Making your own Perfumes
Secrets to making Top Quality Botanicals
There’s nothing quite as alluring as a beautiful scent. For thousands of years, humans have labored over harnessing some of nature’s most sumptuous fragrances, and for good reasons. A subtle yet distinct perfume can make all the difference in how one is approached, perceived and (most importantly) desired, so of course the emergence of a multi-billion dollar industry based on crafting that perfect aroma was inevitable. However, take a walk through the perfume aisle in any major department store and it’s hard not to determine which is more overwhelming; the abundance of fragrance in the air or the daunting price tags of the products themselves. With many of these scents running, at minimum, $100 or more, perfume remains without a doubt one of the pricier costs of living fabulously.
What's in Perfume Anyway?
Disregarding their dollar value, though, there are more serious concerns when it comes to these olfactory concoctions that makes them much less worth your hard-earned coin. With an abundance of research being made into the health concerns behind many of these fabricated substances, more and more evidence has been pointing to their detrimental effects on the human body. It’s not uncommon for one fragrance to be comprised of dozens, even hundreds, of individual chemicals that often are never reported on the label. For instance, it has been found that many of these perfumes, most of which are sold under established brand names, each contain on average 10 chemicals linked to negative physical reactions such as headaches, wheezing and asthma. Further studies unearthed more harmful additives such as benzyl benzoate, diethyl phthalate and tonalide, all of which have been deemed as hormone disrupters. With all of the negative discoveries constantly being revealed behind the average eau de toilet, those towering perfume prices seem to do nothing but become harder and harder to justify.
Now here we are "All about Saving Money and Being Green", and we do pride ourselves on viewing issues from both a cost-effective and health-conscious angle, so I’m happy to say that all is not lost on the fragrance front. As most of have come to learn at one point or another, if you can’t find a healthy yet affordable solution in stores, your going to have to make it yourself!
Yes, DIY perfumes may seem like an out-of-bounds prospect to most people, but in reality it’s a simple process that results in natural, body-safe scents that often smell better than their store bought counterparts. With a little ingenuity and spirit for experimentation, anyone can take the science of scent into their own hands and tailor-make their own specific aroma unlike anything found in a store. And here’s how you do it!
Sexy Perfume Basics
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Materials List
- A selection of your favorite essential oils (popular examples include lavender, eucalyptus, lemongrass and patchouli)
- A small, dark glass bottle
- Vodka
- Distilled water
- Vegetable glycerin
Directions:
Step 1: Begin by pouring 1 oz of vodka into the small bottle you’ve prepared. Next, add 10 drops each of whatever essential oils you have gathered. This is the stage where a lot of fun experimentation can take place and new fragrances be created (for better or worse), so feel free to see what you can come up with and don’t be discouraged if certain concoctions wrinkle your nose rather than please it. Once the desired scent has been reached, cap the bottle and leave it in a cool place for approximately 48 hours.
Step 2:After the 2 days have passed, add 2 tbsp of distilled water and shake the mixture well. Finish by adding a few drops of vegetable glycerin, so as to prevent your perfume from adversely drying out your skin. Let the bottle rest for yet another 48 more hours. Continue on the the next page for the rest of the steps.
