Product Overview
Our organic Litsea Cubeba (also known as May Chang) has an intense, clean, fresh, sweet-green, lemon-like aroma with light woody-floral undertones – and the aroma lasts for more than 36 hours on a scent strip with a soft, uniform sweet-fruity dry down. Although Litsea Cubeba is a lesser-known essential oil in the modern aromatherapy and perfumery worlds, after sampling this very fine oil, we could not let this aromatic ray of sunshine go unnoticed – we have to extol its beauty.
Litsea Cubeba essential oil is characterized by its high citral content (up to 85%)[1] which accounts for its dominant lemony aroma. It was first distilled in the early 1950s from little berries (fruits) that grow on small tropical evergreen trees native to China, Indonesia and other parts of eastern Asia.[2]
The aroma of Litsea Cubeba is delightful for lifting and calming the spirit. It works wonders in skin care, particularly for oily and congested skin. Soap makers and candle crafters may appreciate the clean, long-lasting aroma and finer lemony complexity of Litsea as an alternative to Lemon, Lemongrass, Melissa, or Lemon Verbena.
1 Rhind, Jennifer Peace. Essential Oils – A Handbook for Aromatherapy Practice, 2012, p. 183.
2 Davis, Patricia. Aromatherapy – An A-Z, 1988, p. 192.
3 Lawless, Alec. Artisan Perfumery or Being Led by the Nose, 2009, p. 67.
4 Tisserand, Robert and Rodney Young. Essential Oil Safety, 2nd ed., 2014, p. 349.
5 Ibid, p. 350.
