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Home » Crafts » How to Make Perfume with Essential Oils.

How to Make Perfume with Essential Oils.

Sep 14, 2014 · Modified: Dec 28, 2017 by Kelly Roenicke · 44 Comments

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Make your own mood boosting perfume with essential oils. #essentialoils

How to make perfume with essential oils – enjoy your own signature scent with this recipe!

So, you may remember that I’ve been on a little DIY all-natural beauty kick. Remember when I made deodorant, lip balm, and lotion? I really enjoy making my own products because I am kind of a freak about avoiding chemicals like parabens, phthalates, artificial scents, dyes, and anything that is related to antifreeze or formaldehyde. This is my body, and the skin is the largest organ. There’s no way that I’m going to apply anything to it that is a carcinogen, you know?

free essential oil ebook

Plus, I just find it to be very fun and relaxing to make my own products.  I decided to make my own perfume the other day because I ran out of mine. I use the Pacifica Italian Blood Orange scent, which is fabulous, and very safe, but I ran out. Boo. And I didn’t want to run to Whole Foods and spend $20, so I started to do a little research and found out that I could make my own at home with essential oils. Since I have a quite a few oils, including several citrus scents, I decided to try it.

DIY Essential Oil Homemade Perfume - easy to make and all natural.

How to make perfume with essential oils:

Adapted from about.com

Ingredients:

  • two 4 ounce glass bottles with caps – at least one needs to be dark glass. You probably want one to have a spray top.
  • a small funnel
  • a coffee filter
  • 1 Tablespoon sweet almond oil
  • 5 Tablespoons vodka
  • a vitamin E capsule, prick with a pin so you can squeeze the oil out
  • 21-25 drops of the essential oils of your choice
  • 2 Tablespoons water distilled water

Ingredients for homemade perfume

Method

1. Choose your three essential oils. Many articles that I read suggested choosing a base note, a middle note, and a top note. The top note is what you will smell first, but will fade the quickest. The middle is longer lasting, but the base note will be what lingers. This is a handy chart that lists out the oils and what note they are.

2. Put the sweet almond oil and the vitamin E oil in your bottle, then drip your essential oils in. You can evenly divide them, 7 or 8 drops of each of the three oils, or you can do 9, 9, and 7…that’s where the fun is. The scent is going to be yours, so you can play around with it.

3. Add the vodka, put the cap on the jar and shake it for a few minutes to blend it.

4. Place the bottle in a cool, dark place and let it sit for at least two days, and up to six weeks. The scent will strengthen over time. It’s up to you how long you want to let it sit. Mine has not been sitting for too long, but I love the fragrance already. I will probably let it sit for two weeks.

5. When you are satisfied with your fragrance, add the distilled water, shake the bottle again, and strain the perfume through a coffee filter into the dark glass bottle. You’re ready to use your perfume!
Make your own mood boosting perfume with essential oils.

You might notice that I actually did not use a base note in this blend. I LOVE citrus scents, and these three scents have mood boosting properties that help me. Sweet Orange is Brightening, Tangerine is Cheering, and Lemon grass is Inspiring. In the winter, I need a little bit of cheering up, and so I am going to try these scents in perfume form to see how I like them. Just a note, some citrus oils are phototoxic, which means that if you apply them to your skin you should NOT expose that skin to the sun for 24 hours or you will have some irritation or be more prone to sunburn. You can read more about essential oils and phototoxicity here. I am comfortable with these citrus oils in the cooler weather because I will be spraying the perfume on my arm and it will be covered with clothing.

I’m also making a blend with sweet orange, clove, and vanilla, which I think will be lovely and warm smelling this fall. I will be updating this post with how I like my perfumes, and how long they last.

Have you ever made your own signature perfume? How did it turn out?

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Filed Under: Crafts

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Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tammy K Watson

    March 04, 2017 at 6:18 pm

    Why do you need to use Vodka? Is there something else I could use?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      March 04, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      You could just do essential oils in carrier oil for a roll on perfume. That would be the easiest way to do it. It wouldn’t be a spray, but it would still smell good.

      Reply
  2. Dianna

    November 11, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Just a quick question, why do u strain it?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      November 13, 2016 at 1:02 pm

      To remove any blobs of oil so they don’t clog the spray mechanism or roller ball.

      Reply
  3. Kelly

    August 25, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    Just apply it to skin to be safe I would say!

    Reply
  4. Amanda

    June 28, 2016 at 8:48 am

    Why do you put through a the coffee filter and why the almond and vitamin e oil? I thought just water vodka and essential oils? Still learning and keen to learn more

    Reply
  5. Karen

    May 22, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    I have made some perfume my husband using just the vodka. I’m interested to know why you strain thru a coffee filter after it sits. Seems like you would be removing the oils at that point. I like the thought of putting the oils on my skin.

    Reply
  6. Djuana

    February 08, 2016 at 1:02 am

    I believe the alcohol acts as an emulsifier for the e oil. Distilled water keeps it pure. Witch hazel would add a scent you may not like, it smells kinda funky. I don’t see the need for a filter.

    Reply
  7. Kim

    January 24, 2016 at 6:59 pm

    I wonder if you could sub the vodka with witch hazel?

    Reply
    • Kelly

      January 26, 2016 at 9:12 am

      I’m not sure, let me know if you try that!

      Reply
  8. Tabitha Carpenter

    February 26, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    Sorry, without the alcohol?

    Reply
    • Kelly

      March 02, 2015 at 12:51 am

      I don’t know, every recipe I have read has included alcohol. If you want to try it without, it would be more of a perfume oil, and probably would smell stronger. You would also need to research the essential oils that you are using to make sure they are safe to use without being as diluted.

      Reply
    • Amanda

      September 15, 2016 at 5:07 pm

      Alcohol is an extractor, and strengthens the scent as well as bonding it from the oil to the liquid.

      Reply
  9. Tabitha Carpenter

    February 26, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    Is it possible to make this

    Reply
  10. Llewellyn Kouba

    February 09, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    I thought I read a post or blog someplace that suggested coffee filters be, was it non-bleached? they were washed first or something? I can’t find the original post now.
    I’m new to perfumery but enjoying the experience greatly. Thanks / Llewellyn

    Reply
    • Kelly

      February 11, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      I just had a regular one, but unbleached might be better, not sure about that!

      Reply
  11. Rebecca's Soap Deli (@soapdeli)

    December 27, 2014 at 12:06 pm

    If you add an emulsifier like Polysorbate 20 your oils and water will stay mixed together rather than separating out each time. It doesn’t seem you really need the vitamin E. While it does extend the shelf life of oils it’s overkill with the vodka in there unless you are adding it for the skin’s benefit. You could also do this recipe with just distilled water, a small amount of vodka, polysorbate 20 as an emulsifier and your fragrance for a room and body spray.

    Reply
    • Brenda Hawkins

      April 06, 2018 at 11:04 am

      Does the polysorbate help the scent to stay longer?

      Reply
      • Norma

        July 10, 2018 at 10:33 pm

        Or ethyl alcohol, available as rubbing alcohol. Would that work or is the scent too strong?

        Reply
  12. Carol

    November 24, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    Love the idea. I’m like others who want to know why you strain it??

    Reply
  13. Julie

    November 22, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    what would happen if I used regular tap water instead of distilled?

    Reply
  14. jasmine kelley

    September 22, 2014 at 7:55 pm

    What does the “straining” do? I’m curious, does it help with the scent more?

    Reply
  15. Caitlin

    September 18, 2014 at 4:01 am

    I’m so intrigued by essential oils these days. I must try them! And what a better way than in perfume? I tend to sneeze with many perfumes, but I bet this would be better for me.

    Reply
  16. Emily @ Zen & Spice

    September 16, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    Very cool! I’ve been wanting to dabble with essential oils but never really know which ones to buy haha!

    Reply
  17. Hannah May

    September 16, 2014 at 3:03 pm

    Why do you strain it?

    Reply
    • chaya1957

      October 30, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      Yes, I wondered about that too, as there are no particles, and wouldn’t some of the oil be lost on the filter?

      Reply
      • Kelly

        October 30, 2015 at 10:09 pm

        If the oil clumps stay in, then the spray part of the bottle might get clogged up. The oils should have imparted their scent into the liquid of the pefume, so the clumps don’t need to be in there.

        Reply
  18. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    September 16, 2014 at 11:00 am

    I love this post, Kelly! I bought a little kit of essential oils about five months ago after my co-worker was raving about them, yet I haven’t used any of them yet! I can’t wait to try these out!

    Reply
  19. Julia

    September 16, 2014 at 10:43 am

    Making my own perfume and soap is something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time! For me, it’s definitely one of those things where I need a guide/manual in order to get from point A to point B, so I’m all about scoping out those e-books.

    And can I just say – orange lemongrass tangerine? I want to smell like that eeeeverywhere!

    Reply
  20. Natalie @ Tastes Lovely

    September 15, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    This is so fun! I’ve always wanted to make my own scent. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
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Hi! I'm Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

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