DIY Perfume and Cologne

I remember back when I was in the single digits, or maybe even 10 years old, my neighbor friend and I decided to gather rose petals, soak them in a glass jar, and see how long it would take to make perfume.  Though we may have made a low-grade rose water (using tap water at that!), the smell never did get strong enough for even a child to consider it perfume.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago when my husband was trying to get me back into running that I decided maybe I could make my own perfume.  After years outside of the running game, my ears started aching during a run.  I googled that it was vessel constricition by combination of the raise in blood pressure and the cold air.  My husband, rummaging through my essential oils, decided to put ylang ylang on and below my ears to see if it would help, since it says it helps high blood pressure.  Surely, that next run ended without an ear ache, and I finally made use of the ylang ylang I bought for his restless legs this past August.

While I was wearing it, it gave me a sense of nostalgia until Google brought me to realize it was the signature smell of Chanel No 5.  My mother was a Chanel gal, selling it at one point of time.  "Oh yes, that is the smell."  I came to find more uses for it, like putting it on my scalp to help with my postpartum hair loss (which is the best thing I've found to work, by the way), with a bit of argan (good hair oil too).  I was getting whiffs of ylang ylang all day long and felt so satisfied knowing that I smelled good, without it costing me double or triple digits.

So from my good friend Google I have learned that store-bought perfumes and cologne contain anywhere from 80 - 95% alcohol, and the essential oils that take up the remainder are perfume-grade, which means that they are not therapeutic.  Excuse me if I don't fall for it.  Why not buy therapeutic grade oils, significantly cheaper than your designer perfumes and colognes, and make multiple bottles of perfume and cologne, while at the same time actually improving your health and/or bodily functions?  I don't know, it just makes sense to me.

It's actual quite simple, you will need just a few items, plus your desired essential oils:

• Jojoba oil
• Rubbing alcohol
• Amber (or other dark) glass bottle
• Essential oils

Before I give you our formula, I'm just going to say that since I am a budgeting mom, I use what I have, which means I need to be flexible with exact measurements.  I repurpose my carrier and essential oils' bottles.  For this reason, I'm just going to give you measurements in percentage to the full bottle, rather than exact.  This way, you can use what you have.  (Note, essential oils are potent and should not be stored in plastic, even in a perfume).

For my perfume, I will use about 80% carrier oil, then add my essential oils, and then top of with alcohol.  I would suggest small batches just in case you don't like your formula.  I already said I like ylang ylang.  I have a history with bergamot as well, and also love the uplifting properties of sweet orange.  I used equal parts of each of these.  I have seen formulas that are excessive in essential oil.  Each one seems to be operating on preference and opinion in their formulas, so I'll share with you my own preference and opinion in mine.  First, I'm a budgeter.  Second, therapeutic grade essential oils are very strong.  Third, I see that a half a cup of water in a diffuser only needs a few drops of oil for a whole room.  For this reason, my preference is to stretch my essential oils, and my opinion is you don't need that much essential oil to the carrier.  In a 10 mL bottle, I filled 80% jojoba, 10 drops each of ylang ylang, bergamot, and sweet orange, and the rest with rubbing alcohol.  The longer it sits (days) the more blended and potent.  Shake often as you let it sit.

For my husband's cologne, I used a slightly higher alcohol content (about 5% more) since men's cologne is generally strong and powerful and lady's perfume is slighter (or should be, in my own opinion).  Instead, I started with 75% jojoba, then essential oil blend, then topped off with alcohol.  I only used frankincense and cedarwood.  Essential oils from herbs are a better for colognes, to not leave confusion on what constitutes a manly smell.

Note -- Herbs and citrus oils are very fragrant.  You may want to start with only a few drops of these at a time -- being the last essential oil you add -- as you smell its compatability to blend with (without overcoming) the other oils.  Start light (in number of different oils used).  You can always add an aroma as you prefer and use your newly-blended fragrance.  You can also use water, rather than carrier oil.  If so, it goes without saying that it would not last as long.

Mainly, it is your fragrance.  Make it what you want!