Aromatic plants are popular for essential oil production, which are in high demand in the fragrance industry. Flowers are the most common plant used in fragrance production, although citruses, spices, woods, and resins are also commonly used. Rather than distilling the plant material to obtain essential oils, the flavor and fragrance industry will often use various extraction methods to obtain the desired end product. Extraction can be done using a wide variety of solvents inducing water, alcohols, and condensed CO2 just to name a few.
While pure steam distilled essential oil can be used to make perfumes, individual compounds are also commonly utilized. For example, lavender scent can be created easily by adding isolated compounds like linalool, linalyl acetate and others to a mixture. The addition of these isolates to essential oils is also common to extend supply and improve odor.
After oils and compounds are blended to create the desired scent with alcohol and trace amounts of water, the mixture is then left to age for a specific amount of time, from a few months to a year or two. After the aging, if the scent is acceptable, it then moves to bottling and is then sold on the market.
