essential oils vs synthetic fragrance: why the messy formist chooses essential oils

Scent. It's one of the first things our brains register when we enter a space, yet it's often one of the last things we think about when designing one. We tend to treat scent as an optional extra. Something that simply makes a room smell nice.

At The Messy Formist (TMF), I see it differently. I believe scent is part of the architecture of a space. Not architecture in the traditional sense of walls and windows, but the invisible design that influences how a room feels and how we behave within it. Just as light changes our mood, sound affects our concentration and texture influences comfort, scent quietly shapes our experience without demanding attention.

That's why it plays such an important role in everything I create. Every scented candle at The Messy Formist is made using pure essential oils rather than synthetic fragrance oils. It's a choice people often ask about, and one that deserves a little more explanation than simply saying, "Because they're natural."

The truth is, it has very little to do with trends and everything to do with purpose. A value that sits at the heart of everything we create at TMF. 

Essential oils vs synthetic fragrance oils: What's the difference? 

Before talking about why I chose essential oils, it's worth understanding what they actually are. Essential oils are concentrated extracts taken directly from plants. Depending on the plant, the oil may come from the peel, flowers, leaves, bark, wood, roots or needles. For example, Sweet Orange comes from the peel of oranges, peppermint from the leaves, lavender from flowering stems, and pine from evergreen needles. Each one carries the distinctive aroma of the plant it came from.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) defines essential oils as products obtained from natural raw materials using physical processes such as:

• steam distillation

• mechanical expression (cold pressing for citrus)

• dry distillation (certain materials)

This is one of the defining differences between essential oils and synthetic fragrance oils.

Synthetic fragrance oils are different. Rather than being extracted from a plant, they're carefully formulated to recreate existing scents or invent entirely new ones. They allow candle makers to produce an enormous variety of fragrances that would otherwise be impossible. Examples include: Vanilla bean, black cherry, fresh linen, espresso martini, french pear, salted caramel, coconut lime, ocean breeze, cinnamon donut, and fairy floss.

Some fragrances combine dozens or even hundreds of aromatic ingredients to create a very specific scent experience. Many candle companies choose fragrance oils because they offer exceptional consistency, large scent throw and almost unlimited creative possibilities. If your goal is to recreate the smell of a French bakery or a Christmas dessert, synthetic fragrance makes that possible.

Why we choose essential oils for our candles 

When I was developing The Messy Formist, I wasn't asking myself, "What scents will sell?". I kept asking a different question, "What role should this object play in someone's life?" That question shaped almost every decision I made. It shaped the forms of the candles, the names, colour palette, packaging, the burn times, and ingredients.

The Messy Formist was never intended to be a home fragrance brand in the traditional sense. It was built around the idea that thoughtfully designed objects can quietly influence our behaviour. I call these Functional Forms. Objects that don't just occupy a space, but participate in it. A well-designed chair invites us to sit differently. A notebook encourages us to capture ideas. A favourite mug can become part of a morning routine. Likewise, scent has the ability to become part of the rhythms that structure our day.

Rather than simply filling a room with fragrance, I wanted scent to become an environmental cue. Something that gently signals a transition into meaningful work. Now it's time to begin. Now it's time to focus. Now it's time to create.

How scent can shape habits, routines and focus 

There's another reason scent is so powerful.

Unlike our other senses, our sense of smell has direct connections to areas of the brain involved in emotion and memory. This helps explain why a particular scent can instantly transport us back to a childhood home, remind us of someone we love, or bring back a forgotten moment years later.

Researchers have long recognised this close relationship between smell, memory and emotion. It's one of the reasons scent can become such a meaningful part of our everyday rituals; not because fragrance changes who we are, but because our brains naturally build associations between smells, places and experiences.

Most of us already use environmental cues without realising it. We dim the lights before watching a movie, make a cup of tea before reading, listen to a playlist while studying, put on running shoes before we feel motivated to exercise. These rituals matter because our brains are incredibly good at recognising patterns. When we repeatedly pair an action with a particular environment or object, our minds begin linking the two together.

That's one of the ideas behind Task Tealights™. Each scent becomes part of a routine rather than simply another pleasant smell. Lighting Sweet Orange isn't just about enjoying citrus. It's about softening resistance, and marking the beginning of focused work. Peppermint isn't simply refreshing. It becomes associated with lifting your energy. Over time, the tealight itself becomes part of the habit to start and stay with meaningful work. I'm interested in designing objects that support the habits you want to build.

Once I became clear about the purpose of the candles, choosing essential oils felt obvious. Essential oils are real materials. They're derived from forests, orchards, flowers and herbs. When you smell Lavender, you're experiencing something distilled from an actual field of flowering plants. Essential oils remain recognisably connected to the nature they come from. That connection to real materials felt more aligned with the world I wanted The Messy Formist to create from. 

Did you know? Essential oils are typically extracted by steam distillation, while citrus essential oils such as Sweet Orange are usually cold pressed from the peel because heat can alter their delicate aroma. 

Why I don't use synthetic fragrance oils in my candles 

The more I researched synthetic fragrance oils, the more I realised they weren't aligned with the kind of products I wanted to create.

One main reason is transparency. With pure essential oils, I know exactly where the aroma comes from. Synthetic fragrance oils are different. They are carefully formulated blends that can contain many individual aroma ingredients to recreate a particular scent. Depending on where you live and the type of product, manufacturers are often able to list these collectively as "fragrance" or "parfum" on ingredient labels, rather than identifying every individual component. 

The FDA explains that "fragrance" can refer to mixtures of natural and synthetic ingredients and that manufacturers are generally permitted to list them collectively as "fragrance" to protect trade secrets.

As someone who is sensitive to very specific scents, that lack of transparency didn't feel right for me both as a consumer and maker. 

Another reason is more personal. I've found that heavily fragranced products can give me headaches, particularly if the scent throw is overpowering. I know I'm not alone in this regard. Research shows that many people experience fragrance sensitivity, with scented products triggering symptoms such as headaches, migraines or irritation. Of course, everyone's experience is different, which is why no scented product is suitable for everyone.

Rather than creating candles with the strongest possible scent throw, I wanted to create something more subtle and intentional. TMF has never been about creating novelty fragrances or chasing trends. It's about designing objects that support rituals, focus and everyday use.

Embracing imperfection with natural materials

One of the things I love most about working with natural materials is that they aren't perfectly uniform. Every harvest is slightly different. Rainfall changes, temperatures fluctuate, growing conditions vary from season to season. That means essential oils can have subtle differences from one harvest to the next. For some manufacturers, that's seen as a disadvantage. For me, it's part of their character. 

Nature isn't designed to be identical. A handcrafted ceramic bowl doesn't look exactly like the one beside it. A piece of timber tells the story with its grain. Stone carries variations formed over thousands of years. Essential oils belong to that same family of materials. Their slight differences remind us they're connected to living systems rather than factory formulas. There's something deeply reassuring about that.

Designing candles with purpose 

Every creative business eventually decides what it stands for. Sometimes those decisions happen because they're cheaper. Sometimes because they're easier. Essential oils are neither of these things. Choosing essential oils wasn't about chasing a trend or making marketing claims. It was about consistency. 

If The Messy Formist believes that every object should be designed with intention, then every material should be chosen with that same level of intention. The high-quality soy wax, the cotton wick, the hand-sculpted form, the unique design, the eco-conscious packaging, the authentic scent. Each one contributes to the overall experience. None of them exist in isolation. Together they create an object designed not simply to burn beautifully, but to support a meaningful ritual. Essential oils simply felt like the most honest expression of the kind of objects I wanted to create.

People often ask why we use essential oils. It's because they align with everything The Messy Formist is trying to become. A business built on thoughtful design, meaningful rituals, and objects that quietly shape behaviour rather than simply decorate a shelf.

Because scent isn't just something we notice. It's something we remember. And when it's paired with intention, it becomes part of the routines we create for ourselves every day.

That's why you'll always find essential oils in TMF candles.