DIY Perfume With Essential Oils

Perfume can serve as a signature scent. A smell that takes you back to a special place in time. Maybe the perfume reminds you of the sweet hugs your grandma used to give you, or maybe it reminds you of the way your mom smelled as she tucked you in bed at night. Maybe your kids associate you with a fresh floral scent that you always wear. Smelling someones perfume can trigger some great memories. It could also trigger some headaches. You see, most perfumes out there contain “fragrance”. That’s what makes up the smell. Unfortunately, the fragrance could be a laundry list of toxic ingredients that isn’t disclosed to you so you really have no idea what you are putting on your body and inhaling and maybe worse, having those around you inhale those toxins.  This is where these signature DIY perfumes with essential oils come in to play.

Simple DIY Perfume With Essential Oils

Yep, you can DIY your very own perfume with essential oils. It’s actually quite simple and super duper fun. And you don’t need a ton of ingredients or supplies either. Because a little essential oil goes a long way, these DIY perfumes with essential oils are super affordable. One of my favorite parts of this DIY is that you can customize it exactly the way you like it and you could be the only person with this exact DIY perfume. Since it’s so easily designed to your liking, it really becomes YOUR signature scent. How cool is that?

Oils Have Notes

So how do you make your own DIY perfume with essential oils? I’m here to tell you! Before we get into the fun part of picking the oils you are going to use, I want to explain the different notes essential oils have and how those notes can impact your perfume.

There are base notes, middle notes and top notes. Generally, the base note is the one you will want to build your perfume around, so start there. After that, pick your softer middle note. Then pick your top note that will finish it off to perfection and be the inviting smell that is first noticed. Let’s talk a little more about the notes.

You will want to keep the following in mind when building your perfume and choosing your scents. The first notes you will smell are the top notes, this is going to be the first thing you or someone else smells, it’s the introduction to the perfume so to speak. Then come the middle notes which are the main part of the perfume. This is the bulk of where your scent will come from, or the meat and potatoes of the perfume so keep that in mind when designing your scent. After that come the base notes which complement the other notes and tie everything together, somewhat like the glue that holds the family together lol.

Selecting Your Oils

And now for the fun part of this DIY perfume with essential oils. Picking which essential oils you will use. This can get a little overwhelming if you let it. Don’t let it. Don’t make this harder than it is. There are no right or wrong ways to do this, it’s all personal scent preference and you can experiment all you want until you get the perfect signature scent for yourself.  I’m going to give you some suggestions of different oils you can use for different notes, but you are absolutely not limited to these. Have fun with this, mkay?!

First, close your eyes an inhale deeply. Think about what you envision as your signature scent. What scents make you happy? What do you want to smell like? Do you like floral scents? Citrus scents? Woodsy scents? A combination of maybe floral and citrus (my favorite)? What speaks to you? What do you want people to smell when you walk by or what do you want someone special to smell and be reminded of you?

Or back to what I previously mentioned, what makes you happy? Honestly this is how I would pick. What makes you smile? What makes your heart swell with joy? Are there scents that you associate with feelings of happiness, joy, love? Or maybe you want your perfume to be something more powerful. Maybe you want a perfume to be inspiring to be encouraging or be be energizing? What do you want with this DIY perfume with essential oils? So first, figure out what you want and what you are trying to accomplish. Next, you will start picking your oils based on that.

Notice, that some oils fall into more than one category. Pick where you want it to go for your specific scent.

Top Notes

Lime, Tangerine, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Orange, Basil, Lavender, Thyme, Jade Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Coriander, Norhern Lights Black Spruce, Blue Cypress, Eucalyptus Globulus, Eucalyptus Radiata, Kunzea, Lemongrass, Lemon Myrtle, Melissa, Peppermint, Ravensara, Ravintsara, Petitgrain, White Fir, Wintergreen

Middle Notes

Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Jasmine, Rose, Neroli, Bergamot, Black Pepper, Blue Cypress, Blue Tansy, Cassia, Roman Chamomile, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Citronella, Clary Sage, Elemi, Eucalyptus Globulus, Eucalyptus Radiata, Hinoki, Hyssop, Juniper, Lavender, Manuka, Melissa, Myrrh, Myrtle, Nutmeg, Palo Santo, Rosemary, Tee Tree, White Fir

Base Notes

Patchouli, Myrrh, Frankincense, Cedarwood, Clove, Cistus, Davana, Cumin, Ginger, Helichrysum, Hong Kuai, Spikenard, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Vanilla (Young Living does not have a vanilla essential oil, but I love to add clear cold pressed pure Mexican Vanilla to my perfume)

Easy To Follow Instructions

These recipes are base on 5ml roller bottles. I love, love, love these super cute diamond shaped perfume roller bottles.  First, add the drops to the bottle then fill the rest of the way with either a carrier oil or with 80 proof vodka (my preferred way as the vodka wont go rancid and will absorb into your skin nicely without changing the smell of the perfume). You can double the recipe for a 10 ml roller bottle or adjust however you wish.

Start Building Your Perfume

If there is a specific oil that sticks out to you and you know you want that in your perfume, start there and build your perfume around it. If not, I would start with the base notes first. When first making perfumes, I’d only pick three oils, one from each section, but you are free to play around and do whatever you want. Once you start getting more familiar with the oils and how they interact with each other, then experiment with additional oils.

Start by picking up some oils that interest you, take the cap off, and smell them together. Just go get an idea of if you like the blend together or if you need to immediately make an adjustment and switch out an oil or two. I’d start slowly and just add one drop of each to your bottle. Then take a slow long inhale of those oils together. Are you perfectly happy with the scent? If so, yay! Add equal drops of each of those oils and then finish off your perfume by topping it off with that 80 proof vodka or carrier oil of your choice.

If you aren’t completely happy, what needs to change? Need some more of the middle note? Add another drop of that oil. Or same with the base or top note. I would add one drop at a time, smelling the difference each drop makes until you get your perfect blend. Make sure you are writing down the steps along the way so you know exactly what you have added so you can duplicate it or modify it next time.

My Favorite Recipes

I’m going to share some of my favorite DIY perfume with essential oil recipes with you to give you some ideas of what you can create. But, please get creative and do your own thing as well. Everyone has different scent preferences and not all oils smell the same on everyone either. So play around, find what you like and, most of all, have fun with this! . 

Serene

10 drops Lavender

10 drops Roman Chamomile

10 drops Frankincense

 

Fearless

12 drops Northern Lights Black Spruce

6 drops Blue Tansy

6 drops Frankincense

 

Joie De Vivre (French for joy of living or exuberant enjoyment of life)

12 drops Joy

12 drops Grapefruit

8 drops Tangerine

4 drops Ylang Ylang

 

Enchanted

10 drops Bergamot

6 drops Orange

3 drops Lavender

4 drops Jasmine

8 drops Vanilla

 

Eden

16 drops Orange

10 drops Geranium

8 drops Frankincense

 

Citrus Blossom

12 drops Tangerine

8 drops Ylang Ylang

8 drops Lavender

6 drops Vanilla

 

April Showers (the credit for this recipe goes to my good friend Rebecca who came over one evening to make some perfume with me and created this beautiful blend. I love that the color in the bottle is blue too!)

6 drops Valor

2 drops Clove

4 drops Bergamot

4 drops Lemon

2 drops Lavender

4 drops Ylang Ylang

10 drops Vanilla

 

A lot of these beautiful essential oils come in our Premium Starter Kit. If you know you want it, click here to get it. If you need more information on that kit, check out this post where I explain everything that comes in it.

Do you have any experience making your own perfumes? I’d love it if you would share your favorite recipes with us in the comments 🙂