Not too long ago, we talked a bit about mixing your own scents to avoid the toxic chemicals in store bought fragrance. The recipe called for adding 40-60 drops of essential oil in a 2oz. spray bottle, then filling the rest of the bottle up with rubbing alcohol. The idea here is that oil dissolves in alcohol, so it's a good, inexpensive carrier for the scent.

There was some great discussion in the comments, and we wanted to share some of those reader insights!

Commenters Margaret Welke and Tiffany S. suggested using grain alcohol instead of isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Tiffany pointed out that IPA "is VERY flammable and is toxic if absorbed in significant amounts."

Margaret also suggested using a glass bottle instead of plastic, which is a great tip! Travel spritz bottles found at the drug store are usually plastic, so I recommend something like this glass bottle suggested in the original post.

Jessie mentioned that her skin is sensitive to alcohol, which is a great point. For folks with a sensitivity, you can try dissolving your essential oil in a carrier oil like sweet almond or apricot kernel oil. Instead of a spritz, you might want to just dab this onto your pulse points and rub it in well - an all oil mixture will almost certainly stain your clothes. Jessie also wondered if glycerin would work, which I'm not sure of. If anyone tries this with glycerin, I'd love to hear how it goes!

Do any of you guys have a favorite recipe for home made perfume or cologne? Maybe a favorite essential oil blend? I'd love to continue the discussion!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by theloushe