Adding fragrance to your home, homemade spa product and spa gifts can be a chore. It can be difficult to know which scents compliment each other, and which scents were not meant to be mixed. Keeping the five basic scent categories in mind will help you choose the right scent category or combination for you.

1. Floral Scents

Floral scents are the traditional scents people think of when flowers come to mind. Lavender, rose, lilac, geranium and jasmine are all popular and well-known floral scents. Floral scents tend to be thought of as feminine scents, and are perfect for scenting body products for women as well as bathrooms and bedrooms. Add floral scents to oils for your bath and body by simply adding flower water to the oil, and shaking before applying to your bathwater, hair or skin. Make flower water by steeping dried flowers in warm spring water for several hours.

2. Citrus Scents

Citrus scents are clean, invigorating and fresh. Orange blossom, lemon, lemongrass, lime, grapefruit and bergamot are all citrus scents. Citrus scents are gender neutral, and are well suited for the morning routine, freshening a bathroom, scenting the car, office or anywhere else you need a boost of fresh citrus energy throughout the day.

3. Green Scents

Green scents tend to be seen as gender neutral, and include calming rosemary, chamomile and eucalyptus. Any of these scents and herbs makes a relaxing bath and is a good choice for scenting unisex soaps, bath salts and lotions.

4. Spicy Scents

Spicy scents warm up a room and the person smelling the aroma with their unique properties. Cinnamon, ginger, myrrh and frankincense are all spicy scents. Scents from this category tend to be strong, and are good to use when the winter weather seems to be chilling the air everywhere.

5. Earthy Scents

Earthy scents are resinous and can be used to scent bath products for men and women who like a musky smell. Scents that fall into this category include sandalwood, rosewood, musk, cedarwood and patchouli.

When using essential and scented oils to scent bath products, know that some essential oils (like pennyroyal and cinnamon) should not be used directly on the skin. When you are not sure about the properties of an essential oil but still want to utilize a scent, simply use fragrance oil instead. Mix scented oils and products in glass or plastic containers.

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