made in small batches from natural ingredients.

''If you look at the food industry, you see people looking at what they put in their bodies, [and saying] 'I don't want to put this chemical in my body.' So why should you want to put it on your body, and let it sink into your skin?" she asks. ''Like a chef, you've got to start with the best ingredients: The best chefs buy the fish that day, they buy the vegetables that day. With essential oils it's a little bit different. You don't buy it that day, the freshness maintains, but I buy in small batches, and then I keep maintaining the freshness."

A sample of that freshness is fairly inexpensive: $8 for a two-ounce bottle of massage oil -- enough to last most people a few months, she says--or a two-shot sample of bath salts for $3.50. Pre-made products can be ordered through her website or found at boutiques like the Hair Design Center and Ritual Arts in Allston, Condom World on Newbury Street, Grand Opening in Brookline, Hubba Hubba in Cambridge, and even Cathedral Crossing, an Episcopal bookstore downtown, for which Kore created a ''Bible blend." But the heart of her business, whether it's dreadlock oils or aphrodisiacs, is custom blends, put together after a consultation with customers on their needs and sensory preferences.

''I can make calming oils for everyone that's stressed, but it'll work better on you if it's personalized to what your body reacts well to," she says, adding that along with the customer input, she tests everything she makes on herself first. ''I like to make sure that I'm sending someone home with a good product that smells good and feels good."

It's a complex process, beginning with the customer smell-testing dozens of essential oils, all arranged into groups like citrus, floral, sweet, woody, and spice. Next, she measures out oils like sweet almond and hempseed for a base, then mixes them, drop by drop, fine-tuning until the right mix is achieved. Balancing rosewood with cinnamon leaf or valerian with basil in near-microscopic quantities might sound a little esoteric, but one former skeptic says it works.

''I'm definitely not a massage therapist or a New Age healer or anything like that -- I'm just a regular software engineer who has problems like every other guy," says 26-year-old Sam Headrick, Kore's neighbor, whose hands had paid the price for the relentless typing required in his line of work. Aspirin and arthritis medication had dulled the symptoms but not the cause, but Headrick says he was able to stop taking both after he started using a custom blend Kore had made for him. ''To my surprise, it worked quite well. I had more mobility in my fingers and wrists, and less pain."

Right now, Kore performs all of the jobs in her young company -- ''I'm the designer, I'm the mixer, I'm the maid, I'm the accountant" -- all packed in around her part-time job with local realtor Forest Properties and writing a twice-monthly Web column about aromatherapy. It's more than full-time work, but business knowledge learned at Simmons College and applied at various Boston-area companies has taught her that for things to grow properly, they need to be grown carefully. Eventually, she'd like to open a separate manufacturing center, for which she'll hire and train homeless people -- a step, she says, that's still a ways off, but that's all right.

''The reason why I'm doing this is because I love it, it's not really to make a lot of money," she says. ''All it takes is to be smart and persistent, and it might not happen this year, it might not happen next year, it might not happen for 10 years, but when it happens, I want to give back."

To learn more about Kameleon Healing, go to www.khealing.com. Will Kilburn can be reached at wkilburn@globe.com

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“Just one whiff of Cher Kore’s calming, custom-mixed perfumes, bath salts, and room sprays can ease harsh bouts of insomnia, frustration, headaches, even colds. Feeling sluggish at 3 p.m.? Refresh your senses with a dab of Kore’s lime, rosemary, and basil oil on your wrist. Trouble sleeping? Mist your pillow with her potion of valerian and clary sage for some serious snooze therapy. She’ll even help you concoct environment friendly air sanitizers and awakening essential oils…”

Kameleon Healing’s Aphrodisiac Glitter oil is spotlighted in the January 2006 issue of Playgirl Magazine, “You’ll twinkle and titillate in aphrodisiac glitter oil…”

Glitter Massage Oil: Reviewed by SexHerald Staff

Glitter Massage Oil: Reviewed by SexHerald Staff
Once you use Kameleon Healing's Aphrodisiac Glitter Oil, you will never want to stop. That's great for you, great for your partner, and great for everyone who will have the opportunity to experience how amazing this stuff is.

First, the smell is fantastic. Aromatherapy can rely too heavily on patchouli, which smells oddly like the incense that unwashed chick down the hall used to cover her pot smoke. If it's not hippie-fabulous, it's an organic chemistry nightmare with an aroma something like an orange in a toxic waste dump. Not so with this oil. It contains all sorts of interesting scents besides a bit of patchouli, including black pepper, fennel, cedarwood, and nutmeg. The resulting scent is delicate, spicy, and downright interesting. That means after you've enjoyed the sensation of having it rubbed on you or rubbing it on someone else, you'll get to bask in the deliciousness wafting from your freshly oiled skin.

The base oil is made from sweet almond, not soybean, and thus will not go rancid as quickly as the mass-produced varieties. However, you'll probably use most of it up in the first week of buying it simply because it is so wonderful to use. When applied, it stays "wet" for quite some time without getting tacky or sticky. It does eventually absorb into the skin, but doesn't become greasy. The only major problem comes from the glitter additive, which makes the oil a bit gritty to use on very sensitive skin. Foot rubs and back rubs, however, should not be a problem and were thoroughly enjoyed by all testers. The good thing about the glitter, though, is that it tends to stay put, meaning you can wash it all off at once and not have little sparkles adorning everything from your body to your car seats.

The massage oil comes from a local Massachusetts company, so you have the satisfaction of knowing that your erotic delights are supporting a small business and not a massive conglomerate. Each 7 oz. bottle, ridiculously underpriced for both quantity and quality, comes with a printed slip detailing all the ingredients and their various aromatherapy uses, as well as a list of things to keep in mind. It is very impressive to see a small company taking the time to remind the buyer about testing for allergies before using everywhere when even large companies do not do so.

If you buy this oil as a gift, you can almost guarantee that the recipient will be so thrilled that he or she will immediately want to pour it all over you. Buy it for yourself and you'll never leave your house. Yes, it is that good.

Kameleon Healing’s Aphrodisiac Glitter oil is spotlighted in the January 2006 issue of Playgirl Magazine, “You’ll twinkle and titillate in aphrodisiac glitter oil

Stuff@Nite: Beneficial Beauty by Henley Vazquez

Cher Kore of Kameleon Healing (617.254.5454) ; www.khealing.com

“The local aromatherapist and perfumer provides a mind-boggling variety of essential oils, massage and moisturizing oils, perfumes, bath salts, hair-care products and home fragrances customized for a client’s individual needs. A form of natural pharmacology, aromatherapy provides an alternative solution to many common problems. Dealing with insomnia? Ditch Ambien and try a blend of catnip, lavdender and mandarin. Anxious flyer? Roman & German Chamomile, bergamot and grapefruit can provide some relief. Kore can even mix special massage oils to help heat up the bedroom. Physical problems such as dry skin, headaches, and illness also fall within her realm of expertise. “Essential oils hold multiple healing properties when used alone or mixed in synergist blends,” Kore says. Get with the program by scheduling a private consultation ($25 for 30 minutes; $45/hour) and taking home personalized products ($7- $30) to help what hurts. …”


Improper Bostonian: Mind & Body: Scent of Love

“If you were a scratch and sniff sticker, your scent would be… sexy? Maybe not yet, but it will be after aromatherapist Cher Kore gets done with you. In Aromatherapy for Romance, the founder of Kameleon Healing teaches you how to combine essential oils such as clove, geranium, and lavender to make your very own aphrodisiac scents. She also explains then sensual and healing properties behind each ingredient…”


Cher’s writing has been published in:
The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy Journal: www.NAHA.org
Our Town – Brookline: Health, Home, and Feature Articles dealing with Holistic Health
Natural Health Magazine
The Weekly Dig

Cher Teaches Aromatherapy classes at: The Cambridge Center for Adult Education: www.CCAE.org

Cher is on the Promotions Committee of Allston Village Main Streets: www.allstonvillage.com

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