Ingredients Glossary

Content of Ingredients Glossary

  • Anise essential oil (also known as aniseed essential oil) is steam-distilled from the fruits of the anise plant—Pimpinella anisum—and is characterised by its rich liquorice aroma. Its pungent, spicy and warm scent is similar to fennel and star anise essential oils.  

  • Bergamot Oil is extracted from the bergamot plant—citrus bergamia—and possesses a sweet citrus scent with floral undertones.

  • Black Pepper Oil is steam-distilled from the berries of the black pepper plant—piper nigrum—and has a sweet, warm and spicy scent with woody undertones.  

  • Camphor Essential Oil (also known as White Camphor Oil) is steam-distilled from the wood, roots and bark of the camphor tree—cinnamomum camphora—also referred to as the camphorwood or camphor laurel. Its pungent woody scent is very powerful, not unlike mothballs, while reassuring and sentimental, and has wide-reaching properties and ...

  • Cardamom Oil is extracted via steam distillation from the seeds of  the cardamom plant—elattaria cardomom—and has a strong scent with both sweet and spicy tones. 

  • Chamomile essential oil is steam-distilled from the flowers of the chamomile plant—Chamaemelum nobile—and is characterised by a sweet, herbaceous aroma with notes of apple and straw.

  • Cinnamon Bark Oil is steam-distilled from the bark of the cinnamon tree—cinnammomum verum—and has a spicy warm scent with sweet undertones. 

  • Clary Sage Oil is steam-distilled from the leaves and flower tops of the clary sage plant—Salvia sclarea—and has a sweet, nutty aroma with slight, floral notes. 

  • Clove Bud Oil is steam-distilled from the flower-bud of the clove plant—syzygium aromaticum, or eugenia caryophyllata—and possesses a warm, woody and spicy aroma.

  • Cocoa Butter is extracted from the cocoa bean. It is an edible fat commonly used in food products (chocolate) and body products like creams and soaps. It is rich in antioxidants and has a melting point at approximately 34-38 degrees celsius. Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature making it an excellent ingredient in body products due to it...

  • Coconut oil is extracted from the 'meat' of mature coconuts—Cocos nucifera—and is highly praised for its health benefits. This is a versatile oil with broad applications in the health and beauty industries. As an ingredient, it is prized by soap makers and the people who use handmade soap.  

  • Is there anything more sharply evocative than the smell and taste of coffee? Well it can also provide a range of benefits for your skin, which is why we like to include coffee seed oil and coffee grounds in a number of our products, including handmade soap.   

  • Eucalyptus Blue Gum Oil is a versatile essential oil that is steam-distilled from the leaves and stems of the eucalyptus globulus, or southern blue gum. Its aroma is sharp and medicinal, with undertones best described as 'woody'. It has been used in Australian home remedies for many generations, and is a powerful antiseptic.

  • Frankincense oil is an essential oil that has been steam-distilled from frankincense, an aromatic resin that is obtained from the Boswellia sacra tree. It is commonly used in aromatherapy and in handmade soap. The resin itself has been used as an incense for 6,000 years, first in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and late...

  • Grapefruit essential oil is extracted by cold pressing the peel of the grapefruit—Citrus × paradisi—and is commonly used in aromatherapy and bath products such as soap or bath bombs. Its citrus aroma is bright and uplifting, and offers a range of potential benefits for both skincare and mental health. 

  • Hemp Seed Oil is extracted from cold-pressed hemp hearts, the soft contents of the hemp seed. Hemp seed oil is not psychoactive and amazingly beneficial to general health and skin health. 

  • Juniper berry essential oil is extracted from juniper berries—the seed cones of coniferous juniper trees, mainly Juniperus communis. (Juniper berries are also used to make gin.) The essential oil is characterised by a refreshingly spicy, woody scent with citrus notes, and blends well with grapefruit essential oil and sweet orange ess...

  • Lavender Oil is steam-distilled from the flowers of the lavender plant—Lavendula angustifolia—and has a potent scent, which is both reassuring and evocative.   

  • Lemon essential oil is extracted from lemon peels via a cold press method. Lemon peels are derived from the fruit of the lemon tree, or Citrus limon. Along with eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, and lime oil, lemon essential oil is a very powerful natural cleaning agent. It offers a range of benefits for health and domestic applications,...

  • Lemongrass (Cymbopogon) is a tropical plant and a member of the grass family. It is steam distilled to from the Cymbopogon plant to produce essential oil. Lemongrass has a citrus zesty scent and is known for its anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

  • Lemon Eucalyptus Oil is a powerful essential oil that is produced by steam-distilling the eucalyptus leaves of the Corymbia citriodora, or lemon-scented gum. It possesses a strong, fresh aroma, not unlike citronella. 

  • Lemon Myrtle Oil is an essential oil that is produced through steam-distillation of backhousia citradoria (lemon myrtle) leaves. Its scent is fresh and vibrant with lemon accents, and is the most potent natural source of citral.

  • Lime essential oil is derived from the peel of the lime fruit via a cold press method. Lime fruits used for this purpose are often selected from key lime trees, or Citrus aurantifolia. Of all the citrus essential oils, lime essential oil is the most effective for skin care. In terms of its actions, it is gentler than lemon oil, and i...

  • Mandarin essential oil is extracted from the peel of the mandarin orange fruit—Citrus reticulata—and is characterised by its very sweet citrus aroma, similar to sweet orange but more intense. Like its citrus relatives lemon, lime, bergamot, sweet orange and grapefruit, it offers a range of potential benefits to your skin and general ...

  • Marjoram essential oil is steam-distilled from the flowering leaves and tops of the marjoram (also known as sweet marjoram) plant, or Origanum majorana. It has a similar odor to fresh oregano, with a woody and slightly camphorous scent.

  • Nutmeg essential oil is steam-distilled from the ground seeds of the fragrant or true nutmeg tree—Myristica fragrans— and is characterised by a scent best described as warm, spicy and uplifting.

  • Olive oil is cold pressed from the fruit of the olive tree, or Olea europaea. It offers a broad spectrum of considerable health benefits, both internal and external, and is a much loved ingredient in handmade soaps.

  • Patchouli essential oil is steam-distilled from the dried leaves and twigs of the patchouli plant—Pogostemon cablin—and is characterised by its very distinct woody scent: sweetly heavy and earthy, a favourite of alternative lifestyle practitioners since the 1960s.

  • Peppermint essential oil is steam-distilled from the leaves of the peppermint plant—Mentha × piperita—and is distinguished by its fresh, sharp, and cool menthol aroma. 

  • Petitgrain oil is steam distilled from the leaves and twigs of the Bitter Orange tree (Citrus aurantium ssp. amara). Although it comes from the Bitter Orange tree, Petitgrain has its own unique aroma of green wood and citrus.

  • Rice bran oil is extracted from rice bran, the hard brown layer that coats the rice—Oryza sativa—grain. It is a key ingredient in handmade soaps, and is popular as a cooking oil.

  • Rose geranium essential oil is steam-distilled from the stems and leaves of the Pelargonium graveolens shrub—commonly referred to as rose geranium. Its foliage smells strongly of roses, hence the name. The strength of the rosy aroma in the oil all depends on the stage of the leaves at distillation; steam-distilling the oil when the l...

  • Rose maroc absolute is an essential oil that has been obtained from rose maroc petals by solvent extraction. Rose maroc is a type of rose—Rosa damascena—and is also known as French rose or Provence rose. Rose maroc oil is sometimes called Moroccan otto of rose or French otto of rose. Rose maroc absolute is a perfume oil whose rose sc...

  • Rosemary essential oil is extracted via steam distillation from the flowers of the rosemary shrub—Salvia rosmarinus—and is characterised by a powerful herbal scent that is both clear and refreshing. This is a stimulating essential oil, whose applications exist well beyond the culinary.

  • Sandalwood essential oil is steam-distilled from the chips and billets (of the heartwood) of the trees Indian sandalwood— Santalum album—and Australian sandalwood—Santalum spicatum. It is a perfume oil that is famous for its exotic, woody and slightly sweet aroma. It is calming and harmonising for the mind and beneficial for...

  • Shea butter is a vegetable fat that is extracted from the nuts of the African shea tree—Vitellaria paradoxa—and owing to its skin-softening and moisturising properties is an often-used ingredient in handmade soaps. 

  • Spearmint oil is extracted from the flowering tops of the spearmint plant—Mentha spicata—via steam distillation, and is similar to peppermint oil but with a sweeter, more mellow aroma. 

  • Star Anise Oil is obtained from seeds of the star-shaped woody fruit—star anise—which grows on the illicium verum plant. The illicium verum plant is native to Vietnam and southern China. Star Anise Oil is variously referred to as China Star Anise Oil and Chinese Star Anise Oil.

  • Sweet orange essential oil is obtained from the fruit peel of the sweet orange tree—Citrus sinensis—via the cold press method. It is notable for its freshly sweet and tangy citrus scent. It is used in aromatherapy for alleviating cold and flu symptoms, and to create a sense of emotional warmth and happiness.

  • Tangerine essential oil is extracted from the peel of the tangerine orange fruit—Citrus reticulata or Citrus tangerina, a type of mandarin orange—and is characterised by its bright citrus aroma, which is sweeter than mandarin oil and more intense than sweet orange oil. Like mandarin oil, its phototoxicity is low com...

  • Tea tree essential oil (also known as melaleuca oil) is steam-distilled from the leaves of the tea tree—Melaleuca alternifolia—and is well-known for its bright and strong camphoraceous aroma that is reminiscent of fresh-cut wood and eucalyptus. 

  • Ylang-ylang essential oil is steam-distilled from the the ylang-ylang flowers of the cananga tree—Cananga odorata—and is characterised by a fruity floral scent with notes of custard, neroli and jasmine. It is an amorous perfume oil that has a stimulating effect on the skin.