Rosemary Essential Oil Vs Eucalyptus Essential Oil

I received a call recently from someone that was fairly new to essential oils and had never bought Rosemary Essential Oil before. They were concerned that the Rosemary oil did not smell exactly like the crushed culinary herb. They were further concerned that Rosemary oil smells a lot like Eucalyptus Essential Oil.

Indeed these observations are true as not all culinary herb type oils smell exactly like the crushed herb.

Now let us put on our detective caps and have a look at the essential oil chemistry of both oils. This post will not investigate the 3 common Rosemary chemotypes of 1-8 cineole, camphor and verbenone but will go with the common link that for the most part creates the olfactory crossover.

The answer is that both Rosemary oil and Eucalyptus radiata have significant amounts of 1-8 cineole. This component 1-8 cineole is also known as eucalyptol. You guessed it, oils with a fair concentration of eucalyptol smell like Eucalyptus oil. It is only when the 2 oils are side by side that the nuances can be picked up on. That is why many people mention on the web they are surprised when for the first time they smell Rosemary oil it reminds them of Eucalyptus oil.

For your interest also other essential oils high in 1-8 cineole or eucalyptol are Niaouli chemotype 1-8 cineole, Ravintsara, Cardamom, Bay Laurel & Myrtle