By Charlynn Avery
When it comes to blending perfumes, essential oils are a tried and true way to incorporate nature into your own signature scent. Homemade perfume is easy to make and isn’t as expensive as department store perfumes – plus, it can be made with ingredients that are friendly to our bodies and our planet.
Blend patchouli, sweet orange and ylang ylang essential oils for a sweet, floral homemade perfume.
Once you understand the basics, experiment with making your own blend or try one of our recipes below.
Choosing your aroma
To make a great perfume, get to know your aromatic preferences. Are you prone to florals? Do you like earthy or musky aromas? Are you drawn to light citrus aromas? What smells the best to you and on you? Once you figure out what you like, choose recipes that combine your favorite aromas.
Choosing your base
Start with your base. For a perfume, use a base of a grain alcohol (I have found high proof vodkas to be the best) and let the blend sit for a minimum of two weeks and up to six weeks before use.
If you’d like a body oil instead, use a carrier that is light and readily absorbable with little to no odor of its own. Some great choices include grapeseed, sweet almond or apricot kernel oils. Once you add your essential oils to the oil base, let it sit for a minimum of three days to allow the aromas to blend together.
While some essential oils used in perfumes are more expensive, they can be used to make a lot of perfume. For a more affordable option, you can use Aura Cacia Precious Essentials™, which are diluted in jojoba oil already. However, I’d recommend using an oil base rather than alcohol in this case.
Regardless of the base you choose, shake the blends as they sit and “marinate” to mix the components well.
Perfume (alcohol-based) Recipes:
Perfume Oil Recipes:
About the author: Charlynn Avery, aromatherapist and educator for Aura Cacia, is on a quest to change the way we look at health and healing in the U.S. She has spent her career practicing and teaching in the arena of holistic health and wellness as a licensed massage therapist, and currently holds additional certifications in Holistic Nutrition, Thai Massage, Life Coaching and Hypnotherapy. Although she loves natural healing, she loves spending time in nature even more. An avid traveler both for work and pleasure, she can often be found getting her U.S. National Park Passport stamped or reading a good book in an airport.
I love this idea! I have always been a perfumes and lotions junkie…you should see my stash! It has gone unused for the last year though since the birth of my baby girl made me conscious off what I use on my skin. My question to you is this..can I use rubbing alcohol or something other than vodka (since I’m a nursing Mom) as the alcohol base in my perfume? So excited!!! Does the scent really cling or do you find yourself having to refresh constantly?
Hi KK, personally, I don’t recommend using rubbing alcohol. High-proof vodka is a traditional base for perfumes, used in incredibly small amounts that won’t affect your baby. But, we always advocate safety first, so if you are uncomfortable using vodka, I’d recommend using a carrier oil to make a perfumed oil instead. The perfume with the alcohol base will last as well as any other commercial perfume, but a perfumed oil needs to be re-applied more frequently. — Charlynn
thanks a lot. i haven’t use a perfume in almost 8 years just because of the fixative’s chemicals on the recognized brands. How can we make essence oils from flowers? I particularly like some scents of local flowers. thanks a lot and i liked and share this on my fb.
Reblogged this on heArtsonnet blog.