First EO buy

[efeoli]

I am about to buy my first order of EO and need a bit of help choosing them wisely. I was thinking about three categories, citrus, flowers and woody scents.

Do you have any suggestions on a good starter variety?

I would like them to be able to combine them. My biggest problem is choosing a few from the bunch, if I could I would buy one of each, I’m a sucker for fragrances and really have to hold back.

Thanks!!

 

[Obsidian]

I would go for lemongrass, lavander and patchouli. They all blend well with each other and lots of other scents.

 

[Em522]

I know exactly how you feel! I had to exit out of my Liberty Naturals cart without purchasing anything the other day because my total without shipping was about $120 and I hadn't put more than .25oz of any one particular EO in my cart!?!

I would also be interested in what EO's more experienced soapers suggest to start with.

 

[AnnaMarie]

I would second the lavender. That is just a good basic to have period.
Cheers!
Anna Marie

 

[soap_rat]

For floral, litsea cubeba (which is a citrusy floral and is also used to help citrus EOs stick), lavender.

For citrus, a 10x or 15x orange (even with that strength you will still need to research how to make citrus stick), lemongrass (which is not a true citrus and sticks well

woodsy: cedarwood (juniperus mexicana) or similar.

 

[eyeroll]

I'd definitely do lemongrass.

Lavender is a nice safe choice and blends well with lots of things. If you want an alternative, I like rosemary.

I'd probably opt for cedarwood over patchouli (it's less polarizing, at least in my house).

ETA: I haven't had any of these discolor or accelerate.

 

[TVivian]

One more vote for lemongrass. It's strong and most everyone likes it. I use orange a lot too.

 

[cmzaha]

Lavender, Lemongrass, litsea, cedarwood, rosemary, peppermint, grapefruit. These are good mixers and it you have enough patchouli is nice for an anchor eo, but a lot of people do not like patch.
New Directions Aromatics has a very nice Lavender 40/42, lemongrass is a very good price, and peppermint is on sale
Soapsupplies.net has a nice lavender fo that smells fantastic mixed with lavender 40/42 from New Directions. The last lavender 40/42 I purchased from the Sage was not nice at all
Cedar Leaf from Liberty Natural is fantastic.

 

[efeoli]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[neeners]

another vote for lavender. most people love it. peppermint is also a good one that many people love. tea tree is also a safe one to get too.

citrus, maybe lemon? if you get lime, you can mix lime with peppermint to get a mojito soap

i have these four, and i find it's quite easy to mix these.

good luck and happy shopping!