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| Blue Tansy test strips |
Scent Testing: The results are in!
A few months ago Real Aromatherapy Reviews and More was invaded by another of those sales people that does not believe the rules apply to them. Sigh.
Of course, he was removed. The PMs continued. I agreed to evaluate samples for this new company, Joya Essentials. I requested lemon, peppermint, Frankincense and Blue Tansy.
In the meantime, I moved. So it took me a bit to get it done. My husband was my helper and my control to eliminate bias. He randomly numbered the strips (I use watercolor paper or you can buy scent strips.)
I will supply links to the brands at the end. First I wanted to explain that scent changes and develops over time. In order to remove as much Bias as I could, my notes were removed between rounds. How long the test went depended more on the essential oil, lemon dissipates faster than frank for instance.
Te most difficult part of this process is to find the words to describe what you smell. If you want to expand your vocabulary I highly recommend this exercise. I promise it will frustrate you as well!
So here are the results! I sent a copy to the owner of Joya Essentials for to do with as he pleased. Now you get a chance to see them too!
This will be a very long post!
Lemon
Aura Cacia
Lemony, sweetish,
1 hr
Strong. Tart. I can
taste lemon when I smell it.
3 hr almost undetectable
Plant Therapy
Not sweet, zest like, tart
1 hr
Very faint. Almost
undetectable. Hint of lemon
3 hr no scent
Joya Essentials
CANDY, very sweet, smells like lemonheads candy,
“unnatural”, very strong
1 hr
Faint, Sweet, very little lemon scent
3 hr No scent
Nature's Gift Lemon Rind
Light, balanced between sweet and tart, fresh, mellow.
1 hr
Similar to initial, balanced.
3 hr
Very, very light, faint hint of lemon
Personal Preference: I
definitely preferred the Nature's Gift. My second
choice would be Aura Cacia.
Peppermint
NOW
Fresh, minty, mildly sweet, mildly herby. Balanced.
1 hr
Sweeter, scent stronger than initial
3 hr No scent.
Plant Therapy
very strong, very herby, still noticeable menthol smell
1 hr
Herby, sweeter than initial, balanced.
3 hr
Scent still fairly strong, minty, herbal, lightly
sweet. Very balanced.
Joya Essentials
Strongly herbal, almost dirty, chemically, unnatural, almost
no perceptible mint scent (menthol).
Hubby: “Laboratory, Man-made” Yuck (He actually did this with me but his
descriptions are I like it or I do not.
This is his best description.
Baby steps.)
1 hr
Almost undetectable.
3 hr No scent.
Personal preference: This batch
of Plant Therapy’s was exactly what I prefer scent wise in peppermint. I am normally a NOW girl for peppermint as I
count on a consistent scent from them. I
think you can guess my impression of Joya’s.
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| At the city park! |
Blue Tansy
Now, before you read this there are two important things to know. I do not like the scent of Blue Tansy and you may keep that in mind. Also, I live on an island filled with wetlands, marshes and swamps. You will understand why that is important in a minute.
Joya Essentials
Mild initial scent.
Fishy, herbal
1 hr
Light scent. Mildly
fishy. Slightly sweet. Mild herbal tone.
2 hr
Light scent. Primarily
herbal, slight fishy tone. (Think
brackish swamp.) There is a hint of mint or menthol?
3 hr
Light scent. Slightly
harsh tone of decaying vegetation.
4 hr
Light scent still.
Swamp water, decaying vegetation and fish.
12 hr
No scent
Organic Infusions
Mild scent. Strongly
herbal with a fishy tone.
1 hr
Mild to light scent.
Very earthy and vegetation scent, slight fishy tone.
2 hr
Light scent. Fish
scent predominant, herbal tone underneath.
3 hr
Scent detectable but too faint to describe.
4 hr
No scent left.
Plant Therapy
Bold, strong scent.
Slightly bitter, strongly herbal, mildly fishy scent.
1 hr
Moderate scent.
Slightly sweet tone seems to be developing. Strongly herbal and vegetative.
2 hr
Medium scent strength.
Sweetish and very herbal. Almost
like composting grass clippings?
3 hr
Scent still quite strong.
Sweetish, herbal, finally moving toward pleasant.
4 hr
Still a strong scent. Slightly sweet, predominantly herbal
scent.
5 hr
Light scent. Slightly
sweet, slightly herbal. Nice balanced
scent.
12 hr
Light scent. Herbal, smooth, pleasant.
Personal Preferences: Plant
Therapy would be my first choice on Blue Tansy.
The bitter initial tone goes away fast, leaving an earthy, herbal scent. Organic infusions was more pleasant than Joya
to start, but faded too quickly. Joya was
quite harsh scent wise but lasted well.
2nd would likely end up being Joya.
Frankincense
Joya Essentials; carterii, steam distilled
Light, very mild, slight licorice and turpentine, mildly of
cedar shavings.
1 hr
Licorice scent, sweet, smooth
2 hr
very light scent, slightly of pine and cedar chips
3 hr
Super light, pine tone, slight cedar scent
4 hr
Barely perceptible, cedar shavings scent
5 hr
No scent
Neal Yard Remedies; carterii, steam distilled
Smooth, fairly strong scent.
No licorice smell (noted because often it is there.) Sweet, round, light tree and citrus.
1 hr
Herbal, earthy with a noticeable pine note, light citrus
tone.
3 hr
Medium scent strength, the strongest of them at 3 hrs. Smooth, balanced between earthy, lemonish and
pine.
4 hr
Still a strong scent.
Sweetish with a pine undertone.
Citrus top note.
5 hr
Surprisingly strong scent, just starting to fade. Sweet, smooth, light licorice note. Predominantly a pine scent. Almost no citrus left.
12 hrs
Light scent remains. Woody, a blend of pine and cedar
scents.
Nature’s Gift, carterii, steam distilled
Soft scent. Very
mildly of licorice. Nice citrus
note. No initial pine scent (noted as it
is frequently present.) Still woody yet not distinctly pine.
1 hr
Light citrus. Pine
tone developing but mild.
2 hr
Light scent. Smooth,
balanced between citrus and pine and earthy.
3 hr
Very light scent.
Pleasant, smooth, no detectable separate notes. Mildly earthy or herbal.
4 hr
Super light scent.
Very balanced, no distinct tone predominant.
5 hr
Super light scent.
Sweet tone.
12 hr
No scent.
Without a doubt, the NYR is my hands down favorite. NG is a pretty close second.
Overall impression: Based on scent alone, which is not the most reliable method, I think JOYA ESSENTIALS are pure EOs. The sourcing for some of them is unusual. The peppermint is from India for instance and I have no other Indian peppermint. The swamp and fishy scent is present in other Blue Tansy just not nearly as pronounced. I was sent Certificate of Analysis for the oils but only looked at them after evaluating them based on scent. (We all know the CoA can be copied from other sources or not match the batch we have so I did not rely on it with a new company. I need to develop some trust first.) With Blue Tansy getting even more scarce this year, this is not the worst specimen I have seen.
Not part of the Joya
evaluation. Fun nonetheless. I had other frankincense that I threw in just to test myself a bit!
Nature’s Gift, carterri CO2
Smooth, light citrus note, woody, slight medicinal
scent.
1 hr
Strong scent. Pine,
herbal and damp earth? (sorry, finding
the right word is difficult.) Mostly an
herbal, green, fresh plant scent.
2 hr
Strong scent. Pine,
herbal and damp earth? Mostly an
herbal, green, fresh plant scent. (yes I really wrote the same thing
twice. My notes were removed between
each round but I described it the same twice anyway.)
3 hr
Still very strong, although fading slightly. Sweet tone developing. Light pine scent. Noticeable citrus tones.
4 hr
Still quite strong.
Predominantly a pine and cedar scent with hints of herb and citrus. This is a very unique scent.
12 hours
Faint scent. Sweetish
with a pine note and a damp earth tone.
Nature’s Gift, seratta, CO2
Strong, almost harsh.
Very medicinal, with a pine note.
1 hr
Very strong.
Turpentine, medicinal scent is increasing. Possibly camphorous?
2 hr
Strong. Very
medicinal. Strong turpentine scent.
Harsh. Quite unpleasant to me.
3 hr
Still very strong.
Harsh, camphorous, medicinal, with a turpentine and cedar tone.
4 hr
Very strong.
Medicinal. Unpleseant, harsh and
very difficult for me to try to detect different notes. Overpowering.
12 hr
Light but remarkably strong considering the time lapse. Finally sweetening, still medicinal, camphor,
turpentine scent. (Not one to wear as
perfume!)
Plant Therapy, serrata, steam distilled.
Medium strength.
Bold. Predominantly a turpentine
scent. Hint of citrus.
1 hr
Super light. Distinct
citrus top note with a pine undertone.
2 hr
Very light scent remaining.
Slight pine and lemon with the beginning of a cedar chip tone.
3 hr
Very, very faint.
Hint of cedar and pine.
4 hr
Detectable scent but too faint to describe.
5 hr.
Detectable scent but too faint to describe.
12 hr.
Detectable scent but too faint to describe. (This was a surprise to me; it pretty much
remained at this very low scent for 8 hours.
I expected no scent on follow up.)
Overall impression of my franks, carterii always wins. The steam distilled and the CO2 are both wonderful. Scent wise serrata is second fiddle but it is highly effective and I use a great deal of it. If I could only have one, it would be the steam distilled carterii.
Links to the various companies I used for scent evaluation:
Plant Therapy (also available through Amazon and Jet.)
Neal Yard Remedies (I know several good reps if you want set up with a sample.)
Organic Infusions (recently failed third party testing for vetiver, order with caution.)
Aura Cacia and NOW I have been finding the best prices for at Pure Formulas. They are also generally available at most health food store and on Amazon.
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