I’m always looking for the best essential oil combinations for scenting my soap creations. I’ve looked high and low for a concrete list of suggestions and, quite frankly, have not found much at all.

So I decided to start my own collection of tried and true (that is, I’ve actually tried them AND I like them!) essential oil blends for anyone who wants to try making soap with their essential oils and is not quite sure where to start.

This is going to be a dynamic list of perfect essential oil soap scents that I will update regularly as I explore new essential oil blends in my soap making.

Last updated: April 2020

I want to state that I have tried all the suggested soap scents in this post and can confirm that the aroma of the resulting soap is strong, fragrant and, most importantly, pleasant.

How to use this list of essential oil soap scents

The following essential oil blend suggestions are expressed as ratios.

To work out how many drops of each essential oil you need in total, check the instructions of your melt and pour soap for details about how much fragrance they suggest you add for your chosen soap base.

A general rule of thumb is 10-40 drops of essential oil per 3 1/2oz OR 100g of soap base.

This is quite a large range as the scent strength of different soap bases can vary considerably.

Here’s an example of how I would calculate the number of drops of essential oils to use:

I’m planning on making 7oz (200g) of soap using the Lemon, Lime, Lavender and Rosemary blend (ratio 2:3:2:2 drops respectively) listed below.

My soap base instructions indicate I should use 30-40 drops of essential oil per 3 1/2oz (100g), therefore I would need 60-80 drops of essential oil for 7oz (200g).

I add up all the numbers in my ratio (2+3+2+2) for a total of 9. I make a note of all the numbers between 60 and 80 that are divisible by 9 (63 and 72).

I want my soap to have a strong scent, so I pick the number towards the top end of my range which is 72.

I divide 72 by 9 to get 8. Therefore I need to multiply the numbers in my ratio by 8 to get a new ratio that will equal 72 drops of essential oil.

My new ratio becomes Lemon (8×2=16 drops), Lime (8×3=24 drops), Lavender (8×2=16 drops) and Rosemary (8×2=16 drops).

All together they total 72 drops of essential oil.

Now you know how to calculate the number of drops of essential oil you need based on the ratios I have listed, let’s get started.

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Simple Singles

Here is a list of essential oils that can beautifully scent a bar of soap just on their own. These suggestions are perfect for those of you with a small collection of essential oils.

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Perfect Pairs

Here is a collection of blends that contain two essential oils which perfectly complement each other.

Lavender and Spearmint at a ratio of 5:3

Lemon and Siberian Fir at a ratio of 1:1

Grapefruit and Geranium at a ratio of 1:1

Patchouli and Roman Chamomile at a ratio of 2:3

Fruity Favourites

If you love sunny citrus blends then this collection of soap scent blends is for you.

Lime and Orange at a ratio of 1:1

Orange and Vanilla at a ratio of 1:2

Lemon, Lime, Orange and Peppermint at a ratio of 2:2:2:1

Lime, Clementine and Ylang Ylang at a ratio of 2:2:1

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Flower Power

Florals are always a favourite when it comes to scenting soap. Maybe you will find your favourite blend in this collection.

Lavender and Rose Geranium at a ratio of 1:1

Lavender, Litsea (May Chang) and Geranium (not Rose Geranium) at a ratio of 2:1:1

Clary Sage, Roman Chamomile and Myrrh at a ratio of 2:2:3 (I think this one kinda smells like bananas – anyone agree?)

Mandarin, Lavender and Roman Chamomile at a ratio of 5:3:1

Juniper Berry, Geranium (not Rose Geranium) and Jasmine (3% is fine) at a ratio of 4:3:3

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Herbal Heaven

Invigorate the senses with this collection of herbal soap scents. They’re perfect for making gardener’s soap.

Lemon, Lime, Lavender and Rosemary at a ratio of 2:3:2:2

Lemon, Basil and Douglas Fir at a ratio of 2:1:2

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Forest Fresh

Here are some woodsy scents to emulate a walk through the forest. Enjoy!

Bergamot, Cedarwood and Patchouli at a ratio of 3:2:2

Cedarwood, Orange and Clary Sage at a ratio of 2:2:3

Candy Crush

These fun blends smell like your favourite candy. Try them if you are making soap for kids.

Pink Musk Flavour – Bergamot, Patchouli and Geranium (not Rose Geranium) at a ratio of 3:3:1

Lemonade – Lemon and White Fir (can substitute Douglas Fir) at a ratio of 1:1

Orange Soda – Orange, Douglas Fir and Vanilla at a ratio of 3:2:2