Perfume and cologne these days can get a little expensive. For a bottle of a popular perfume by Calvin Klein or Christian Dior, you can expect to pay anywhere from $50-$100. Although you can go online and usually get your perfume at a much better price. This price is pretty high for a perfume or cologne that is not even unique! For a little less money and some ingredients, you can make your own customized perfume or cologne fragrance and monitor what goes into it as well. Although I would not recommend this for everybody. There are alot of great designer fragrances out there. However, if you are the kind of person who likes to be a little creative and have a little time on your hands, then you might want to try to make your own perfume! Its pretty cool to make a unique scent and name it after yourself!



The basic formula for perfume is 15% to 30% essential oil, 70% to 80% of pure grain alcohol, such as vodka, and 5% of distilled or bottled spring water. Essential oil can be replaced with fragrance oil for a cheaper quality and price perfume. The right essential oil for this job can be rather easily found at a health food store or a local craft store. Store your perfume in a small glass or plastic container. You can buy a container with a sprayer at almost any local craft store. Be on the lookout as you might also be able to pick up a designer vintage perfume bottle at a local flea market or a thrift store.

You will have to play around with the oils to create the perfect perfume for you. To start, I suggest mixing ? cup of straight vodka with 5 drops of an essential fragrance or oil of your choice. Depending on how strong you want the perfume, you can let the mixture stand for as little as 48 hours all the way to a month. Remember, in creating your own signature perfume, this process cannot be rushed or your discount perfume might not turn out the way you want. The longer it stands, the stronger it will be. After your perfume has sat for your preferred time, add 2 tablespoons of the diluted water. If the perfume fragrance is too strong for you, you can add a little more water to get your desired fragrance strength. To make your perfume last longer, add a tablespoon of glycerin to your perfume mixture. Glycerin is a neutral, colorless, thick liquid. It can be found anywhere soap making supplies are found. When you add glycerin to your new fragrance solution, the glycerin stays in a liquid state and helps the dissolving of the other ingredients better and faster.

When you are ready to start combining fragrance/essential oils for a scent that is completely unique, understand that there are three different notes in scented oil. The first is base notes, which will stay longest on your skin. Base notes include oils such as vanilla, cinnamon, and sandalwood. The second of the notes are middle notes, which add to the scent for a while, but not as long as the base notes. These oils include lemongrass, geranium, neroli, and ylang-ylang. The last of the notes are the top notes which do what they say, they top off the scent. The top notes do not last as long as the other two notes, but add to the perfume or cologne significantly. The top notes include oils such as rose, lavender, jasmine, bergamot, and orchard. Whenever you are making a perfume or cologne of more than one scent, be sure to start with the bass notes first and go up the ladder from there with middle notes and finish with top notes.

Certain scents can alter your mood. Lavender and Jasmine can calm you down and help you sleep at night if your having a little trouble. Ylang and Orange can help your anger if your feeling mad or pissed off at something. Lastly grapefruit and sandalwood can help your fears and make you a little more confident. Need a boost of confidence? Try cypress or rosemary. If your feeling a little down or depressed, you might think about trying a little rose, frankincense, or bergamont perfume scents. To increase memory powers, try black pepper and peppermint. You may want to keep this in mind when you are creating your concoction.

There are many recipes for perfume online. While playing with perfume can be fun, it can also be frustrating if you cannot get the desired perfume fragrance you want. Now that you know the basics of perfume making.. feel free to give them as valentine, birthday, or christmas gifts. Who wouldn't love their own signature perfume, especially if it is named after them? Now go try to make your own perfume or cologne!