Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

Tutorials by difficulty level:

Fragrance Oil Blending Tips

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Fragrance oils are comprised of various synthetic and natural scent components. They include top, middle and bottom notes. Fragrance oils are beautiful on their own, but can increase in complexity when mixed with other scents. Blending fragrance oils is also a fun way to create your own signature fragrances.

Fragrance Oil Blending TipsBlending fragrance oils is fun, but can be tricky. Consider adding spices when cooking; some spice blends sing while others flounder. Mixing fragrance oils is similar to mixing spices and ingredients. Some fragrances simply do not smell pleasant when mixed. Notes can become muddled or disappear completely. Remember, there is not a right or wrong way to blend fragrances. Fragrance is a personal preference. What you love, other people may not and vice versa.

Consider What “Type” of Scent it is: There are several large categories of fragrance oils. These include (but are not limited to), floral, fruity, clean, masculine and sweet. A great place to start when mixing fragrances is to define the fragrance oil you are wanting to blend. A great tip to make blending easier is to organize your fragrance oil collection by scent type. This way when you are mixing, you can easily identify what general scent profile the fragrance oil contains.

Consider All the Notes in the Fragrance: The larger categories of fragrance oils (floral, fruity, clean, masculine, sweet) have numerous sub-categories. For example, citrus scents would be considered fruity. But citrus comes in many forms, from the zesty Ginger Lime Fragrance Oil to the creamy and sweet Creamsicle Cybilla Fragrance Oil. While both are fruit scents that feature citrus, one is a “clean, fresh, zesty citrus,” while the other could be considered a “sweet, creamy, foodie citrus.” It’s important to consider all the notes of a fragrance, rather than just the general category. Some fragrances may even fall into two categories, such as the Apricot Freesia Fragrance Oil. This fragrance could be considered a fruity/floral mixture.

Consider How Strong the Fragrance is: Some fragrance oils feature stronger notes than others. When blending fragrances, these strong notes may overpower fragrance oils with more subtle notes. When working with extremely strong fragrance oils, use less in the blend in order to keep the integrity of the weak scents. There is no point in mixing fragrances when one completely covers up the other!

Now that you have carefully thought about what kind of fragrance you are working with, and how strong it is, it’s time to get mixing. Some soapers may be a little nervous to blend their scents because if a blend does not turn out, the fragrance oil could be wasted. To avoid this, use very small amounts of each fragrance oil when starting the mixing process.

BlendingUsing droppers, decide what amount you’d like to consider “one part.” Because some fragrance oils are heavier than others, measuring in weight keeps it consistent. When mixing fragrances to find blends for the sample of the month (you can find the blends here) .1 oz of fragrance oil is considered “one part.” Two to three fragrance oils are added to a fragrance oil safe container, at .1 oz each. The mixture is then swished around in the container to ensure the oils are fully blended. Then it’s time to smell! If you’re super unsure of your blend idea, you can even do ‘parts’ as small as 1 drop.

Blending2

When smelling your blend, consider these questions:

  • Do the notes of the fragrances complement each other? If so, you’re on the right track. You may even be done blending! If you are in-love with your blend, it’s time to test in a real product.
  • What notes are strong, and which are weak? It’s interesting how when fragrance oils are blended, the notes can completely change. Consider what notes you smell right away, and which play a background role.
  • Does one fragrance oil completely overpower another? If you cannot smell one fragrance oil at all, add more one part at a time. You want the blend to be just that…a blend! One fragrance should not completely dominate the other.
  • Can you smell multiple parts of all the fragrance oils? If you can smell multiple components of all the fragrance oils, this is a good thing.

Once you have smelled the blend with equal parts of each fragrance, add more fragrance (one “part” at a time) as you see fit. Keep smelling after each addition to find just the right amounts. Once you are happy with your blend, transfer the blend to a small container and label. This way you can easily re-smell the fragrance and recreate it in larger projects. Or, use the small amount of oil to make a test batch to see how the blend does in your product of choice.

Blending3

Some fragrance oils tend to smell good with wide variety of scents and are my good go-to blenders. These include:

Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil: Blends well with sweet, masculine and fruity scents.
Champagne Fragrance Oil: Blends well with fruity, clean, sweet and some floral scents.
Baby Rose Fragrance Oil: Blends well with floral, fruity and some sweet scents. 
Green Tea Fragrance Oil: Blends well with clean, fruity, floral and masculine scents.
10x Orange Essential Oil: Blends well with fruity, clean, sweet, masculine and floral scents.
Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oil: Blends well with masculine, sweet and some floral scents.

Looking for more blog posts about fragrance oils? Check out these posts below: 
Using the Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator
What is Fragrance Oil Made Of?
Frozen Fragrance Oils
What are Water White Fragrance Oils?
Why Did My Soap Turn Brown?
Undiluted Aroma Oils + Plastic Don’t Mix

What is your favorite fragrance blend? If you have any tips or tricks when it comes to mixing fragrances, I would love to hear them!

Like it? Share it!

You may also like these

Fragrance101 FeaturedFragrance 101FeaturedQuiz: What Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil Are You?salts3How to Use Every Last Drop of Fragrance OilCucKiwiMain_450px[1]#BrambleGarden Show Offcollage[4]Make it Month: Sunny Herb Garden & Carnation Fragrance Oils

Become an email subscriber

Enter your email address below and you will receive all our new posts directly in your email inbox.

Previous Post:
Next Post:

59 Comments

  1. If orange scents do not stick well in cold processed soap with the exception of folded orange oils, would a combination of say, bergamot, neroli, sweet orange, and pettigrain stick in cold process soap? If not, would anchoring those scents with vetiver and cedarwood make a difference? I plan to use some kaolin clay to help anchor the scent as well. Thank you so much.

    • I think the petitgrain will act as an anchor and hold the orange scent nicely! That combination sounds really great as well – nice and fresh. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  2. Hi Kelsey,
    I am wondering what oils would make coconut smell less strong? I’m not a big fan of coconut smell. I like clean scents. Thanks!

  3. Hi!
    Glad I came across this post. I made a cedar wood beer soap and have a little cedar wood essential oil left. I would like to try blending with another fragrance or essential oil but am unsure what would work with cedar wood. Any suggestions?

  4. Hello Kelsey, I’m a Chinese and I don’t understand about the sentence “some spice blends sing while others flounder. ” I tried to use google but the translation is suck. Would you mind to explain this for me? Thank you in advance.

    • Sorry about the confusion! What that means is some spice scents smell good when blended with other fragrances, while others smell bad. Mix a small amount of the fragrance to see if you like the blend. If not, you can try another combination. Let me know if that makes sense! 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  5. Love your post; very informative. I’m planning on making soap this Christmas for the men in my life but I’m having trouble deciding on what EOs to use. Any suggestions.

  6. I’m having an issue with one of my fragrance blend…. I think it’s the vanilla absolute.
    Has anyone had issues with the vanilla trying to solidify after it’s been sitting a while? I can usually shake it back up but I don’t know why it’s doing that!

    • Hmm, I’m not sure why that’s happening! Some of our carrier oils can get thick in colder weather. You may try popping the oil in a hot water bath, then give it a good shake. That may help loosen it again. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  7. Hi
    I am looking to make a soap cupcake for wedding favours and the colour scheme is mint green. Therefore, I would like to blend mint with something. Any ideas what would go well which the chemist would approve as they currently won’t allow any ‘foody’ smells in a cupcake design.

    Many thanks

  8. Excellent article. I wish I’d read it before mixing two fragrance oils together with less than desirable results. Champagne fragrance oil is closer to ginger ale and overpowers florals if used in equal proportions.

    • So glad you like the post Summer! Champagne can be a bit stronger than a floral. The good news is it smells really nice in soap, and you know to add less for next time. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  9. I would love to pair Freesia with something to create a nice summer scented hydrating mist . Any ideas ?

    • Thank you Cailin, glad you like the post! Blends can really transform a fragrance. Are you going to be making perfume? 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  14. I think I used too much essential oil in my soap batch. What do you suggest I do to save the batch.

  15. Once again, this tutorial is a real winner! I’ve used this method 3 times since you published it & my blends are much, much better now! I used the same method to make my own color & that was excellent too!! Way less guesswork! And I’ll have an exact record of the mix I used. Excellent advice, easy to use! Thank you!!

    • Hi Cathie!

      You are so welcome, glad you like the tutorial! That’s awesome to hear that the blends are working well for you. Thanks so much for saying so, it means a lot to us. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  16. Some mixes I have done, and was happy with:
    -Oatmeal, milk and honey FO and Clove EO
    -Crisp Anjou Pear FO and Orange 10x EO
    -Blackberry Cybilla FO and Lemongrass EO
    -Almond Biscotti FO, Vanilla Select FO
    -Vanilla Select FO and Cedarwood EO
    -Red Apple FO and Hazelnut Toffee FO
    -Hollyberry FO and Yuzu FO
    -Lavender EO and Eucalyptus EO
    -Anise star EO and Mint EO
    And so on…

  17. I like to practice fragrance blending using the vegan lotion base by Bramble Berry. I make small batches and take notes as I go so I remember what I’m adding and in what amounts. That way I don’t waste a bunch of fragrance or essential oils or ruin an entire batch of cold process soap. And I can use the lotion for a few days to see how the fragrances come together and how it smells on my skin. I didn’t describe that very well but hopefully you get the gist. 😉

  18. as usual you read my mind. Plan to try a blend when my order arrives. Want to try energy (fruity) with Grass stain (clean?). Since I have never tried grass stain we will just have to see. Suggestions welcome, it is a guess from afar. Lol

  19. Would there be any problems blending a fragrance oil with an essential oil? (I was thinking of blending a coconut fo with a lime eo.) I would imagine the essential oil would be stronger?

    • I often mix essential oils and fragrance oils. That’s totally fine.
      If you think essential oil is stronger than FO (and some are), just add less of it, and more of the fragrance oil.
      But, just so you know, Coconut FO and Lime EO are not really strong enough for cold process soap (based on descriptions here on the site). Of citrus EOs, only 10 fold Orange EO sticks in CP soap. I have used it and it’s really strong.
      I have used Lemongrass EO for lemony scent and it’s super strong in CP soap, too.
      I have a Coconut FO, but have not tried it yet, but from what I read it’s not very strong in CP. Hth

      • Thanks for your help, Martina. I create MP soaps so I think I will try the combination of lime eo and coconut fo with a 1:1 ratio and see how it works.

    • Hi Suzanne!

      Martina is right, you can definitely mix essential oils and fragrance oils! I love blending Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil with Peppermint Essential Oil, 2nd Distill. 🙂

      Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Dark-Rich-Chocolate-Fragrance-Oil-P3881.aspx

      Peppermint Essential Oil, 2nd Distill: https://www.brambleberry.com/Peppermint-Essential-Oil-2nd-Distill-P3832.aspx

      Some essential oils may be stronger than the fragrance oils, and vice versa. I would recommend starting out with a 1:1 ratio. Then, give the blend a sniff. If you want one scent to be stronger, add more until you get a blend that’s perfect for you. 🙂

      Also, citrus essential oils and coconut fragrance oils can be lighter in cold process soap. However, our 10x Orange Essential Oil is super concentrated, so it lasts well in cold process soap. Also, our Coconut Cream Fragrance Oil stays strong as well!

      10x Orange Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/10x-Orange-Essential-Oil-P4441.aspx

      Coconut Cream Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Coconut-Cream-Fragrance-Oil-P5936.aspx

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  20. Hello, I am a new soap maker and I chose Brambleberry to purchase all my supplies. I searched Brambleberry on how to leave a review of the company itself and not just a product but couldn’t find it, so I thought I’d leave one here. My shipment arrived in good condition and in a timely manner. I’m really happy with all of the products and everything seems to be great quality and most of my products were packaged really good, however one of my oils spilled during shipping and got all over the other products and had a black powder all over which I assume was from the activated charcoal. Two of my products were back order but the Brambleberry team notified me immediately and gave me options which I greatly appreciate. All in all I’m happy I chose Brambleberry to buy from because I feel confident that I have found a reliable company and that’s really important for me since I’ve only just begun soaping . The only thing that I was disappointed about but is not an issue is that I was expecting to receive a free sample of something since I did buy quite alot of products and every other first time customer seems to get them but there might be a reason for that. I will continue to order from you guys I’m quite satisfied with my order. Thank you.

    • Hi Diana!

      Oh no, I’m so sorry one of your oils spilled! That sounds like a mess. Also, I’m so sorry that sample was missing. I know how fun those can be.

      I will pass this message along to our customer service team so they can get that taken care of for you. If you send an email to [email protected] with your contact information I’ll get that forwarded to Rachel. She’ll contact you today.

      I’m glad you enjoy your products though! Thanks so much for your business. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  21. I was thinking about blending fragrances for my business. I’m glad I have these tips because I’m not confident in my mixing yet.

    And vanilla select is the best ever! It’s so yummy and its so far my fastest selling soap! We’ll see what customers think 😀

  22. Lovely! I appreciate the very specific advice when it comes to amounts for the first blend. Start small and take careful notes! Also be aware of which fragrances are already a blend on complex scents. Those probably won’t turn out as you hope if you try to blend further, but if you try things out in small amounts you may be surprised and find something you totally love 🙂

    • Hi Margaret!

      You are so welcome, glad you like the post! I agree with you, starting small and taking lots of notes is very helpful. Also, thanks for your awesome advice on complex scents! 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

    • Hi Jackie!

      That’s awesome, so glad you like the post! Also, I love the 10x Orange Essential Oil as well. It stays strong and adds some citrusy freshness to the blend. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry