What Are Fragrance Oils?
Fragrance oils are aromatic oils that are man made. Fragrance oils are used instead of essential oils when the essential oil is too costly or too hazardous to use. Fragrance oils are also used to replicate the scent of plants that do not have an essential oil.
How Are Fragrance Oils Made?
Using a technique called gas chromatography, scientists can separate a fragrance into its individual chemical components. By doing this they can reconstruct that fragrance using natural essential oils and/or synthetic aroma chemicals. When smelling fragrance oils you may notice that often a fragrance oil will not duplicate a scent exactly. This is because some fragrances, such as rose essential oil, are very complex and can not be completely duplicated by a mixture of aromatic chemicals. When creating a fragrance oil to replicate a natural scent, a manufacturer may decide to use a cheaper substitute for some of the the expensive components of the natural scent. If a synthetic substitute for an important ingredient is used in the replica, or if an important ingredient is omitted from the replica, it will make a difference in the fragrance.