Materia Aromatica

Minty & Cooling

Menthol, cineole, carvone and methyl salicylate. Cool notes read by molecule.

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Materia Aromatica · Scent

The cool note is often credited to menthol alone. Menthol is one route among several. 1,8-Cineole gives eucalyptus and cajeput their chill, carvone gives spearmint a sweet coolness with no menthol at all, and methyl salicylate gives birch its wintergreen tone. The family is held together by a cool register in the scent, not by one compound.

01 · The Family

Oxides, ketones and one alcohol

Three constituent classes produce most of the cool character. The oxide 1,8-cineole leads Eucalyptus globulus, radiata and smithii, cajeput, saro, the cineole myrtles and camphor oil. Its scent is clean, penetrating and slightly camphoraceous. Ketones shape the mints and the buchus: menthone and pulegone in buchu and Andean mint, carvone in spearmint, piperitone oxide in horse mint. Peppermint pairs the ketone menthone with the alcohol menthol, and it is the only member of the family led by menthol.

Two outliers complete the group. Methyl salicylate, an aromatic ester, gives birch its sweet wintergreen note. Tea tree is led by terpinen-4-ol, a monoterpene alcohol with a spicy, woody edge under its camphoraceous top. Almost the whole family sits at the top of a composition. The eucalypts and mints open quickly and are largely gone within the first phase of evaporation.

Oxide

Eucalyptus and cajeput

1,8-Cineole leads. Clean, penetrating and camphoraceous.

Ketone and alcohol

The mints

Menthol and menthone in peppermint; carvone in spearmint; pulegone in the buchus.

Aromatic ester

Birch

Methyl salicylate. The wintergreen note.

Terpene alcohol

Tea tree

Terpinen-4-ol with gamma-terpinene. Spicy and woody beneath.

02 · The Range

Ten oils, six genera

No. 2085 · IndiaMint, Peppermint, MitchamMentha piperita · conventionalMenthol and menthone, with 1,8-cineole and isomenthone. No. 2110 · IndiaMint, Spearmint (organic)Mentha spicata · certified organicCarvone and limonene, with dihydrocarvone. No. 2135 · AlbaniaMint, Horse (Organic)Mentha longifolia · certified organicLinalool with piperitone and piperitone oxide. No. 1370 · SpainEucalyptus Globulus (organic)Eucalyptus globulus · wild-crafted organic1,8-Cineole leads, with alpha- and beta-pinene. No. 1401 · South AfricaEucalyptus Radiata (organic)Eucalyptus radiata · wild-crafted organic1,8-Cineole with limonene and alpha-terpineol; softer than globulus. No. 1230 · VietnamCajeput / Melaleuca leucadendron (organic)Melaleuca leucadendron · wild-crafted organic1,8-Cineole and alpha-terpineol. No. 2780 · AustraliaTea Tree, M.A. / Melaleuca alternifolia (organic)Melaleuca alternifolia · certified organicTerpinen-4-ol, gamma-terpinene and alpha-terpinene. No. 1200 · FranceBirchBetula lenta · wildMethyl salicylate, with ethyl salicylate. No. 1210 · South AfricaBuchu LeafAgathosma betulina · wildMenthone, isomenthone and pulegone; diosphenol adds a blackcurrant facet. No. 2690 · MadagascarSaro (organic)Cinnamosma fragrans · wild-crafted organic1,8-Cineole with the pinenes and sabinene.

03 · Side by Side

Three comparisons

Three eucalypts first. Eucalyptus Globulus (No. 1370), Eucalyptus Radiata (No. 1401) and Eucalyptus Smithii (No. 1437) are all led by 1,8-cineole. Globulus is the sharpest and most camphoraceous. Radiata is softer, with limonene and alpha-terpineol. Smithii carries aromadendrene and eudesmol, which give it a rounder, slightly woody finish.

Then three mints by molecule. Peppermint (No. 2085) is menthol and menthone. Spearmint (No. 2110) is carvone, sweeter and with no menthol chill. Andean Mint (No. 2081) is pulegone and menthone, sharper and more herbaceous. Set side by side, the three show how much the word mint conceals.

Then Melaleuca by chemotype. Tea Tree, M.A. (No. 2780) is terpinen-4-ol. Tea Tree, M.E. (No. 2783) and Niaouli, Linalool (No. 2290) are both led by linalool, and read softer and more floral than any cineole oil in the family. Cajeput (No. 1230) returns the genus to cineole.

04 · In Practice

Top notes, small proportions

For diffusion, the eucalypts, cajeput, saro and peppermint diffuse strongly and are used in small quantity, often with lemon, pine or fir. In massage blends and bath preparations they are used at low dilution, since peppermint and globulus dominate a blend quickly. In natural perfumery the mints serve as brief top accents: spearmint in green and herbal accords, peppermint with lavender and rosemary, eucalyptus with the conifers and with citrus in cologne structures.

Several members call for care. Oils rich in 1,8-cineole or menthol are kept away from the faces of infants and young children. Pulegone-rich oils, the buchus and Andean mint, are ketonic and are used at conservative dilution in blends for adults. Birch oil is almost entirely methyl salicylate and is used at low dilution, in blends for adults only. Camphor oil is used sparingly.

Essential oils are for aromatic and topical use. Dilute before applying to skin. Keep out of reach of children.