Caramel Essential Oil Blend

Learn how to make caramel essential oil. Plus, discover 12 other sweet-smelling essential oil blends that smell like caramel treats!

Caramel candy, butterscotch cookies, and rich, buttery caramel sauce – not exactly scents we associate with essential oils, right?

But what if you could make all these, and more? With the right oils, there’s no limit to the sweet, dessert-scented fragrances you can create.

If you love gourmand scents, you’ll love these sweet essential oil combinations that smell like a variety of caramel desserts.

Read on to learn how to make caramel essential oil and 12 other sugary blends, including caramel apple, butterscotch, salted caramel, caramel truffle, caramel cookie, caramel apple pie, and more!

Afterwards, you can use your homemade blends in a passive diffuser for aromatherapy. Or, use them to scent DIY skincare products like caramel lip balm or body butter if you want to smell like caramel!

Stay tuned till the end, because I’ve also included free printable labels for the finishing touch.

If you love essential oil blends that smell like dessert, baked goods, and candy, you’ll also enjoy:

What does caramel smell like?

Before making a caramel essential oil blend, we first have to ask – what exactly does caramel smell like?

In the simplest terms, caramel is the sweet, rich aroma of cooked sugar. Plain white sugar doesn’t have a strong smell on its own, but the real magic happens when it’s heated.

Cooking sugar causes it to develop the more complex aromas, rich flavours, and characteristic golden colour we all associate with caramel. This process, known as caramelization, is also what makes caramel smell so good!

As sugar cooks and breaks down, the odor molecules react with one another to create a wide variety of delicious aromas – sweet, buttery, nutty, fruity, malty, toasty, and even a little bit bitter, which is all part of caramel’s appeal.

What essential oils smell like caramel?

Of course, we’re all familiar with the classic, well-known essential oils like peppermint, lavender, and orange.

So, maybe it seems hard to believe that there’s an essential oil that smells like caramel. After all, the sweet aromas of caramelized sugar are not typically associated with any common oils.

But if you think these tasty, gourmand fragrances can only be achieved with a synthetic caramel fragrance oil, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by these blends!

You can create all sorts of caramel, toffee and butterscotch scents once you have a selection of the right sweet essential oils.

Essential oils that smell like caramel include:

• Peru Balsam
• Tonka bean absolute
• Benzoin resin
• Vanilla oleoresin

Of course, depending on which blend you’d like to make, you may need a few other specialty perfumery oils, too. For instance, I used butter CO2 extract for salted caramel and butterscotch.

You’ll also need cocoa absolute for caramel truffle, green cognac essential oil for caramel apple, and bitter almond oil for the caramel cookie blend. But we’ll get to those later.

Below, I’ve included some information on the most important essential oils in these caramel and toffee scented blends. But if you’d like, you can skip straight to the recipes.

Peru balsam

Balsamic and sweet, Peru balsam (balsam of Peru) is frequently used as an alternative to vanilla oleoresin in perfumery, but it’s also perfect for a caramel essential oil recipe!

It already smells a lot like caramel on its own, and even more so in the right combination.

Where vanilla is simply sweet, Peru balsam is a bit more complex. It has a smooth and creamy vanilla-like quality, with some rich, honeyed notes reminiscent of brown sugar and molasses. So, it reminds me of those nuanced aromas you get by browning sugar.

Since Peru balsam is an arboreal oil, it also has some slightly woody, smoky undertones. But this is part of what makes it so perfect for creating a natural caramel scent – Peru balsam evokes those realistic, multidimensional burnt sugar notes, like real caramel.

For these caramel blends, I used the Peru Balsam that came in this month’s Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box.

As always, the box includes 4 full-size essential oils at a low price, plus extra ingredients to make 6 EO recipes, including this month’s sweet Candy Hearts diffuser blend!

If you’d like to give it a try, you can use coupon ALIFEADJACENTFREE to receive a $40 gift card with your box. For more information, see our full Simply Earth review.

Tonka bean absolute

Luxurious tonka bean absolute has the perfect “burnt sugar” quality for a toffee or caramel scented essential oil blend. If you already own it, you know what I’m talking about!

Rich and multidimensional, tonka bean evokes all sorts of sweet-smelling treats: caramelized sugar, molasses, toasted almonds and even candied cherries.

It also has some spicy undertones reminiscent of cinnamon buns, so it adds even more dimension to the caramel scent. And like Peru balsam, it smells a lot like caramel already, only spicier.

Note: tonka bean absolute is actually a solid, so you’ll need an alcohol dilution. I’ve used this tonka bean essential oil in the past, but you can also find it here or from your favourite perfumery supplier. There’s also this natural tonka bean fragrance blend.

As well, keep in mind that some oils will smell spicier than others. It all depends on the brand, dilution, and extraction method.

But that’s why we’ll be blending it with other oils. Tonka bean has those rich caramel notes already, so it just needs something to sweeten it up.

The good thing is that tonka bean dilutions tend to smell sweeter than the solid perfumery absolute. Diluting it emphasizes the sweet caramel aromas and dampens some of the strong spicy notes.

For more ways to use tonka bean, see my sugar cookie essential oil and sugar plum perfume recipe.

Benzoin resin

You’d never guess this unique essential oil was derived from a tree. For those who don’t already know, benzoin resin is sweet and vanilla-like, with hints of bubblegum, cotton candy, and something that reminds me of cream soda.

I think benzoin has the tendency to make any blend smell like candy, so it’s perfect for sweet caramel. (In fact, adding too much can make your blend smell like bubblegum instead!)

You can also find benzoin in my sugarplum essential oil and grape candy blend.

Like tonka bean, benzoin resinoid is also a solid, so look for a diluted oil.

Vanilla essential oil

Last but not least, vanilla oleoresin likely needs no introduction, as I’m sure we all know it smells like sweet bakery goods.

Like adding a dash of vanilla extract to caramel sauce, vanilla adds a warm sweetness to these dessert essential oil recipes. Lately, I’ve been using this vanilla substitute instead.

Essential oil recipes that smell like caramel

Below are 13 sweet essential oil combinations that smell like caramel, toffee, and butterscotch treats.

I wanted to provide options for everyone. So you’ll find some simple blends, as well as some more complex recipes with specialty perfumery oils. There’s also a separate section for caramel diffuser blends below.

I recommend making each recipe as written, but I tried to provide substitutions where possible. However, it’s hard to make the blends smell as good without certain oils.

Peru balsam and tonka bean are the most important essential oils for the caramel scent. So you can omit vanilla or benzoin in some of the blends if you don’t have them. The aroma will still suggest caramel, just less sweet and multidimensional.

However, if you can’t find benzoin or vanilla, or simply don’t want to buy too many new oils, you might be interested in Vanilla Woods, a bottled blend that smells like caramel vanilla syrup.

It’s easily pourable and contains sweet Peru Balsam, benzoin and vanilla in the perfect ratio for a caramel fragrance. It’s also a cost-effective substitute to vanilla oleoresin, and cheaper than getting each oil separately.

Finally, it’s important to remember that each brand of essential oils may smell different. So you may have to play around to get the same result. For instance, you can try adding an extra drop of vanilla or benzoin to make a blend smell even sweeter.

Caramel Essential Oil Blend

5 drops Peru balsam
2 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean absolute
1 drop benzoin resin

Vanilla, Peru balsam, and benzoin essential oils create an ultra-sweet, caramel candy base, while tonka bean adds the rich aroma of caramelized sugar. This blend evokes the smell of soft, chewy caramel candies and sweet caramel sauce.

Substitutions: For the most simple caramel blend, you can combine Peru balsam and tonka bean, omitting vanilla and benzoin. Or, replace Peru balsam, benzoin and vanilla with 5 drops Vanilla Woods.

Vanilla Caramel Essential Oil Blend

5 drops Peru Balsam
5 drops vanilla oleoresin
1 drop benzoin resin

This sweet essential oil recipe smells like vanilla-infused caramel sauce. There’s no tonka bean in this one, so it’s less spicy. It also makes a great caramel diffuser blend.

Tip: this blend also smells similar to Vanilla Woods, but with more vanilla.

Brown Sugar Essential Oil Blend

5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops tonka bean essential oil
2 drops benzoin resin

This essential oil combination evokes the rich sweetness of brown sugar. It has extra tonka bean absolute for those caramelized sugar and molasses notes, with Peru Balsam and benzoin for sugary sweetness.

It’s also made without vanilla essential oil for those who don’t have it.

Caramel Candy Essential Oil Blend

5 drops Peru Balsam
2 drops benzoin essential oil

If you have a small EO collection, this one combines only two oils for a simpler version of the caramel blend. It’s very sweet, and reminds me of caramel candy. But it’s not as rich or multidimensional as the other recipes.

But this one makes a fun, yet simple caramel blend for your diffuser.

Butterscotch Essential Oil Blend

7 drops butter CO2 extract
5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean absolute
1 drops benzoin resin

Sweet and buttery, this mouthwatering blend smells like smooth butterscotch or creamy caramel sauce. It’s made with real butter CO2 extract, a perfumery ingredient that smells just like real butter.

You can also find butter CO2 in my buttery sugar cookie blend and gumdrop cookie blend.

If you’re looking for an essential oil that smells like toffee, I think this one is pretty close, since both butterscotch and toffee are made with similar ingredients.

Substitutions: You can omit benzoin if you don’t have it. You can also replace Peru Balsam, benzoin and vanilla with 7 drops Vanilla Woods.

Salted Caramel Essential Oil Blend

10 drops butter CO2 extract
5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean
1 drop benzoin resin

Thought you could only get salted caramel with a fragrance oil? Actually, butter essential oil can give you a salty smell!

Saltier than butterscotch, this essential recipe smells like salted caramel sauce. An extra dose of butter CO2 gives it that salty, buttery quality like movie theatre popcorn.

This salted caramel oil isn’t for nebulizers, but it can be used in a passive diffuser.

Substitutions: You can omit benzoin. Or, you can replace vanilla, Peru balsam and benzoin with 7 drops Vanilla Woods.

Caramel Cookie Essential Oil Blend

7 drops butter CO2 extract
5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean absolute
1 drops benzoin resin
1 drop bitter almond essential oil

This cookie essential oil blend is a treat for your senses. Imagine rich, buttery cookies filled with butterscotch chips and topped with caramel sauce.

Bitter almond essential oil (benzaldehyde) adds a mouthwatering sweetness that makes this blend smell like caramel cookies.

For more cookie blends, check out these cookie essential oil recipes.

Substitutions: You can omit benzoin. Alternatively, you can replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 7 drops Vanilla Woods.

Caramel Chocolate Truffle Essential Oil Blend

5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean absolute
2 drops chocolate essential oil
1 drop benzoin resin

This heavenly essential oil recipe evokes dark chocolate truffles filled with soft, gooey caramel – the ultimate decadent treat. It has real cocoa absolute (chocolate essential oil) for an incredibly rich and realistic chocolate aroma.

If you’re a chocolate lover, you’ll enjoy this blend. (You’ll also likely appreciate the organic caramel truffles this recipe was inspired by.)

Substitutions: You can omit vanilla or benzoin. Or, you can replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 7 drops Vanilla Woods.

Salted Caramel Truffle Essential Oil Blend

7 drops butter co2 extract
5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla essential oil
2 drops tonka bean absolute
2 drops cocoa absolute
1 drop benzoin resin

This one smells like caramel truffle blend, but with a dash of butter CO2 for rich, salty caramel. The butter also adds milky richness, so this one smells more like a milk chocolate truffle.

Substitutions: You can omit benzoin and vanilla if you don’t have them. Or, replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 7 drops Vanilla Woods.

Caramel Apple Essential Oil Blend

8 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla oleoresin
3 drops green cognac essential oil
2 drops benzoin resin
2 drops tonka bean absolute
1 drop blood orange essential oil

This fun essential oil blend smells like a caramel apple. The secret ingredient is green cognac essential oil, which is frequently used in perfumery to add fruity notes to fragrances.

Green cognac has a complex, boozy smell like wine out of the bottle. But it also has a lovely tart green apple-like quality that comes through in the right blend. It’s a lot of fun to play with while making homemade perfumes!

It’s actually remarkable how much green cognac smells like apples when paired with the right essential oils. The other oils hide the boozy notes, so you should detect the subtle scent of crisp green apples.

Substitutions: You can omit vanilla. You can replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 10 drops Vanilla Woods. You can also use sweet orange oil in place of blood orange. And if you have kunzea, it can emulate green cognac in this recipe.

Sweet Caramel Apple Essential Oil Blend

7 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla oleoresin
4 drops fenugreek CO2 extract
2 drops benzoin resin
2 drops tonka bean absolute
1 drop blood orange essential oil

This sweet recipe is another variation of the caramel apple blend. Whereas the blend with green cognac smells like a tart green apple, I think this one smells like a sweeter red apple.

Fenugreek CO2 is a unique, sweet-smelling extract used in perfumery. It has some honeyed notes like maple syrup and caramel, with a herbaceous quality like fennel and liquorice.

But with the right essential oil combination, you can make fenugreek oil smell like apples. Its fruity notes shine through if you mask the herby qualities.

Substitutions: You can omit vanilla in this blend, or you can replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 10 drops Vanilla Woods. You can also use sweet orange instead of blood orange oil.

Caramel Apple Pie Essential Oil Blend

7 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla oleoresin
2 drops benzoin resin
2 drops bergamot essential oil
2 drops copaiba oleoresin
2 drops blood orange essential oil
1 drop frankincense essential oil

I think this fun blend smells like caramel apple pie or a spiced candy apple.

Green cognac is hard to match, but I had fun playing with some more common oils to create another apple essential oil blend.

Bergamot oil is sharp and fruity, so it can be used to suggest tart green apple. I mixed it with blood orange oil to add the fruity, juicy sweetness of red apples, and copaiba for the apple pie spice.

Finally, frankincense essential oil adds the finishing touch to round out the scent and give it even more of an “apple” quality. It has a herby, woody scent with subtle fruity notes that come out in the right blend.

I never understood frankincense’s appeal until I smelled Simply Earth’s. It’s sweet and subtly fruity, and so much nicer than any other frankincense oil I’ve smelled. They also have a Candy Cane blend with frankincense that smells amazing.

Substitutions: You can skip vanilla, and you can use sweet orange oil in place of blood orange. Or, replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 10 drops Vanilla Woods.

Candy Apple Essential Oil Blend

7 drops Peru Balsam
3 drops vanilla oleoresin
2 drops bergamot essential oil
2 drops frankincense essential oil
2 drops sweet orange essential oil
1 drop bitter almond essential oil

This essential oil recipe smells like a sweet caramel candy apple.

For this one, I tried to use common oils, except for bitter almond oil. Bitter almond is perfect for the smell of a candy apple, because it adds notes of cherries and sweet fruit.

The citrus oils and frankincense work together in this blend for a crisp, fruity apple scent.

Substitutions: You can skip vanilla, or, replace Peru balsam, benzoin, and vanilla with 10 drops Vanilla Woods.

Caramel blends for your diffuser

Not all blends are safe for diffusing, as tonka bean and bitter almond oils are not recommended for aromatherapy.

However, you can still use each caramel blend in a passive diffuser, just as long as it doesn’t nebulize the oils into the air.

Here are two caramel essential oil recipes meant specifically for diffusers.

Caramel Diffuser Blend

5 drops Peru balsam
3 drops vanilla oleoresin
1 drop benzoin resin

Caramel Apple Diffuser Blend

3 drops Peru balsam
1 drops bergamot essential oil
1 drops copaiba oleoresin
1 drops blood orange essential oil
1 drop frankincense essential oil
1 drop benzoin resin

How to make caramel essential oil

1. To make your caramel blend, carefully dispense each oil into your clean essential oil bottle. If you’d like to make more than a single use amount, feel free to double or triple each oil in the blend.
   
   Tip: thicker oils like Peru balsam are sometimes too viscous to pour easily. You may need to gently heat the bottle in warm water.
2. Replace your bottle’s dropper top and swirl gently to combine the essential oils.
3. Your caramel essential oil is ready to use. For best results, leave it overnight. Its scent will develop even more over time as the aroma compounds interact. So it’ll smell even better in a few days or so!
4. If desired, apply your free printable label. You can opt to use your essential oil in beauty or skincare recipes, like scented lip balm or caramel body butter. The possibilities are endless. Or, use it as a natural caramel fragrance oil for aromatherapy products, like scented candles or room spray.

Tips for blending caramel scented essential oils

• If you’re going to use your caramel oil in any homemade bath and body recipes, it’s up to you to ensure you use it in a safe concentration. As a general guideline, please do not exceed 2% fragrance to ensure skin safety.
• Always choose a dark bottle for your blends to protect the fragile oils from light.
• Please note that sticky essential oils like Peru balsam and Vanilla Woods can stick to diffusers and stain bottles. So, take caution when using these oils.
• Please note that while this caramel essential oil recipe smells edible, it’s not. Please do not consume!
• EO blends can change drastically when left to sit, as the aroma compounds interact with each other. If it doesn’t smell the way you thought it would right away, leave it for a day. Even overnight can make a huge difference.

Printable essential oil label

Want to make your DIY blend look like a store-bought caramel fragrance oil? Apply a cute printable label!

Simply sign up using the form below to get free essential oil labels delivered to your inbox.

I used these square labels and the brand’s online label making tool. However, the correct label size will depend on the size of your bottle.

More sweet-smelling essential oil recipes

• Sugar Plum Essential Oil Blend
• Gumdrop Essential Oil Blend
• Chocolate Rose Bath Truffles
• Chocolate Rose Room Spray
• Caramel Coffee Bath Bombs
• Sugar Cookie Body Scrub
• Sugar Plum Perfume

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