Aroma Blending Salon

1. Green Aromas

Spring-fresh and bright, this category of aromas comes from leaves and flowers, especially of the Mint family, so a few mints are considered Green. Find similarities with pine-like or even floral scents.  Some overlap with Herbal.

Bergamot (essential oil from the fruit peel) Lemon Balm (essential oil from the leaves of herb) Myrtle (essential oil from the leaves) Rosemary (essential oil from the flowering tops–leaves and flowers) Spanish Sage (essential oil from the leaves) Spearmint (essential oil from the leaves)

2. Herbal Aromas

A category of aromas, culinary herbs are familiar, and surprisingly fresh.  All of the Herbal aromas combine easily with Medicinal Aromas, adding a touch of soft-centeredness to control the strength of the medicinal odorant.  Essential oils from the flowering tops of herbs are included:

Lavender (essential oil from the flowering tops) Laurel (essential oil from the leaves of a tree)  Sage (essential oil from the leaves), Rosemary (essential oil from the flowering tops, with 3 chemotypes) Thyme (essential oil from the leaves) Basil (essential oil from the leaves of Sweet Basil or Holy Basil).  

3. Floral Aromas

Floral aromas come from flowers such as Rose, Lavender, Jasmine, and Ylang-Ylang.  Of Rose and Lavender, there are many types, but a select few are distilled to essential oils, CO2 extracts, or absolutes.

Rose (absolute from the petals) Lavender (essential oil from the flowering tops) Jasmine (absolute from the flowers) Ylang-Ylang (essential oil from the flowers)

4. Spicy Aromas

Spicy Aromas come from steam-distilled seeds or roots.  Some are familiar as kitchen spices.  As essential oils, the spicy aromas contain some but not all the components of the spice.  An interesting example is Ginger essential oil versus Ginger CO2 extract.

Ginger (essential oil or CO2 extract from the rhizome) Turmeric (essential oil from the rhizome)

5. Fruity Aromas

Fruity Aromas come from steam-distillation of the fruit peels for Citrus and from steam-distilled berries for Black Pepper or May Chang.  Familiar as kitchen spices or fruit, as essential oils, the fruity aromas contain some extra-strong components and should not be worn on the skin in sunlight.

Bergamot, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Sweet Orange, Yuzu  (essential oil from the peels of the fruit) Black Pepper (essential oil from the berries) May Chang or Litsea cubeba (essential oil from the berries)

6. Woody or Resinous Aromas

Woody Aromas comes from steam distillation of the interior wood and twigs of hardwood trees. Resinous Aromas come from steam-distillation of a variety of resins.  The most revered resins have been cultivated or curated trees in remote, dry areas of the world.  For more on resins, please see Plant Profiles: the Resins. 

Himalayan Cedar, Rosewood, Sandalwood (essential oil from the wood–the trees are endangered) Frankincense, Myrrh (essential oil from the resin tears) Pine, Fir (essential oil from the needles)

7. Cineole Aromas

Cineole Aromas comes from steam distillation of the leaves and twigs of trees, shrubs and herbs bearing oils heavy in cineole or Eucalyptus-type aromas. Cineole Aromas are medicinal, they smell like camphor or eucalyptus and are typically inhaled to clear respiratory passages, and other therapeutics.

Eucalyptus (essential oil from the leaves of a variety of Eucalyptus trees) Melaleuca (essential oil from the leaves of a shrub, distilled as Tea Tree essential oil) Rosemary (essential oil from the flowering tips of herb/shrub Rosemary)

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