How to Make Perfume With Essential Oils

Co-authored by Erica Coates

Making perfume with essential oils is very easy and can be done with just a few oils. You can create your own unique signature fragrance for personal use or to give to a friend. Visit one of your local stores to try out some essential oils and see what scents you like the best. By making your own perfume, you control the ingredients and the quality of your fragrance product.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Learning the Basics

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Use a dark colored bottle. This is important because a dark bottle will help preserve your fragrance by keeping the light out. Make sure you shake your perfume before you apply it so that the scents mix together. When storing your bottle, try to keep it out of direct sunlight.
- You can also use a roller bottle for essential oils. These sometimes work better because the fragrance tends to be thicker than regular perfume, making it somewhat harder to spritz onto your skin.
2
Allow the scents to meld. Although you can use your perfume right away, it's best to allow the scents to combine and fuse together before using them. You can choose to use your perfume right away, but the scent will be less fragrant and the individual oils will not have had as much time to combine into one lovely scent. That's why allowing it to sit for a while is helpful, because then you've allowed your perfume time to reach its final scent.
- A perfume made out of essential oils may smell great right away, but overtime the scents may combine to something that doesn't smell very appealing. Allowing your perfume to sit will give you a better idea of what your combined scents will smell like for the majority of the perfume's life.
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Learn the order of oils. When making perfume from essential oils you'll need to follow an order: you start with a base oil, then have the middle tones, then finally the top notes. The top note is what you smell when you first smell your perfume, and then you are gradually able to smell your others. You'll need to add oils in this order.^{[1]
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- The top notes reach our senses first, but dissipate quickly. The middle notes are essentially the "heart" of your fragrance. They add warmth and fullness to your perfume and their smell is what lingers. Base notes evolve over time, so you may not smell them at first. However, after all other smells have faded, the base notes remain. They are often a more invigorating scent like pine, musk, glove, cedar wood, sandalwood, etc.
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Know the benefits of essential oil. While regular perfumes may last longer on your skin, essential oils are great because they are derived directly from nature. They don't have the many chemicals that commercial perfumes have, so if you're looking for something organic and natural, essential oils are the way to go. You also have the option to create tons of different scents and fragrances with essential oils.^{[2]
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- Essential oils are also good for people with sensitive skin or who react negatively to perfume products. These oils are natural so you can create a variety of different smells that your skin will hopefully handle better than commercial perfumes.
- Commercial perfumes have preservatives and other chemicals which help the scent and fragrance last longer. Essential oils, because they are derived from nature, will fade faster. However, you can add a drop or two of a natural fixative or extender if you want your fragrance to last longer. These are usually very pungent so you don't want to use them frequently or in large amounts, but one drop here and there won't hurt.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Making Your Perfume

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Add your base note. The first step to creating your fragrance is adding your base note. Often times base notes are earthy scents that provide a good lasting smell for your perfume and can be five to 20 percent of your blend (but this varies). However, some people choose to use scents like grape-seed oil or sweet almond oil. It's your personal preference and you may experiment to see what scents you like. If you aren't sure where to start you can follow this guideline:^{[3]
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- For a fresh and energizing perfume add 17 drops of grapefruit oil to your perfume bottle or roller bottle.
- For a romantic and floral blend, add 25 drops of rose essential oil.
- For a sensual and earthy fragrance, add 20 drops of sweet orange essential oil.
2
Mix in your middle note. This is the heart of your fragrance, the smell that appears after your top note has dissipated. Some people choose to use a more floral scent for this note, but once again it is your personal preference. Often times middle notes are the biggest portion of your blend (50 to 80 percent), but once again this varies with experimentation. Here are some suggestions that follow the previous step:^{[4]
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- For a fresh and energizing perfume add 14 drops of ginger essential oil.
- For a floral and romantic blend add 10 drops of lime essential oil.
- For a sensual, earthy fragrance add 15 drops ylang ylang oil. Ylang ylang is an oil derived from the cananga tree, and is known for it's rich floral scent.
3
Add your top note. Finally, your last main addition to your perfume is the top note, which will fade quickly but will be the first scent that you smell when you open up your perfume. They can often be five to 20 percent of the blend, but you can add more or less if you choose. Some people prefer to use fruity, minty, or refreshing scents for their top note. Try out different scents if you aren't sure and see what you like the best. You can also follow this guideline:^{[5]
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- For an energizing, fresh blend add 10 drops of vetiver essential oil. Vetiver is a bunchgrass that is native to India and is often used as a flavoring agent because it creates a thick syrup. It also has fixative properties, which are what help the fragrance of the perfume to last.
- For a floral, romantic perfume add 10 drops of vetiver essential oil.
- For an earthy, sensual fragrance add 10 drops of cedar wood essential oil.
4
Experiment with your scents. If you have tried out several different combinations and aren't pleased, you may need to just experiment with your scents. Play with different scents until you find one you like.
- You may prefer a more woodsy scent and want to stick to vanilla, sandalwood, and sweet almond oil. Or you may enjoy very floral scents and want to use lavender, ylang ylang, and grapeseed oil. Maybe you appreciate fruity scents and want to use lemon, sweet orange, and mandarin.
- If you have created a great scent thus far and then messed it up with another oil, don't fret. You can add a drop of orange oil, which supposedly helps cancel out other perfumes.^{[6]
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Add alcohol for a preservative. This step isn't necessary, but can be helpful if you want your scent to last longer. Depending on the size of bottle you choose will determine how much alcohol to use. If you are using 60 or so drops of essential oil, you can use three to four ounces of alcohol. If you are only using 20 to 30 drops of essential oil, you should probably drop the amount of alcohol to one to two ounces.
- You can use any type of alcohol for this, but you may want one that blends well with your scents. Some people choose vodka because it is relatively flavorless, but a spiced rum might be nice. If you aren't sure, start with an alcohol that has less flavoring.
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Shake your perfume and use it. After you have added all of your ingredients to your fragrance, shake it up. This will allow the scents to fuse and mingle. Then, if you are patient enough, let it sit for about a month before you use it. You can use it beforehand, but the scents will become stronger as it sits and the alcohol scent will also fade off.
- Apply the perfume to your pulse points, such as your wrists, inner arms, the backs of your ears, and your sternum.^{[7]
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Make a solid perfume. You can also create a solid perfume by using beeswax and jojoba oil. Some people use jojoba oil only for their liquid perfume, but if it becomes cold it will harden. So, it's best to use it if you are going for a solid perfume.
- One recipe you might try is four tablespoons beeswax, four tablespoons jojoba, 27-32 drops sandalwood oil, 27-32 drops vanilla oil, 25-30 drops grapefruit oil, and 20-25 drops bergamot oil.
- Start by grating and melting the beeswax in a boiler over low heat. Then add the jojoba oil until thoroughly blended. Allow the mixture to cool below 120 degrees Fahrenheit and then proceed to add the rest of the oils. Store in a small jar or lip balm tube.