Fragrance Oils vs Essential Oils: What We Use at Rustic Charm Candles
At Rustic Charm Candles, we often get asked about the types of oils we use in our candles. It's a great question, and one we love to answer because we believe in transparency and helping our customers understand what makes our candles special. The short answer? We use high-quality fragrance oils—specifically, premium, phthalate-free blends that are designed for candle use. Here's why.
Understanding the Difference
There are two primary types of oils used in scented products: essential oils and fragrance oils.
Essential oils are completely natural and extracted from plants using methods like distillation or cold pressing. They offer wonderful aromatherapy benefits and are a beautiful way to enjoy nature's scents. However, in candles, they come with some limitations:
- Low scent throw: Essential oils typically don't have the strength to fill a room with fragrance.
- Lower stability: They can break down when exposed to heat, meaning they often fade quickly.
- Cost and sustainability: It takes a large amount of plant material to produce a small quantity of oil. For example, around 250 pounds of lavender flowers are needed for just one pound of essential oil. This makes them expensive and sometimes unsustainable.
Fragrance oils, on the other hand, are crafted in labs and can be either synthetic or natural (meaning they contain compounds derived from nature but enhanced for performance). These oils are specifically formulated to perform well in candles:
- Stronger scent throw: They fill your space with fragrance, even in larger rooms.
- Longer-lasting: Their molecular stability makes them more heat-resistant.
- More variety: Some scents—like apples or ocean breeze—simply can't be extracted from nature, so fragrance oils make these possible. Like our fan-favorite leather note used in Boots & Chaps, or the crisp apple scent featured in Farm Fresh Apple, Farmhouse Cider, and Farmer's Market—these signature fragrances wouldn’t be achievable without fragrance oils.
Why We Choose Fragrance Oils
At Rustic Charm Candles, our goal is to give you a beautiful, consistent, and enjoyable candle experience. That means:
- Long-lasting fragrance that doesn’t fade after the first burn
- A wider variety of scents that match every season, mood, and memory
- Safe ingredients—all our fragrance oils are phthalate-free, so you can breathe easy
- Outstanding performance—with excellent scent throw that fills your room and a consistent, welcoming aroma every time you burn
- Great value—premium quality without the high price tag
While essential oils have their place, fragrance oils allow us to deliver a higher-quality candle that performs the way you expect it to.
Our Commitment to You
Every Rustic Charm candle is handcrafted with love in Breckenridge, Texas, using a premium soy blend wax and poured by hand, one by one, by our family. Each candle burns cleanly for 60-80 hours and is made to fill your home with comfort, warmth, and a scent you’ll love.
Whether you're new to Rustic Charm or a long-time customer, we hope this helps you feel confident in what you're bringing into your home. We're proud of what we make, and we know you'll love it too.