This is the kit most people are pointed at first, and for once the common recommendation is the right one — not because of what it promises, but because of what it costs per bottle and what it saves you deciding.

What it actually is

Two things in one purchase: a set of the oils most households reach for, in small bottles, and the account that gives you the wholesale price on everything you buy afterwards. The second half is the part people overlook, and over a year it usually matters more than the first. How the two prices work.

The oils in it are the familiar ones — lavender, peppermint, lemon, tea tree, frankincense, wild orange and their neighbours — with a diffuser in most versions of the kit. The exact contents differ by market and change from time to time, so the shop page for your country is the only reliable list. This page will not print a contents list that goes stale.

Who it suits

• Someone who already knows they will use more than two or three oils. If you are not there yet, one bottle of lavender and a carrier oil is the smaller mistake.
• Someone who would rather not decide twenty times. That is a real benefit and it is worth paying for.
• Someone who intends to keep buying. The account is where the value sits.

What it does not include, and you will need

• A carrier oil. Fractionated coconut is the default. Undiluted oil on skin is the commonest beginner mistake and the most avoidable.
• Ten minutes with the dilution table. Four lines, and they prevent most of what goes wrong.

Before you order

Check which country your shop is set to. Ordering from the wrong market is the single most common error, and the account belongs to the market you enrol in. Prices, shipping and even which products exist differ between Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Ireland.