Create your own Solid Perfume

Create your own Solid Perfume

Main Ingredient: Carrier Oil

Oil is the main ingredient used to make solid perfume. The oils used in do-it-yourself skincare recipes are typically referred to as carrier oils, although I usually call them nourishing oils.

The carrier oil used to make an essential oil-based perfume is completely up to you. Grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, or jojoba oil are my top picks for making perfume. Virgin coconut oil may also be used, but it will impart a coconut scent on the final product.

 

Main Ingredient: Beeswax

Beeswax takes the carrier oil from a liquid to a solid state. Beeswax also acts as a barrier, which helps an essential oil-based perfume last a bit longer when it’s applied to the skin.

 

Main Ingredient: Essential Oil

Making your own perfume scent can be as easy or as complex as you’d like it to be. There are three ways to achieve a naturally-scented perfume.

Option 1: Single Essential Oil

To keep things simple, a single essential oil–like lavender essential oil–may be used to create a “one-and-done” perfume.

 

Option 2: Pre-Blended Synergy

Another simple, “one-and-done” scent option is to use a pre-blended synergy, like: (bergamot, patchouli, blood orange, ylang ylang, grapefruit), (vanilla, ylang-ylang), (tangerine, geranium, grapefruit), or  (neroli, sweet orange, Lime). A synergy (a blend of individual essential oils) takes all the guess work out of creating complex perfume scents.

 

Option 3: Create a Custom Scent Blend 

Individual oils may be combined to create your own custom perfume scent. Essential oils are divided into three main categories, based on their unique scent profile: Base Notes, Middle Notes, and Top Notes.

Base Notes (scents are uplifting, very sharp, and slow to evaporate): cedarwood, frankincense, ginger (to Middle), jasmine (to Middle), patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver, ylang ylang (to Middle).

Middle Notes (scents last a couple of hours, supportive): bay, cardamom, geranium, fir balsam, geranium, ginger (to Base), helichrysum, jasmine (to Base), lavender (to Top), lemongrass, palmarosa, orange (to Top), rosemary, ylang ylang (to Base).

Top Notes (introduce the perfume, quick to evaporate, uplifting): bergamot, clary sage (to Middle), eucalyptus, grapefruit, juniper, lemon, lime, neroli, orange (to Middle), palmarosa, peppermint, pine, tangerine, verbena.

To find your custom perfume scent, experiment with just a few essential oils (3-6 individual oils– preferably a good mix of Base, Middle, and Top Notes). Add two drops of a Base Note to a small amount of carrier oil, smell the oil and evaluate which Middle Note (from your oil choices) will best accompany the scent. Add two drops of the desired Middle Note, and then repeat the smell test. Finally, add a drop at a time of the desired Top Note, taking time to swirl the mixture and conduct a smell test before adding new drops. If you’d like to go back and add more of the Base Note or Middle Note, now is the time to experiment. Creating a custom scent is all about trial and error, so have fun with the process and take notes.

Plant Therapy also provides guidance on blending essential oils on their website. When looking up an individual oil, the aroma strength (“Strength of Aroma”), aromatic scent description (“Aromatic Scent”), and blending suggestions (“Blends Well With”) are provided on the side of an essential oil photo.

 

The essential oil (or oils) used to create your perfume will depend on your scent preferences as well as the mood you want to create. Once you know which scent you’ll be using, it’s time to make your solid perfume. Below, you’ll find my basic recipe for creating a custom perfume.

 

A naturally-scented, do-it-yourself solid perfume