How to Make Your Own Natural Perfume in 3 Different Ways

Perfume can play an important role in our mood and even make us appear more attractive to others. The problem is, good perfume can cost a lot of money, but that shouldn’t be an issue. Especially not when it comes to wearing it on a daily basis since there are several ways to make perfume on your own without having to spend too much money.
5-Minute Crafts wants to show how to make perfume using natural ingredients so that you can have your own personalized fragrance or give it to someone you love as a gift.

Making perfume with essential oils

What you’ll need:

• 6 drops of citrus essence (grapefruit, lemon, lime, mint, orange, or rosemary)
• 15 drops of floral and herbal essences (chamomile, jasmine, orange blossom, or rose)
• 9 drops of musky and woody essences (cinnamon, cedarwood, ginger, pine, sandalwood, or vanilla)
• 100 ml of 96º alcohol
• 2 tablespoons of bottled water
• 1 glass container with an airtight lid (preferably dark-colored)
• 1 empty perfume bottle (preferably made of opaque glass)
• 1 small funnel
• 1 paper coffee filter

Instructions

1. Dissolve the alcohol with the water in the glass container that you’re going to use to prepare the perfume.

2. Add the drops of your essential oils. It has to be done in this order: 9 drops of woody essences, 15 drops of floral essences, and 6 drops of citrus notes. Then, gently shake the bottle to mix all the ingredients together until they’re well combined.

3. Let the mix you just made macerate for about 3 to 4 weeks. Make sure to store your perfume at room temperature in a cool, dark place. It’s very important for it to be kept away from sunlight. After the maceration time, put it in the freezer for 24 hours.

4. The day after, transfer the resulting liquid into an empty perfume bottle. Use a small funnel to avoid any spilling, and add a paper coffee filter to remove any residue it might have.

5. Your perfume is ready for you to apply whenever you want. Keep it in a cool, dark place. Always make sure to keep it away from direct sunlight.

Making perfume with flower petals

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup of 90º alcohol
• 2 cups of flower petals (from roses, jasmine, orchids, lilacs, or violets)
• 1 glass container with an airtight lid
• 1 empty perfume bottle (preferably opaque glass)
• 1 strainer
• 1 spoon
• 1 small funnel
• 1 paper coffee filter

Instructions

1. If you have large petals, slice them carefully. If they’re small petals, you can use them without slicing them first. Place them in a glass container. Pour the alcohol over them. Make sure they’re completely covered by the liquid.

2. Close the container and shake it gently to make sure that everything is well combined. Let the bottle sit in a cool, dark place for 24 hours.

3. The day after, strain the contents of the bottle using a spoon to crush the petals in the strainer so that you can get the essence out of the petals. Then, transfer it through a funnel and paper coffee filter into the empty perfume bottle.

4. If you want the fragrance to be more intense, repeat the steps again until the desired scent is obtained.

Making perfume with vanilla pods

What you’ll need:

• 1 glass container with an airtight lid
• 1 empty perfume bottle
• 1 knife
• 1 paper coffee filter
• 100 ml of 70º alcohol
• 4 to 5 vanilla pods
• 20 drops of jojoba or sweet almond oil

Instructions

1. Slice the vanilla pods in half, lengthwise. Then, use a knife to scrape out the paste that’s inside the pods.

2. Place the pods and the paste in a small glass container. Pour the alcohol over them. Make sure they are completely covered. Close the container with the airtight lid and let the mix sit in a warm, dry place for approximately 6 weeks. Make sure to store it in a place where it’s not exposed to direct sunlight.

3. After you’ve waited for 6 weeks, more or less, pour the macerated liquid through a funnel and paper coffee filter and into the empty perfume bottle.

4. Add the drops of oil of your choice. These will help the scent to permeate and linger on your skin for more time.

5. Your perfume is ready now. Store the bottle in a cool, dry place. From now on, you can use it for up to 4 months. After that time, the scent will gradually fade.

Bonus: learning about the structure of perfume

The basic rule to making perfume is to combine demineralized water, alcohol, and essences, as you saw in a previous example. However, there’s more to it: scents, in the perfume industry, are categorized by “notes,” according to something called the olfactory pyramid. Each smell belongs to a certain type of note, depending on how they’re released when the fragrance is applied and how long it takes for it to evaporate with the heat of the body.

• Head/top notes: These make up the first impression you get when you first smell a type of perfume. They’re mostly present during the first 15 minutes after you apply the fragrance to your skin. They usually have a citrus scent.

• Heart notes: These are usually the defining element of the perfume. They are perceived once the head notes decay, which is after the first 15 minutes, and they last for up to 6 hours after you’ve applied the perfume. They often have a floral or herbal scent.

• Base notes: These are the ones that create the first memory of the fragrance. They give off a woody, musky scent.