Follow The Notes - Creating Your Perfume, Part III

Follow The Notes And Create A Perfume - Part III

This is where you'll learn to blend and create your own scent and possibly perfumes/colognes or sets for others.

There are scent test strips on the market that you can purchase and put a drop or two on, for testing out a blend, but I've tried them and consider them an unnecessary expense. I've tested them against what I now use and have gotten the same results at a fraction of the cost. I tend to use, whenever possible; what I already have in the house, in this case - toothpicks.

You will need:
toothpicks
a one ounce bottle, with a cap, or more than one, if you're trying out a few different blends.
your essential oils
jojoba or fractionated coconut oil
pipettes

First, decide what you want your blend to smell like. Do you like floral, fruity, fresh, spicy, musky or something totally different? For those of you who already make soap, consider making a perfume that will match what you make - something that's a favorite.

First, take at least three toothpicks and your bottle (with cap), and place them on your working surface, making sure it's good and clean. Take a top note, a middle note and a base note of an essential oil or absolute and also place them there. Dip one toothpick in each, just the top of it and place them inside of the bottle - cap it tightly. Don't add any jojoba or fractionated coconut oil yet. Let it sit overnight.

The next day, after at least 12 hours, uncap the bottle and sniff. This is what your perfume will smell like, at a one - one - one ratio of the three oils you've used. Usually if it's what you were looking for, you'll know it right away and can then go on and do some mixing. You'll also know if you're not satisfied with it and that's how it'll usually go. You can then go on to add another one or two toothpicks of one or more of the same oils that you started with, but at this point, something else may occur to you.

Example:
My three toothpicks for example were:
Top Note: Tangerine
Middle Note: Ylang-Ylang (complete)
Base Note: Patchouli

The next day when I sniffed it, the patchouli seemed to take over the other scents and there was no sweetness at all from the ylang-ylang complete. The tangerine was non-existent. I would add:
Two toothpicks of Sweet Orange
One (more) of Tangerine
Two toothpicks of Ylang-Ylang II (a bit sweeter)
No more Patchouli
I'd recap the bottle and wait another day, with these and the original toothpicks inside it, then I'd again open it and sniff it. I've added two other essential oils, though they are related to ones I'd started with.
I now have two parts Tangerine, two parts Sweet Orange, one part Ylang-Ylang complete, two parts Ylang-Ylang II, and one part Patchouli. It smells right to me. That is my blend for this perfume.

Next would be to actually mix it. Keeping in mind and also writing down (by part) what I just did, I'd add to another one ounce bottle (which is also 30 ml), with pipettes this time:

6 drops Tangerine
6 drops Sweet Orange
3 drops Ylang-Ylang Complete
6 drops Ylang-Ylang II
3 drops Patchouli

I'd recap the bottle and again, let it sit with my blend overnight - the next day, uncap and sniff, keeping in mind that I only have pure essential oils in the bottle and no carrier oils, such as the jojoba or other oil that I'll be adding. If I still like it, I'll fill the bottle about halfway full of either Jojoba (golden, organic) or Fractionated Coconut Oil. This is my blend.

What should it smell like? I ought to first be able to smell the citrus, with a sweet-citrusy, herbal and earthy undertone. What ought to stay with me the most? The patchouli, as it's the base note. The ylang-ylang, which is a sweet, floral note, will be there as well, but I won't be able to really identify it. The citrus will also be there, but will tend to fade once the perfume is worn.

I can go over more and also answer any questions, for those I've hopelessly confused by now. Also, though I do like patchouli, this is just sample blend and there are an infinite number of things you can do with oils and scents. Any help I can give you, I'll be happy to.

Next - More blending ideas and making your perfume/cologne blends into sets.