Although having said this, there are 'impostors' such as water which has had essential oil and a dispersant added. These are not hydrolats and neither are the waters which carry synthetic products made to resemble the fragrances of essential oils. There are said to be about 10,000 odiferous chemicals listed to date and many of these are synthetic. This causes some confusion as 'floral waters' may conjure up in the mind something which smells sweet or floral and this is not always the case. Indeed many true hydrolats do not smell like the plant they originally came from or the essential oil which may arise from the distillation of such a plant.
Most people remember their surprise on smelling their first hydrolat.
I had expected the same smell as the oil, perhaps a little more delicate. Not at all. It was pungent and earthy, but not unpleasant. Some hydrolats are completely devoid of smell due to the minuscule proportions of aromatic compounds present and still others smell quite musty. The lack of aroma, however, in either the plant or the hydrosol does not detract from the sometimes very useful therapeutic properties obtained from these.