Hello, Sexy! Make Your Own Unique Handmade Solid Perfume

crunched by Crunchy Betty on October 11, 2011
filed under Natural Beauty Recipes, Skin

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Hey, sexy. Yeah, you. The one that smells so good – the one that’s unique and alluring.

Today, we’re going to learn how to make our own solid perfume, and I promise you (PROMISE YOU) that if you choose to do this, no one in the world will smell just like you. Ever again. You’ll have that precious je ne sais quoi that doesn’t just make other people go “yum,” but that keeps your spirits high constantly (because, hello aromatherapy).

Handmade solid perfume - unique, just like you are. Snowflaky even.

Not only do you want to make your own perfume to celebrate your individuality (girl power!), but before you spritz on that mass marketed bottle of Poison (haha! irony!), consider this:

Synthetic fragrances contain hormone (endocrine) disruptors that can lead to a whole host of medical problems, including hormone imbalance, thyroid issues and cancer
Synthetic fragrances kick allergic reactions into high gear for many people, leading to headaches, respiratory issues and other disorders
Millions of people suffer from sensitivities to synthetic fragrance, so that sexy scent you think you’re blessing the world with is actually making life harder for people around you

But we want to smell yummy, right? And we still can. Just not with store-bought perfumes. Instead, we’ll make our own – with all-natural essential oils.

And talk about the most incredible handmade gift to give someone – there’s nothing more personal than scent (except maybe tax returns). Your mom love the smell of nutmeg? Best friend goes gaga over anything lavender? Here. Here is what you do.

Personal Perfumery – It’s All In The EOs

This is so ridiculously easy – seriously hardcore simple. But there’s one little trick to it: Blending essential oils.

Before you start to make your perfume, you’ll need to decide what it’s going to smell like.

Step 1: Deciding on Your Signature Scent

There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t just use a single essential oil when blending your own perfume. It won’t be as complex as the perfumes you’re used to, but it works. And after wearing it for a few days or weeks, it becomes you.

I know a woman – a beautifully warm and vivacious woman – who only wears patchouli as a fragrance. That’s it. But instead of smelling like a hippie-just-showered, she smells like … her. I cannot smell patchouli from a bottle without retching a little (personal preference), but on HER, it’s magical. Warm. Personal. It’s not patchouli – it’s Roxy.

However, you might want to blend a few essential oils to create a more complex and daring scent. And this is where the difficulty – and the magic comes in.

Go to a natural foods store (like Whole Foods) and spend some time with the essential oils there. Find ONE that calls to you, that gives you that little “lift” as soon as you smell it.
Buy it if you’d like, but then come home and learn about what the scent blends well with. I like to peruse the essential oil profiles on Mountain Rose Herbs for ideas.
But then, after you’ve found what the oil blends well with, go to the list here at the middle of the page, and from it pick a top note, middle note, and bottom note that sounds good to you, and then pick up the rest of the necessary supplies.

I put a blend of rose, lime, and vetiver essential oils in my grandmother's old locket.

I like the idea of using three oils together, because it hits all scent receptors and fades away magically over time, but there are no hard and fast rules to scent blending. Even two-scent blends are lovely: Rose-cypress, ylang-ylang-sweet orange, and lavender-clove are all amazing two-scent blends.

I’ll repeat, deciding on your scents will be the hardest part of blending your own perfume. After that, it’s all cake. (Aromaweb has a fantastic five-page tutorial on how to choose and blend scents, starting here.)

How to Create Your Solid Perfume

We’re doing solid perfume only today, because it’s easy, but also because it’s effortlessly portable, the beeswax makes it last a long, long time, and there’s just something so magically vintage about it.

Here’s what you need:

Beeswax
Carrier oil (like jojoba, sweet almond, olive, or grapeseed)
Essential oils of your choice
A container suitable for solid perfume (like an old lip balm container – even if it’s the “stick” variety!)

What you need for handcrafted solid perfume - decorate the containers if you have the urge!

The rule of thumb is equal parts beeswax and carrier oil. I found that the typical lip balm container used about 2 tsp grated beeswax and 2 tsp carrier oil.

With that in mind, as you blend your scents, use about 40-45 drops of essential oil per 4 tsp solid perfume base.

Step 1: Blend Your Essential Oil

While you can blend as you make the solid perfume (which is how I did it and regretted it on occasion), it might be better to blend ahead of time.

In a very small container, measure out your essential oil blend and make sure you like the way it smells while it’s concentrated (keeping in mind that it will mellow once you add it to the solid base).

So now that you have your blend, here’s what’s next.

Step 2: Melt the beeswax and oil

In a small double boiler (or makeshift double boiler), start the water heating on the bottom pot and drop your measured beeswax into the clean top pot.

Once your beeswax starts to melt, add in your carrier oil.

When your beeswax is pretty much melted, add in the carrier oil and stir until everything is warm and liquid.

Step 3: Remove From Heat and Quickly Stir In Your Essential Oil(s)

You want to move fast here (which is why it’s a great idea to blend your oils ahead of time), because this sets up and hardens like lightning.

Quick as a bunny, drop in your essential oil(s).

If, for some reason, this hardens before your able to get it into your container, don’t panic. Just put the bowl back on top of your double boiler and let it remelt. (Just don’t leave it over the heat for too long, because you risk losing some essential oils to evaporation.)

Step 4: Pour Into Your Container and Watch It Harden

Carefully pour your homemade perfume mixture into your chosen container:

Pour quickly and deftly - it dries fast.

Within minutes, your perfume will set, and by about 10 minutes, it will be completely hardened, done, and ready for you to enjoy (or give as a gift).

Pretty easy, huh?

The eleventybillion solid perfumes I've made.

A Few Blend Ideas to Get You Started

As you can see, I made a kajillion solid perfumes, and each of them smell different (some of them I like more than others). Here are the ones I particularly liked, but I’ve run out of several essential oils I would have rather used. (Guess what my Christmas presents will be?)

Fresh and Kicky (Vetiver, Ginger, Grapefruit)

17 drops grapefruit essential oil
14 drops ginger essential oil
10 drops vetiver essential oil

Romantically Wistful (Rose, Lime, Vetiver)

25 drops rose essential oil
10 drops lime essential oil
10 drops vetiver essential oil

(I’m on a HUGE vetiver kick right now – it’s so fresh and spicy and sort-of grassy and it makes my face smile really, really big)

Sensuously Deep (Ylang-Ylang, Sweet Orange, Cedarwood)

20 drops sweet orange essential oil
15 drops ylang-ylang essential oil
10 drops cedarwood (or sandalwood) essential oil

I also created a blend with bergamot, palmarosa, and vanilla. And one with jasmine, nutmeg, and something else. I seriously went crazy, and didn’t document everything I blended (shame!), but my favorite might just be the one where I melted down amber resin and mixed it with ylang-ylang. SO MANY PERFUMES, so little time.

The important part: Experiment! Find your own special scent!

And, as always, if you need to know where to buy these things: Mountain Rose Herbs or iHerb (save $5 with code OZE706 there) are great places to start, if you don’t want to buy at your natural foods store.

What Would Be Your Dream Perfume?

Do you already know what scents you’d want to use for a homemade solid perfume?

What are your favorite scents?

I’m curious to see how many of us like the same essential oils as scents we’d wear as perfume; plus, if I’m going to get new EOs for Christmas, I want to know which to choose (just in case I ever do a handmade perfume gift-giving thing here on the blog … I’m thinking about it!)

Oh! Wait. Speaking of which, Maggie set up a Gift Exchange in the Crunchy Community – check it out. Now you REALLY need to tell me your favorite scents here … just in case I draw you for the exchange!

Lissa

You have READ MY MIND. A few months ago I saw a perfume recipe somewhere else that used vodka, but had the suggestion of using beeswax if that’s unavailable, and I’ve been wanting to do this ever since.

As for scents… I don’t know; I’ll have to play. But that’s the best part! That site you linked looks like it will be really helpful.
Lex

The bf is addicted to Vick’s VapoRub… Do you think I can make some sort of peppermint/eucalyptus/tea tree blend (just thinking of what EOs I have) to replace it? Or is there a different recipe for something like VapoRub?

Lex

As someone who has never blended EOs before, I found this to point me in the right direction: http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter/calc_eoblend/blendselect.php and am super excited to try some recipes of my own
Angel

Check out camphor.
RowanMist_Gen

you could try using a base of menthol crystals…
Seanna

I’ve found that the Wintergreen EO smells a lot like Ben Gay. Maybe you could use that?

http://Sarahmitroff.com Sarah Mitroff

Definitely excited for this. I really love sweet orange, vanilla, and peppermint, not necessarily all together. I’ve been meaning to try out your aromatherapy spray (from the road trip post). I think I’ll just go with making this instead (or both!). Every time I go shopping for essential oils I am struck with sticker shock. I keep thinking I’ll find them cheaper someplace else but have yet to really figure it all out.
Beth

I am that person who has the starts of a migraine as she walks past a department store perfume counter and when my best friend is with me, she’s reaching for her inhaler! Haven’t used perfume in forever!! So excited to try this. Thanks!!!
http://makeitbakeitbuyitfakeit.blogspot.com Stephanie

Well this explains why Estee Lauder perfumes always gave me headaches. I’m excited to try making a solid scent (loved the spray I made from your post last spring). My favorites are lavender, vanilla, lemongrass, grapefruit, cinnamon, and sweet orange (so far).

Are those bottle caps in the last photo? How fun!
KarinSDCA

Oh, I am off to class, but just saw this blog post and HAD to comment. I ADORE ESSENTIAL OILS!!!!!!!!

I have made what I call “spa spritzers” many times (water+alcohol+essential oils) and “room sprays” (water+EOS) nearly every single month.

I have never made solid perfume before. A very cool gift for those who live far away. Mega excited to give these a try!

My favorite base is homemade vanilla extract where I leave the vanilla bean in the bottle of vodka indefinitely. I’m not sure how that would work for solid perfumes. However, I just received my first cedarwood EO and I have several other base notes in my collection.

My favorite top notes are citrus and I may own all of them, except lime. I adore lime, too, but have just used lemon for simplicity.

I’d have to look up my notes to tell you my favorite combination, but I called it vanilla-citrus — so it at least had homemade vanilla extract and 2+ citrus EOs – and it probably had 5-7 EOs.

I have been using EOs for 15-20 years, so I have a nice collection by now.
http://thatimthing.com Dahlia Valentine

My daughter and I make Christmas presents every year… hand sewn makeup bags, soap, etc. This is such a brilliant idea and we’ve got plenty of time to get started. Thank you!
Nicole

I LOVE peppermint, vanilla and lavender… Vanilla could go with either, so I may have already picked out two, two scent ‘me’ perfumes!
http://rowanmistherbals.com RowanMist_Gen

ooohhh fun! I love cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, cedarwood, sandalwood… also like lemon and vetiver. And grapefruit. If you like spicey warm smells, try cardamom it’s lovely.
mamie

get out of my head, you!! i’ve had a recipe for solid perfume up on my browser waiting to be made for the past two days! its almost eerie sometimes…the crunchy connection…
Melissa

Oooo! This sounds fun!!!! My favorite scents are citrusy with just a little bit of floral – not too much, though. I’ll have to do some research and experimenting to see how I can achieve that! This is just in time for a jump start on the Christmas gift-making season! Yay!
caren

How wonderful! I’ve mixed EOs before, to use as perfume oil, but have never tried the solid. Can’t wait to give it a whirl. Absolute fave combo is (highest concentration to lowest) patchouli and frankincense, with a hint of cedarwood and rosemary.
BTW, my name isn’t Roxy, but I, too, wear patchouli straight from the bottle!
Sara

You read my mind! I have had almost no problem making the transition from commerical products to all natural ones; I am a no-’poo guru, I slather myself in EVCO instead of lotion, and my makeup is mineral. However, I have not found a good solution to my scent-obsession, until now! Thanks!

I can’t wait to try sweet orange, ylang-ylang, and vanilla; I think it sounds yummy and romantic.

Oh, and Stephanie, perhaps the reason Estee Lauder perfumes give you headaches is because they smell TERRIBLE. Bug repellant is more appealing than most of those scents.
MamaLovey

Bwuahahahaha- Bug repellant smells better, thanks, that just made my day. And, why, yes, everytime I pull out the bug spray I get asked for the recipe!

As for perfume, I go the super lazy route and put a smidge of orange on my nose! Lol. Because really, let’s face it I am putting on the perfume for me to smell it and to cover up the -children under five- smell. Ya know boogers and food.

I will consider making some bug spray for my sister in law, she really seems to like it. Lol.

1/2 oz Citronella
1/4 Lavender
1/8 Pennyroyal
1/8 Tea Tree Oil
1/8 Clove or Cedar
1/8 Jojoba

Mix in a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol as a carrier. Spray, repel bugs, and smell fabulously!

http://lisepunch.blogspot.com/ LisaLise

Love the look of this recipe and will be trying it. Thanks so much for sharing!

http://lisepunch.blogspot.com/ LisaLise

Yay Leslie!
Great stuff– keep it up!
Juliet

I mix Amber, Lotus, Frankincense and Jasmine. I wear it all the time, and people at our new age store say they know when I’m there because I’m the only one who wears that combination. Never made it as a solid, would be a lot easier to carry. BC, you are AWESOME!

Juliet

Whoops, I mean C.B. Damn those years in the military! =)

http://montessorimoments-dynamite.blogspot.com/ Megan

I really love the idea of putting it in a locket. I think that makes it such an old-fashioned gift (in a good way – like lace), and that it’s much fancier than a plastic jar or even a tin. Do you think you could pour fast enough to do several lockets with the same scent? That would be a perfect bridesmaids’ gift.
KarinSDCA

I opened a bottle of cream soda today (I’m taste-testing for when I get to make my own kefir cream soda) and I KEPT the bottle cap on purpose! LOL
http://rowanmistherbals.com RowanMist_Gen

just made some body oil, loving the scent – if anyone loves woody with a clean scented dry down:

I used 6 oz. carrier oil (sweet almond and hemp seed)with…
16 drops vetiver
20 drops petitgrain
10 drops palmarosa
10 drops lemon
3 drops rose absolute (it just needed a little ‘lift’ of a sweeter floral)
verity

I make lipbalm like this, but with rosehip oil… I never thought of adding essential oils instead! Seems so obvious now! I’m just wondering, is vanilla essence (like for cooking) what i should use for a vanilla scent? Or is there a vanilla essential oil which is different?
Maggie

I just finished a solid perfume that I really like.

11 drops sweet orange
16 drops rosemary
2 drops cinnamon
1 drop clove bud

I’m trying to come up with a cool name for it. I’m lousy at naming things.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1043609244 Nicole Akin

a bakers dream lol

Will

Heyo,
I found this site recently and have been trying all sorts of stuff from it, with great results. I’m 24 years old, and living in Thailand… so some things are harder to find than others. This includes good skincare for my pasty acne-prone skin.
This perfume jam is incredible.
I have been wearing Clary Sage mixed with Bergamot oil as a cologne for a few years now, but really just dab it on my skin.
Now I’ve made it into a stick.
People love it, with the crisp citrus mixed with earthy, musky Clary Sage.
I don’t see why more men aren’t willing to try it. My girlfriend loves it, and it is MY smell.
Thanks for the tips, and good luck with the aluminum foil.
k80

Love this ides! A local store carries “Fragrance oils” Can I use these instead of essentials?

Crunchy Betty

Sadly, no. Fragrance oils are synthetic, just like perfume. So, I mean, I guess you could use them just fine – if you don’t mind the synthetic-ness of it, but if you do, definitely stick with essential oils.

http://abundanceonadime.blogspot.com Karen @ Abundance on a Dime

I have been totally addicted to the lavender/grapefruit combo ever since you suggested it in one of your other recipes (can’t remember which one!). I made my last batch of homemade deodorant with that combo and have been really enjoying it. And I have been intending to try making a solid perfume for a while now, so this is just perfect. I’m sure this will come in handy for Christmas gifts, too
Angie

Does anyone here have a recommendation for an oil that smells like fresh linen? That scent has always worked best for me.
Stacy

Looks super easy! I was looking for something like this a few weeks back. Great for gifts. Thanks Crunchy!
Gelato

Super stoked about this idea. Chemical perfumes make me very sick, but I would still like to feel lady like. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com Jackie Logan

Thanks for sharing this wonderful post! Making your own solid perfume is definitely the way to go, especially since most perfumes and colognes are manufactured using synthetic chemicals, even petroleum.
Tania Green

Okay I just went down to my local honey man and got a huge tub of raw honey (for my face and my tea) and also got a huge block of beeswax for $5-. I just made my first perfume in a beautiful old chinese tin I’ve had forever. I used jasmine, clary sage, lemon & lavender. So stoked!! Thank you for the great recipe
Anonymous

Sooo good.
What perfect little stocking stuffers (along with the lip balms).
Courtneyedwards

I was so excited to see this post when I came home from vacation (that’s why I’m so late to comment.) I’m making coffee infused sweet almond oil to mix with vanilla essential oil for this solid perfume. It’s a copycat of Lush’s Vanilla in the Mist soap (love the scent, don’t love that it stains my bathtub yellow). I’m super stoked to wear the finished product!
Siobhan

WOW!!! This sounds great and also relatively simple! Unfortunately I live overseas in China where a lot of this stuff is difficult to get ahold of without spending the big bucks or purchasing online (which I can’t do because yadda yadda yadda). Essential oils are hard to get because sometimes they are ‘fake’ essential oils that aren’t good quality and are very weak. (However I DO have some really nice lavender oil from XinJiang).

Maybe one day when I live somewhere where this stuff is easy to get I’ll make this! Until then I will dream of the day when I can cook up my own fabulous perfume!

Not that I really wear perfume. I don’t really wear anything actually. Apart from clothes.
haha.
~ Siobhan
Annabelle

I love this idea! I can’t wait to try it. The blend I’m going to try is: Orange, Vanilla, Cherry Blossom. Yum!
L.

This is amazing! But do you think it would be possible to extract the scent dirrectly, for example, from orange/grapefruit peel or even nutmeg? Like to infuse them with vodka or something? If you had an idea, it would be very helpful since I don’t really want to buy loads of essential oils whilst I only need a few drops.
Lydia

I love perfume, but I stopped wearing it after I have had my children because I don’t want them breathing in the chemicals when they are so little. This idea is fantastic! My ideal scent would be roses and lavender together, but I have no idea if that would work or how to make it work!
The2bears2

Thanks for this! I am ALWAYS looking for home made ideas for the holidays! This is perfect…I’ve done the lip balm, powder & lotions…I’ll be adding this to my repertior (SP?) along with your sugar scrub…Also, for those who don’t use essential oils much…Spend the money on a good quality therapeutic grade oil…there are so many other uses for what ever oil(s) you may choose. I think you’ll be amazed at all the benefits of essentials…they can be diffused or simply taking a whiff straight from the bottle can be very beneficial whether it is calming or enlivening..I’m new to aromatherapy…but essential oils are my new medicine cabinet! They are that good…I’m so excited about this project! Not only does it smell good…It’s good for you as well! Thanks again!
kimberly

this is so great! thank you for the tips as well as pictures and sample recipes!!
http://www.deliciousdyes.com rawstrength

My favorite scent by far is lime, cardamom, clove and sandalwood! Amazing!
Tat

I am going to be making these for Christmas gifts; very excited!
Can anyone recommend a “manly” scent blend that I can make for my husband? He is almost out of store bought cologne, and I don’t want to buy more, due to the chemicals. He might not go for it…but I sure want to try!

Jess

On strawberrynet.com they have almost every fragrance under the sun, and when you click into them it tells you the top middle and bottom notes, so maybe you should see what makes up the cologne he already wears and then make your own natural version

Nicholegm

My husband and I made this for Christmas gifts! We did aromatherapy solids. Stress relief-Eucalyptus mint and peppermint. Headache relief- peppermint. Sleepy time-Chamomile and lavender. And my personal favorite Energy- ginger and sweet orange! They were so easy to make a cheap way to make a great Christmas gift! Thanks!!!!
marie

i am very excited to try this perfume..i love perfume but am not familiar with essential oils…my fav scent is lilac which almost impossible to find in perfume or lotions..do they make essential oils in lilac scents? if so which other scents would go good with lilac..i had a ylang ylang soap once that i loved the smell of…i love floral perfumes or candy smelling perfumes any sugestions for essential oil combinations?????

Aer

There is a true lilac CO2 extract over at Victorie Inc, but it’s very expensive because of the time and amount that goes in it. There are plenty of places that claim to have lilac EO or absolute, but these are fraudulent claims. (Lilac can not be distilled in traditional terms, and the hexane absolute process seems be ineffective in extracting the scent). Any Lilac EO’s you may find will be synthetic fragrance oils, which if your fine with, would be considerably cheaper compared to the very and pricey CO2 extract. However, there are plenty of other nice floral essential oils that are not god awfully expensive, Geranium or Rose Geranium ( a variety of geranium), Rose Absolute (Expensive, but cheaper than Rose Otto or straight Rose EO, you may be able to get Rose Absolute in small amounts from some online sources) and liquid benzoin ( a very vanilla based resin, get the liquid or oleoresin, not the hard straight resin pieces. ) These three seem to marry well, the geranium backs the rose floral, and the benzoin gives it tenacity and sweetens it. If you like candy smells or gourmand accords try cocoa absolute, vanilla absolutes, orange EO’s or butter CO2. Victorie Inc, NaturesGift, Mountain Rose Herbs and Sunrose Aromatics are a few online sources you may want to consider for authentic aromatic material, including beeswax, carrier oils, and other waxes. Good luck on your aromatic endeavors! Betty, this is a nice blog

evieruin

This is such an easy thing to make. I did this for the ladies in my family. I bought a bunch of lockets from etsy.com. I tried to make sure that they were pretty big–without being too big; that would just be weird. Anyway, I bought the beeswax, sweet almond oil, and essential oils. I did cinnamon, sweet orange, and grapefruit. This combo is great for the winter, because (according to my sister) it has a nice warmth, but a freshness too. It is really easy to make. I bought a pound of beeswax, but you really don’t need that much for such a small container. The wax melts super fast so this is really easy to make. This is a great thing to make and makes a great gift.
Rani

Is there an alternative to Beeswax? I’m allergic to Beeswax !!!

Jordipie14daisies

Try soy wax or candelilla wax. You can use the same amount of soy wax as bees wax, and halve the amount for using candelilla wax.

HTH!
Jill

Mary

Making this right now! So excited.
Will be adding some precious arabic oil
that my ex brought from Egypt
Seekingecochic

I realy like this idea. I have not seen solid perfume for a while. Thanks for the ideas on finding good blends as well, I have been wondering how to mix the right scents.