Making Great Smelling Perfume the Simple Way

If you’re tired of paying high prices for your favorite perfume, you can join the millions of others
that are attempting to make their own perfume. Making your own perfume can be as easy or
complex as you choose just as you can have any scent you choose.

Essential oils are the most common sources to use for your perfume making. There are many
essential oils available, considering they’re concentrated oils that have been distilled from
plants. Some people that don’t want to use buy essential oils due to their cost, use food
flavorings like orange, almond, vanilla, etc.

However, essential oils may seem costly for what you get but they go a long way. In fact, most
perfumes only require a couple of drops of essential oil. If you decide to go with essential oils,
you’ll be amazed at the many different fragrances you’ll find. These can be purchased online or
in any health food or craft stores.

If you’re really interested in cutting corners and being creative, you can also make perfume with
lemon or orange peels that have been dried. Another choice is using dried flowers such as dry
rose petals or lavender. My point here is that your choices are almost unlimited as to what you
can use for your fragrances. Once you’ve decided what fragrance or scent you want, you’re all
ready to begin the process.

If you’re making perfume for the first time, you may want to start off with just one scent. After
you get the hang of it, you’ll want to experiment with several scents but for now, just one will
make it easier! You’ll want to mix a few drops of essential oil in a small jar with a tight fitting lid.


Keep in mind the more oil you use, the stronger the scent is going to be. Add four tablespoons
of both vodka and distilled water. Mix well, cover tightly and let sit for at least a week. You may
want to test sample your perfume occasionally by putting a cotton swab in the mixture and
rubbing it on your skin. If it smells the right strength, you’re done.

If you’d like a stronger scent, you can add a drop or two more of essential oil and let it sit for a
few more days in a cool dark place. When it’s ready to use, strain it through a coffee filter into a
dark perfume bottle. The scent will stay longer if your store your perfume in a cool dark room.
Keep in mind that if you use orange peels, it will take longer for the scent to become strong than
if you use essential oils.

Tips to Successfully Making Perfume

Making perfume may be something you’ve always dreamed of doing but felt you didn’t have a
clue. I’m here to tell you it’s an experience you’ll not only find very challenging but also very
rewarding, especially when you see and smell the finished product. The art of making perfume
is very similar to making good wine. It’s a combination of ingredients that, when properly mixed,
will only get better with time. It’s also very similar to baking a cake. If you follow the recipe to the
letter, you’ll have a creation that will make you proud.

Finding directions and “recipes” for making perfume will be very easy as they’re everywhere.
However, without knowing some simple basics, you may find it more difficult than it need be. If
you’re making perfume for the first time, here are some tips that may help you ensure a
successful bottle of perfume as well as give you the basics about making perfume.

Know what you’re looking for before you begin. Although essence oils are more costly than
fragrance oils, they both cost money and you don’t want to be wasting ingredients while you’re
experimenting. Don’t get me wrong.

You’ll have a lot of fun experimenting with different fragrances and you’ll want to experiment as
much as possible, but you don’t want to be wasting these ingredients while you’re learning.
You’ll have many choices to choose from including sweet smell, manly smell, unisex, floral, etc.
Have a general idea of what you’re interesting in making.

Perfume consists of three main ingredients: essential oils, pure grain alcohol and water.
Without these ingredients, there would be more perfume. Although you may find many different
recipes for perfume, they all will have this as a basis.

Your essence oils are categorized into three different types of oils. These types are called
notes in the perfume world. The base notes are usually the first oils added in your perfume
mixture and are the scent that will last the longest on your skin. The middle notes will contribute
to the overall scent and will stay on your skin awhile but not as long as the base. They are
usually added second to the mixture. The top notes are added last and will the one that provides
the scent you’ll smell when it’s put on your skin. It’s important to mix these notes in the correct
order for the best mix.

Don’t be in a hurry to wear your masterpiece. As anxious as you’ll be to start wearing your
new perfume, consider it like a good bottle of wine. The longer it sits, the better it will be.

Understanding Notes When Making Perfume

If you’re planning to make your own perfume, it’s important that you understand the basics.
When we think of expensive perfume, we automatically think of France, since France is the
perfume capital of the world. Although the French did not discover perfume, they were the ones
that turned making perfume into a Science.

Although the perfumers in France were not the original creators of perfume, they were the
geniuses that figured out a way to make the fragrances last longer than a few minutes. Their


method was by layering the different fragrances. They started using the three layers that we
now call notes.

If you’ve never made perfume before, you may not know the importance of using the different
notes. For the best fragrances, you can’t just throw together several essential oils and hope for
the best. Some fragrances are stronger and longer lasting than others. Knowing what essential
oils are in each note group will help you to make some beautiful and interesting creations with
your perfume. Notes are what make up the difference between perfume and cologne.

Top notes are the scents that you smell as soon as you apply it. If you’ve ever sprayed a
perfume in a store, the smell you get immediately after spraying is coming from the top notes.
The top notes, although they quickly evaporate, are what give us our first impression of a
perfume. Examples of some popular top notes include bergamot, peppermint, lemon, orange,
lime, chamomile, lemongrass and neroli.

Middle notes are what we smell when the scent from the top notes disappears. It is generally
considered as the heart of the perfume and often server to cover up any unpleasant scents that
may come from the base notes. This scent often evaporates after 15 seconds. Some typical
middle notes include lavender, geranium, rosewood, ylang ylang, jasmine, rose and hyacinth.

Base notes are what you smell after about 30 seconds of applying it to your skin. The based
and middle notes are what make up the main fragrance of the perfume. However, for a perfume
to be successful, they must have a combination of all three notes. Commonly used for based
notes are vanilla, sandalwood, patchouli, cedarwood, clove, vetiver, cinnamon and
frankincense.

Keep in mind, when making your perfume, that you can mix and match different essential oils to
get the scent that you want. The purpose of using the specific notes is to ensure you have a
fragrance that’s not only appealing but one that lasts as well.

What to Look for When Buying Essential Oils for Making Perfume

You’ve been hearing all about making perfume and how much fun it is and are all hyped about 

making it yourself. You’ve read the directions and all you have to do is buy the main supplies, 

particularly the essential oils, which is what gives your perfume its fragrance. It sounds easy 

enough, right? All you have to do is go to your local health or craft store or start browsing the 

web and you’ll find all the essential oils you need. However, before you rush out and start 

buying, here are some helpful tips and suggestions on what to look for in essential oils. 

What you want to look for is undiluted essential oils. If they’re truly undiluted, you won’t have to 

put your nose right up them to get a good whiff. You should be able to hold it about 5 inches and 

still get a good smell. Another way to determine if they’re undiluted is by putting a drop on a 

piece of paper. If it leaves an oily stain on the paper, it’s probably been diluted with vegetable 

oil. 

Don’t try to smell too many in one day. Unbelievably, you nose will become overwhelmed and 

they’ll all tend to smell the same. 

Essential oils are a variety of different prices, with some more expensive than others. If you find 

a store that offers them at the same price, this may be a sign that they’re synthetic so avoid 

shopping here. 

One main reason why you do not want synthetic oils is that they will not have the same 

therapeutic properties as true essential oils. Read the label and ensure that it does not say 

perfume oil or fragrant oil. 

Avoid purchasing essential oils that have been stored in plastic bottles. The plastic may have 

become dissolved in the oils causing it to become contaminated. Clear glass bottles are also not 

good for essential oils because they often make the oil spoil quicker. Look for essential oils that 

have been stored in dark bottles, particularly blue or dark amber. 

I’m not a person that automatically looks for the most expensive item in a store. In fact, I like 

finding a good buy as well as the next guy but if something looks too good to be true it often is 

too good to be true. If essential oils are very cheap in price, take a second look as they may not 

be pure essential oils. While they don’t have to be 100% pure essential oils for perfume making, 

you’ll get a much better and longer lasting scent with pure essential oil.