What Does Eucalyptus Smell Like?

Eucalyptus smells sharp, cool and camphor-like, with green leaves and a dry woody edge underneath. Most people know it from cough drops, saunas and chest rub, and that association is the main thing it has to overcome in perfume.

What Does Eucalyptus Smell Like?

Piercing, clean and cold. The first impression is the camphor-like blast that clears your head. Under it there’s something leafy and green, a little woody, and in some oils a faint honeyed sweetness. It’s drier than mint and less sweet: spearmint smells of chewing gum, eucalyptus smells of a pharmacy.

People pick out different things in it: camphor, mint, lemon, honey, leaves, wood. Some of that variation is real, because there are hundreds of species and their oils differ.

Why Does Eucalyptus Smell So Cold?

Mostly because of one molecule, eucalyptol, also called 1,8-cineole. It’s the main component of the oil from Eucalyptus globulus, the blue gum and the classic source of eucalyptus oil.

Eucalyptol triggers TRPM8, the same cold-sensing receptor that menthol activates. That’s why eucalyptus feels cool in your nose even though it isn’t mint and isn’t menthol. Your nerves report “cold” while your nose reports “camphor.”

Eucalyptol turns up elsewhere too. It’s a large part of rosemary, bay leaf, sage and cardamom oils, which is why eucalyptus sits so comfortably next to herbs in a perfume. If rosemary has ever reminded you of a sauna, that’s the connection.

Lemon eucalyptus is a different story. Corymbia citriodora (once classed as a eucalyptus) is rich in citronellal instead, and smells of lemon and citronella candles.

What Is Eucalyptus?

Eucalyptus is a genus of over 700 species of trees and shrubs, almost all native to Australia. The scent comes from oil glands in the silvery-blue leaves; crush one and you’ll smell it immediately. The Greater Blue Mountains outside Sydney are covered in eucalypts, and the blue haze that gives the range its name is usually put down to the oils the trees release into warm air.

Which Perfumes Use Eucalyptus?

Not many put it front and center, because it’s hard to stop it smelling medicinal. The trick is pairing it with something that pulls it away from the bathroom cabinet: woods, resins or sweet mint.

Le Labo Eucalyptus 20 is the clearest example of eucalyptus as the star of a perfume. Le Labo pairs it with cedarwood, then softens both with labdanum, musk and frankincense. The labdanum is the clever part: it’s a leathery, ambery resin, and it gives the cold eucalyptus something warm to lean on. Think of a sauna’s cedar walls more than a cough drop.

Commodity Book Expressive uses eucalyptus with bergamot as the opening, over sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver and amber. It’s a woody perfume first, and the eucalyptus works as a cool, clean top note over the woods. It’s on our list of perfumes that smell like books, as the fresher option.

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Bath & Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint is the spa version. The maker lists eucalyptus and spearmint oils, and the spearmint’s sweetness takes the edge off. It’s a body-care line, and the scent suits that.

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If you like the woody side of eucalyptus more than the medicinal side, woody perfumes are the next step. For another plant material with an unexpected story, see what dragon’s blood smells like.

Does Eucalyptus Smell Like Menthol?

They’re close, but not the same. Both feel cold because both activate the TRPM8 receptor. Menthol is sweeter and mintier; eucalyptol is sharper and more camphor-like. Paired with spearmint, eucalyptus drifts toward toothpaste. Paired with cedar, it drifts toward a sauna.

Is Eucalyptus Oil Safe on Skin?

Only in a product made for skin, used as directed. Poison Control warns that undiluted eucalyptus oil can irritate skin, can harm the eyes, and can cause serious poisoning if swallowed. Keep concentrated oil away from children. Enjoy eucalyptus for its smell; it isn’t a treatment for infections, insomnia or breathing problems.