Essential oils are obtained most often by steam/water distillation from the leaves, bark, stems and/or roots of specific plants. Essential oils can be highly concentrated and need to be diluted in a carrier oil for use on the skin. Essential oils are used in aromatherapy, bath/body products and candles. Due to climate/harvesting conditions essential oil prices can fluctuate dramatically from season to season.

Because steam distilled essential oils are derived directly from plants they are considered ‘natural’ however, those essential oils that are obtained by solvent extraction could very well still have a bit of solvent that is not 100% removed.

Some of my favorites are:
Lavender
Patchouli
Spruce
Rosemary
Thyme (white)

Fragrance oils can be made with a combination of essential oils and synthetics. Fragrance oil blends are considered proprietary and the manufacturer is not required to reveal the exact oils used. Fragrance oils are also highly concentrated and should not be used directly on the skin. Fragrance oils are very versatile and are made to be used in just about every scented product imaginable!

There are those people who insist on promoting the misconception that fragrance oils are bad for you (because they are not ‘natural’) but as of yet I have not seen anyone provide proof (scientific abstracts) to substantial their claims. All fragrance oil manufacturers must follow guidelines using GRAS (generally recognized as safe) ingredients and are not allowed to use ingredients known to cause harm.

Why use one over the other?
While essential oils can be very nice by themselves or in blends you are limited as to what you can create.

I can guarantee you, you will not be able to create a strawberry or lilac scented product using essential oils (there isnt a strawberry or lilac essential oil!!!). Be very wary of others selling any type of product that states they use an essential oil that so obviously cannot be distilled (ie: banana, apple, almond, buttercream etc.). If they do not know the difference between an essential oil and a fragrance oil they are either being misleading or they simply have not done their research and should not be selling their product in the first place!

Even though we offer a small selection of soap scented with essential oil blends I much prefer using fragrance oils! There are literally hundreds of premade blends out there ready to try and when you take those premade blends and start combining them for your own signature scent you could come up with thousands of different combinations!

I hesitate to list my favorite fragrance oils!
I really don’t like to comment on specific scents as smell is highly subjective from person to person. What is very strong to one person may be very weak to another. Smell can also be affected by mood. I know when I have a headache or am not feeling quite up to par there are certain scents that I have to stay away from. I also know that a scent that I love one day I could leave 3 days later!

Right at this very moment my favorite scents are:
Satuma Guava
Ginger Lime
Sandalwood Vanilla
Crystal Blue
That however could change tomorrow!

Scents I hate:
I can, without doubt, tell you what scents I hate (which is why we don’t make products with them!).

Lemongrass
Eucalpytus
Years ago we used to make votive candles using these two essential oils in combination. It finally got to the point that it was literally making me sick that I had to discontinue them…which was too bad as they were a great seller!

Other than those two scents/essential oils I can pretty much say I can handle just about everything else!

Rebecca
Country Meadow Ltd.
Eco Friendly Shea Butter Spa Products

www.countrymeadowltd.com