Costmary (Mint Geranium)

Tanacetum balsamita L.

Chemotype: carvone / alpha-thujone type

balsamicmintyherbalmedicinalanimalic

PLANT PART: leaves and aerial parts
EXTRACTION: steam distillation
AROMA NOTE: mid

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FOLLOW YOUR SENSES

Aroma & character

A closer look at this oil's scent, strength, and staying power.

balsamicmintyherbalmedicinalanimalic

Aroma intensity: 50 / 100

Soft & subtleBold & expressive

Note layer: mid

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A LITTLE CARE GOES A LONG WAY

Using it thoughtfully

Read the full safety context before bringing this oil into your routine.

Cited dermal maximum · leave-on: 0.2%
Phototoxicity: Not flagged in this profile
Oxidation risk: Unknown

A cited maximum is a limit, not a suggested dilution. Missing restrictions do not establish safety.

No furocoumarin-based phototoxic restriction was identified in the consulted public costmary sources.

Contraindications & cautions

moderateBecause the publicly documented carvone chemotype still carries material thujone content, conservative topical use is warranted until a directly readable oil-level dermal limit or primary safety monograph is found. Public IFRA restriction summaries for alpha-thujone and beta-thujone support this caution.

Read the complete safety guide

Explore measured chemistry from supplier batches

A supplier report describes a particular sample. Open this workspace to investigate measured constituents and their original documents.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SCENT

Inside the oil

8 constituents

An oil's character comes from its natural chemical composition. Explore each constituent to understand the connections.

About this composition

This profile is anchored to public Tanacetum balsamita literature for the carvone-rich costmary chemotype that best matches the marketed mint-geranium odor description. A directly readable Natural Product Communications PDF reports carvone 51.0%, beta-thujone 20.8%, 1,8-cineole 4.4%, and alpha-thujone 3.2% in Tanacetum balsamita subsp. balsamita oil, while earlier public literature and indexed snippets show wider carvone-rich variation extending to 68.0% carvone and 24.6% alpha-thujone. Live supplier references describe the finished material as balsamic, slightly medicinal, sweet-minty, and herbaceous. Public IFRA-derived restriction summaries were also located for both alpha-thujone and beta-thujone, so the constituent-level leave-on safety ceiling is now better documented even though a product-level dermal maximum for costmary oil itself still was not.

Constituent	Typical amount	Reported range	Chemical family	Source
carvone	51.8%	49.11–68%	monoterpene ketone	View source Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity and Composition of Essential Oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. balsamita; Composition of Essential Oil of Costmary [Balsamita major (L.) Desf.] at Different Growth Phases; Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X0900400126 (carvone 51.0%); https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf990245z (carvone ranged 51.8-68.0%); https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en via indexed snippet (carvone 49.11%)
alpha-thujone	3.2%	3.2–24.6%	monoterpene ketone	View source Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity and Composition of Essential Oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. balsamita; Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X0900400126 (alpha-thujone 3.2%); https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en via indexed snippet (alpha-thujone 24.6%)
beta-thujone	20.8%	2.68–20.8%	monoterpene ketone	View source Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity and Composition of Essential Oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. balsamita; Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X0900400126 (beta-thujone 20.8%); https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en via indexed snippet (beta-thujone 2.68%)
1,8-cineole	4.4%	2.59–4.4%	monoterpene oxide	View source Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity and Composition of Essential Oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. balsamita; Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X0900400126 (1,8-cineole 4.4%); https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en via indexed snippet (1,8-cineole 2.59%)
beta-Bisabolene	4.44%	4.44–4.44%	sesquiterpene hydrocarbon	View source Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en via indexed snippet (beta-bisabolene 4.44%)
trans-p-Mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol	3.6%	—	monoterpene alcohol	View source Tanacetum balsamita leaf EO (carvone chemotype), GC-MS Table 1, Plants (MDPI) 11(24):3474 2022 (PMC9783112)
cis-p-Mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol	2.7%	—	monoterpene alcohol	View source Tanacetum balsamita leaf EO (carvone chemotype), GC-MS Table 1, Plants (MDPI) 11(24):3474 2022 (PMC9783112)
trans-Dihydrocarvone	0.7%	—	monoterpene ketone	View source Tanacetum balsamita leaf EO (carvone chemotype), GC-MS Table 1, Plants (MDPI) 11(24):3474 2022 (PMC9783112)

Profile source: Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity and Composition of Essential Oil from Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. balsamita; Composition of Essential Oil of Costmary [Balsamita major (L.) Desf.] at Different Growth Phases; Volatile oil constituents of alecost [Tanacetum balsamita L. ssp. balsamitoides] growing wild in North-West of Iran; Costmary Essential Oil from Hermitage Oils; Costmary Essential Oil from Natures Natural India · https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X0900400126 ; https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf990245z ; https://herbapolonica.pl/article/532926/en ; https://hermitageoils.com/product/costmary-essential-oil/ (sweet-milky spearmint, geranium-leaf dry-down, steam distilled leaves) ; https://www.naturesnaturalindia.com/pure-and-natural-essential-oils/costmary-oil.html (medium aroma strength; middle note; alpha thujone/camphor/cineole components)

A TRADITION OF BOTANICAL CURIOSITY

Traditional & reported uses

These uses reflect the profile's reported traditions and literature. They are not established treatment recommendations.

traditionally used in folk herbal practice for a fresh, minty-herbaceous aroma
used in aromatherapy for a bright, uplifting green top note
shares the traditional culinary-aromatic reputation of other Tanacetum-family herbs
used in perfumery in small amounts for its unusual mint-geranium-like facet
traditionally associated with linen-freshening and household aromatic use historically

Explore related intentionsUplift & Mood ↗

For aromatherapy and wellness use only — not medical advice. Effect statements are traditional/reported associations, not treatment claims. The Synergy Rating scores blend craft, harmony and safety, not medical efficacy. Read the safety framework.

What we're still learning · 4 data gaps

Good decisions start with knowing what is — and isn't — in the evidence.

Missing public source type for `max_dermal_pct`: a directly readable leave-on dermal maximum or primary safety monograph for Tanacetum balsamita essential oil itself. The reviewed public sources now support constituent-level thujone leave-on restrictions, but they still do not publish a finished-oil topical maximum percentage for costmary oil.
The `max_dermal_pct` value of 0.2 is sourced from a live secondary regulatory database that exposes the IFRA recommendation as `0.2000 % in the fragrance concentrate` for costmary oil, not from a directly viewable aromatherapy-specific dermal monograph: https://scentsandflavors.com/database/9dbb4aa6-2fae-48b4-811b-4d5934874b3d
Odor intensity 50 is a normalization of Natures Natural India's qualitative 'medium aroma strength' into the archive's numeric scale rather than a published native 0-100 measurement.
No directly readable public source located in this pass gave a measured volatility-rate, tenacity window, or oxidation-risk classification for costmary essential oil.