A perfume is a wonderful (albeit expensive) gift for someone you love. But do you know what they might love even more? If you were to make the perfume at home, all by yourself? And you’d love it too, because it’s much easier on your pocket.
I am absolutely crazy about perfumes. And the people at malls and stores seem to know that about me. The minute I walk in, they wave those magical little strips in the air and like a possessed girl I make my way to the counter. I come back rich with fragrances and poorer by several thousand rupees.
But not anymore; not since I discovered the magic of making perfumes at home. It might sound complicated but with a little practise you will learn how to make perfume at home just like I did.
Let’s get started. What do you need?
Ingredients:
  • Jojoba oil or sweet almond oil - 15ml
  • Alcohol (say, vodka – the strongest you have) - 75ml
  • Distilled water (avoid tap water) - 2 tablespoons
  • A coffee filter (even a funnel will do)
  • Dark-coloured glass bottle – 1 or 2
  • Essential oils - 25 drops
7 drops of base note oils (vanilla, cinnamon, fern, sandalwood, patchouli, cedarwood, moss, lichen)
-7 drops of middle note oils (nutmeg, lemongrass, geranium, clove, ylang-ylang, neroli)
-And 6-7 drops of top note oils (lavender, rose, jasmine, orchid, lemon, lime, bergamot, neroli)
(I’ll talk about this a little ahead)
Are you ready to learn how to make your own perfume? Here we go.
Procedure:
Step 1: Readying your bottles
  1. Sterilise your glass bottles
  2. Run them through the dishwasher or just boil them in hot water for about 5 minutes
Step 2: Pouring the base oil
Pour the jojoba or sweet almond oil in the bottle.

Step 3: Get the essential oils right
Have you ever noticed how a perfume seems to smell different after some time of having been applied? That’s the different notes speaking.
  1. The top note is what you smell when you spritz it on first.
  2. It disperses to make way for the middle note;
  3. Which then evaporates to leave behind the base note. This is what lingers on your skin for the longest time.
It is important to add your essential oils to the perfume in the opposite order – the base note first, then the middle and finally the top note.
If you’re a newbie and just learning how to make perfume, I suggest that you add a few drops at a time to get an idea of how strong or mild the oils can be. Keep a note of everything you add if you want to repeat the fragrance some time later.
Step 4: The alcohol
  1. Now add in the alcohol
  2. Shake it well
  3. Put away into a cupboard for 48 hours to up to 6 weeks
Step 5: Is the perfume ready?
After 6 weeks, get the bottle out
  1. If the perfume smells the way you want it to, add the 2 tablespoons of spring water
  2. Shake the bottle well to mix all ingredients
  3. Using the coffee filter (or funnel), carefully pour your homemade perfume into a dark glass bottle.
  4. Air and light are the biggest enemies of essential oil aromas. Top up the bottle and keep it in a dark cupboard.
  5. You can add a tablespoon of glycerine to retain its smell longer.
Step 6: Using the perfume
  1. Pour only a little into a decorative bottle for daily use
  2. Give it an exotic name (especially if you plan on gifting it to someone)
  3. Make sure you have a record of every step (right down to the number of drops of each oil) so you can duplicate the perfume if you want to
As you can see, making perfume at home is really quite simple. Make small batches first and experiment as much as you’d like.
Want to gift a readymade perfume to the man in your life? Have you tried Old Spice Deodorant Spray?