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Essential oils can be distilled from several flowers—rose, sage, lavender, jasmine, and chamomile, to name a few. Lilacs are among the most fragrant flowers that can be found, which begs the question: Why is it so hard to find lilac essential oil? One might think such a product would be incredibly popular.
Does Lilac Essential Oil Exist?
Let’s rip off the band-aid: The first thing to understand about lilac essential oil is that it effectively doesn’t exist.
Essential oils are typically extracted from flowers using a process called steam distillation, which involves submerging the flower in water and then applying heat.
Lilacs, unfortunately, are particularly delicate flowers—too delicate, in fact. Steam distillation destroys the floral scent profile of syringa vulgaris (the common lilac), resulting in an essential oil that doesn’t smell much like anything—at least not anything good.
If you’ve run a search for lilac essential oil on Google or Amazon, what you more than likely found was likely a lilac fragrance oil, masquerading as an essential oil.
What Is a Fragrance Oil?
Fragrance oils are synthetic alternatives to essential oils, which are based on all-natural compounds.
Rather than distilling the essential compounds of a naturally occurring plant into a highly concentrated oil, fragrance oils are developed in a lab by combining chemicals to simulate a desired fragrance.
Fragrance oils are used almost exclusively for the enjoyment that comes from their scents. Rarely do they confer the same medicinal benefits that essential oils do.
What Are the Properties of Lilac Oil?
Lilac fragrance oil is a great alternative to lilac essential oil (if such a thing existed). Fragrance oils tend to be less expensive than essential oils, and due to their synthetic nature, they come in a much wider variety of scents than do essential oils.
However, since fragrance oils are not distilled from all-natural sources, they rarely confer the medicinal and therapeutic benefits often associated with essential oils.
If you’re looking for a therapeutic oil—something, say, to help you manage nausea, insomnia, or other conditions—fragrance oils won’t do you much good. You’re much better off searching for a pure essential oil like lavender, lemon, or eucalyptus. It may be disappointing that lilac cannot provide these benefits in an essential oil
Carrying none of these medicinal benefits, fragrance oils are commonly diffused for the enjoyment of their pleasant aromas. Among artisans and hobbyists, fragrance oils are also the primary ingredient in homemade soaps, candles, and perfumes.
Our 3 Favorite Lilac Fragrance Oils
The market for fragrance oils can be tough to navigate when you’re just getting started. Many of the best brands only sell directly from their own websites and can’t be found on Amazon or other large online retailers.
Since fragrance oils are synthetic and don’t come with a standard ingredient list, there is a bulk of low-quality manufacturers who include low quality ingredients as a means of
Thankfully our #1 favorite brand of fragrance oils, P&J Trading, is one of only a few premium fragrance oil brands with a really developed storefront on Amazon.
1. P&J Trading Lilac Fragrance Oil
- Vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free
- 1 fl oz / 30 ml glass amber bottle with inset dropper
- 200° F Burning Point (a.k.a. “Flash Point”)
As mentioned above, P&J Trading is one of our absolute favorite fragrance oil providers. P&J is among a rare group of fragrance oil makers that rivals premium Essential Oil providers in terms of the care it takes in combining quality ingredients to create truly authentic and tasteful aromas. And P&J’s Lilac Fragrance Oil is no exception, this vegan, cruelty-free blend combination smells just like the real thing, concentrated into a small bottle for easy diffusion whenever desired. Like many of P&J’s scents, the scent of lilac is strong in this oil. We recommend starting with just 4-5 drops in water for diffusion, and ramping up from there if needed.
2. Eternal Essence Lilac and Lilies Premium Grade Fragrance Oil
- Authentic aroma with premium quality ingredients
- 1 fl oz / 30 ml glass amber bottle with inset dropper
- 200° F Burning Point (a.k.a. “Flash Point”)
Eternal Essence is another one of our favorite premium fragrance oil brands. The brand itself prides itself on creations with scent profiles that closely resemble the real thing. Don’t let the title fool you, Eternal Essence’s Lilac and Lilies Premium Grade Fragrance Oil is not a combination oil. Its smell is just as true to the lilac as the plant itself. It is admittedly a little less potent than the P&J option, making it a great ingredient in DIY soaps and candles if that happens to be a pastime of yours.
3. Barnhouse Blue Lilac & Lilies Fragrance Oil
- Vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free
- 1 fl oz / 30 ml glass amber bottle with inset dropper
- 200° F Burning Point (a.k.a. “Flash Point”)
Barnhouse Blue is another one of our absolute favorite Fragrance Oil brands. Like P&J, the folks at Barnhouse take deep pride in their creations, resulting in surprisingly accurate recreations of scents almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Unlike the Eternal Essence combination scent, Barnhouse’s Lilac and Lilies is truly a combination scent, balancing both Lilac and Lilies in equally tasteful measure. It’s also not quite as potent as the P&J scent, but this unique combination makes it a great choice for those times you’re at home and want to transport yourself to the rolling fields of a far-off meadow.
Final Thoughts
Lilac is one of those unique and delicate scents not easily extracted into an essential oil. Unfortunately, the result is that the market has been flooded with a variety of fakes that not only aren’t actual essential oils but aren’t great imitations, either. Fragrance oils provide a great alternative to essential oils, without the medicinal properties you would normally get from a plant-based product. Make sure, though, to select a reputable brand like the ones we’ve listed above, to ensure that you’re getting an authentic and unforgettable scent.
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