Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance DIY › Best online stores for essential oils in europe?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Best online stores for essential oils in europe?

post #1 of 32
12/3/09 at 12:53am
Thread Starter 
So, i want to start making own perfume and just want som tips on where to get high quality essential oils, bottles etc, at good price in europe. I live in Sweden

I´ve googled and found these:

http://www.oils4life.co.uk/
http://www.essentialoilsdirect.co.uk/ (doesnt ship to other countries)

Also, I have some other questions:

Where can i get amber, musk etc? Cause they doesnt seem to be essential oils.
Whats the diffrence between Absolute and Essential oil? I havent found s many essential oils for fruits and berries like apple, isnt that categroized as essential oil? Whats the diffrence between perfume oil and essential oil?
Anyone knows where to get oils from more exotic fruits, flowers, plants etc? Which online store has the most complete selection of essential oils?

I also want to make a perfume with Mock-orange (Philadelphus), I think its also called syringa.
White flowers with a scent slightly similar to wild strawberries.


Thanks in advance
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
post #2 of 32
12/3/09 at 3:54pm
Hi swe_tiger

Try here:

http://www.baldwins.co.uk/

the oils are good quality and they also stock a range of organic essential oils. They ship worldwide.

Musk disappeared in the 90's, restricted for sale to the general public for various reasons. You can get hold of synthetic musk perfume oil though.

An essential oil is the pure plant oil, a perfume oil is generally a synthetic similar to the natural smell. I have never seen or smelt a true apple essential oil, they are synthetic perfume oils. Strawberry is available as a perfume oil. The citrus are available as essential oils. I would recommend buying the true essential oil over the synthetic where possible, especially with jasmine and rose. (while we can still buy them >: l - but that is for another thread...)

An absolute is the result of solvent extraction as against an essential oil that is mainly produced by distillation.

To find specific rare oils try googling the name, in the past I have bought oils from the US as I couldn't (then) find them in Europe. Be careful - a lot of stores sell perfume oils (ie synthetic) as essential oils.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 32
12/4/09 at 1:23am
Thread Starter 
Thanks selky

You know where to get synthetic musk and amber? They doesnt seem to have it at baldwins.
Why is for example citrus an essential oil while strawberry is synthetic? Doesnt most commerical perfumes uses synthetic oils cause they are cheaper?
I´ve tried googling mock-orange essential oil but i´ve found nada. http://www.bojensen.net/EssentialOil...m#Philadelphus
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 32
12/4/09 at 4:38am
Baldwins sell two synthetic musks (perfume oil) - the dark musk is similar to that traditionally used in perfumery - and amber essential oil (Pinus Succinefera fossil). I believe it is impossible to produce an essential oil from strawberry, probably due to the volatility. Synthetic compounds are used in perfumery for various reasons including cost, availability, longevity and toxicity.

I found this on syringa (mock orange) syringa absolute you should be able to get a similar accord using neroli (orange blossom).
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 32
12/4/09 at 7:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by selky View Post

Baldwins sell two synthetic musks (perfume oil) - the dark musk is similar to that traditionally used in perfumery - and amber essential oil. I believe it is impossible to produce an essential oil from strawberry, probably due to the volatility. Synthetic compounds are used in perfumery for various reasons including cost, availability, longevity and toxicity.

I found this on syringa (mock orange) syringa absolute you should be able to get a similar accord using neroli (orange blossom).

Thanks for your answers selky
How long have you been making perfume?

Mock-orange has a pretty much diffrent smell then orange blossom imo citrusy with a hint of wild strawberries and I dont know any perfumes that have used it. In Sweden the flower is called schersmin, commonly misstaken to be jasmin. Its common in old gardens.
There is couple of diffrent mock-orange another one is called Philadelphus 'Mont Blanc' and should be smelling more like wild strawberries.

Guess u have to get one of these: http://www.heartmagic.com/EssentialDistiller.html
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 32
12/4/09 at 11:41am
You're welcome,

Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post


Mock-orange has a pretty much different smell then orange blossom imo citrusy with a hint of wild strawberries


you could try neroli, lemon and strawberry perfume oil...

seriously, if you manage to locate a supplier of mock-orange (Philadelphus coronarius (Saxifragaceae)) please post, my nose is curious...
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 32
12/4/09 at 12:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by selky View Post

You're welcome,




you could try neroli, lemon and strawberry perfume oil...

seriously, if you manage to locate a supplier of mock-orange (Philadelphus coronarius (Saxifragaceae)) please post, my nose is curious...

Yeah, but i think its pretty hard to recreate perfectly
I´ve googled and found nothing so far, if I locate a supplier I´ll let u know

http://books.google.se/books?id=UYrD...erfume&f=false

Regarding other oils I saw that oils4life.co.uk is much cheaper than baldwins
For example Bergamot 10 ml runs 2.49 at oils4life and 5.39 at baldwins, its more than double the price on most oils.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 32
12/6/09 at 10:31am
I haven't bought from oils4life.co.uk so I can't comment on their oils. According to their site they sell high quality oils at trade price. Another member could possibly provide more info on them. I do know that Baldwins have strict quality controls and only use high quality suppliers. EO prices can fluctuate depending on market conditions ie a poor harvest will affect the availabilty and price up the chain to the consumer. There are different grades of EO as well which affects the price (and quality of smell).

edit: Aromatherapy Trade Council This is the list of specialist aromatherapy suppliers who are members of the Aromatherapy Trade Council and provides some further links to EO suppliers who 'are recognised by the regulatory authorities as responsible suppliers'. Neals Yard and Tisserand also have good reputations. High quality oils are generally not cheap.

Correction: oils4life are listed.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 32
12/6/09 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by selky View Post

I haven't bought from oils4life.co.uk so I can't comment on their oils. According to their site they sell high quality oils at trade price. Another member could possibly provide more info on them. I do know that Baldwins have strict quality controls and only use high quality suppliers. EO prices can fluctuate depending on market conditions ie a poor harvest will affect the availabilty and price up the chain to the consumer. There are different grades of EO as well which affects the price (and quality of smell).

edit: Aromatherapy Trade Council This is the list of specialist aromatherapy suppliers who are members of the Aromatherapy Trade Council and provides some further links to EO suppliers who 'are recognised by the regulatory authorities as responsible suppliers'. Neals Yard and Tisserand also have good reputations. Oils4life is not listed. High quality oils are generally not cheap.

Hmm, but I doesn´t have to mean that their oils are in bad quality.



"At Oils4life we take the quality of essential oils very seriously. We only offer 100% Pure Essential Oils which haven't been tampered with in any way.

In order to ensure our pure essential oils are of the finest quality, we have established close working relationships with suppliers, producers and growers confirming the conditions the plants are grown in are acceptable. Essential oil quality is strongly influenced by the climates, seasonal changes, growing conditions and even growing techniques, therefore we actively seek the best essential oils throughout the world.

In brief our quality control procedures include:
# Gaining assurances on the processes used for quality control from suppliers, growers and producers
# Gaining assurances that the correct botanical name has been used in growing
# Use of GC/MS testing methodology to confirm product purity
# Checking the odour of the oil has the correct characteristics
# Checking the oil visually for proper distillation
"

Sounds good to me

"Buying the most expensive essential oils does not guarantee you the best quality - but it does guarantee that those selling you the essential oils will be making huge profits!"

hehe

Btw, why is sandalwood, neroli and jasmin much more expensive then the other oils?
Neroli and orange blossom are the same thing?
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 32
12/6/09 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post


"Buying the most expensive essential oils does not guarantee you the best quality - but it does guarantee that those selling you the essential oils will be making huge profits!"

1st part true, 2nd part not true. As with a lot of things, you get what you pay for.

For anyone looking for a good source of high quality pure essential oils I would suggest using the members list on the Aromatherapy Trade Council website as a starting point. The faqs section is also useful.

There are doubtless many small companies providing good pure essential oils but unless you can go on a personal recommendation or know what to check for, using a supplier with membership of the ATC provides a guarantee of adherence to standards.

Neroli and jasmine are expensive due to the low yield from the flower and sandalwood due to availability.
and yes, neroli is orange flower.

If you do go with oils4life please provide feedback...
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 32
12/7/09 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I might order a few oils from oils4life.

No other member that tried them?

This forum catagory doesn´t seem to be so popular


Is there an oil for Sweet-briar wild rose, rose-hip or Eglantine Rose (Rosa rubiginosa), Rosa dumalis I´ve havent found it. Dont know the right name
Translated the swedish name so it might have gotten a bit wrong.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 32
12/7/09 at 11:55am
I buy bergamot (not organic) for 8.00GBP.
It's 50% quality and 50% profit I guess.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

Regarding other oils I saw that oils4life.co.uk is much cheaper than baldwins
For example Bergamot 10 ml runs 2.49 at oils4life and 5.39 at baldwins, its more than double the price on most oils.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 32
12/8/09 at 3:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve_123 View Post

I buy bergamot (not organic) for 8.00GBP.
It's 50% quality and 50% profit I guess.

I think thats a bit overpriced
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 32
12/9/09 at 6:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

"At Oils4life we take the quality of essential oils very seriously. We only offer 100% Pure Essential Oils which haven't been tampered with in any way.

In order to ensure our pure essential oils are of the finest quality [etc]

anyone can write on their site whatever story they want. and still sell rubbish. a good story on a website does not guarantee anything about quality products.

Quote:
"Buying the most expensive essential oils does not guarantee you the best quality - but it does guarantee that those selling you the essential oils will be making huge profits!"

everybody with experience tells me: high quality oils are expensive. you only get what you pay for; no more, sometimes less.

that's why it's important people tell other people their experience. so please let us know what you think and how it compares to others, when you order from them.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 32
12/9/09 at 8:08am
I buy relatively high priced oils but the are truly good. I have checked with 2 other companies
and they are superior. You only get what you pay for; that's true.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 32
12/9/09 at 8:41am
steve_123 - Which company do you use? I'm looking for good sources of some of the rarer oils.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 32
12/9/09 at 8:59am
yeah, we needs names. i've come across many trustworthy sites on the other side of the pond, like eden and enfleurage, but shipping is a drag, very expensive.

personally, i am going to place a big order soon at hekserij.nl, the site from basenoter janmeut. i will post my experiences afterwards.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 32
12/9/09 at 1:28pm
good essential oils I have ordered online several times from Aqua-Oleum which is in the UK
and I also order many times online from VersandApo.de which is a pharmacy in Frankenthal Germany they have many brands of essential oils and their shipping costs are very reasonable
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 32
12/9/09 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

Where can i get amber, musk etc? Cause they doesnt seem to be essential oils.

Amber and Musk are general terms used to describe a certain fragrance family. There are no essential oils that have mainly a musk or amber scent, you have to use synthetics. The simple option is to use fragrance oils, better, but more complicated is to use aromachemicals. Fragrance oils are obtainable for several hundreds of webshops in Europe. Aromachemicals can be purchased from:

http://www.hekserij.nl/en/main.htm (The Netherlands)
http://www.perfumersapprentice.com/ (USA)
http://www.perfumersworld.com/ (Thailand)

All will ship to Sweden.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

Whats the diffrence between Absolute and Essential oil?

An absolute is made with solvent extraction, an essential oil is made (according tot international standard ISO 9235) by distillation with water or steam, pressed from the zest of citrus fruits or by dry distillation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

I havent found s many essential oils for fruits and berries like apple, isnt that categroized as essential oil? Whats the diffrence between perfume oil and essential oil?

There is in most countries not a law that protects the term essential oil. Therefor it is usualy legal to sell other fragrance products as essential oil. I therefor always use the ISO 9235 standard. There are no commercial essential oils for berries or apple that are made according to that standard. I would call those oils a fragrance oil (or perfume oil). Those are mixtures of natural or synthetic fragrance materials.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 32
12/10/09 at 2:27am
the links are
www.versandapo.de/
www.aqua-oleum.co.uk/
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 32
12/10/09 at 9:22am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your answers guys.

Does anyone happens to know where do get oils from more rare plants, like mock-orange?
I´ve searched like a fool :P

Another question: The fragrance oils/perfume oils seem to contain alchol, isnt this a problem cause you want to add the alchol yourself afterwards?
They seemed to be made for oil-burners.

http://www.perfumersworld.com/ is an intresting page, the only perfume school?
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 32
12/10/09 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by swe_tiger View Post

Another question: The fragrance oils/perfume oils seem to contain alchol, isnt this a problem cause you want to add the alchol yourself afterwards?
They seemed to be made for oil-burners.

i don't know, solutions in alcohol on a oil burner, this seems odd, not to mention potentially dangerous.

i do not see a problem if you want to include these in alcohol based perfume, when the quality is good enough.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 32
12/10/09 at 10:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by janmeut View Post

There are no essential oils that have mainly a musk or amber scent, you have to use synthetics.

hmmm... when is amber not amber?!

To clarify; here I am referring to the pure amber essential oil of Pinus Succinefera fossil resin obtained by steam distillation. This has a deep resinous, almost menthol, pine note and becomes 'sweeter' and 'warmer' (more 'ambery') with age, with additional notes reminiscent of storax, copaiba and benzoin.

The 'amber' accord in perfume is traditionally made up of labdanum, vanilla and benzoin and was designed to replicate the note ambrein in ambergris, a by product of the sperm whale and now available as a synthetic compound. Interesting thread here: truest ambergris regarding the natural ambergris.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 32
12/10/09 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
Im looking for a perfume oil/essential oil with gooseberry but i cant find that either
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 32
12/11/09 at 6:43am
There is indeed an essential oil of amber, when you mean amber as in fosile resin. This essential oil was made (and maybe still is) by dry distillation of fosile resin. It is and was not commonly used in perfumery. In perfumery Amber usualy refers to a certain fragrance type (indeed mostly labdanum and balsamic notes) or to Ambergris.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 32
12/12/09 at 10:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by janmeut View Post

It is and was not commonly used in perfumery.

You are right, the amber EO is not commonly used in perfumery, probably due to availability and the strong creosote resemblance of a fresh batch. In it's defense, I have used it in small quantities to give a 'kick' to a base, and, personally, I Iove it's complexity (but then I am a big fan of gums and resins). My brief post above hopefully explains the differences.

edit: I should also add that amber EO can cause skin irritation in some individuals and should not be applied neat to the skin.

I have amended my original post to include the latin Pinus Succinefera. Apologies for any confusion caused.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 32
12/17/09 at 5:13pm
one more contribution to the database of online stores http://www.labo-hevea.com/fr/boutique/
a spanish laboratory that produces essential oils and stuff. a completely french website but you can find a link to a catalogue in english, ships everywhere in europe as far as i know också till sverige(hej swe_tiger !) a bit pricey definately when it comes to precious oils. I tried their moss absolute which turned out to be of a quite high quality(in fact so high that a little,really tiny spot i accidentally spilled on my table cloth,was sending out a strong olfactory signal even after thoroughly whiping it off with a wet napkin).Also very nice tonka absolute and cabreuva wood(really,try this one, maybe not necessarily from this supplier)
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 32
12/19/09 at 4:59am
ive been using this company for twenty five years

http://www.idaromatics.co.uk/index.asp
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 32
12/20/09 at 4:13am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the links.

Which online store has the largest collection of perfume/fragrance oils (in europe or outside, doesnt matter)
There is so many oils that I just cant find (but they probably exist just isnt aviable to public).
I´ve been looking for Gooseberry and Guarana recently.
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 32
12/20/09 at 10:42am
Aqua oleum has amazing quality oils. Really noticably better than others. I think they are very carefully sourced.
Reply
Reply
post #31 of 32
12/24/09 at 8:57am
For animal essences you can contact Salaam http://www.profumo.it/perfume/home_english.htm
Here's a great source of naturals, they sell retail what Albert Vieille sells wholesale: http://www.neroliane.eu/?language=en
Aqua Oleum is great, as is mentioned, did you know they have a sister site that also sells essences, and also offers suppliers for budding perfumers? http://www.essentially-me.co.uk/index.php

All the above are members of the Guild, and their supplies are of the highest quality.
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 32
3/14/10 at 4:51am
This is simply a fantastic thread with loads of excellent links. Big thanks to all of you :-)
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Fragrance DIY

Features on Basenotes

Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance DIY › Best online stores for essential oils in europe?