We Make Scents!

perfumemaking with Stephanie K

Welcome! I’d like to show you how you can make perfumes from essential oils and other natural plant extracts.

What’s an essential oil, you say? It is the essence collected by distilling plant material. It is different from a perfume oil or fragrance oil because it is natural rather than synthetic. Natural aromatics act quite differently than the perfumes you are used to purch. They typically don't last like the perfume you buy in a store, but they smell amazing and are fun to blend.

Perfume is made by blending top notes, middle or heart notes and base notes.

Top notes: These are the fleeting notes that you smell first when you apply a perfume. These include citruses, seeds, and spices and some florals.

Middle or heart notes: These are the “heart” of the perfume. These are more apparent when the top notes dry off. These include many flowers, herbs, spices, and leaves.

Base Notes: These are the longest lasting essences. When a perfume “dries down” these will be the last notes remaining. They include woods, resins and roots.

Always dilute essential oils when applying to the skin. They aren’t meant for use full strength and doing so could cause skin reactions or allergies. They will still smell strongly when properly diluted. You can use around 10-20% aromatics to 80-90% carrier. The carrier can be an oil such as jojoba or fractionated coconut, or it can be alcohol such as high proof grain alcohol or perfumer’s alcohol.

Start by blending the base notes, followed by the heart notes and finish it with top notes.

Be sure to research the safety of any ingredients you choose to use in your perfumes. Experiment, and enjoy!

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