List of Essential Oil Notes for Blending and DIY Perfume

Updated November 2026
This list of essential oil notes sorts common oils into top, middle, and base notes, along with scent families and the basic chemistry behind them, so you can build blends and DIY perfume that smell balanced and stay safe. Jump to the list.

New to blending? Start with my step-by-step guide to essential oil blending for beginners, then come back here as your reference.

It doesn't have to be hard! With a little practice, you'll be making blends you love. First, let's look at the supplies you can use for blending.

Essential Oil Supplies for Blending and DIY Recipes

When you first start blending essential oils and making DIY recipes, knowing what supplies you need can be a challenge. Here are the basics, plus a few tips on using them. My 31 PC Deluxe Essential Oils Kit has many of these supplies in one box.

Aromatherapy Diffusers

Diffusers put tiny droplets of essential oil into the air. Most use water plus a few drops of oil, while nebulizing diffusers attach to the oil bottle itself. Read more about diffusing essential oils.

Roller Bottles

Glass bottles with a roller top, great for using diluted blends on skin. Mix your oils with a carrier oil in the bottle and it's ready to go. Find ideas in my roller bottle recipes.

Dark Glass Bottles

Useful for mixing and storing blends. The dark glass helps protect the oils from light.

Glass Bowls

Used for mixing ingredients or soaking the cotton wicks for personal inhalers.

Stir Rods

Used for stirring blends and ingredients together. You can buy them in glass, stainless steel, or wood. Wooden ones are single-use, while glass and stainless steel can be washed and reused.

Aromatherapy Inhalers

Great for personal blends when you're out and about or somewhere diffusing isn't an option. They come in 4 parts: the cap, the base, the wick, and a small end cap that snaps on the bottom.

To use one, drop your essential oils onto the wick and assemble the inhaler. Or mix your oils in a small glass bowl and roll the wick in it to soak them up.

Glass Measuring Cups

Useful for measuring ingredients in blending projects. A heat-safe glass measuring cup can also work as a makeshift double boiler.

Double Boiler

A small glass or stainless-steel insert for gently melting butters and waxes. It keeps ingredients from heating directly on the stove.

Here's a photo of a homemade double boiler, where I'm melting beeswax in a glass measuring cup set in a pan of gently simmering water. When you're done, use a pot holder to lift out the cup, because it will be hot.

Perfume Strips

Small strips of absorbent paper used to smell essential oils on their own or test how they might blend together. They're also a fun way to share scents and scent combinations with friends and family.

Blending for the Person: Marguerite Maury's Individual Prescription

Blending is both an art and a science, and there are many ways to approach it. One idea I love comes from Marguerite Maury, one of the pioneers of modern aromatherapy. She taught the Individual Prescription: rather than a one-size-fits-all blend, choose oils for the specific person who will use them.

In practice, that means letting the person you're blending for help choose the oils and thinking about the whole person, not just one goal. Most of all, they should love the scent, because a blend they enjoy is a blend they'll actually use.

Essential Oil Chemistry for Blending

Every essential oil is made of many natural compounds, and those compounds shape both how an oil smells and how carefully you need to use it. Knowing the main chemical families helps you predict a scent and spot the oils that need extra care. Most oils contain several families, so these are general groups.

Monoterpenes

Light, fresh, and bright, found in most citrus and conifer oils, like the limonene in sweet orange. Oils high in monoterpenes oxidize faster once opened, and old, oxidized oils are more likely to irritate skin, so keep the caps tight and use them up.

Examples: lemon, sweet orange, grapefruit, bergamot, frankincense, cypress, juniper berry, pine, black pepper

Sesquiterpenes

Heavier, slower to evaporate, and often earthy or woody. Many base notes are high in sesquiterpenes, and German chamomile gets its deep blue color from one called chamazulene.

Examples: Atlas and Virginian cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, ginger, German chamomile, copaiba

Alcohols

Usually soft, sweet, or floral, and generally gentle on skin. Linalool in lavender and terpinen-4-ol in tea tree are both alcohols.

Examples: lavender, rose, geranium, palmarosa, tea tree, peppermint, coriander

Esters

Fruity, floral, and gentle, with some of the most soothing scents in aromatherapy. Linalyl acetate in lavender and clary sage is an ester.

Examples: lavender, Roman chamomile, clary sage, bergamot, petitgrain

Aldehydes

Strong, lemony scents, like the citral in lemongrass. Aldehydes can irritate skin, so these oils stay at low dilutions. Lemongrass, for example, is for adults only on skin at 0.7% or less.

Examples: lemongrass, may chang, melissa, citronella, lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora)

Oxides

Sharp, cool, and clearing, mostly from 1,8-cineole. These oils can be too strong near young children's faces, which is why I keep eucalyptus, rosemary, and other cineole-rich oils for ages 10 and up.

Examples: eucalyptus globulus and radiata, rosemary ct. cineole, cajeput, niaouli, ravintsara, laurel leaf

Ketones

Strong, herbal, and often camphor-like. Some ketones are the reason certain oils are avoided in pregnancy and with epilepsy, so oils high in them need care. Sage and hyssop, which are high in these ketones, need especially careful use.

Examples: rosemary ct. verbenone, Eucalyptus dives, sage, hyssop, and spearmint (a milder one)

Phenols

Hot, spicy, and medicinal. Phenols are strong skin irritants, so these oils are for ages 12 and up, at very low dilutions (clove at 0.5% or less), and are avoided in pregnancy. Check with your doctor first if you take blood thinners.

Examples: clove, cinnamon leaf, oregano, thyme ct. thymol, mountain savory

Note: Cinnamon bark gets its heat from an aldehyde, not a phenol, and I keep it to the diffuser only.

Essential Oil Blending by Perfume Notes

Blending by notes is another way to build a blend. In note theory, oils are sorted into top, middle, and base notes based mostly on how quickly they evaporate.

Top notes evaporate quickly, while base notes take longer and hold the blend together, keeping the scent from fading fast. The top note is what you smell first, and the scent then leads you through the middle and base notes.

In perfume, a blend often looks like this:

• 20 to 30% top notes
• 40 to 80% middle notes
• 10 to 25% base notes

For an easy starting point, try the 30-50-20 ratio in my essential oil blending for beginners guide.

List of Essential Oil Notes

Here's my list of essential oil notes, sorted into top, middle, and base. Some oils sit between two notes, so you'll see them listed differently in other places.

Essential Oil Top Notes

Top notes are the scents you smell first. They're bright and light and give a blend its first impression.

• Bergamot
• Eucalyptus
• Grapefruit
• Lemon
• Lemongrass
• Lime
• Mandarin
• May chang
• Neroli
• Peppermint
• Petitgrain
• Spearmint
• Sweet orange
• Tangerine

Essential Oil Middle Notes

Middle notes are the heart of a blend, giving it body and character.

• Black pepper
• Cardamom
• Roman and German chamomile
• Cinnamon
• Clary sage
• Clove
• Geranium
• Ginger
• Lavender
• Sweet marjoram
• Palmarosa
• Pine
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Ylang ylang

Essential Oil Base Notes

Base notes give a blend its long-lasting aroma and anchor the lighter oils.

• Carrot seed
• Cedarwood
• Cistus
• Frankincense
• Myrrh
• Patchouli
• Peru balsam
• Sandalwood
• Spikenard
• Vetiver

Essential Oil Scent Profiles

Besides notes, essential oils can be grouped by the kind of scent they have. All essential oils have unique scents, and oils from the same or neighboring families usually blend easily. When you're blending just for the aroma, this is the most useful list of all.

Floral Essential Oils

Soft, sweet, and sometimes heady. A favorite for calm, cozy blends and perfume.

• Lavender
• Ylang ylang
• Rose
• Jasmine
• Roman chamomile
• Geranium
• Neroli

Herbaceous Essential Oils

Green, fresh, and garden-like.

• Basil
• Sweet marjoram
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Coriander
• Cilantro
• Clary sage
• Melissa

Spicy Essential Oils

Spicy oils are warm and cozy. Many are hot oils, so use them sparingly.

• Black pepper
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Cassia
• Clove
• Pink pepper
• Ginger
• Nutmeg

Minty and Camphor-Like Essential Oils

Cool, fresh, and clearing.

• Peppermint
• Spearmint
• Cornmint
• Bergamot mint
• Eucalyptus
• Rosemary
• Ravintsara
• Tea tree

Woody and Earthy Essential Oils

Grounding and calm, and many are lovely base notes.

• Cedarwood
• Sandalwood
• Vetiver
• Spikenard
• Patchouli
• Cypress
• Pine
• Spruce
• Copaiba

Citrus and Fruity Essential Oils

Fruity oils are bright, cheerful, and uplifting. Some cold-pressed citrus oils make skin sun-sensitive, so check before using them on skin.

• Sweet orange
• Lime
• Lemon
• Grapefruit
• Bergamot
• Mandarin
• Green mandarin
• Tangerine
• Lemongrass
• May chang

Essential Oil Dilution

Dilution is an important part of using essential oils safely. It lowers the chance of skin irritation, and since you use less oil, it saves money too. Here's the guide I use. Under age 2, no essential oils at all.

For a 5 ml roller, halve the drops. My dilution chart and calculator covers other sizes.

How to Blend Essential Oils Effectively

Essential oil blending is easier than you might think. Here are 8 tips for mixing your oils together:

1. Blend Drop by Drop

Add one drop at a time so you stay in control of the scent. You can always add more drops to a blend, but you can't take them away. Experiment with different ratios, like more lavender than rose, until it smells right to you.

2. Choose Your Carrier Oil Wisely

For skin blends, pick a carrier oil you like. Think about how it feels on your skin and whether it has a scent that competes with your blend. Jojoba and fractionated coconut oil are nearly scentless. See my list of carrier oils.

3. Think About the Whole Person

When you blend for a specific moment, like a long workday, add an oil the person simply loves, too. Following Maury's idea, a blend that suits the whole person, mood included, is one they'll enjoy using.

4. Limit the Number of Oils

Try to keep blends to 3 to 5 essential oils (3 is a great number). With too many oils, the scent can turn muddy and hard to pin down.

5. Label Your Blend

Label every blend you make, and keep notes on exactly what you used and how much. That way you can remake a favorite for yourself or someone else.

6. Change Up Your Oils

Don't be afraid to swap oils in your blends from time to time. A new oil can give an old favorite a whole new character.

7. Know Your Essential Oils

Get to know an oil on its own before adding it to a blend: its scent, its age limits, and any safety notes.

8. Have Fun With Your Blends

Yes, you can have fun! Life is stressful enough; don't let blending essential oils ruin your day.

A Few Safety Basics
• Keep essential oils away from babies under 2, including diffusing in a room they're in.
• Always dilute oils before they touch skin, and patch test a new blend on your inner forearm for 24 to 48 hours.
• Check the age for each oil. Kids 2 to 4 use only six starter oils at 0.5%, after checking with your pediatrician. Kids 5 to 11 stay at 0.5 to 1%.
• If you're pregnant, check with your doctor or midwife first. For the first 16 weeks I use only six oils, and only in a diffuser or inhaler: lavender, sweet orange, lemon, ginger, cedarwood (Virginian), and frankincense.
• Diffuse for 30 to 60 minutes, then take a break.
• Never put oils on pets, and diffuse with a door open so they can leave. Cats are especially sensitive, including to tea tree, citrus, peppermint, eucalyptus, pine, wintergreen, cinnamon, clove, and ylang ylang.
• Never swallow essential oils. If someone does, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

Share on Pinterest

More Blending Posts

• Essential Oil Blending for Beginners
• How to Make Custom Essential Oil Blends for Your Diffuser
• Essential Oil Substitution Chart

Ready to start blending? My Aromatherapy Supply Kits have the bottles and supplies you need, and my free essential oil guides are a great place to begin.

31 PC Deluxe Essential Oils Kit: Aromatherapy Supplies

$ 39.99

NEWLY UPDATED 31 PC Deluxe Essential Oils Kit! Jars added and a BONUS accessories pack. Aromatherapy supplies include a variety of tools needed for making DIY products with your essential oils. Use this kit to make roll on blends, inhaler… Read More

Add to Cart