Katrina Rosales
Making your own spray perfume at home is a great way to create a unique fragrance that is free from synthetic fragrances and toxins. By using essential oils, fragrance oils, infused oils, and even flavour extracts, you can create a blend that is not only aromatic but also provides aromatherapy benefits. You can also get creative and use a combination of top, middle, and base notes to give your perfume a layered scent. Once you've chosen your desired oils, simply mix them with a carrier such as alcohol or distilled water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Create a unique fragrance, save money, create thoughtful gifts, avoid synthetic fragrances |
| Container | Glass bottle, preferably coloured or covered to protect from light |
| Ingredients | Essential oils, fragrance oils, infused oils, flavour extracts, vodka, alcohol, distilled/spring water, vegetable glycerin, witch hazel, hydrosol |
| Scent Notes | Top: citrus, mint; Middle: coriander, rosemary, cinnamon; Base: vanilla, cedarwood, sandalwood |
| Recipe | Mix 20% essential oils, 70% alcohol, 10% distilled water; add 5 drops of glycerine |
| Process | Sterilize bottles, mix ingredients, shake well, store in a dark place for a week, test and adjust |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing a base: vodka, alcohol, or oil
When making perfume at home, you can choose from several base options, including vodka, alcohol, or oil. Each option has its own advantages and considerations. Here is an overview of each:
Vodka as a Base
Vodka is a popular choice for a base when making perfume at home due to its colourless and odourless nature. It evaporates quickly, allowing your customised mixture of essential oils to take centre stage. Vodka, typically containing around 40% alcohol, is not high enough proof for perfumery, which usually requires 95% or higher alcohol content. However, for home perfumers, vodka can be a suitable option, especially if you desire a quick evaporation of the base to diffuse the top, middle, and base notes of your fragrance.
Alcohol as a Base
Alcohol, specifically ethanol, is commonly used in alcoholic perfumes, also known as spray-on perfumes. It serves as a solvent, creating a sprayable consistency and facilitating dispersion on the skin. When selecting alcohol for your base, it is essential to choose the right type. Perfumer's alcohol is a blend of alcohol and additives used as a base. Cosmetic-grade Trade-Specific Denatured Alcohol (TSDA) is a type of denatured alcohol specifically made for cosmetic products and is commonly used in perfumery. Everclear, a brand of high-proof grain alcohol, is another option, but it may be challenging to obtain due to varying legal restrictions.
Oil as a Base
Using oil as a base results in a perfume oil rather than an eau de parfum. Perfume oils typically use carrier oils such as jojoba oil, fractionated coconut oil, or grapeseed oil. These oils provide a colourless medium and can offer a longer shelf life compared to alcohol-based perfumes. They are also gentle on the skin. When choosing essential oils as a base, it is crucial to research any health advisories, as not all essential oils are safe for skin contact.
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Adding top notes: citrus, mint, etc
Top notes are the first impression of a perfume, the scent you detect immediately after spraying. They are also known as head notes. These notes usually evaporate quickly, lingering for only the first five to fifteen minutes. Their main purpose is to give off an initial burst of scent and then smoothly transition into the next part of the fragrance. Top notes generally consist of lighter and smaller molecules.
Common top notes include citrus scents such as lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, and bergamot, as well as light floral scents like lavender and rose. You can also add spearmint or peppermint for a refreshing, cool scent. When adding citrus notes, you can use essential oils such as lemon, orange, or bergamot. These oils will add a bright and uplifting quality to your perfume.
When creating your perfume, you can use the drop-by-drop method, which allows for a precise and intuitive approach to blending. Start with a single drop of each chosen top, middle, and base note, then gradually adjust by adding more drops until the fragrance reaches the desired harmony. This technique ensures that each note complements the others while maintaining the desired perfume longevity.
It's important to note that top notes are just one part of the fragrance pyramid, which also includes middle (or heart) notes and base notes. Each layer plays a crucial role in the perfume's overall scent profile and how it interacts with your skin. Middle notes add depth and complexity, while base notes are the lasting allure, providing balance and increased depth to the fragrance.
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Adding middle notes: rosemary, lavender, etc
When making perfume, the fragrance is divided into three different notes depending on when they arise. The middle note is the scent that appears just after the top note disappears. Middle notes include coriander, palmarosa, marjoram, basil, rosemary, rose geranium, petitgrain, and lavender, among others.
Rosemary is used in perfumes to add a piney, woodsy, and green scent with a buttery note. It contains camphor, which adds a bracing, pungently minty note, and caffeic acid, a phenolic substance also found in eucalyptus bark. Fresh rosemary is preferred over dried rosemary, as the latter does not produce the same striking contrast between aromatic freshness and the illusion of fattiness. Rosemary is often used as a top note in colognes and fougères.
Lavender has a sweet floral aroma and is valued for its relaxing and calming properties. French lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) has a sweeter floral aroma, while Dutch lavender (Lavandula intermedia) contains higher levels of camphor and other terpenes, giving it a stronger aromatic and sharp odor. The essential oil extracted from Lavandula intermedia is called Lavandin, which is commonly used in aromatherapy products, potpourri, and candles. In perfumery, lavender is part of the fougère family and is often combined with notes of citrus, wood, and spice to create a complex and balanced fragrance. It can be used as a top note or a middle note. As a middle note, lavender is paired with notes of rose, jasmine, or cedarwood to create a more intense and sensual scent.
When mixing your perfume, start by adding your base notes, then your middle notes, and finally your top notes. Adding middle notes such as rosemary and lavender will give your perfume a more complex and balanced fragrance.
To make a spray perfume at home, you will need essential oils, alcohol (vodka or Everclear), distilled water, and a spray bottle. Mix your chosen essential oils, adding about 20% essential oil to your mixture. Then, add 70% alcohol and 10% distilled water. Pour the mixture into your spray bottle, and your perfume is ready to use!
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Adding base notes: cedarwood, sandalwood, etc
When making perfume at home, it's important to understand the different notes and how they work together. The base notes are the scents that appear last and form the base of the perfume. They are usually a little "manlier" or musky and help to extend the middle notes. Common base notes include patchouli, vetiver, frankincense, cedarwood, sandalwood, and vanilla.
Cedarwood and sandalwood are two essential oils that are frequently used as base notes in perfumes. Cedarwood, known as "the wood of the gods," has been used for centuries in India, ancient Egypt, and other parts of Africa and Asia. It has warm properties and blends well with herbal oils like sage, woody oils like cypress, and spicy essential oils like patchouli. Sandalwood is another popular choice for base notes, often combined with other scents like vanilla, bergamot, and grapefruit to create a musky and warm fragrance.
When creating your own perfume, it's recommended to start by adding your base notes and then building upon them with middle and top notes. This allows you to create a harmonious blend that complements the base scent. For example, if you're using cedarwood as your base, you might want to add middle notes such as jasmine, rose, or herbal scents, and top notes like citrus or bergamot.
The amount of each note you use will depend on your personal preferences and the desired strength of the scent. You can experiment with different ratios and combinations of scents to create a unique fragrance. Remember that base notes like cedarwood and sandalwood are typically stronger and longer-lasting, so you may want to use fewer drops or a lower concentration of these oils compared to the middle and top notes.
In addition to the essential oils, your homemade perfume will also need a carrier liquid such as alcohol or distilled water. Alcohol-based perfumes are more similar to store-bought perfumes, while distilled water will create more of a body spray. You can also use vodka as your base, as it evaporates quickly and helps to diffuse the different notes into the air.
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Blending and bottling
Before you begin, sterilise your chosen bottle and a funnel in the dishwasher. If you're using clear glass bottles, cover them with aluminium foil or wrapping paper to protect your fragrance from the light.
When you're mixing your perfume, adding scents from neighbouring families creates harmony. Start with your base notes, then add your middle notes, and finish with your top notes.
If you're making a perfume spray, you can use a combination of essential oils, alcohol, distilled water, and glycerine. A typical blend might include 40 drops of essential oil, 140 drops of alcohol, 20 drops of distilled water, and 5 drops of glycerine.
Pour your blended perfume into your bottle using a funnel. If you're using an atomizer bottle, you may need to use a pipette to count out the drops. Once you've added your alcohol, put the lid on your bottle, shake it up, and store it away.
Before using your perfume, shake the bottle well to mix the ingredients. Spritz a few times onto your wrists, chest, neck, or anywhere else you'd like to apply the scent.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need essential oils, alcohol (vodka will do), distilled/spring water, vegetable glycerin, and a spray bottle.
Top notes are the initial scent when you first put on the perfume. Examples include lemon, orange, grapefruit, and peppermint. Middle notes appear after the top notes disappear and are the main component of the perfume. Examples include rosemary, coriander, and cinnamon. Base notes appear last and extend the middle notes. Examples include vanilla, cedarwood, and sandalwood.
Start by adding your base notes, then middle notes, then top notes. You can adjust the amounts of each note depending on your preferences.
Put the lid on the bottle and shake it well to mix the ingredients. Store the bottle in a dark place for a week before adding alcohol. After a week, check if you like the scent. If you do, pour the alcohol into the bottle through a funnel, shake, and your perfume is ready!
You can use a glass bottle with a mister top. Preferably, use a coloured glass bottle to protect the fragrance from light.
