Frequently Asked Questions

At The Angelina Store, we’re all about transparency when it comes to what goes into our products. Here’s the scoop on the oils we use—and why we sometimes reach for fragrance oils, especially for candles.

Essential Oils

These are the pure, natural extracts straight from plants, pulled out through distillation (steam or water) or cold-pressing. They’re 100% botanical, capturing the plant’s essence in a concentrated form. Want to geek out on the process? Check out “Untapping the Power of Nature: Essential Oil Extraction Methods” over at New Directions Aromatics—it’s a great deep dive! We use only 100% pure, undiluted essential oils in our skincare because they bring specific benefits—like soothing lavender or clarifying tea tree—that your skin will love.

Absolute Oils

Absolutes are like essential oils’ richer, more intense cousins. Instead of distillation, they’re extracted using solvents, which pull out not just the essential oils but also other plant compounds. This makes them super fragrant and potent. (For a detailed look at solvent extraction, Eden Botanicals has a fantastic breakdown.) While absolutes can come from organically grown plants, the solvent process means they can’t be certified organic. We occasionally use them in skincare when we want that extra punch of aroma and plant goodness.

Fragrance Oils

Fragrance oils are a different beast—they can be botanically derived, synthetically made, or a mix of both. Some companies blur the lines and market fragrance oils as essential oils, but we don’t play that game. If it’s not distilled or cold-pressed from a plant, it’s not an essential oil to us. We source safe, non-toxic fragrance oils—like alcohol- and phthalate-free options—for things like body washes, lotions, and candles. Why? Because not every scent has an essential oil version (looking at you, strawberry and peach!), and we love giving you those fun, fruity vibes.

Why Fragrance Oils Shine in Candles

Here’s the deal: We’re huge fans of essential and absolute oils, but they’re not always candle-friendly. They smell amazing, but essential oils can be tricky—many don’t hold up to the heat of a burning wick, losing their scent or breaking down too fast, so you’re left with a weak throw (that’s how far the fragrance spreads). Plus, the cost is a kicker. Take sandalwood: pure, undiluted essential oil runs $63 per ounce for Australian varieties and climbs past $120 for Indian Mysore. In an 8.5-ounce candle with a max 10% scent loadm using 100% sandalwood would turn it into a luxury splurge most folks can’t justify. Fragrance oils swoop in to save the day—crafted to perform in heat, they deliver bold, lasting scents without the jaw-dropping price tag. Check our product descriptions—we’ll spill exactly what’s in there!

Our Promise

For skincare, we stick to 100% pure, undiluted essential oils, and absolute oils, chosen for their skin-loving properties—fragrance oils just don’t cut it there. But we’re not purists across the board! Our lotions, body butters, and shower gels might feature safe, cosmetic-grade fragrance oils to bring you scents we couldn’t otherwise. Every oil we use—essential, absolute, or fragrance—is non-toxic and carefully sourced. It’s all about balance: pure when it matters, practical when it counts.

We hunt down the good stuff from a range of online retailers and wholesalers like VineVida, Skylara, Veda Oils U.S., Candle Science and Vetiver Aromatics—just to name a few! Depending on what we’re whipping up, we scour for top-notch quality and the best per-ounce deals, and we’re always on the lookout for fresh sources. Got a favorite we haven’t tried? Drop us a line—we’d love to hear your recommendations!

 

At The Angelina Store, we’re all about using top-tier, organic, and natural carrier oils in our products. So, what’s a carrier oil? It’s a neutral, moisturizing oil that acts as a buffer for essential oils. Straight-up essential oils can be harsh on your skin—think irritation or itchiness—so we blend them with carriers to keep things gentle and effective. Plus, carrier oils don’t evaporate like essential oils do, so they lock in the scent and stick around to nourish your skin.

For our essential oil scent rollers, we go with jojoba oil. It’s a rockstar—odorless, so it lets the essential oil’s aroma shine, and it hydrates your skin like a dream. In our skincare lineup, we mix it up with other carrier oils tailored to specific skin needs. Take our Exquisite Florals & Frankincense line for mature skin: we use macadamia nut oil, packed with squalane and oleic acid, to boost cell turnover and soften fine lines and wrinkles—it’s like nature’s anti-aging secret weapon. Depending on the product, we also tap sweet almond oil, argan oil, or brown rice oil to max out their skin-loving benefits. Want more details on carrier oils? Plant Guru’s FAQ page has a fantastic rundown you can read here.

At The Angelina Store, we whip up our skincare goodies—body butters, lotions, balms, you name it—with 100% organic or all-natural, unrefined butters. Shea butter’s a crowd favorite, and for good reason: it’s a luxe, hydrating powerhouse with healing and anti-inflammatory perks. Packed with vitamins A and E, it tackles dark spots and softens fine lines while keeping your skin moisturized head to toe. Its cozy scent plays nice with essential and fragrance oils, like our Haumea blend, making it a staple in our natural lineup.

Then there’s organic mango butter—our go-to for subtle scents like Exquisite Florals and Frankincense, since it’s nearly odorless and won’t steal the show. It’s loaded with antioxidants, calms inflammation, and works wonders on aging or dry, irritated skin. We also love kokum butter, a firm, lightweight gem from the kokum tree’s seeds. It melts on contact, delivering deep hydration without greasiness—perfect for sensitive skin or anyone dodging clogged pores. Rich in fatty acids, it’s a pro at soothing cracks and boosting elasticity.

Another star? Murumuru butter, featured in our Basil & Tea Tree Oil line for acne-prone folks. It’s non-comedogenic (no pore-clogging here!), rich in fatty acids and emollients, and keeps skin hydrated without the breakout drama. Got a butter you’re obsessed with? Tell us! We’d love to craft your dream custom body butter—just say the word.

Our perfumes are a blend of pure essential and absolute oils mixed with perfumer’s alcohol from Vetiver Aromatics. Our eau de parfum packs a punch with 35% essential oils and 65% perfumer’s alcohol, delivering a rich, lasting scent. For our scent rollers, we use 2.36 ml of essential oil in every 10 ml of carrier oil, striking the perfect balance of fragrance and skin-friendly hydration.

We craft our candles with 100% organic waxes, like American Soy Organics’ “Freedom Soy Wax” and, more recently, their “Freedom Coconut Wax” for some of our blends, alongside Meyer’s 100% Pure Domestic USA Beeswax—chemical-free and triple-filtered. We sometimes mix & match waxes in our candles, tweaking the ratios depending on whether it’s a poured or molded style.

For skincare goodies, we turn to Sky Organics’ 100% pure, triple-filtered organic white beeswax pellets to keep things natural and silky.

Our emulsified skincare products—like lotions and creams—get a boost from emulsifying waxes, including Olive Emulsifying Wax from Oslove Organics and Plant Guru’s premium, veggie-based emulsifying wax, ensuring everything blends beautifully.

Carrot seed oil—a carrier oil, not to be mixed up with its essential oil cousin—is a skincare superstar. Loaded with retinol and vitamins A, C, and E, it’s a dream for mature skin, smoothing fine lines and wrinkles, balancing oil and collagen production, and delivering deep hydration. We love it for its anti-aging magic, acne-fighting perks, and ability to tackle other skin woes, which is why it’s a key player in some of our skincare products.

We source “Pure Organic Unrefined Cold Pressed Carrot Seed Oil” from Sulu Organics for that top-notch quality.

Rosehip oil is a carrier oil packed with skin-loving perks, thanks to its retinoids (a vitamin A powerhouse). It evens out skin tone, ramps up collagen, smooths fine lines and wrinkles, and leaves skin hydrated and glowing.

We tint our skincare products with natural, organic colorants like organic beetroot powder, spinach powder, achiote (annatto seed) powder, and blue spirulina powder—just to name a few. For our candles, we turn to dyed soy wax chips to add a pop of color.

Mica’s another favorite—it’s a naturally derived mineral jazzed up with synthetic colorants. We can’t get enough of how it makes our shower gels and body washes shimmer and shine, so you’ll spot it there. As always, we’ll lay out every ingredient in our product descriptions. Want a custom body wash or shower gel with natural colorants—or none at all? We’ve got you covered with our bespoke skincare service.

We use a broad-spectrum preservative called OptiPhen Plus and  in our skin care products that contain water, such as our emulsified moisturizers, cleansers, astringents, body lotions and shower gels. The amount of preservative in our products is anywhere between .75%-1.5% of the total product. OptiPhen Plus is not considered all natural because it contains phenoxyethanol, which is widely used in cosmetics and skin care. Phenoxyethanol is a preferred preservative as it’s low in toxicity, does not contain formaldehyde or parabens, and effectively provides protection against bacteria. For products that don’t contain water – body butters, anti-aging serum, balms, and scent rollers, we use natural rosemary oleoresin to preserve the shelf life of the essential oils, or, in the case of perfumes and essential oil rollers, for example, omit the preservative altogether.

 

Borage seed oil is a skin-soothing champ—its anti-inflammatory powers calm redness and irritation, making it a go-to for dry or acne-prone skin. Packed with omega goodness, it boosts collagen and sinks in fast, leaving no greasy trace behind.

We use Cliganic’s 100% Pure and Natural Certified Organic Borage Oil for that top-shelf quality.