Scent Almanac
Cinnamon Leaf
Cinnamomum verum (syn. C. zeylanicum)
Warm and spicy but drier and more clove-like than bark oil, because it's mostly eugenol. It lacks the sweet 'red-hot candy' cinnamon note.
Cautions
- Skin sensitizer — keep low in anything touching skin
- Caution around pets (especially cats and birds) — don't diffuse in their space
- Accelerates trace or seizes in cold-process soap
- Discolors soap or wax (usually tan to dark brown)
- IFRA-restricted material — use the supplier's certificate limits
Eugenol makes it a moderate skin sensitizer and irritant, so keep it low in anything that touches skin. It is toxic to cats and dogs.
How it behaves
CandlesGood
Throws well in soy and paraffin. It's the budget, skin-safer way to add cinnamon warmth; add a cinnamon fragrance oil for the sweet bakery note.
Wax meltsGreat
Reed diffuserGood
Room & linen sprayGood
Electric (water) diffuserGood
Cold-process soapWorkable
Eugenol-rich, so it can speed trace and tint soap tan. Soap cool, stick-blend in short bursts and keep the amount low. It's far safer on skin than bark oil.
Melt-and-pour soapGood
Laundry & cleaningWorkable
Pairs well with
Sweet Orange
Top · Citrus
Essential oil
Clove Bud
Middle · Spicy
Essential oil
Vanilla
Base · Gourmand
Fragrance oil
Ginger
Middle · Spicy
Essential oil
Nutmeg
Middle · Spicy
Essential oil
Cardamom
Middle · Spicy
Essential oil
Apple
Top · Fruity
Fragrance oil
Fir Needle
Middle · Woody
Essential oil
Frankincense
Base · Resinous & amber
Essential oil
Brown Sugar
Base · Gourmand
Fragrance oil
Don't have it? Try Clove Bud, Cinnamon Bark.
In these blends
Hearth & Clove
Orange peels drying by the stove, a pinch of clove and a warm spoonful of spice.
Sweet Orange · Atlas Cedarwood · Cinnamon Leaf · Nutmeg · Cardamom · Clove Bud
CozyFestiveAutumnWinter
Sunday Bakery
Cinnamon buns coming out of the oven with the Sunday paper.
Almond · Sweet Orange · Vanilla · Cinnamon Leaf · Brown Sugar · Nutmeg
CozyNostalgicAutumnWinter
Christmas Morning
A fresh-cut tree, a bowl of cranberries and oranges, cinnamon in the air.
Fir Needle · Cranberry · Virginian Cedarwood · Sweet Orange · Cinnamon Leaf · Clove Bud
FestiveNostalgicWinter
Amber Hearth
A wool blanket, a lamp's warm glow and soft vanilla-amber on the skin of the room.
Bergamot · Almond · Cardamom · Vanilla · Amber · Cinnamon Leaf
CozyCalmingSensualAutumnWinter
Apple Orchard
Picking apples on a cold, bright October morning, cider warming at the stand.
Apple · Brown Sugar · Cinnamon Leaf · Ginger · Pear · Nutmeg
CozyNostalgicUpliftingAutumn
Cranberry Wassail
A simmer pot of cranberries, orange peel and spice on the back burner.
Cranberry · Cinnamon Leaf · Ginger · Brown Sugar · Sweet Orange · Clove Bud
FestiveCozyWinterAutumn
Maple Sugar Morning
Pancakes, maple syrup and toasted nuts on a slow weekend morning.
Almond · Mandarin · Maple · Cinnamon Leaf · Brown Sugar
CozyNostalgicAutumnWinter
A little lore
True cinnamon trees are native to Sri Lanka, where the leaves and the inner bark of the same tree yield two very different oils.