The price of perfume these
days is pretty steep. For a bottle of a popular perfume by
Ralph Lauren or Chanel, you can expect to pay anywhere from
$50-$100. This price is pretty high for a scent that is not
even unique! For a whole lot less money and a few
ingredients, you can make your own customized perfume and
monitor what goes into it as well.
The basic formula for
perfume is 15% to 30% essential oil, 70% to 80% of pure
grain alcohol, such as vodka, and 5% of distilled or
bottled spring water. Essential oil can be replaced with
fragrance oil for a cheaper quality and price perfume.
Essential oil can easily be found in a craft store or
health food store. Store your perfume in a small glass
or plastic container. You can buy a container with a
sprayer at almost any local craft store. You might also
be able to find vintage perfume bottles at thrift stores
or flea markets.
You will have to play
around with the oils to create the perfect scent. To
start, try mixing ¼ cup of straight vodka with 5 drops
of an essential fragrance or oil of your choice.
Depending on how strong you want the perfume, you can
let the mixture stand for as little as 48 hours all the
way to a month. The longer it stands, the stronger it
will be. After your perfume has sat for your preferred
time, add 2 tablespoons of the diluted water. If the
perfume is too strong for you, you can add more water to
get your desired scent strength. To make your scent last
longer, add a tablespoon of glycerin to your perfume
mixture. Glycerin is a neutral, colorless, thick liquid.
It can be found anywhere soap making supplies are found.
When added to water and alcohol, glycerin remains liquid
and helps the other ingredients dissolve faster and
better.
When you are ready to
start combining fragrance/essential oils for a scent
that is completely unique, understand that there are
three different notes in scented oil. The first is base
notes, which will stay longest on your skin. Base notes
include oils such as vanilla, cinnamon, and sandalwood.
The second of the notes are middle notes, which add to
the scent for a while, but not as long as the base
notes. These oils include lemon-grass, geranium, neroli,
and ylang-ylang. The last of the notes are the top notes
which do what they say, they top off the scent. The top
notes do not last as long as the other two notes, but
add to the scent significantly. The top notes include
oils such as rose, lavender, jasmine, bergamot, and
orchard. When making a perfume of more than one scent,
add the base note oil first. Follow the base note with
the middle note oil, and finish with the top note oil.
There are many recipes
for perfume online. While playing with scents can be fun,
it can also be frustrating if you cannot get the desired
scent you want. The website, PioneerThinking, contains
some great recipes for beginners. The names are even
better than what the designers name their perfumes. Now
that you know the basics of perfume making, feel free to
give them as birthday or Christmas gifts. Who wouldn't
love their own signature perfume, especially if it is
named after them? Spritz away!
Your own perfume makes
a great gift!
If you have extremely
sensitive skin try spraying on your clothing instead.
Certain scents can
alter your mood. Jasmine and lavender can calm the
anxious and aide in sleeping, orange and ylang ylang can
ease anger, and sandalwood and grapefruit can fight
fear. Need a boost of confidence? Try cypress or
rosemary. Frankincense, rose, and bergamot can help
relieve depression and grief. To increase memory powers,
try black pepper and peppermint. You may want to keep
this in mind when you are creating your concoction.
