Perfume!

Ever get tired of the fragrances out there that don't quite appeal to you?

Me too!

I prefer to mix my own scented oils and perfumes.  It's pretty easy and you can experiment with fragrances.  I'm pretty happy with my signature scents but I tend to run out if I don't make up a good sized batch.  I just received a shipment of cinnamon leaf oil, and it dawned on me that I should share this easy perfumery!

What you need:

• (3) essential oils (Base, Middle, Top)
• Carrier Oil
• Ethanol
• Spring Water
• Tinted glass bottles (either amber or blue)
• Dropper
• Measuring Cup

If you want to experiment in making your own essential oils, I can tell you first-hand it's a process.  I used to make my own, but then decided it wasn't worth the effort and now I just buy them.  Wiki-how has a fairly decent tutorial.  Having all the distilling supplies is half the battle.

When you are making your own fragrances, you can either opt for a single scent or layer them.  I find layering gives a deeper fragrance, and it doesn't just smell like you slapped on some essential oils.

Examples of Base Oils: Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Sandalwood, and Vanilla

Examples of Middle Oils:  Clove, Lemongrass, Nutmeg, and Ylang Ylang

Examples of Top Oils:  Rose, Lavendar, Lemon, Lime, Neroli, and Jasmine

If you really get into it, there are tons of books out there on making your own perfumes that will give you the full gambit of oils.

Decent Carrier Oils:  Sweet Almond, Jojoba, Virgin Olive Oil

Essentially, what happens is each oil evaporates at a different rate in layers on your skin.  This is why the perfume smells strongest when you first put it on, and changes as the day goes on and each layer evaporates.  It also has a lot to do with your own body chemistry.  Some fragrances smell better on other people than they do on you!  Finding the right fragrance for your body chemistry takes experimenting.

One of my fave fragrance mixes:

Cinnamon

Sandalwood

Rose

I'll add a little Amber to the mix when I separate it out into two measurements to have an alternate fragrance.

As far as the measurements go, I find using the small cup that comes with cough-syrup is perfect.  You can get a liquid dropper (shown in my photo) or just use the dropper that comes with the bottles.  These are usually available at your local health-food store.  Or you can order them online (see source below).

Here's what I do:

Using a bottle dropper, I add (7) drops of each oil into an amber bottle with a lid.

Next, I'll add about 2 oz. Ethanol.  I keep a mason jar of it in the freezer for this reason. Most recipes call for Vodka or Grain Alcohol, so I stick with Moon Shine.  If you have a local that sells it, stock up.  The package stores sell a down-graded form of it called 'Corn Whiskey'.  I've used it in the past with fairly decent results.  Otherwise, Vodka will do.  Perfume suppliers also sell a Ethanol suitable for the body.

I'll shake that for a few minutes, then store it away for a couple of days.  You can add your carrier oil after 2 days, but 6 is best.  The longer it sets, the richer your fragrance.

Once you are ready to add it to your perfume bottle.  Add about 2 Tablespoons of Spring/Distilled Water.  Don't use tap water.  There are so many chemicals in there it will ruin your perfume.  In a pinch, you can boil some tap-water and refrigerate over night.  That should burn off most of the crap in there.

Shake it up real good.  Let it set another day.

Next, you want to pour it into your perfume bottle through some cheese cloth, or a coffee filter.  Store the rest away for when you run out.  Having a tiny funnel on hand is best too.  I didn't include it in my photo, but these are usually found where oil lamps are sold.  The one I have came with a bottle of paraffin for filling my glass oil lamps.  

Suppliers:

I've purchased some essential oils from this Ebay seller that are fairly decent:

ButterBear Products

I usually find them cheaper online than I do at my local health-food store, but you can pick them up there too.  

Dispensers:

Atomizer

I prefer this style Atomizer.  The caps are universal to your standard amber glass bottles.  If you store your left overs in a small bottle, you can just change out the cap for the Atomizer.  I also use smaller bottles for my purse as shown in the photo with the ball top.

You can also experiment with making more earthy masculine fragrances for men.    Oils like Patchouli, Sandalwood and ylang ylang are usually fairly decent smells.  You can either measure up or down for each oil for a stronger layering of a specific scent.  When I add Amber to my left-over batch, I usually go with 3-4 drops.  The oil I have is laboratory created, so it has a stronger smell than the all-natural stuff.  

Here's a helpful book to give a more in-depth tutorial on perfume making.  People swear by it, I've never read it.  Not sure how good it is.  Most of my oils and perfumes were made by experimenting.  A friend of mine used to make oils for me and got tired of whipping it up for me so she just jotted down the recipe for me on a piece of scrap paper.

See also:  The History of Perfume

Most DIY forums have a section for aromatherapy/Perfumery, so you can share tips and recipes there too.  Hands-on knowledge is the best, in my opinion.  Plus, what smells good to another person may be putrid to you!

Updated Oil Fragrances:

Amber
Amber-Sandalwood
Lavendar
Clary-Sage
Blood-Orange
Rose
Amyris
Vanilla

Ebay Seller: Sweeders

Carrier Oils:
Sweet Almond Oil
Hazelnut


My New Recipe:

Rose (top-note) (25 drops), Vanilla (bridge/base-note) (7 drops)
Carrrier Oil: Sweet Almond (1/2 oz)
Moon-Shine (2 1/2 oz)
(2 Tablespoons) Spring Water [After Aging]

(Age 6 weeks)

Visit: essential-oil recipes for more mixes!

I also receives some new atomizers:

Ebay Seller: Bee_happy_bidder

Enjoy!

Sin Jones