If you’re a perfume lover looking for a unique scent, why not create your own? Making perfume is fun, but it takes patience and a bit of experimentation with different fragrance “notes.” Scents are built around three types of notes: base (like vanilla or sandalwood, which lasts the longest), heart (often floral), and head (the strong, initial scent like citrus). Together, these form the “chord” of your perfume.
Choosing Scents
Think about the scent family you like, whether it’s floral, earthy, or spicy. For example:
- Woodsy: Cedarwood, Pine
- Floral: Jasmine, Rose
- Spicy: Clove, Ginger
Getting Started
To make a 5ml bottle of perfume oil, you’ll need:
- Essential oils (one for each note)
- A carrier oil like jojoba or sweet almond
- A clean, small bottle and pipettes
Add each oil carefully: base note first, heart note second, and head note last. Mix and wait a week to allow the scents to blend. Afterward, add 80 drops of carrier oil and wait another month for the scent to fully develop.
The ratio for each elements are as following:
Every milliliter of liquid is roughly 20 drops with a pipette or glass dropper. For a 5ml bottle of perfume:
5ml X 20drops = 100 drops total
So you will have 100 drops of liquid in your bottle. The ratios of the notes are as follows:
2 parts base : 1 part heart : 1 part head : Rest is carrier oil (Jojoba, Sweet Almond, etc)
There is a huge range of concentration levels that vary across perfume brands. Generally perfume oils will have a 20 – 80% concentration of essential/fragrance oils to carrier. Let’s say you want to have a nice light perfume that is 20% fragrance. 20% of 100 drops is 20 drops. This means that your fragrance combination will amount to 20 drops and the remaining 80 drops will be carrier.
Since we have 100 drops to account for and we now know the ratios, here is the formula we will be working with:
10 drops base + 5 drops heart + 5 drops head + 80 drops carrier oil = 100 drops
Experimentation is Key
If the result isn’t perfect, keep experimenting! Perfume making involves trial and error, but the reward is a custom scent that’s all yours. Good luck creating your signature fragrance!
English