Favorite Essential Oils

While I love buying a wide variety of crazy essential oils, there are some I really love, and wish to add to everything. Below are a few of the ones I turn to the most.

Top Notes:
Yellow Mandarin: This is a softer, slightly floral citrus. It blends beautifully with many other essential oils. A lot of citrus oils have scents that are kind of obvious- orange, lemon, and lime, for example. There are many varieties of orange, and I love playing with those, too. But yellow mandarin is my go to for a citrus top note.

Cinnamon CO2: I keep wanting to add this to a lip balm. It smells so fresh and sweet- exactly the kind of cinnamon I want. A lot of cinnamon essential oils don't smell that great to me, but this one I could sniff all day. Unfortunately, it's very strong, so adding even a little to lip balms might result in stinging lips. I'm still experimenting though, and hoping to find a level that will give a nice cinnamon scent without the ouch factor.

Cardamom CO2: I added a little of this to my Wild Orange & Lavender Lip Balm, which adds a subtle twist to the flavor. I love cardamom, and it's one of my favorite spices for cooking and baking. I also have some rare cardamom absolute, but that's a little pricy to be throwing around everywhere. Cardamom essential oil is nice as well, but the CO2 has a cleaner scent.

Pink Peppercorn: My favorite pepper. I also have white and black pepper, but use them less. The white pepper isn't exciting enough, and the black pepper can be a little harsh. It adds a little excitement to blends without overwhelming them.

Middle Notes:
Orange Blossom Organic Extract: Different than orange blossom absolute, which can be heavy and sometimes a little too dirty. It's not the same as neroli either, though probably closer to a neroli scent than an orange blossom absolute scent. The scent is light but not weak, and is a great addition to any orange blossom collection.

Moroccan Rose Absolute: There are so many roses, and so many extractions for them. While I don't have the money to try them all, Moroccan rose is so far my favorite absolute. I use a Turkish rose otto for lip balms and skin care. It has a nice odor profile, and while still expensive, it is cheaper than Bulgarian rose otto. I have also tried a rose otto from Moldova.While significantly cheaper than even the Turkish otto,  I was not impressed with that one.

Jasmine Sambac Absolute: I prefer this to jasmine grandiflorum, though I use both. While jasmine isn't necessarily a filler, it blends in nicely with a wide variety of fragrances. I need to be careful though, since I tend to use it with too many other white flowers, ending up with an overly indolic fragrance.

Ylang Ylang: A sweet floral scent, and it's cheaper than many other floral essential oils. I like "complete" and "extra" best, though the other grades might work well for soaping.

Base Notes:
Vetiver: I didn't like it much at first, but I love it now. While it doesn't work with everything, it's become one of my go to base notes.

Sandalwood Absolute, New Caledonia: I love Mysore and East Indian sandalwood, but it's becoming rare and I worry about the ecological impacts of buying them. I've tried a few other sandalwoods, but the absolute is my favorite.

Opoponax: I love the absolute, but I do like the essential oil as well. The absolute is a nice sweet base note, with an interesting warm balsamic fragrance.