Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Leaf Oil

Eugenia caryophyllus leaf oil is an essential oil that is distilled from the flower buds of the Eugenia caryophyllus and that is used as a fragrance ingredient in skincare. The flower buds are commonly known as cloves and are used as a kitchen spice. They are native to Indonesia but can be cultivated in many different parts of the world.

Cloves contain a lot of essential oil, which is mainly comprised of a compound called eugenol. This compound has a sweet, gingerbread-like scent (cloves are one of the gingerbread or pumpkin pie spices, along with cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and star anise). Eugenol by itself has local pain-relieving effects, and so clove oil is sometimes used to help with toothache.

A fun fact about clove essential oil is that it is one of the very few essential oils that does not float on the surface of water but instead sinks to the bottom.