How To: Make Your Own Perfume or Cologne

25 by Becky Striepe on June 18, 2010

Perfume

Store bought fragrances can be pretty nasty stuff. Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 17 popular perfumes and colognes and reported an average of 14 mystery chemicals, with some brands containing as many as 24! Thanks to a legal loophole, fragrance companies don't have to disclose what is in their recipes. Meanwhile, 66% of the chemicals that EWG found are not tested for safety.

Yikes!

Rather than spend the big bucks to scent yourself with untested chemicals, why no make your own, personalized bottle of perfume or cologne? It's cheap and easy. I've been whipping up spray scents for myself and my husband for years, and not only is it great to know exactly what we're spraying on ourselves, we save a bundle! You just need a few simple supplies:

A 2 oz. spray bottle. You can clean and reuse one that's already in the cabinet, find one in the travel section of your local drugstore, or order online.
Rubbing alcohol
Your favorite essential oil. My husband is a big fan of Aura Cacia's Meditation oil. I tend to go for Egyptian musk or a rosemary and lavendar blend. It's fun to mix and match to find the fragrance that suits you!

Put 40-60 drops of oil into your spray bottle, top off with the alcohol, and give it a good shake to combine. That's it! You're ready to add a little fragrance to your day.

Do any of you guys make your own fragrances with essential oils? I'd love to hear about the scent combos you come up with!

Update: Check out what other readers like you suggested for making your own perfume or cologne.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by Baking in Pearls

Seneca Green

The recipe for perfume is brilliant, but how much alcohol do you use? I don’t want to have too much and smell like nail polish remover, or to little, and be oily instead of just perfumed. Thanks so much!

http://glueandglitter.com Becky Striepe

Thank you! To make the perfume, just put the oil 40-60 drops of oil in the 2oz bottle first, then top it off with the alcohol. It might smell a little alcohol-y at first, but once the excess evaporates, you’re left just with a nice scent.

Tiffany S.

I like this idea. I’m looking for solid perfume, too.
Margaret Welke

I’d use grain alcohol, not rubbing alcohol, which is carcinogenic. Also, why ise a plastic botle — bad for the environment. But a glass spray bottle, or one of those little portable perfume spritzers.

Jean

A ceramic bottle is good also

Tiffany S.

I agree with Margaret. IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is VERY flammable and is toxic if absorbed in significant amounts.
Jessie

Great idea!! I want to make a few batches for friends and family…

I was just wondering what i could use instead of alcohol as my sensitive skin reacts to alcohol.
Any ideas?

Becky Striepe

Does it react to all sorts of alcohol? You could try grain alcohol, like a couple of folks suggested above. Otherwise, you might try dissolving your oil in a carrier oil, like sweet almond or apricot kernel oil. I’m not sure how the spritz mechanism would handle it, but you could put it in a roller top bottle or something like this if it won’t spritz.

Jessie

You know.. I’m not sure.. I just know that if alcohol is mention in the ingredients list of a product.. and especially with underarms.. which leaves me scratching like a chimp.

Would glycerin work?

Becky Striepe

Ooh it might! You could always whip up a small batch and see how it goes….maybe cut the recipe in half or something like this? If you try it, I hope you’ll report back!

Oksana

You can use vodka instead of rubbing alcohol.
Darwin

that’s a good idea…..I wonder if you wanted a citrus smell to it, what it would be like if you used flavoured vodka such as absolut madarin mixed with some oils. A lot of experimentation may be needed.
eugene

instead of isophropyle alcohol which is derived from crude oil , use ethyl alcohol which was derived from sugar cane.
susan

Could you use just the essential oil?

http://glueandglitter.com Becky Striepe

You definitely could, though some essential oils can irritate your skin if applied undiluted. I’d do a test on the inside of your forearm, just to make sure your skin is OK with that much essential oil. If you have problems, you could also mix your oil with a neutral carrier oil, like sweet almond, and apply that way.

Mandy

I’ve been wondering about Egyptian musk. I’ve read from various sources that musk is from animals, or it’s synthetic. Yet I really want to find an even healthier alternative to the Body Shop’s White Musk for my mother. I bought her the eau de toilette which, luckily, is the safest form of it according to the Skin Deep database (rated 4)…

I’ve created an air freshener mist/body spray with distilled water and vanilla and peppermint/mint extracts, that’s all (as opposed to vanilla essential oil which is $5 per mL) and while it smells nice, it doesn’t last. Wonder if an oil would accomplish that…

http://glueandglitter.com Becky Striepe

That’s a really good question about musk, Mandy! I’ll have to look into that.

For air freshener, we have an oil burner, which works quite well. It’s basically a glass stand with space for a tea light underneath. You put a couple of tablespoons of water and a few drops of your favorite essential oil, light the tea light, and it makes the whole room smell delicious!
Choclolita

nice one mandy ! i like it
Jean

add a little glycerin in it and it will last.

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Maryanne Richards

Great idea! I’ve been wanting to make my own perfume, and just came across this article, thank you! For the folks allergic to alcohol, I wonder if diluting the essential oil with 2 oz. filtered water would work?

Sioux

You might try cyclomethicone. Water will not mix with the essential oils. Also, try adding a few drops of glycerin

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Ash_flames23

i actually had a question. isnt rubbing alcohol dangerous? ive read up on it and it causes inflammation of skin and all.
and also, after 40-60 drops of oil, how much of the alcohol are we supposed to mix with it ?
Felicia

Don’t forget to dilute the alcohol. Use alcohol from ethanol, it’s safe since it’s derived from plants. I went for 20% for safety. Useful calculator: http://homedistiller.org/distill/dilute/calc For those with sensitive skin, use carrier oil such as jojoba or sweet almond. I used 15 drops as essential oil is very concentrated liquid. It’s not safe if you don’t dilute it correctly.