The Goddess Notes

When talking about the fragrance of an essential oil you will often hear the terms: top, middle and base notes.

This refers to how volatile the oil is or in other words how quickly the molecule of essential oil evaporates.

The most volatile oils are the top note oils. These oils have molecules that are small and light and so evaporate quickly. They are the first you smell when smelling an essential oil blend or fragrance. Citrus oils such as bergamot, lemon, grapefruit are some of the most common top note oils. Others include basil and lemongrass and some spice notes such as cardamom and coriander.

Top note oils are often found to be uplifting and happy. My favourite uplifting top notes are bergamot Citrus bergamia and grapefruit Citrus x paradisi.

The middle notes are often the ones used to make the ‘heart’ of the blend. The molecules are heavier and can still usually be smelt after several hours. Many of the floral essential oils can be classed as middle (or mid) notes, these include rose, geranium, neroli and lavender. Others include chamomile, clary sage, cypress and thyme.

Middle note oils are very balancing. My favourite mid-note oils include lavender Lavandula angustifolia and rose and geranium Pelargonium graveolens.

Base note oils are long lasting as their heavy molecules are slow to evaporate and so their fragrance lingers long after everything else has evaporated. These oils are often thicker and more viscous and can sometimes be harder to get out of the bottle. The base note oils are often balsams, resins and woods such as frankincense, sandalwood, benzoin, patchouli, vetiver and cedarwood atlas.

The base note oils tend to be sedative and relaxing. My favourite base note oils are vetiver Vetiveria zizanioides and cedarwood atlas Cedrus atlantica.