Create your own scent

The modern perfumery market offers us a huge number of fragrances, which for the most part consist of synthetic components. So why don’t we return to the good old traditions when perfumes were made from natural raw materials and not indulge in our own unique aroma?

Moreover, it is now modern to individualize everything, from seams on trousers to a mixture of fruits in a smoothie. Experts attribute the success of hand-made perfumes to the fact that people especially value what they spent time and put their soul into. Therefore, we have no choice but to make perfumes on our own at home.

A short educational program for beginners

A short educational program for beginners The art of a perfumer involves mixing fragrant components to create a harmonious and aromatic composition. All the ingredients can be divided according to their volatility into three groups: the top notes are responsible for the first impression of the aroma, but evaporate fairly quickly, the middle notes (or heart notes) are usually soft and warm, have average evaporation rates, and base notes, which have a rich, heavy character and form the basis of the composition, its plume. It is better for new perfumers to adhere to proportions, where 15-20% are top notes, 20-30% are base notes, the rest is middle notes. In general, it can be said that the top notes sound from 10 to 30 minutes, the middle notes from 30 minutes to 3 hours, the base can be felt for 24 hours or even longer.

Classification of essential oils.

As a rule, top notes use orange, basil, bergamot, coriander, eucalyptus, grapefruit, lemon, lemongrass, lime, mandarin, neroli, verbena, mint, petitgrain, thyme, hyssop, tea tree.

Cardamom, black pepper, rose, jasmine, geranium, lavender, marjoram, myrtle, pine, yarrow, cypress, chamomile, iris are suitable for medium notes.

For the database are used Peruvian balm, cedar, myrrh, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, ylang-ylang, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon.

Some essential oils relate to two or three notes at once. For example, jasmine, ylang-ylang and clary sage may belong to both middle and base notes. Therefore, the sequence of mixing essential oils is of great importance: by changing combinations of adding components, you can get completely different aromas.

Preparation for the process of creating hand-made perfumes

Before you start creating perfumes at home, you need to prepare the working area, allocate enough space for storing substances and equipment. The room should be well ventilated, as many essential oils have a fairly strong smell.

You will need:

1. Essential oils. It is better to buy in specialized perfume stores.

2. Alcohol 96%. Used as a solvent: the higher the quality of the alcohol, the higher the quality of the final product.

3. Jojoba oil, apricot or almond oil. Used as a base for oily and dry perfumes.

4. Beeswax. Used as a base for dry perfumes.

5. Pipettes, as well as narrow funnels for bottling perfumes. It is better to take special perfume pipettes with a thin nose and divisions. Each essential oil needs a separate pipette.

6. Glass measuring cup, test tubes, measuring spoon. It will be needed to measure and mix essential oils.

7. Opaque bottles with a tight screw cap for oil and alcohol spirits. Perfume products are best stored in dark glass bottles to avoid the harmful effects of light. 8. Flat containers, molds with lids for dry perfumes. 9. Capacity for heating wax.

10. A diary and pen for notes. Here you need to record your impressions of aromas, proportions and the order of mixing of essential oils.

Concentrate is the first thing to do when creating a fragrance. It is a mixture of essential oils and / or synthetic components added in a certain amount and in a specific order. Subsequently, the concentrate is diluted with alcohol or base oil. If you want to make alcoholic perfumes, the concentration of essential oils in a mixture of alcohol can vary from 15 to 30%. When we make perfumes ourselves, we can control the saturation of aromas by reducing or increasing the amount of concentrate. In oil perfumes, the proportion of concentrate in the base oil is about 10%. In dry aromas, the base and essential oils are presented in a proportion of approximately 50:50.

Recipes for homemade perfumes based on alcohol and oil.

Below I give you recipes for homemade perfumes from the book “The Art of Creating Fragrances” by Lina Golan. The proportions of these recipes suggest a total number of components of no more than 30-40 drops, which is quite enough for beginners.

The oils should be mixed in the order in which they are listed. When you have enough experience, you can try to make your own perfume recipes.

Aromas on alcohol must be left to ripen in a dark place for 3-4 weeks, don't forget to mix it every day. Oil perfumes will be ready in 1-2 weeks, and dry perfumes can be used immediately after they have cooled and hardened.

Oriental beauty

The wonderful floral scent of this composition softens and deepens the patchouli notes: • 5 drops of patchouli essential oil;

• 12 drops of gardenia essential oil;

• 8 drops of rose essential oil;

• 8 drops of jasmine essential oil;

• 4 drops of lilac essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Love languor

Floral-fruity notes and spicy cloves bask in the warm embrace of musk:

• 6 drops of musk essential oil;

• 8 drops of essential oil of lily of the valley;

• 6 drops of clove flower essential oil;

• 10 drops of rose essential oil;

• 2 drops of peach essential oil;

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Spicy fruits

Fruit aroma of peach and pear with spices and a train of vanilla:

• 8 drops of vanilla essential oil;

• 3 drops of nutmeg essential oil;

• 2 drops of cinnamon essential oil;

• 4 drops of peach essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Spring breath

Green notes of hyacinth magically resonate with notes of lily of the valley and cyclamen, and all this on the basis of oak moss:

• 4 drops of absolute oak moss (or essential oil);

• 6 drops of cyclamen essential oil;

• 8 drops of essential oil of lily of the valley;

• 12 drops of hyacinth essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Nectar of the Gods

A fresh and vibrant composition suitable for both men and women:

• 4 drops of neroli essential oil;

• 6 drops of essential oil of incense;

• 8 drops of mandarin / tangerine essential oil;

• 8 drops of lemon essential oil;

• 6 drops of sweet orange essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Mountain moss

Chypre composition with earthy shades of vetiver:

• 8 drops of lemon essential oil;

• 6 drops of ylang-ylang essential oil;

• 4 drops of rose essential oil;

• 8 drops of essential oil of oak moss;

• 4 drops of vetiver essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

Young rose

A sweet, delicate aroma for very young girls:

• 6 drops of amber essential oil;

• 3 drops of rose essential oil;

• 10 drops of ylang-ylang essential oil;

• 3 drops of lemon verbena essential oil.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of alcohol or an oil base to the concentrate.

The process of making dry perfumes

1. Melt in a water bath 1 teaspoon of beeswax;

2. Add to the mixture 2 teaspoons of any base oil (jojoba, apricot, almond);

3. Before it boils, remove from heat and add 15-50 drops of selected mixture of essential oils. Mix thoroughly with a toothpick or glass stick.

4. Carefully pour into prepared molds with lids.

5. Leave to harden.

Practical advices

Until you have gain experience, make compositions with a small amount of components in test tubes with a volume of no more than 4-5 ml. Add essential oils drop by drop, each time smelling the mixture and recording the result in a diary, so if you create a successful aroma, do not forget its composition. Before applying each new composition, perform a control test by applying a drop of perfume to the inner fold of the elbow or wrist. If the skin does not turn red during the day, then the product is safe to use.

Be extremely careful with citrus essential oils (especially with bergamot), as they increase the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Do not forget that domestic perfumes also have a shelf life, so if they have changed color, become viscous or have an unpleasant odor, this means that the product has deteriorated and needs to be discarded.

I wish you a good mood and creative success in making up the aroma of your dreams.