Storing Fragrance Oils
Because fragrance oils contain no (or very little) natural plant matter, they may be safely stored at room temperature. Keep your oils in well-sealed glass bottles, carefully labeled. Put little labels on the tops of caps so you can easily find the one you want.
If a label looks like it's going to come off, it will, and it is better to replace it sooner than later. It is no good hunting through unlabeled fragrance bottles looking for what you need. Fragrance oils can smear even high-quality printing, so be sure to replace labels before they become unreadable.
Even though there is a dizzying selection of fragrance oils available to you, you may still want to experiment with blending your own scents. Get a good book on fragrance and perfume making and see what you can learn. Also, just follow your instincts, your intuition, and your nose.
You can organize your scent cabinet to make it easy to find what you're looking for. If you have a few fragrances that you use all the time, keep them where they are easy to reach. You can organize your fragrances alphabetically, by scent family, by manufacturer, or any method you find useful. If you have fragrances that are useful for only one kind of soapmaking — soap casting, for example — be sure those are in a special location. You don't want to grab the melt-and-pour-only version of a fragrance when you need the one that is safe for cold process.
Scents are enticing, so keep your fragrances away from children, pets, and others who may be attracted to them. Never create the possibility of confusing vanilla fragrance with vanilla extract in the kitchen. Fragrance oils will damage or remove the finish from just about everything, so be sure to cover and protect your surfaces appropriately. Work with fragrances in a ventilated place, especially if you are sensitive to them.
