When I'm out and about and I see a shop selling essential oils, I usually go in and try some, hoping to find a rare gem. Most of the time I'm disappointed by the quality. I don't mind if its expensive, but obviously I'd prefer to find a shop that sells good quality at reasonable (I.E.non-tourist ) prices. Thanks in advance.

Interested to know how you can define the quality?

the most reputable here are Herb Basics and Spana, though at around 200-300bt for a 100ml bottle they are not all pure for sure, they would be 5 times that price.

the common stuff like orange will be pure but lavender for example would normally be imported from the likes of France.

the chemical ones however, that I allude to are excellent and perfect for general use, as room scents but whether you want to try them direct to your skin, I certainly would not.

go try at the 2 I mention, see if you can get some idea where they come from because both companies re label all their products to disguise the origins.

if you want great room essentials i can tell you the places for the chemical copies that are seriously good.

I have no formal training. Trying and mixing different scents is a hobby, and over the years I've developed a knack for it.

I've tried some of the ones at Spana and I would rate those as average. I'm looking for something better than that.

Sometimes I find that certain brands will have one scent which is really good but the rest not. For example here in Thailand it's really easy to find a good lemongrass, which is hardly surprising.

What, pray tell, is an essential oil ?! For what ?! Face? Salad? Pecker?

Oilinium?

What, pray tell, is an essential oil ?! For what ?! Face? Salad? Pecker?

I think it means a distillation from the source material.

For instance, turpentine is distilled from pinewood and its resin and is called an essential oil.

That's how I understand it anyway, but there may be other definitions.