Cherry Blossom Essential Oil

Create the evocative spring scent of Sakura blossoms with this cherry blossom essential oil recipe! The tutorial shows how to make a gentle cherry blossom scent with essential oils and how to use the blend for beauty, home fragrance, and aromatherapy applications.

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Cherry blossom essential oil blend

I can’t help but get excited when I see the first cherry blossoms popping up on the cherry trees in my street. I think it’s because the combination of their soft pink color and elegant, ruffly petals and the fact that their appearance means spring has arrived.

And every year, I dream about creating a collection of cherry blossom-inspired and scented beauty and home fragrance products. I mean, can you imagine how luxurious cherry blossom soap or a cherry blossom-scented spring candle would be?

The big, pink elephant in the room? There is no cherry blossom essential oil that could be employed to fragrance these products. So, I decided to give it a try myself and come up with a cherry blossom essential oil recipe.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but one of my favorite things about essential oils is to come up with creative blends. You can create all sorts of exciting scents that aren’t readily available right off the shelf, like cherry blossom-scented essential oil.

I recently also shared recipes for fresh rain essential oil, sweet cotton candy essential oil, and a clean-smelling fresh linen essential oil. Be sure to check these out if you love unique blends as much as I do!

What do cherry blossoms smell like?

Cherry blossoms have a smell, but it’s very faint and subtle. The scent features light notes of lilac, rose, and magnolia with a powdery vanilla note and almond-like aromas. The aroma isn’t overly sweet, fruity, or floral.

Perfumer Victoria Frolova of Bois de Jasmin describes the scent as having “hints of amaretto, honey, and green sap. It’s surprisingly assertive, with enough character to stand out next to the pungent aroma of blooming pears and the sugary sweetness of apple flowers.”

Personally, cherry blossoms remind me of a light daffodil scent or extremely mild hyacinth smell. And I can indeed detect hints of amaretto or bitter almond with a green, leafy quality.

Cherry kernels contain benzaldehyde, an aromatic compound providing that typical bitter almond smell. So, it makes sense how you would smell subtle hints of almonds in cherry blossoms, too. Especially since benzaldehyde is a scent to attract pollinators to the blooms.

Is there are cherry blossom essential oil?

No, sadly, cherry blossom essential oil doesn’t exist. The essence of some botanicals is too delicate and fleeting to be distilled into essential oils. Cherry blossoms and their scent are evanescent in every sense.

You will occasionally see products labeled “essential oils” pop up on Amazon or Etsy, but these are most like cherry blossom fragrance oils or essential oil blends. And while some of these fragrance oils smell lovely, they are all made with synthetic, sometimes questionable materials.

What essential oils smell like cherry blossom?

To recap, cherry blossoms have an elegant and light floral smell with green and marzipan-like undertones. Whit this in mind, let’s look at some essential oils that can help to create a cherry blossom scent.

Rhododendron essential oil

One essential oil that checks all of these boxes is rhododendron. The essential oil is steam distilled from the flowers, leaves, and twigs of the rhododendron shrub. Rhododendron features a light floral smell with slightly balsamic and herbaceous notes.

I believe rhododendron is an excellent stand-in for cherry blossom oil. And while you certainly can use it as is, I’ll show you a simple blend with Peru balsam and vetiver that smells even more like cherry blossoms.

Magnolia essential oil

Next on our list is magnolia essential oil. The luxe oil is distilled from the delicate petals of the magnolia tree. Magnolia has a beguiling, sweet, and fruity profile. And being a spring blossom too, magnolia comes very close to cherry blossoms.

It’s more expensive than rhododendron and not as easy to come by. Still, if you can buy some, do so – it’s such a lovely scent!

Other florals

What about other flower essential oils such as rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, or lavender? These options smell wonderful but are too strong to double as cherry blossom essential oils.

Ylang ylang and jasmine, for example, feature beautiful floral tones. Yet the intensity of these flowers is very powerful and doesn’t have the subtle qualities I am looking for in a cherry blossom fragrance oil.

You can certainly make these oils part of a cherry blossom blend, maybe just not the main scent giver. In fact, one of my blends uses rose absolute, geranium, and lavender to achieve a cherry blossom-like scent.

Greens scents and benzaldehyde

We also need leafy green aromatics and oils carrying benzaldehyde to complete our cherry blossom scent. Vetiver, ho wood, sweet marjoram, and basil are good starting points for those fresh, green components.

Bitter almond oil is mainly made up of benzaldehyde. It has a decadent, marzipan-like scent typical for cherries and almonds. Since this oil can be somewhat difficult to source, I’m opting for other oils that contain benzaldehyde, such as vanilla, Peru balsam, cassia, and cinnamon.

These spice oils may seem unlikely companions for a delicate floral aroma. Yet, they provide those sweet almond undertones found in the smell of cherry blossoms. They also act as fixatives and make the blend more stable and longer-lasting.

Cherry blossom essential oil blend

#1 Authentic cherry blossom essential oil

This blend captures the gentleness and natural feeling of cherry blossoms. It capitalizes on the soft, floral qualities of rhododendron and combines them with green-smelling vetiver and a touch of Peru balsam.

• 60 drops rhododendron
• 24 drops vetiver
• 6 drops Peru balsam

#2 Sakura blossom essential oil with magnolia

My next sakura blossom scent recipe is similar to the first one, except that it incorporates magnolia and cassia in place of rhododendron and Peru balsam. The scent is a slightly sweeter, powdery note.

• 60 drops magnolia
• 24 drops vetiver
• 2 drops cassia

#3 Sweet cherry blossom essential oil

This cherry blossom-scented essential oil features the distinctive scent of rhododendron and plays up the sweet notes. It’s a lovely composition for those who enjoy candied, vanilla-infused aromas.

• 60 drops rhododendron
• 24 drops Peru balsam
• 6 drops copaiba
• 6 drops vetiver

#4 Fruity sakura essential oil

A light dose of davana and pink grapefruit infuse this sakura scent blend with a refreshing, fruity note. This blend possesses more vigor and forbodes the plump red cherries of the summer months.

• 60 drops rhododendron
• 20 drops davana
• 10 drops Peru balsam
• 4 drops pink grapefruit

#5 Complex cherry blossom blend

The following blend is inspired by a cherry blossom synergy blend I discovered on Aroma Land. It pairs rose absolute and other florals with citrus aromas and sandalwood. This fragrance is luxurious, full-bodied, floral, and seductive.

• 40 drops rose absolute
• 24 drops sweet orange
• 20 drops Peru balsam
• 12 drops tangerine
• 10 drops geranium
• 6 drops lavender
• 6 drops sandalwood

#6 Cherry blossom diffuser blend

This cherry blossom diffuser blend is identical to my first recipe but uses smaller quantities. Diffusing this Sakura blend will create a calm and reflective atmosphere. It’s a great scent to diffuse when you desire a moment of tranquility during the day or want to unwind at night.

• 10 drops rhododendron
• 4 drops vetiver
• 1 drop Peru balsam

How to make cherry blossom essential oil

Sakura essential oil is a luxurious essential oil blend you can create in the comfort of your own home. Once you realize how easy it is to create custom essential oil blends, you will feel inspired to try many more recipes.

1. Prep bottle. Carefully lift the dropper cap from a 5 ml amber glass essential oil bottle. Each recipe makes approximately 4 ml, but you can easily reduce or double the amounts by using a larger bottle.
2. Add oils. Using a small funnel, transfer the essential oils into the bottle.
3. Close bottle. Attach the dropper cap and close the bottle tightly.
4. Mix. Gently swivel the bottle to combine the ingredients. Optionally apply the printable label to mark your bottle.
5. Rest. Let the blend rest for 1 to 2 days before use. The oils need time to blend together, and the cherry blossom fragrance will change a little during this time.

Packaging tips & printable label

Essential oils react sensitive to sunlight and will decompose if exposed to UV light for extended periods of time. Amber glass filters out sunlight and protects the oils from decomposition.

I recommend 5 ml or 10 ml essential oil bottles for this cherry blossom essential oil recipe. To customize, I painted my bottle with several layers of pink acrylic paint. I also decorated the bottle with a printable label, which you can download below.

How use cherry blossom essential oil

Now that you have a bottle of fragrant cherry blossom essential oil, you need to decide what you want to do with it. I’ve provided a few ideas below for all the ways you can fragrance skincare and aromatherapy products with this intricate scent.

Body care

• Soap: Melt 4 oz / 115 g melt-and-pour soap base. Once melted, stir in 60 drops / 3 g / 0.1 oz cherry blossom oil and pour into a 4 oz soap mold. Wait until solidified before popping the soap bar out of the mold.
• Sugar scrub: Whisk together 1 cup / 200 g / 7 oz granulated (white) sugar with 1/3 cup / 70 g / 2.5 oz fractionated coconut oil. Fragrance with 60 drops / 3 g / 0.1 oz cherry blossom essential oil and store in an airtight jar.
• Lip balm: Gently melt 1 tbsp cocoa butter, 1 tbsp shea butter, and 1 tbsp beeswax pellets. Stir in 10 drops Sakura essential oil. Pour into a lip balm container and allow to set.
• Body butter & lotion: You can also use the spring scent blend to fragrance body lotion and body butter recipes. To ensure skin safety, use the mixture only up to concentrations of 3% and perform a patch test to check for sensitivities.

Aromatherapy & home scents

• Diffuser: Fill your diffuser’s tank with water, add the Sakura diffuser blend, and adjust the settings to your liking. Then sit back, relax, and soak in the delicate blossom scent.
• Candle: Melt 8 oz / 225 g soy wax over low flame. Once melted, stir 240 drops / 12 g / 0.42 oz cherry blossom essential oil mix into the wax. Pour the scented wax into a heat-safe candle container outfitted with a cotton wick. Cure for 1 to 2 days and light on a heat-proof surface.
• Wax melts: Heat melt 8 oz / 225 g soy wax until melted. Add 240 drops / 12 g / 0.42 oz Sakura essential oil blend, pour into a silicone mold and solidify. Melt the wax melts in a wax burner.

Storage instructions

As mentioned earlier, essential oils react sensitively to heat and sunlight. UV rays disrupt the volatile scent molecules and lessen the quality of your oils.

To protect your sakura essential oil recipe from these influences, store your blend in an amber glass bottle. Keep the oil in a dark, cool place that isn’t exposed to sunlight (e.g., a cupboard or drawer.)

Make more spring scents

This gentle cherry blossom essential oil is filled with so much beauty, you’ll love it. And if you’re interested in trying your hand at more eo blends, have a look at my other springtime favorites:

• Rain Essential Oil
• Cotton Candy Essential Oil
• Balance Essential Oil
• Fresh Linen Essential Oil
• Spring Diffuser Blends
• Easter Diffuser Blends