Seamus Hammond
Making perfume from flowers is a simple process that can be done at home. The first step is to choose the flowers for your fragrance. Common flowers used for homemade perfume include rose, lavender, honeysuckle, jasmine, violet, peony, and gardenias. The next step is to pluck and remove the petals from the chosen flowers, ensuring there are no water droplets on them. Then, place the petals in a jar and cover them with oil. Seal the jar and leave it in a dark place for 24 hours. After this time, the scent from the flowers should be absorbed by the oil. Finally, remove the petals from the oil and bottle the scented oil. Your perfume is now ready to use!
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Common flowers used | Rose, lavender, honeysuckle, jasmine, violet, peony, gardenias, lilies, carnations, marigolds, lilacs |
| Common scents | Vanilla, cedarwood, frankincense, sandalwood, orange notes, grapefruit, bergamot |
| Oil used | Olive oil, corn oil, sesame oil |
| Process | Pluck petals, dry them, heat oil, soak petals in oil, strain petals, store oil in a container or spray bottle |
| Storage | Store in a cool, dark place. Lasts up to one month |
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What You'll Learn
- Choosing flowers: Pick flowers with a strong fragrance, like jasmine, rose or honeysuckle
- Plucking petals: Remove petals, ensuring they're dry
- Oil selection: Use olive oil, corn oil or sesame oil
- Soaking petals: Cover petals with oil, seal and leave for 24 hours
- Straining oil: Drain petals, collecting scented oil in a separate container
Choosing flowers: Pick flowers with a strong fragrance, like jasmine, rose or honeysuckle
When choosing flowers for perfume, it's important to select those with a strong fragrance. Flowers like jasmine, rose, and honeysuckle are excellent choices due to their potent and captivating scents.
Jasmine, with its glossy, dark green foliage and delicate white flowers, offers a rich, sweet, and honey-like fragrance that fills the air during its flowering season. Its scent is often described as warm, floral, and slightly fruity, with a strong and musky presence. Jasmine is a favourite among pollinators, attracting bees, butterflies, and moths with its alluring aroma.
Rose, a classic and romantic flower, also possesses a strong fragrance. Its delicate petals and vibrant colours contribute to its popularity in perfumery. Roses blend beautifully with other scents, creating elegant and sophisticated perfumes.
Honeysuckle, a climbing plant with distinctive tubular flowers, offers a sweet and heady fragrance. Its scent is a delightful blend of honey and citrus aromas, creating a refreshing and nostalgic atmosphere. Honeysuckle is often used in landscaping, trained to climb walls, fences, or trellises, providing both visual appeal and a captivating fragrance.
When selecting flowers for perfume, it's advisable to collect them when their scent is strongest and the leaves are dry. This ensures that the fragrance is optimally captured. By choosing flowers with potent aromas, such as jasmine, rose, or honeysuckle, you can create perfumes that are both memorable and enchanting.
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Plucking petals: Remove petals, ensuring they're dry
When making perfume from flowers, it is important to ensure that the petals are dry before proceeding with the extraction of fragrance compounds. Here are the detailed steps for plucking and drying the petals:
Plucking Petals:
- Choose fresh flowers with a strong fragrance that appeals to you. Common choices include rose, jasmine, lavender, honeysuckle, and gardenias.
- Pluck the petals from the chosen flowers. Remove any traces of water droplets on the petals. You can use a fan to speed up the drying process, but avoid direct sunlight to preserve the fragrance.
Drying Petals:
- Air-drying is the traditional method. Gather sturdy flowers with strong petals. Remove the leaves and foliage from the stems, keeping only the petals.
- Group the petals by type and size. Larger petals should be dried individually, while smaller petals can be bundled into groups of 2-3 stems using rubber bands or twine.
- Hang the petals or bundled stems upside down in a dry, dark area with good circulation. Ensure they are not exposed to direct sunlight to prevent fragrance loss.
- The drying process can take 2-4 weeks. The petals are fully dry when they are crisp, almost crunchy, and feel like paper.
- Alternatively, you can use a microwave to speed up the drying process. Place a single layer of petals between layers of kitchen paper on a microwavable plate and cover with another plate. Microwave on a high setting for 40 seconds, then check if the petals are dry. Repeat in short intervals until fully dry.
By following these steps, you can effectively pluck and dry petals, ensuring they are ready for the next stages of perfume-making.
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Oil selection: Use olive oil, corn oil or sesame oil
To make perfume from flowers, you'll need to extract the fragrance compounds from the flower petals. This is done by covering the petals in oil and allowing the scent to infuse.
Olive oil, corn oil, and sesame oil are all suitable for this process. Olive oil is pungent and has its own odour, so if you want the scent of the flowers to come through clearly, you may want to opt for corn oil or sesame oil instead. Corn oil and sesame oil are less pungent and have more neutral scents, allowing the fragrance of the flowers to shine through.
To get started, you'll need to choose your flowers. Common choices include rose, lavender, honeysuckle, jasmine, violet, peony, and gardenias. You'll want to collect your flowers when their scent is at its strongest, and ensure they are completely dry, as moisture can affect the fragrance.
Once you have your flowers, remove the petals and place them in a glass jar. Cover the petals with your chosen oil and seal the jar. Leave the jar in a dark place for 24 hours. After this time, the oil will have absorbed the scent of the flowers.
The final step is to strain the petals from the oil. Use a strainer to separate the petals from the scented oil, being gentle to avoid losing any of the precious oil. Your floral perfume is now ready! You can store it in small glass containers or spray bottles, and it will generally last for about a month when stored in a cool, dark place.
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Soaking petals: Cover petals with oil, seal and leave for 24 hours
When making perfume from flowers, the process begins with choosing the right plants for your custom fragrance. You can use anything that appeals to your sense of smell, from citrus blossoms and leaves to rose petals, mint, or rosemary. It is important to ensure that the flowers are organic and freshly picked when their scent is the strongest and the leaves are dry.
Once you have selected your flowers, you can start the process of extracting their fragrance. Remove the petals from the flowers, ensuring there are no water droplets on them. You can use a fan to dry the petals gently. Then, take a glass jar and fill it with enough lukewarm oil to completely cover the petals. Gently press or bruise the petals with your fingers or a spoon to release their fragrance compounds into the oil. It is important to be careful and not press too hard, or the petals may disintegrate.
After ensuring all the petals are submerged, seal the jar tightly and store it in a dark place for 24 hours. During this time, the scent from the petals will infuse into the oil. This process will result in a fragrant oil that captures the essence of your chosen blooms.
On the next day, open the jar and use a strainer to gently remove the petals, collecting the scented oil in another container. Your perfume with an oil base is now ready to be decanted into small glass containers or spray bottles. You can apply a small amount to your wrist to experience the sweet fragrance of the flowers you used.
If you wish to create a stronger perfume, you can add more petals to the strained oil and repeat the process. Experimenting with different flowers and their natural fragrances allows you to create unique and intriguing scents.
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Straining oil: Drain petals, collecting scented oil in a separate container
Once you have combined your chosen flowers with oil, you need to leave the mixture to macerate for 24-48 hours. The exact duration will depend on the flowers you have chosen and their intensity of fragrance. Stronger-smelling flowers may only need 24 hours, while more subtle scents may benefit from the full 48.
After this period, you can begin the process of straining the oil. First, remove the jar from its resting place and open it. Use a strainer to carefully separate the flower petals from the oil. Be gentle to avoid tearing the petals and releasing unwanted fragments into the oil. Cheesecloth or muslin are ideal for this process, allowing you to squeeze the cloth to extract as much oil as possible.
If you want to create a stronger fragrance, you can add more petals to the strained oil and repeat the process. The scent will become more intense with each round of maceration and straining.
Once you are happy with the strength of your fragrance, you can transfer the oil into small glass containers or spray bottles. Your homemade perfume is now ready to use!
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Frequently asked questions
First, choose the flowers you would like to use for your custom fragrance. Common flowers used for homemade perfume are rose, lavender, honeysuckle, jasmine, violet, peony, and gardenias. Make sure the flowers are fresh and completely dry. Pluck and remove the petals from the chosen flowers. Take oil (olive oil or a related oil such as corn oil or sesame oil) and heat it before you put it in the glass jar. The amount should be enough to soak all the petals carefully. Soak the petals in the oil and leave the mixture in a dark place for 24 hours. The next day, use a strainer to remove the petals from the oil. Your perfume with an oil base is now ready to be bottled.
Perfume made from flower petals will generally last up to one month when stored in a cool and dark place.
You can use any flowers your nose is drawn to, from citrus blossoms and leaves, rose petals, mint, or rosemary. Finding flowers that are local to your area is a great way to repurpose materials available in your community.
The process of capturing the scent of flowers is called enfleurage.
You can bottle your homemade flower perfume in either a rollerball container or a miniature spray bottle.
