Become Your Own Personal Perfumer: 5 Steps to your All-Natural and Iconic Scent

Mar 14

Mar 14 Become Your Own Personal Perfumer: 5 Steps to your All-Natural and Iconic Scent

2010 was the year of the Stieg Larsson Sweep, Swift’s “Speak Now” Salvo and (the lesser-known) but oh-so-important: Scentgate.

Alas, no mysterious Deep Throat was involved, but EWG and The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics did uncover the fact that most perfumers (including top brands like Chanel and Armani) were using trade secret privileges to hide (on average) 14+ chemical constituents. Here’s the kicker, these added chemicals fell under one generous term: fragrance. Some of these hidden ingredients weren’t toxic, but others were well-established phthalates, parabens, and potential endocrine disruptors.

Luckily, when I stumbled across Scentgate, time was on my side (I was down to my last few sprays of my stash: Jo Malone, Byredo and Miu Miu) so I decided to turn my dwindling perfume supplies into a kairotic moment. I tossed them in the trash. Then I made my own.

If you want to DIY your own perfume the classic way via steamed distilled plants (aka essential oils) then grab a cute vintage bottle and scroll down for the instructions. Oh, and here’s a handy link that lists the fragrance notes behind popular perfumes. That link is helpful if you’d rather try and duplicate one of your favorites scents instead of creating your own recipe.

Here's what you'll need to make aprox. 1/4 cup of perfume

1/4 cup of (at least) 80 proof vodka
Essential oils (for a top, middle and bottom notes)

Instructions:

Step 1: Decide on your top note. It’s the first scent you’ll smell and the first to evaporate. Good EO’s for this include Anise, Basil, Bergamot, Citronella, Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lime, Orange, Peppermint, Spearmint, and Tangerine.

Step 2: Choose a Middle Note (this will be your main scent and make up 50% of the oils you use). Think Bay, Cardamom, Chamomile, Cypress, Geranium, Marjoram, Myrtle, Nutmeg, Pine, Rosemary, Spikenard, and Yarrow.

Step 3: Select your Base Note (think the musky scent that ties the first two scents together). Options include Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Clove, Frankincense, Jasmine, Myrrh, Rose, Sandalwood, Valerian, Vanilla and Vetiver.

Step 4: Grab your teaspoon and use 11 drops for your top note, 19 drops of for your middle note, and 7 drops for your chosen base.

Step 5: Pour your teaspoon of mixed oils and the ¼ cup vodka into a container of choice. Seal the container, shake the container and let it hibernate. Literally. You want to put your newly made perfume in the dark for 2 weeks.

And viola. You're done! I've found that over time the perfume will become more and more intense, so you might need to start with more sprays and decrease it as time goes by. Oh, and by the way, here's a bit on the brand of Vodka I used. I actually bought it to make vanilla, but then it came in handy long before I added the beans.

360 Vodka is a great choice because it’s made from locally sourced grain and very eco-friendly (recycled glass, recycled label, eco-friendly inks, utilized wind power and low waste). Oh, and if you are wondering why Vodka? I’m a citrus girl and Vodka is best paired with citrus essential oils because it doesn’t taint the smell (unlike perfumer’s alcohol).