Home Fragrance

From LoveToKnow Makeup

Home fragrance has been popular since Cleopatra, who was known for creating her own perfumes. Perhaps your favorite fragrance has been discontinued? Possibly you are unable to find just the right fragrance for you? Simply make your own at home and enjoy the perfect scent.

Types of Fragrances

Choosing the right fragrance can enhance your mood, reduce stress, and awaken feelings of romance. With so many choices in fragrances it can be difficult to know where to begin. First, you should be aware of the different types of fragrances.

Perfumes are the strongest fragrances, consisting of 15% to 30% essential oils. These oils are diluted in a base of alcohol and a small amount of distilled water. Also known as eau de parfum, these are generally the most expensive.

Next in strength is toilet water, or eau de toilette. Less expensive than perfumes, these usually contain 5% to 10% essential oils. Because the scent is lighter, eau de toilette may need to be applied more often than perfume.

Colognes are the lightest of the fragrances with only about 4% essential oils. Colognes are the least expensive but may need to be applied more frequently throughout the day.

Home Fragrance Materials

Making your own home fragrance requires some supplies that are easily obtained.

  • Essential oils of your choice
  • 95% grain alcohol or vodka
  • Fixatives
  • Eye droppers
  • Glass vials and jars for mixing and storing

Fixatives are used to prolong a fragrance. For perfumes, common fixatives may be sandalwood, benzoin, myrrh or vanilla. If you are making creams or lotions you may choose castor oil, grape seed oil or Vitamin E oil for a fixative.

Essential oils should be carefully chosen as they can be expensive to purchase. You may choose to imitate a fragrance already on the market, or you may want to create a custom blend of your favorite scents. Fragrance oils may be used in place of pure essential oils to save money. Kits can also be purchased with everything that you will need to create your own fragrance at home. Try Perfume Originals for a wide selection of fragrance kits for men and women priced at only $20.

Fragrance Categories

You can mix two or three fragrance categories together. When you are mixing different scents, always rinse your eye dropper in alcohol to avoid cross contaminating your essential oils. Smell your fragrance after each addition of scent to be sure your home fragrance is what you want it to be. There are five fragrance categories to choose from.

  • Woodsy: This is an earthy, casual everyday scent
  • Fruity: Best for warm weather, this is a tropical scent
  • Floral: Classic and feminine, florals are for the romantic at heart
  • Oceanic: This is a modern scent that may remind you of your beach vacation
  • Oriental: Spicy oriental scents contain musk or vanilla

Wearing Your Home Fragrance

Like a fine wine, your new home fragrance needs to age before you wear it. Place your new scent in a cool, dry, dark area to age for a few days up to a few weeks. Ageing will allow your ingredients to smooth and blend together.

Also like a fine wine, a perfume needs to breathe before you can enjoy its true essence. The top note, or first smell, of your perfume will typically only last a minute. After five to 30 minutes you will then experience the middle note, or body of you perfume. When your skin reacts to the oils in your fragrance, about two hours after application, you will then enjoy the base note of your perfume.

Perfume should be applied to your pulse points. Favorite places to apply it are the neck, wrist, cleavage, and the folds of your elbows and knees. Another application technique is to lightly spray your hairbrush to weave your fragrance through the strands of you hair. Home fragrances can also be layered by using soap or body wash and a lotion with the same scent as your perfume. Recipes for these types of products can be found in books or on the Internet. Several recipes can be found at Teach Soap. Pine Meadows also carries a wonderful assortment of soap making supplies, essential oils and recipes to assure you an enjoyable experience making your own home fragrance.


 


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