Essential oil or fragrance oil: what is the difference?

Natural essential oils come straight from plants: leaves, flowers, peel, wood or roots, usually by steam distillation or cold pressing. Each one carries the scent of its plant, such as lemongrass, pomelo peel or cinnamon.

Fragrance oils are blends made to create a particular scent and keep it steady in a product. They can create scents that don't exist in nature, such as marine, powdery or 'sunshine clean'.

Choose essential oils when you want the true scent of a plant and want 'natural essential oil' on your label. Choose fragrance oils when you need a signature scent, the same scent batch after batch, or scent for products like laundry powder, fabric softener and floor cleaner.

Many brands use both: essential oils as a natural accent, fragrance oils as the base. Evodia carries both and can advise on how to combine them for your product.