Essential Oils in Perfumery: The Main Oils, Their Scents and Safety

In short: An essential oil is an aromatic material obtained from a plant by distillation or by pressing citrus peel. Anything extracted with a solvent, such as jasmine absolute, is called an extract rather than an essential oil. What many shops sell as "fragrance oil" is a perfume composed of many materials in an oil base. The best-known essential oils in perfumery are citrus, floral, wood, resin and spice oils. Vanilla is not sold as a distilled oil. Jasmine gives both a distilled oil and an absolute, sold under one name, and rose gives an oil and an absolute that smell different. Being natural does not make an oil safer: many are allergens, and some pressed citrus oils react with sunlight on the skin, so these oils should not be swallowed or put on the skin undiluted.

Table of contents

• What is an essential oil?
• Essential oil and extract
• "Fragrance oil" in shops
• What is an essential oil made of?
• Which essential oils matter most in perfumery?
• Citrus
• Flowers
• Woods, roots and resins
• Spices
• Materials called oils: vanilla, jasmine and rose
• Vanilla
• Jasmine
• Rose: oil and absolute
• What should you watch out for with essential oils?
• Not to be swallowed or applied to the skin neat
• Bergamot, pressed citrus oils and the sun
• Allergens in oils
• Oakmoss and IFRA limits
• Storage
• How to try blending at home
• How can you tell an adulterated oil?
• Read also
• References

In a herbalist's shop there are two small bottles, each labeled "rose oil", with a large difference in price between them. One may be an oil distilled from rose petals, and the other a compounded perfume oil that smells of rose. The word on the bottle will not tell you on its own which of the two you are holding.

What is an essential oil?

An essential oil is a material obtained from plant material without a solvent: by distillation, or by pressing citrus peel [1]. What is extracted with a solvent has other names, and the market uses names that mix the two up.

Essential oil and extract

An essential oil differs from an extract in how it is obtained. The international standard ISO 9235 gives three methods for an essential oil: steam distillation, mechanical expression of citrus peel, or dry distillation, which means distilling wood, bark, roots or gums without adding water or steam, as with birch tar oil [1]. What is extracted with a solvent the standard calls an "extract", and each kind has its own name [1]:

• Concrete: a waxy extract made with a solvent from fresh plant material; the plant's waxes stay in it.
• Absolute: obtained from the concrete with ethanol, then chilled and filtered to remove the waxes.
• Resinoid: an extract of dry material, such as frankincense (olibanum) and benzoin.
• Supercritical carbon dioxide extract: obtained with carbon dioxide that is compressed and heated beyond two limits, called its critical points. It then becomes a fluid with some properties of a gas and some of a liquid, and it dissolves the aromatic substances from the plant [22].

Steam distillation is the most common of these methods [2].

"Fragrance oil" in shops

Many shops call a ready-made perfume dissolved in an oil base a "perfume oil", "fragrance oil" or "concentrated oil", and some call it "dehn". It is a perfume composed of many materials, which may be natural and synthetic together, not an essential oil from a single plant. The word "dehn" is heard most often in dehn al-oud, which is originally an oil distilled from oud wood; the name is also given to oil-based perfumes with an oud character. If it is the essential oil you are after, look on the label for the plant's scientific name, the part of the plant used, and the extraction method.

What is an essential oil made of?

An essential oil is a mixture of many substances: it may hold dozens of components, two or three of them dominant and the rest in trace amounts [2]. The scent does not always belong to the major component: in some oils it comes from one compound present in quantity, while in others it may be set by substances present only in traces [2].

Most of these components are terpenes and their derivatives (terpenoids), the largest group of natural fragrance substances. They include linalool, geraniol and citral [2].

An oil's composition varies a great deal even within one plant species, depending on the organ the oil is taken from, the plant's stage of growth, the soil and weather, and the plant's genetics [2], so two oils of the same kind will not match if their origin or season differs.

Which essential oils matter most in perfumery?

The best-known essential oils in perfumery fall into four groups: citrus; flowers; woods, roots and resins; and spices.

Where a material sits in a perfume depends on how fast it evaporates. Citrus oils are top notes, the ones smelled first, and flowers and spices are middle notes [3]; bergamot is a top note, lavender, jasmine, geranium, ylang-ylang and clove are middle notes, and sandalwood, myrrh and frankincense are base notes [2]. Patchouli is a highly tenacious base note and is used as a fixative [4].

The tables below give, for each oil, the part of its plant that is used and its scent [2]. Where the "Remarks" column reads "Must be labeled above the threshold", it means that the EU regulation requires the oil to be named in a cosmetic product's ingredient list if its level in the product exceeds the threshold set in the regulation [5]. A dash in that column does not mean the oil carries no risk of allergy. Where you read "IFRA standard", it refers to the standards of the International Fragrance Association (IFRA). The fragrance industry sets these standards for itself, and they are binding on members of the association [20].

Citrus

Citrus oils are usually pressed from the peel, and some are also distilled [2] [6].

Oil	Scientific name	Part used	Scent	Remarks
Bergamot	Citrus bergamia	Fruit peel	Light citrus, with the sweetness of flowers	The pressed oil reacts with sunlight on the skin [6]
Lemon	Citrus limon	Peel	Fresh lemon peel	The cold-pressed oil is restricted under the IFRA citrus standard [7]
Sweet orange	Citrus sinensis	Peel	Orange peel	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Grapefruit	Citrus paradisi	Fruit peel	Fresh, sharp citrus	The pressed oil is restricted under the IFRA citrus standard [7]

Flowers

Neroli oil is steam-distilled from the flowers of the bitter orange [8].

Oil	Scientific name	Part used	Scent	Remarks
Neroli	Citrus aurantium var. amara	Flowers	Sweet, fresh and floral	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Damask rose	Rosa damascena	Flowers	Sweet, spicy floral	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Lavender	Lavandula angustifolia	Flowering tops	Sweet floral	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Ylang-ylang	Cananga odorata	Flowers	Floral, reminiscent of jasmine	A known fragrance allergen [9]
Geranium	Pelargonium graveolens	Aerial parts	Sweet and rose-like, with a hint of mint	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]

Woods, roots and resins

Sandalwood oil is steam-distilled from the heartwood, and is also extracted with carbon dioxide [10]. Frankincense and myrrh are gum resins from which an oil is distilled [2].

Oil	Scientific name	Part used	Scent	Remarks
Sandalwood	Santalum album	Heartwood	Sweet woody	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Atlas cedarwood	Cedrus atlantica	Wood or sawdust	Camphoraceous at first, then sweet, woody and lasting	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Patchouli	Pogostemon cablin	Leaves	Earthy, woody and camphoraceous	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Vetiver	Vetiveria zizanioides	Roots	Deep, earthy and woody, with smoke and sweetness	—
Frankincense	Boswellia sacra	Gum resin	Balsamic and camphoraceous, with spice, wood and a hint of lemon	—
Myrrh	Commiphora myrrha	Gum resin	Balsamic and camphoraceous, reminiscent of incense	—

Spices

Clove oil is mostly eugenol, which makes up at least half of it [11]. Cinnamon bark oil is mostly cinnamaldehyde [12]. Both compounds are components of "Fragrance Mix I", a mix of fragrance substances applied to the skin in patch testing to detect fragrance allergy; allergen lists call cinnamaldehyde "cinnamal" [9].

Oil	Scientific name	Part used	Scent	Remarks
Clove	Syzygium aromaticum	Bud	Clove	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Cinnamon	Cinnamomum verum	Bark	Spicy and hot	Must be labeled above the threshold [5]
Cardamom	Elettaria cardamomum	Fruits	Spicy, with a note of cineole (eucalyptol)	—
Black pepper	Piper nigrum	Unripe berries	Dry and spicy, leaning woody	—

Materials called oils: vanilla, jasmine and rose

No oil is distilled from vanilla, so what is offered as vanilla "oil" is not an essential oil. Jasmine and rose each yield a distilled oil and an absolute that differ from each other, and with jasmine both are sold under one name.

Vanilla

Natural vanilla is sold in four forms, none of them a distilled oil: alcoholic extract, vanilla sugar, vanilla absolute, and a resin-and-oil extract (oleoresin) obtained with ethanol or with supercritical carbon dioxide [13]. The most important of its aroma compounds is vanillin, which forms in the pods as they are processed [13].

Jasmine

Two forms are sold under the name "jasmine oil": an absolute and a distilled oil. The absolute is extracted from jasmine flowers with a solvent such as hexane, which gives a waxy concrete; the concrete is then washed with ethanol and the ethanol evaporated, leaving the absolute [14]. The yield is small: in four jasmine species grown in Egypt, each kilogram of flowers gave less than ten grams of concrete, and the absolute was about half of that [14]. Steam-distilled jasmine oil is also produced industrially in Egypt [15].

Rose: oil and absolute

Rose oil is distilled from the petals with steam or water. Rose absolute is first extracted with hexane as a concrete, and then the part that dissolves in alcohol is taken from it [16]. The two differ widely in composition: phenylethyl alcohol, one of the compounds of rose scent, is low in the oil and high in the absolute [16]. That is why "rose oil" smells different from "rose absolute", though both come from one flower.

Rose flowers hold little oil. In clonal selections of damask rose, the distilled oil was between 0.030 and 0.045% of the weight of the fresh flowers [17], which means a kilogram of flowers gives less than half a gram of oil, and a kilogram of oil takes about 2.2 to 3.3 metric tons of them. With so little oil and so much demand, damask rose oil has become one of the most expensive essential oils on the world market, and rose water is what remains after its distillation [17].

What should you watch out for with essential oils?

An essential oil is a concentrated material, and coming from a plant does not make it safer, so it should not be swallowed or put on the skin undiluted. Some citrus oils react with sunlight, and many oils are allergens, with a greater risk once they oxidize.

Not to be swallowed or applied to the skin neat

Many essential oils can cause a skin rash, and some are toxic if absorbed through the skin or swallowed. Swallowing camphor or eucalyptus oil can cause seizures. And if a person who swallows it chokes and some of it gets into the lungs, it can cause pneumonia [18]. So:

• Do not swallow an essential oil, and keep it out of the reach of children [18].
• Not every oil is suitable for the skin. Follow the product’s instructions and limits of use, and dilute it in a carrier oil before it touches the skin [18]. Oils that irritate the skin are diluted in a vegetable oil [2].
• Do not put it on broken or damaged skin [18], and do not put irritating oils on inflamed skin [2].
• Children may be more strongly affected, because their skin is thinner and their liver is not fully developed [18].

If someone swallows an essential oil, call the poison center or emergency services immediately [18].

Bergamot, pressed citrus oils and the sun

Pressed citrus oils can cause a low to moderate phototoxic reaction on the skin, because they contain compounds called furocoumarins, while distilled ones do not cause it [6]. Avoiding the sun for at least 12 hours after putting a pressed oil on the skin is recommended [6]. The best known of these oils is pressed bergamot, which contains bergapten, one of these compounds [6], and on skin exposed to the sun it can leave a chronic pigmentation (berloque dermatitis) [6]. Bergamot with these compounds removed is sold labeled FCF, meaning furocoumarin-free. A tiny trace of them may remain, and no phototoxic risk is listed for it [6], but it remains one of the allergens listed in the EU regulation [5].

The IFRA citrus standard recommends that bergapten not exceed 0.0015% in products applied to skin that is exposed to the sun; this does not cover rinse-off products [7]. The oils restricted under it include pressed bergamot, pressed bitter orange, pressed grapefruit, cold-pressed lemon, pressed lime, angelica root and cumin [7].

Allergens in oils

Many essential oils are known allergens, so a natural material is not free of allergens, and a person who is allergic to fragrance may be exposed to the cause in a product described as "natural" or "herbal" [9]. The EU estimates that 1 to 9% of its population is allergic to fragrance substances [5].

In patch tests carried out in the United States and Europe between 2009 and 2014, the essential oil that caused allergy most often was ylang-ylang oil, and clove oil and sandalwood oil also come up often in allergy reports [9].

In 2023 the EU added oils and extracts, named individually, to the allergens that must be named in the ingredient list of cosmetic products if they exceed a set threshold. They include bergamot, lemon, orange, neroli, jasmine, lavender, rose, sandalwood, patchouli, Atlas cedarwood, ylang-ylang, clove and geranium [5].

Oxidation increases the risk, because what forms when some oil components oxidize, limonene for one, is a stronger allergen than the original substance [2]. Limonene is the main component of sweet orange, bitter orange, mandarin and grapefruit oils [6]. Linalool, one of the scent compounds of lavender, behaves like limonene in this: both are weak sensitizers or not sensitizers at all until they oxidize in air and form substances that do cause allergy [9]. For this reason, old or oxidized oils are avoided [6].

Oakmoss and IFRA limits

Oakmoss extract is a natural material that IFRA restricts, because its main risk is skin sensitization [19]. Its maximum level in the finished product varies by product category: 0.1% in fine fragrance (Category 4), 0.076% in leave-on body products (Category 5A), with 0.016% as the lowest limit across categories, and no restriction in products that do not touch the skin (Category 12) [19]. Because of this risk, IFRA also requires atranol and chloroatranol, two components of the extract, each to be below 100 parts per million [19].

Storage

Essential oils are kept in a dark, cool place, or in the refrigerator, in tightly closed brown glass bottles [2]. Citrus oils need a dark, airtight container even more, because it reduces the oxidation of the limonene in them [6].

How to try blending at home

Start by experimenting, because ratios vary from one oil to another depending on its strength, and we found no documented source that sets fixed ratios for blending top, middle and base notes. What we do advise:

• Test on paper smelling strips, not on the skin: put a drop of each oil on a strip, and hold the strips close together to smell the blend before you mix it.
• Start with very small amounts, and write down the number of drops of each oil so you can repeat what works.
• Smell the blend after a few minutes and again after a few hours, because top notes evaporate first and the base notes come through after them [3].
• If you want to put the blend on your skin, dilute it in a carrier oil, and do not use it on damaged skin [18].

A home blend has not been checked against IFRA standards or allergen limits, so use it with care and stop at any sign of irritation.

How can you tell an adulterated oil?

Neither the price nor the words "100% pure" on the label will reveal adulteration; the reliable way to detect it is laboratory analysis. What is in the buyer's hands is to read the label and choose the supplier carefully.

When samples of neroli, mandarin and bergamot oils sold online were analyzed, more than 45% did not meet the standard specifications (ISO and AFNOR), and some were diluted with solvents, such as propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol and triethyl citrate, or with vegetable oil [8]. In some samples a cheaper oil, such as sweet orange, stood in for the oil named on the bottle, or compounds such as linalool and linalyl acetate had been added, which may have been synthetic [8].

Price was no guide in those samples: the most expensive neroli sample did not meet the standard, and the only neroli sample that fully met it was priced close to the middle of the range. Almost all the labels said "100% pure", "natural" or something similar [8].

Adulteration is not limited to citrus oils. When six oils sold as sandalwood oil were analyzed, none met the international standard for sandalwood oil, ISO 3518 [21]. Three of them were the oil of a different tree, Amyris balsamifera, and two were synthetic blends whose bottles said they were 100% natural sandalwood oil [21].

Reliable laboratory analysis means gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), together with measuring the oil's physical properties [2]. Because buyers cannot do this analysis themselves, choose a supplier known for its transparency and for clear quality-testing standards [8]. On the oil's label, we advise looking for the country of origin, along with the plant's scientific name and the extraction method.

Read also

• Perfume Ingredients: From Raw Material to Note
• Harms of Perfume and Bakhoor: What the Evidence Says on Allergy and Smoke
• Oriental Ingredients in Perfume: Oud, Amber, Saffron, Frankincense and Rose
• Summer Fragrance Notes: How to Choose and Wear Perfume in the Heat
• Home Fragrances: Types, Ingredients and How to Choose and Use Them

References

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Prepared and edited by: Sedr Al-Khaleej Perfumes team

Last reviewed: 14 October 2026