As a rarer oil, magnolia is often subject to adulteration. Since magnolia plants can offer two similar oils, magnolia leaf oil is often used to adulterate magnolia flower oil. The leaf oil can be mixed into the flower oil to dilute it and make a higher profit, or the leaf oil can be used as a base to create flower oil. Indole and phenyl-ethyl-alcohol are added to leaf oil to make it look more like the flower oil composition.

Synthetic linalool derived from 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one can be used to adulterate magnolia oil, however it does not pass a C-14 test, however if derived from alpha-pinene, it will pass.

Fractionated ho wood can also be used to create a faux magnolia oil. In addition, perpetrators often dilute the pure oil with a carrier oil to create a higher profit margin. Below you can see an example of an adulterated magnolia oil.