How to Make Solid Perfume

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

Last Updated: May 25, 2022 References Tested

Because it's easy to make, solid perfume opens the door to experimentation, creativity, and individuality. Whether you're looking to set yourself apart with a unique scent or you're not so fond of the alcoholic undertones in most liquid perfumes, these instructions will show you how to create an inexpensive alternative.

Ingredients

Sweet and Subtle Perfume

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of beeswax
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of almond oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil
10 drops of sandalwood essential oil
5 to 10 drops of lavender essential oil

Hearty Cologne

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of beeswax
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of almond oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil
10 drops of frankincense essential oil
5 to 10 drops of rosemary essential oil
3 to 5 drops of bergamot essential oil

Woody and Floral Perfume

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of beeswax
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of almond oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil
10 drops of jasmine essential oil
5 to 10 drops of rose essential oil
3 to 5 drops of cedarwood essential oil

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Creating a Scent

1
Mix your essential oils in a small dish to try out your scent. Before you dedicate an entire dish of perfume to one smell, you might want to test it to see if you like it first. Grab a small dish and use it to test out different scent combinations until you find one that you like. You can try different scents and ratios to experiment with your scent.^{[1]
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- Ramekins are a great size for this, but you can use any small container that you have on-hand.
2
Pick 10 drops of a long-lasting essential oil as a base note. Base notes are the longest lasting scents in your perfume due to its slow evaporation rate. You can pick cedarwood, frankincense, ginger, jasmine, or vanilla for this note. Pour in 10 drops of your choice as a base.^{[2]
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- You need the most of your base note so it sticks around on your skin the longest.
- Pick sandalwood for a sweet and subtle perfume.
- Try frankincense for a woody scent.
- Pick jasmine for a floral note.
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3
Add 5 to 10 drops of a middle note that is slightly more subtle. Lavender, lemongrass, orange, and rosemary all make great middle notes. These scents won’t last quite as long and help to support the base note.^{[3]
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- Try lavender oil to round out a sweet and subtle perfume.
- Pick rosemary for a more cologne-like scent.
- Try rose oil for a floral perfume.
Tip: Use more or less essential oil depending on how strong you want to make your perfume.
4
Choose 3 to 5 drops of a top note that’s uplifting. Top notes are what you’ll smell first, but they’ll also go away super quickly. Choose from grapefruit, juniper, lime, pine, and tangerine as a short but sweet top note.^{[4]
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- Try bergamot for a citrus scent.
- Mix in cedarwood essential oil for a woody note.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Combining Your Ingredients

1
Put a glass bowl in a saucepan half full of water over medium heat. Grab a large saucepan and fill it up with water from your tap so it’s about half full. Place a glass bowl in the center of the saucepan and turn the stove to medium to create a double boiler.^{[5]
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- If you have a double boiler, you can use that instead.
- Beeswax doesn’t melt down well in the microwave, and you probably won’t get an even, smooth mixture. The stovetop is your best bet.
2
Pour your beeswax and carrier oil into the glass bowl. Carrier oil is a fragrance-free oil that will thin out the beeswax. Add 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of beeswax and 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of your carrier oil to the glass bowl.^{[6]
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- You can use almond oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil for your carrier oil.
3
Heat the carrier oil and beeswax mixture for 2 to 3 minutes. The carrier is already a liquid, but beeswax is solid. Heat the mixture for a few minutes until the beeswax melts into a pourable liquid.
4
Remove the bowl from the heat and stir the mixture. Use oven mitts and carefully take your glass bowl off the sauce pan. Use a wooden stick to combine the wax and the oil together until they look smooth and shiny.^{[7]
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- Your wooden stick will get wax on it, so don’t use anything that you’d like to cook with later on.
5
Stir your chosen essential oils into the hot mixture. Gently pour your essential oil mixture into the wax and oil, then use your wooden stirrer to combine all of your ingredients. Try not to spend too long on this, or the wax could start to harden up.^{[8]
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- The essential oil will probably smell really intense at first, but that’s okay! It will spread out in the wax mixture.
6
Pour the perfume mixture into 3 to 4 small containers with lids. Pick out a few 2 in (5.1 cm) containers that can be sealed with a lid to store your perfume. Carefully pour a small amount into each container, being careful not to spill any of the wax.^{[9]
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- You can use empty mint tins as a cute way to store your perfume.
Warning: The wax will still be super hot. If you get any on your hands, rinse it off right away to avoid a burn.
7
Let the wax cool and harden for 1 to 2 hours. Once your mixture hardens, you now have perfume! You can give some of the containers away as a gift or keep them all for yourself to stock up on a great scent.^{[10]
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- Don’t use your perfume until it’s fully dry, or you could burn yourself.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Using and Storing the Perfume

1
Rub a cotton swab or your finger over the perfume. You don’t need to press down very hard to pick up the scent of your perfume. Gently dab your finger or a cotton swab onto the waxy surface until you see a slight indent in the perfume.^{[11]
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- The more perfume you pick up, the stronger the scent will be.
Tip: You may need to rub the perfume between your fingers for a few seconds to warm it up.
2
Dab the perfume onto your wrists and behind your ears. Perfume smells the best and lasts the longest on your wrists, your neck, and right behind your ears, since you emit more heat from those areas. Gently rub it into your skin for a soothing, pleasant aroma.^{[12]
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- Solid perfume isn’t quite as strong as liquid perfume, so you don’t have to worry about applying too much.
3
Store your sealed perfume in a cool, dry place for 6 to 12 months. Keep a lid on your perfume container whenever you aren’t using it. If you used grapeseed as a carrier, use your perfume within 6 months. If you used olive oil, jojoba oil, or almond oil, you can keep it around for 12 months.^{[13]
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- Grapeseed oil breaks down faster than other types of oil, which is why it doesn’t stay as fresh.

Community Q&A
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Question

Can I add shea butter to the mix?

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Shea butter isn't a great carrier oil since it won't get super solid, meaning your perfume will be slightly mushy. You can add in a little bit if you like the scent, but try to stick with olive oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, or almond oil as your carrier oil.
Question

Can a fragrance oil be used instead of an essential oil when making solid perfumes?

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You can use fragrance oils if you'd like to. However, fragrance oils are usually made of many different scents, so it may be hard to combine them into one cohesive perfume.
Question

Can you heat the solid perfume gently to release the scent as as room scent? Or will that work by simply leaving the lid off in a warm room?

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Leaving the lid off probably won't heat the perfume enough to release the scent into an entire room. Try using a max welter if you'd like to convert your perfume into a room scent.