At some point, you might have wondered about how the scent of "Ocean" for instance, can be bottled? The short answer is... it can't be.
For the long answer, we’ll explain what the difference between essential oil and fragrance oil is.
Essential Oils - A large quantity of something found in nature that smells nice, is gathered and squeezed. What comes out is an essential oil (this is the overly simplified version of this extensive process). The essential oil is put through several purification techniques until there's nothing left in the mix but the oil itself. This means all debris such as flower petals, leaves, etc that came from the original natural product is cleared out, until only the oil remains. This is later bottled and sold. Though essential oils are limited to real things we can find in nature, which makes variation somewhat limited.
Fragrance Oils - These smells are synthetic (made in a laboratory). Much like the scientists that make artificial flavors for food, there are those that make scents too. These types of scents are usually less expensive because of how they're made. It takes less material gathering to create a fragrance oil, in comparison to the literal tons it takes to make a small bottle of rose essential oil for example. Though some fragrance oils are really strong smelling, others fade quickly. It depends on the chemistry of that particular oil, unlike essential oils, which usually keep smelling stronger for a longer period of time.
So essentially (pun intended 😂), both types have their pros and cons. It all comes down to preference.
Notes
Not all the products you use are made up of just one smell. Sometimes a variety of scents are mixed together to make a brand new smell. If you've ever looked on the back of a perfume, lotion, soap or other scented product, you might find that there is a description of the smell that is referred to as “Notes”. Basically, a selection of scents are picked out, measured, mixed, then left closed inside a bottle to get acquainted and mingle for about a month or so. This is how they blend together to produce a new smell. Then, whatever smells were mixed together to create the fragrance you now smell, are categorized into three separate sections on the product’s description. It’s also common to find more than one scent listed under each category.
Top Notes - The first thing you notice when you smell the fragrance (Fades quickly over time).
Middle Notes - The balanced scent in the center that you smell, lingering behind the first.
Base Notes - The scent that anchors the entire fragrance and usually lasts the longest (Vanilla is usually a popular choice for base notes).
Do you prefer Essential Oil scents or Fragrance Oil scents? Leave us a comment with your choice below! 😃