Learn how to make your own scent and leave your footprint wherever you go
Did you know that most commercial perfumes and colognes are made with synthetic ingredients? Today’s mass production in the perfume industry would make it impossible to make every bottle with natural ingredients since the extraction process of essential oils, the substance that contains the odoriferous material of plants, is expensive and many times requires massive quantities of the plant to obtain the precious oil. For instance, we need half a ton of sandalwood sawdust, up to seven tons of rose petals, or three million jasmine blossoms to get one kilogram of their essential oil.
You can create your unique and distinctive personal fragrance with essential oils. Keep reading and we’ll tell you how.
The aromatic notes.
Before we begin, the first thing is to get familiar with the three types of aromatic notes:
Base notes.
- The base notes fix and stabilize the fragrance. They are the ground where the fragrance will take shape and the notes that will stay longer on your skin. The base notes are usually found in roots, woods, bulbs, pods, and musk, that is, the elements that are closer to the ground. The base oils usually are thick and viscous and catch oils with a lighter consistency.
Heart notes
- Son las notas más aromáticas y las que le dan a la fragancia toda su personalidad. Las notas de corazón son flores, pThe heart notes are the most aromatic and infuse the fragrance with personality. The heart notes are found in flowers, panicles, fruits, resins, and some softer woods. These notes are the most intense and stay on your skin for quite a few hours. As these are the most intense aromas, we should use them in lower percentages, otherwise, they could overshadow the other aromas.
Top notes
- They are the presentation card of a fragrance as they are the first our nose will perceive. At the same time, these notes are the most volatile, and for this reason, they have the highest percentage in our fragrant formula. The top notes come from elements like citric fruits, herbs, and leaves.
Intermediate notes
- The intermediate notes work as base-heart or heart-top. Sweet Woods like rosewood or sandalwood can work as base or heart, while neroli, or orange blossom, can be used as both heart and top note since its nature is floral and citric at the same time.
Now that we have identified the aromatic notes, let’s get down to business to create our one-of-a-kind personal fragrance. The first thing to take into account is that the expert perfumers utilize up to 12 notes to make their creations. From our total, we must consider that base notes take 30% of the recipe, heart notes will take 20%, and 50% will be comprised of top notes, as they are volatile and will stay on your skin for less time. Keep in mind that if you want to make a fragrance with a personality on its own and make a statement, you should include the three notes.
Ingredients and elements to make your perfume
- Assorted essential oils
- Blotting paper to make tests
- Instant coffee. You should have some to refresh your nose and avoid your sense of smell to saturate.
Grain alcohol. It is important to use this type of alcohol because, as opposed to cane-based alcohol, gran alcohol is odorless.
- Allotropic water. This type of water has been gone through a special treatment that promotes the atomic structure of the elements in it to stay floating.
- A glass bottle with an atomizer.
Now, take your time to think about the type of fragrance you want to create according to your personality. Would you like something clean and fresh? Or a more voluptuous and sensual scent? You can test your blends by putting one drop of each of the oils you want to combine and try if you like it. Once you’ve made your final decision, start making your formula directly in the bottle, starting with the base notes, followed by the heart and top notes. Blend them well and let them sit for a couple of hours before adding 80% of grain alcohol and 20% of allotropic water. You can also make solid perfume by using shea butter instead of alcohol and water. Sold perfumes have the advantage that they stay for longer on your skin.
When you create your fragrance, not only will you have a unique, personal scent, you will also bring the therapeutic benefits of essential oils for the body and the soul and will leave a lasting impression wherever you go.
Some oils per type of note:
Base:
- Vetiver
- Cedar
- Myrrh
- Benjoin
- Frankincense
- Vanilla
Base/heart:
- Sandalwood
- Rosewood
- Patchouli
- Cacao
- Linaloe (Bursera)
- Amber
Heart:
- Rose
- Jasmine
- Lavander
- Melissa
- Frangipani
- Myrthle
- Ylang-Ylang
- Tuberose
- Magnolia
- Black Pepper
- Honey
Heart/Top
- Neroli
- Litsea (May Chang)
- Petitgrain
Top
- Orange
- Lemon
- Mandarine
- Lime
- Grapefruit
- Eucaliptus
- Mint
- Bergamot
Some formulas to get inspired:
Romantic, sweet, sensual
- Rosewood, Benjoin, Rose, Honey, Frangipani, Grapefruit, Red Mandarine
Fresh, young, carefree
- Vanilla, Lavender, May Chang, Neroli, Orange, Lemon
Exotic, voluptuous, oriental
- Myrrh, Sandalwood, Ylang-Ylang, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Bergamot
Masculino
- Vetiver, Cedar, Siberian Pine, Cilantro, Carrot seed, Petitgrain, Lemon
