The Forgotten Art of Perfumery
An Introduction to Creating your Own Natural Perfumes at Home
© Andrea Seren Charrington-Greene
Jul 28, 2009
In days gone by all fine perfume was natural and chemical free. Sweet smelling ointments and infused oils were the original perfumes and many of these simple recipes can be re-created at home. Although, hectic modern lifestyles mean that time can be scarce, making your own products doesn’t have to be lengthy and time consuming.
The Egyptians used clarified beef fat boiled in sweet wine as a base for their perfumes whilst in more recent times perfume was made in line with the great French perfume making tradition by combining organic flowers and plants extracts, with wine alcohol distilled from organic grapes.
Sadly, the chemical industry advancement of post World War II meant that many traditional perfumery ingredients were abandoned in favour of cheaper substitutes. Suddenly we saw the emergence of "fragrance" or synthetic perfume.
The price of synthetic flower and plant extracts meant these new perfumes could be produced very cheaply, and with a new level of consistency. This advancement meant that perfumes were available to more women as they now carried much lower price tags, but also meant that we became subject to synthetic fragrances in our perfumes and to cheap alcohol carriers made from petroleum instead of grape alcohol.
You can recreate the wonderful, natural art of perfumery at home. It is not only easy to produce you own perfume but also you have control over the ingredients you incorporate and the scent you create.
Solid Perfume Recipe
Ingredients
Essential oil.
- ½ oz beeswax 1 oz sunflower oil
- 1-oz coconut oil ½ oz.
Instructions:
- Using a double boiler, slowly melt the beeswax into the oils.
- Just before pouring, add the essential oils of your choice.
- Pour into small tins or lip balm tubes.
Colognes make a great addition to your bath water, simply add a few cap-fulls to a warm bath and enjoy. Alternatively, splashing cologne on to your skin after a bath really freshens and revives you. These are not labour intensive to make but it does take time for them to steep, although it’s well worth the wait and they have a good shelf life once made.
Cologne
- 1/2 cup lavender
- 1/4 cup rosemary
- peel of 1 lemon
- peel of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup orange-mint leaves
- 1/2 cup lemon balm leaves
- 2 cups vodka
- 2 cups rosewater
Instructions:
- Steep 2 weeks; filter and bottle.
Spicy Cologne
- 1 oz. rose petals
- 2 T. lavender
- 2 thin strips orange peel
- 1 (1-inch) stick cinnamon, crushed
- 1 tbsp. coriander seeds, bruised
- 10 oz. Vodka
Instructions:
- Steep 3 weeks, filter and bottle.
Herbal Cologne
- 2 T. rosemary
- 2 T. lavender
- 1 T. juniper berries, crushed
- 1 strip lemon rind
- 10 oz. Vodka
Instructions:
- Steep 3 weeks, filter and bottle.
Once you’ve mastered a few recipes and grasped the basics there is plenty of room for experimenting with different combinations of herbs, spices and essential oils. By making your own hand blended perfumes and colognes you will be sure that the smell you create is unique and not many people can boast that their perfume is totally exclusive.
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