Ingredient Spotlight: Essential Oil Fragrances

Like all of our six senses, our sense of smell helps us navigate the world. When you wake up, those first smells of the day, like that yummy cup of matcha, can set you up with a positive attitude. The smell of pine trees on a hike can energize you. Picking mint leaves for a salad can take you away to your last vacation at that fabulous restaurant. Smells can also remind us of favorite times during our past with friends or loved ones. In a recent blog, we talked about how smells—in the form of aromatherapy—can help boost your productivity at work or school. 

All in all, smells serve a purpose, even when you're unaware of it in the moment. Aromas are like little unexpected gifts throughout your day. 

Essential oils in products

At OLIKA, we like things to be as pure as possible. Our sani sprays are formulated with all-natural essential oil goodness. How do you know when a product's essential oils are the real deal? One thing you can do, according to experts, is look for the Latin name. Responsible brands will provide that information so you know which plant you're getting, because that can make a difference. For example, there are several species of lavender, and basil boasts a whopping 30. 

We think you should know what you're putting on your skin, so we make it easy for you to find out.  When you go to our Fragrance + Ingredients page, you'll find a full list of every ingredient and oil in each of our scents. Everything that makes our sprays clean, compliant, and smelling oh-so-wonderful is right there. 

Essential oil aroma families

Essential oils are categorized in a few ways. Like wine, essential oils can be distinguished by "notes" that define how long the aroma will last. Top note is a designation given to oils whose scent hits you right away and then dissipates quickly, while base notes take the longest to fade. Middle notes are, naturally, the sweet spot of oils; these scents release gradually and blend beautifully with top and base notes. 

We formulated our sanitizer sprays with essential oil blends that hit the right notes, right in the middle, that is. That way, when you give yourself a spritz, you'll not only get rid of something (the yuck, that is!) but you also give something: a little pop of scent that'll make you feel fresh, clean, energized, or just plain pleasant.  

Our scent blends—mint citrus, lavender, charcoal, orange blossom, and cucumber basil—fall under a handful of these eight aroma categories:

Citrus, Floral, Herbaceous, Camphoraceous, Minty, Spicy, Musky, Woody

For a little OLIKA fun, take out your favorite sani spray and try to guess which essential oil families are in that scent. Then look at the full list of ingredients to find out how many you guessed correctly! No matter which OLIKA scent is your favorite, you'll feel good knowing that your sanitizer spray is formulated with natural essential oils. 

Share your findings with us on Instagram @olikalife!