We've learned to scent our baths, towels and lightbulbs but not many of
us know how to make our own toilet water and cologne. I recently discovered
the book, Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes: Discovering and Crafting Your
Personal Fragrances by Nancy M. Booth, a professional perfumer.
Reading it, I learned it's not too difficult, expensive or time-consuming to
make wonderful scents for myself and for my friends. Best of all, I can make
lavender water from my favorite lavendar oil, rather than settle for commercial
products that I don't like as well The book includes recipes designed for
men, women and teenagers.
The publishers have granted us permission to share the book's recipes
for the following scents. Text
and photos from Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes: Discovering and Crafting Your Personal Fragrances.
Equipment recommended for crafting fragrances:
- Glass measuring cup and a set of plastic measuring spoons. Clean the spoons with alcohol after each use so that traces of a previous scent won't contaminate the next.
- Small glass pitcher or beaker with pouring spout, and measurement marks.
- Glass rod to use for stirring. (Found in medical supply houses and laboratory suppliers. Check with your pharmacist for a source.)
- Glass droppers. Tape the appropriate dropper to the essential oil bottle so it will be there the next time you make scented oils. If you have only one dropper, wash it in hot, soapy water and rinse with isopropyl alcohol to avoid contaminating the oils. The dropper must be completely dry before using it again. A hair dryer can expedite the drying process.
- A narrow funnel to fill bottles with your fragrances. Small perfume bottles with narrow openings require a tiny perfume funnel no more than an inch and a half high. If one is not available, cut off a tiny bit of the tip of a cone-shaped paper cup.
- Glass bottles, preferable blue, amber or green. Old perfume bottles, found in garage sales, may be used. Before using them, wash in hot, soapy water, rinse with isopropyl alcohol, and dry thoroughly. Check to see that the stopper is a tight fit. If the bottle is corked, replace the oil cork with a new one (available at craft stores) and seal the bottle with paraffin. If the bottle has a screw top, be sure the top has a liner, a small disc of material inside the cap to prevent the contents of the bottle from contacting the cap.
About Ingredients:
Scented oils are perfumers' basic ingredients. Essential oils are
naturally derived plant extracts. Pure, undiluted essential oils can be
tested by applying a few drops to a strip of blotter paper. If the oils
are pure, they will evaporate leaving no oily residue.
Fragrance oils are a combination of essential oils with added chemicals
and fixed oils. Essential oils last longer than fragrance oils.
Because some plants do not give up their odor (like lily of the valley)
or are prohibitively expensive (like rose or jasmine), their scents are
duplicated in the laboratory; these are called synthetic oils.
Scented oils may be found at larger health food stores. An extensive list of
mail order suppliers is available in the book. It includes: Aura Cacia;
P.O. Box 399; Weaverville, CA 96093; 800.437.3301 and Caswell-Massey Company;
97 Commerce Way; Dover, DE 19904; 800.326.0500.
For best results, use 100-proof vodka as the base in alcohol-based
recipes because it has virtually no aroma of its own. Do not use rubbing
alcohol as a substitute because it evaporates much too quickly and has a
strong odor.
When a recipe calls for water, use bottled or distilled water. Tap
water contains too many organisms and minerals which can destroy your
fragrance.
Lavender Water
The word lavender comes from the Latin lavare (to wash) and has long
been linked to cleanliness.
- 2 cups of distilled water
- 2 ounces vodka
- 10-20 drops essential oil of lavender
- Sterilize a glass container.
- Pour the distilled water and vodka in to the glass.
- Add the lavender oil and stir.
Since you are using actual oils and not lavender blossoms, this sweet
water will be fragrant upon completion. Aging will mellow the results
and the fragrance can last for at least one year.
Cremé de Vanille Cologne
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/4 teaspoon glycerin
- 1 vanilla bean
- 4 drops heliotrope fragrance oil
- 1 orange or lemon
- A few dried or fresh rosebuds (optional)
- Sterilize a glass container.
- Combine the vodka and glycerin in the glass. Shake vigorously.
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and add to the vodka mixture.
- Add the heliotrope oil.
- Use a zester to peel a 3-inch strip of orange or lemon peel, taking care to take only the zest, not the white pulp. Add to the vodka mixture. Shake.
- Store in a cool, dark place and age for at least one week. Stir with a glass rod or gently swirl contents after a few days.
- Decant into the container. If desired, add rosebuds to this recipe after it has aged. Using chemical-free roses, strip the leaves and stems, leaving the petals and calyx. Add them to the mixture for color and decoration.
Bergamot Cologne
a unisex fragrance for all ages.
- 1/2 cup vodka
- Zest from one orange
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice
- 6 drops essential oil of bergamot (Bergamot is a citrus-scened oil expressed from an inedible fruit grown almost exclusively in Calabria, Italy. Bergamot is found in 34 percent of women's perfumes and 50 percent of men's fragrances.)
- Sterilize a glass container
- Pour vodka into container.
- Add the orange peel, whole cloves, allspice and bergamot oil.
Shake well.
- Cap tightly and store in a cool, dry place for 1 to 2 weeks or until the scent is the strength you prefer.
- Strain through a paper coffee filter or muslin and bottle.
- Use within 12 months.
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