How To Make Your Own Healthy Perfume

“Of the 5 senses, the sense of smell is the one with the best memory”- Rebecca McClanahan

The sense of smell is a powerful tool. Sometimes just smelling an old perfume can take you back decades. Smells can also trigger happy memories while other times it can trigger not so pleasant ones. Many years ago my sister wore a particular perfume every single day and loved that people associated that smell with her. Whenever she would come into work, people would often say, “Janet is here!” without even physically seeing her but “smelling” her. Alternatively, one time in high school I went on a date with a guy and he wreaked of cologne! I ended up cutting the date short with some excuse because I couldn’t be in his presence—it was so strong!!! In fact, it seemed like the cologne got “trapped” in my nose because I was smelling it for days!!!

But here’s the thing– whether a perfume smells nice or it’s overpowering, scents shouldn’t be lingering! Just like your clothes really shouldn’t smell like the detergent for days after it was washed, you shouldn’t be able to smell someone’s perfume before laying your eyes on them. Unfortunately, it’s the combined chemicals used to create the smell that makes it linger. And it’s not just one or two chemicals used but rather hundreds of chemicals; sometimes upwards of 300 used to create a “desired” smell!!! The chemicals are often known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors such as formaldehyde that contribute to the bioaccumulation (the accumulation of toxins in your body at a rate that the liver can no longer detoxify).

“Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live in”-Unknown

Have no fret, there is a healthier way to create a signature smell for yourself!!!! Or maybe you are someone who likes to wear a perfume based on how you feel. Maybe one for focus, grounding, confidence, or relaxation? The great thing about using pure essential oils as your perfume is that not only will you smell nice, but you will also receive therapeutic benefits.

Before I share with you how to make your own healthy perfumes, I have to let you know that not all essential oils are created equally. In fact, there is only one company that actually owns their farms and opens it up to the public to tour and that is Young Living. I’ve been to the Utah farm twice already and going again in July! So when you go to choose your oils, make sure you do your research. If a farm uses pesticides (even organic ones), it will be in high concentrated amounts in the bottle of essential oils!!! If you are using essential oils to get away from chemicals, then make sure you get one from a company that doesn’t use them!

“I never face the day without perfume”- Elizabeth Taylor

Making your own perfume is incredibly easy. There are basically two ways to do them. One is in a roller bottle where the oils are mixed with a carrier oil and you just roll it onto your skin. The other way is when the oils are mixed with vodka and you can spray it onto your skin. The vodka will help the oils linger longer if you are looking for staying power because most oils get expelled from your body within four hours. Either way, just pop the bottle in your purse and roll on or spray it when you need to!

When you make your own perfume, there is a base note, mid note and top note. The base note tends to have a thicker viscosity. Examples of base notes are: vetiver, cedarwood, patchouli, or ylang ylang.

The mid note contains the dominant scent such as lavender, stress away, or geranium.

And the top note rounds out the scent profile and tends to be fruity like lemon, orange, or bergamot.

In a 10ml roller bottle you would add 3 drops of the base note, 10 drops of the middle note, and 3 drops of the top note.

If you want to create an Eau de Parfume, use a 2oz perfume bottle, add the oils then 1oz of vodka and 1oz of water.

Essential oils are incredibly versatile. You can use them for perfume one minute and the next minute you can use one to support a body system. They are great for cleaning, replacing candles, getting rid of smells in your home, etc. For more information on how to use essential oils you can email me at aredheadedoiler@gmail.com. Enjoy!

Content provided by Women Belong member Karen Galway