There is a difference when it comes to scents between essential oils and absolutes. The first are fragrant oils extracted from plants chiefly through steam distillation (e.g., eucalyptus oil) or expression (grapefruit oil). However, the term is also occasionally used to describe fragrant oils extracted from plant material by any solvent extraction.

Absolutes are fragrant oils extracted primarily from flowers or delicate plant tissues through solvent or supercritical fluid extraction (e.g.,rose absolute). The term is also used to describe oils extracted from fragrant butters, concretes, and enfleurage pommades using ethanol.

As byproducts of scent extraction there are also carrier oils, typically oily plant base triacylglycerides that dilute essential oils for use on the skin. Sweet almond oil is one of the most commonly used.

There are then herbal distillates or hydrosols, the aqueous byproducts of the distillation process like rosewater. There are many herbs that make herbal distillates and they have culinary uses, medicinal uses and skin care uses.. Common herbal distillates are chamomile, rose, and lemon balm.

Infusions are simple extracts of various plant material through soaking in water.