An easy alternative to store bought perfumes, learn how to make your own Solid Perfume that has only a few ingredients. When making your own solid perfume you can customize your fragrance to create your own scent.
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I love how simple and fun solid perfumes are to make. Also, they are convenient when traveling. I like to keep a tin in my purse at all times. Making them is easier than you would think, you are just going to heat up some wax and oils and mix it together with your scent. This process is very similar to DIY Lip Balm and Lotion Bars.
Solid Perfume Ingredients
For our solid perfume base, you are going to need to use a carrier oil, a wax and a fragrance.
Beeswax
The beeswax is what makes our solid perfume solid. Beeswax is an emollient, meaning that it creates a barrier over our skin. This barrier that it creates, is going to keep the solid perfume on you for longer. I am using beeswax for this recipe, but if you prefer you can use candelilla wax. However, the candelilla wax is harder and the recipe is slightly different, you can get the recipe in the Vegan Solid Perfume post.
Carrier Oil
Another important ingredient in a solid perfume is the carrier oil. This is going to be any oil that is in liquid form. We call it a carrier oil because they are going to dilute and “carry” the fragrance to our skin safely. You also need a carrier oil to soften the beeswax up, otherwise it would be too thick to use. I am using Jojoba Oil for my perfume but you can swap this out for a different oil if you prefer. Jojoba oil closely resembles the sebum that your skin creates and is non comedogenic, meaning it will not clog your pores.
Testing out scent combinations
When you are making your own scent combination, with essential oils or with fragrance oils, put a few drops on a blotting paper. Then fan the paper back and forth under your nose. The fanning of the paper should give you a good idea of how the scents are going to work (or not work) together.
What scents can I use to make Solid Perfume?
Although I went with Love Spell fragrance oil, which I’m absolutely in love with, you might want to go a more natural route and use essential oils.
Fragrance Option 1: One Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil
To make this solid perfume super simple, you can do what I did and use one fragrance (or essential oil) in your perfume. This is such an easy way to make solid perfume at home. I like to use one scent when I am working with a fragrance oil as the scent is already mixed.
Fragrance Option 2: Premade Essential Oil Blend
Another simple option is to get a premade blend of essential oils. This is a mix of essential oils that are already blended by the company and it takes all the guesswork out of the process for you.
Fragrance Option 3: Bend Essential Oils to make your own scent
The rule of thumb when making an essential oil blend is to have a top, middle and base note in the blend. The top note introduces the scent, the middle and the core to your solid perfume.
Top Notes
Top notes are the aromas that are first detected by our nose. They are the first impression that you will get from a perfume. The essential oils on this note typically you love or hate them. Typically they are fresh or sharp scents. However, these scents evaporate quickly and you almost cant smell them 10 minutes after you apply them due to their lighter molecular structure. Examples of top notes include:
- Lemon
- Grapefruit
- Eucalyptus
- Pine
- Basil
- Blood Orange
Middle Notes
The middle note is detected between 10-45 minutes after applying. It will typically be detected right after the top note goes away. The middle notes are the base of the perfume and can last on our skin for several hours. These essential oils are typically well rounded and very pleasant. Examples of middle notes include:
- Lavender
- Sage
- Rose
- Geranium
Base Notes
The base note is the fixative that holds the fragrance together, these notes will last the longest in your perfume. They tend to be deep and rich aroma that is detected after the top note dissipated. Examples of base notes include:
- Patchouli
- Sandalwood
- Vanilla
Safety Information
Although it is very tempting to get wild and add a whole bunch of fragrance to your solid perfume, you need to check what level is safe to use. There is a manufacturer’s recommendation on essential oils and fragrance oils that you can follow. This is going to let you know how much you can use in a leave-on product.
The best way to measure this is not by drops, you should use a kitchen scale as this will give you the exact weight of the product you are using.
How do I make my solid perfume last longer?
If you want to know how to make this last longer, the best thing that you can do is keep it covered at all times. Also keep it out of direct sunlight. The sun can cause some melting and this will make the scent dissipate quicker than when it stays in solid form.
How do you use a solid perfume?
Once your solid perfume has cooled down and is in solid form, rub your finger across the top of it. You are going to apply this to your pulse points, behind your ears, on your wrist and if you would like on the base of your neck.
How to make a solid perfume stick
Put the beeswax and jojoba oil in a heat safe container.
On your stovetop, with a double boiler, heat until the beeswax is fully melted. Remove from the heat once it is melted.
Add your fragrance or essential oils and mix well. You need to be working quickly as this is going to solidify on your.
Pour the heated mixture into your container. If the mixture has already started to harden up on you, you are going to need to gently heat this back up in order to package it.
Allow the solid perfume sticks to cool completely. You want to allow the solid perfume to cool with the lid left off of the container as we do not want to get any condensation in the lids and contaminate our perfume.
Love Spell Solid Perfume
Equipment
- Scale
Ingredients
- 0.88 ounce | 44% Beeswax
- 1.12 ounce | 56% Jojoba Oil
- 0.08 ounce | 4% Love Spell Fragrance Oil
Instructions
- Put the beeswax and jojoba oil in a heat safe container.
- On your stovetop, with a double boiler, heat until the beeswax is fully melted. Remove from the heat once it is melted.
- Add your fragrance or essential oils and mix well. You need to be working quickly as this is going to solidify on your.
- Pour the heated mixture into your container. If the mixture has already started to harden up on you, you are going to need to gently heat this back up in order to package it.
- Allow the solid perfume sticks to cool completely. You want to allow the solid perfume to cool with the lid left off of the container as we do not want to get any condensation in the lids and contaminate our perfume.