Essential oils: which scent is right for you?

All our essential oils by scent family

Start with the scent, not the plant name.

Plant names tell beginners very little. The scent you already know: lemony, floral, woody. From there the choice becomes simple.

Litsea cubeba: lemony, fruity and lightly floral

Our first suggestion if you are looking for a bright, lemony scent with a softer, slightly sweet side. Fine floral and green nuances join the citrus character.

Litsea is not a citrus fruit — the oil comes from the plant's berries. For your choice the comparison matters: lemon is closer to zesty peel, litsea combines the lemony note with a rounder sweetness. Lemongrass shows a distinctly grassier side.

It suits you if: you like lemony scents and want something fruity and floral as well.
Compare with: lemon for zesty peel freshness, lemongrass for lemony herbal notes, bergamot for a softly bitter direction.

Swiss stone pine: warm, woody and resinous

Our South Tyrolean Swiss stone pine oil is the first suggestion for a warm forest character. The scent combines wood and resin with needle notes and recalls an alpine parlour.

The oil is obtained from needles and twigs. In the range it sits between conifer forest and warm wood: cedarwood emphasises a drier woody note, Scots pine a more direct resinous freshness, mountain pine a bold spiciness.

It suits you if: you like wood, resin and the smell of conifers.
Compare with: white fir for a fresher, fruity-balsamic direction, spruce for a round needle scent, cedarwood for dry wood.

Litsea or stone pine? Decide by the scent you want right now: lemony and fruity, or woody and resinous. If you prefer other notes, you will find every option below.

Fresh scents: lemon or orange?

«Fresh» can mean different things. With citrus oils many think of fruit peel; a conifer or herb oil smells fresh in another way.

Organic lemon oil is the first point of comparison if you want a clear, zesty citrus scent with slightly green nuances. Organic sweet orange shows the warmer side of the family: sweet, fruity and round.

Your guide: if you mainly want zesty freshness, start with lemon. If you want more fruity sweetness, compare it with orange.

Floral scents: lavender or ylang-ylang?

Floral does not automatically mean sweet. Between lavender and ylang-ylang the difference is particularly clear.

Fine lavender combines blossom and herbal notes — a good start if you want something floral without pronounced blossom sweetness. Ylang-ylang smells distinctly sweeter and more opulent, with warm, lightly fruity nuances.

Your guide: notice whether you prefer «floral-herbal» or «floral-sweet». That tells you more than the word «floral» alone.

Woody scents: stone pine or cedarwood?

«Forest scent» is not a single note either. A forest can smell of fresh needles, resin, dry wood or damp earth.

Swiss stone pine combines a warm, woody character with resin and alpine needle notes. Cedarwood offers a warm, balsamic wood scent — compare it with stone pine if the wood note is what interests you most. If you specifically want an earthy scent, look at patchouli.

Your guide: choose first between needle-resinous, warm-woody and earthy. That makes the broad category «forest» much easier to grasp.

Herbal scents: what does rosemary smell like?

Rosemary cineole has a fresh, spicy herbal character with a camphorous, slightly eucalyptus-like note. A point of comparison for anyone who likes bold herbal scents.

If you are torn between lavender and rosemary, ask yourself: should the scent bring more blossom or more herbal freshness? That is a concrete question, even if both plants are familiar to you.

Citrus, fruity and green

Ask yourself: do you want sweet fruit, zesty peel or a lemony scent with green herbal notes? Litsea, lemongrass and lemon eucalyptus belong here because of their smell, even though they are not citrus fruits.

Conifer forest, wood and resin

«Woody» ranges from dry cedarwood to warm resin. With conifer oils, also watch for fruity, spicy or especially fresh nuances.

Floral, rosy and softly herbal

Here it mainly comes down to how sweet you like your blossom scent. Rose geranium brings green freshness, lavender herbal notes and ylang-ylang an opulent sweetness.

Minty, camphorous and freshly herbal

Bold scents, often described as minty, eucalyptus-like or pharmacy-like. This refers only to the smell, not to any effect.

Spicy, tangy and anise-like

From liquorice sweetness to dry pepper: these scents are easy to tell apart via familiar spices. The scent description is not a recommendation to use essential oils like kitchen spices.

Ready-made blends

Would you like a composition that is already put together? These two products combine several essential oils in one bottle.

Three steps to your first scent

1  Choose a scent family. Think of smells you already like: citrus peel, blossom, herbs or wood.

2  Compare two oils within that family. For example litsea and lemon, or Swiss stone pine and white fir. That way you notice differences without going through the whole range.

3  Check the specific product. Compare the available sizes and read the usage notes. A pleasant scent says nothing yet about suitability for a particular use.

A small bottle can be enough to get to know an oil, where several sizes are available. You do not need to assemble a whole collection straight away.

Found your direction? In our essential oils collection you can compare the products. Notes on use can be found in our dosage and application guide.