Walk into any craft aisle and you will see two kinds of little bottles: fragrance oils and essential oils. They look alike, they both smell good, and they are not interchangeable. If you are just getting started, picking the wrong one is the fastest way to end up with a candle that smells like nothing.
Here is the difference in plain terms, and which one to buy for what you want to make.
What Is a Fragrance Oil?
A fragrance oil is a blend designed by a perfumer to smell a certain way and to perform in a certain product. It can include natural materials, aroma chemicals, or both. Because it is built on purpose, a fragrance oil can smell like things no plant produces on its own: a fresh-baked scone, clean laundry, caramel, or a sea breeze.
Good fragrance oils are also tested for the products they are made for. Each of ours lists its uses on the product page (candles, air care, body care, soap and detergent, fine fragrance) and comes with an IFRA certificate that shows the maximum safe level for each product type.
What Is an Essential Oil?
An essential oil is the concentrated aromatic oil taken from a single plant, usually by steam distillation or, for citrus, by cold pressing the peel. Lavender Oil comes from lavender flowers, Cedarwood Oil from the wood, and Sweet Orange Oil from the peel.
Essential oils are what most people use in diffusers, and they are the choice for anyone who wants plant-only scents. But they are concentrated plant chemistry, so they come with their own rules for use on skin and around pets.
Side by Side
- Scent range: Fragrance oils can smell like almost anything. Essential oils smell like the plant they came from.
- In hot wax: Fragrance oils made for candles are designed to throw scent when burned. Many essential oils, especially bright citrus and mint top notes, fade in hot wax and can smell faint in a finished candle.
- Cost to try: Our fragrance oils start at a 0.5 oz sample for $15. Most of our essential oils start at 1 oz, typically around $15 to $35, while rare oils such as sandalwood and chamomile cost much more.
- Consistency: Fragrance oils smell the same batch after batch. Essential oils can shift a little from harvest to harvest, like wine.
- Safety paperwork: Fragrance oils come with IFRA certificates by product type. Essential oils need proper dilution for skin, and some have extra cautions: certain cold pressed citrus oils, for example, can make skin more sensitive to sunlight in leave-on products.
Which Should You Buy? Match It to the Project
- Candles and wax melts: Start with fragrance oil. It is made to perform in wax, and you get a far wider choice of scents. See Your First Candle for the full starter setup.
- Melt-and-pour soap: Either works. Fragrance oils rated for soap give you more scent choices; essential oils like lavender and cedarwood hold up well too.
- Diffusers: Essential oils. This is what they are best at.
- Room and linen sprays: Either. Pick fragrance oils rated for air care, or essential oils if you want a plant-only spray.
- Massage oils, lotions, and skin care: Essential oils, properly diluted in a carrier oil, or fragrance oils rated for body care and used within their IFRA limit. Our essential oil dilution guide covers safe percentages.
- Food and drinks: Neither. Use food-grade natural flavors made for eating. Our post on natural vs artificial flavors explains how they differ.
The Easiest Way to Try Both
Sampler bundles let you test five scents for $49.95 with free shipping in the lower 48, which is the cheapest way to learn what you like.
- For candles: The Flowery Meadow Fragrance Bundle, five fragrance oils that are all rated for candles.
- For soap and room sprays: The Fresh & Clean Fragrance Bundle.
- For diffusers: The Woody Essential Oil Bundle, The More Citrus Oil Bundle, or The Mints Essential Oil Bundle. All three are $49.95 for five oils, up to 68% off buying them separately.
Still deciding? Our Start Here page sorts every bundle by what you want to make.
A Note on Safety
Use each product only for its intended purpose. Our fragrance oils are formulated to comply with IFRA (International Fragrance Association) standards, and each product page lists the certificate with the maximum level for each product type; see our guide to reading an IFRA certificate. Never apply fragrance oils or essential oils undiluted to skin, never ingest them, and keep them away from eyes, children, and pets. Patch test any skin product first, and talk to your doctor before using essential oils if you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The Bottom Line
If your first project is a candle, buy fragrance oil. If it is a diffuser blend, buy essential oil. For everything in between, the right choice depends on the scent you want, and a sampler bundle is the cheapest way to find out. Browse our Sampler Bundles to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is fragrance oil the same as essential oil?
No. An essential oil comes from a single plant. A fragrance oil is a designed blend that can include natural and synthetic materials and can smell like things plants do not produce, such as baked goods or clean laundry.
Which is better for candles?
For most beginners, fragrance oil. It is made to throw scent in hot wax, while many essential oils fade and smell faint in a finished candle.
Can I put fragrance oil in a diffuser?
Most ultrasonic diffusers are designed for essential oils. Check your diffuser's instructions, and if you want to scent a room with fragrance oil, a reed diffuser or room spray made with an air care rated fragrance is a better fit.
Are essential oils safer because they are natural?
Not automatically. Essential oils are concentrated and need proper dilution for skin, and some have extra cautions. Natural does not mean risk free.
Can I mix fragrance oils and essential oils?
Yes, many makers do. Keep the total within the fragrance load your base allows and within the IFRA limit of the fragrance oil.
Can I use either one in food?
No. For food and drinks, use natural flavors made for eating.