A fragrance oil guide: we answer your questions

Not sure what to do with fragrance oils? You’re not the only one. 

This month’s blog post takes a different format. We’ve scoured the internet for the most asked questions about fragrance oils, and we’re putting all of the answers in one place: right here, in the only fragrance oil guide you’ll ever need. 

But first, let’s start with the basics...

What’s the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils? 

Put simply, essential oils are plant extracts that have therapeutic properties. They’re distilled from living plants, flowers, roots, and seeds. They’re the concentrated goodness of their source. 

Fragrance oils have no therapeutic value. They’re cleverly created in the lab, and are considered a synthetic material. What this means is, they smell rich, complex, and absolutely beautiful (our lab team has a real knack for extraction!)

But, they don’t have the therapeutic properties of essential oils. However, if you’re unsure of what to do with fragrance oils, try using them in place of essential oils in your recipes and see how the scent turns out. 

If you’re interested in the mood enhancing properties of essential oils, just know you won’t find these in fragrance oils. The difference between fragrance oils and essential oils, is one has the properties of the plant, and the other just has the scent. 

Which might lead you to wonder… Why buy fragrance oils instead of essential oils? 

Fragrance oils are more aromatically stable, meaning when you add them to your soaps, room sprays, candles and cosmetics, the scent will last much longer and won’t change over time. They’re also much cheaper to produce - savings you can pass on to the recipients of your own products! But now you might be wondering…

Are fragrance oils safe for skin? 

Absolutely! But just like essential oils, you’ll need to dilute them before applying to skin. If you’re comfortable using essential oils on your skin, you should be just fine with fragrance oils too. 

If you want to use fragrance oil on the skin, we recommend doing a patch test with a low dilution before applying them liberally. Start with 1%, but avoid going beyond 5% concentration if you can. 

If you’re in the business of perfume creation - whether that’s commercially or personally - fragrance oils are a cost effective way to achieve similar scents to the most sought-after perfumes. Some fragrance oils we recommend for amateur and experienced perfumers are Jasmin, Sandalwood, Violet, Tuberose and White Musk. 

But what if perfume isn’t really your thing? What are fragrance oils used for by most people?

What are some other uses for fragrance oils? 

Oh, where to start?! You can use fragrance oil on the skin in creams, lotions, bath products and soaps. You can add them to your candle recipes for decadent scents. They work beautifully in room sprays, and are perfect for refreshing your laundry and wardrobe. 

The question on everyone’s lips right now seems to be ‘can you use fragrance oil in a diffuser?’

And you absolutely can. Many people enjoy using essential oils in their diffuser because the scent often transforms over time. But this can also be irritating if you have to keep topping up the diffuser to rebalance the aroma. 

Fragrance oils are more predictable. They last longer, and they’ll smell exactly the same throughout the period of diffusing.

Combine them with your favourite carrier oil, and fragrance oils can complement a massage oil. Again, if you’re looking for relaxing or uplifting properties in your massage oil, use essential oils instead. But if it’s all about a glorious, long-lasting scent you’re best off with fragrance oils. 

And there you have it. We’ve answered your burning questions on what to do with fragrance oils in our super comprehensive fragrance oil guide (you’re welcome). But just to recap: 

• Are fragrance oils safe? Absolutely. We take extra special care in sourcing and extracting them.
• What’s the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils? Fragrance oils smell amazing, and they’re cheaper to produce. Essential oils smell great, have therapeutic benefits, but are more expensive (and some are harder to get ahold of!)
• What are fragrance oils used for? Bath and body products. Soap and candle making. Diffusing and refreshing linen and laundry. 
• Can you use fragrance oils on the skin? Sure! But dilute them in the same way you would an essential oil.