Home crafting, which has become something of a trend in recent years anyway, certainly found its groove among the UK’s population during the first lockdown — and has continued to be a popular way of spending time for those of us who are at a loose end in the present. If you want to take a slightly different tack to what others are doing, then there is one option that is a bit outside-the-box, but fits in well with the idea that crafting should be about creating something pleasant and luxurious. We are talking about making your own perfume — a skill that takes a little bit of honing, but when you get it right will mean you never need to shell out the equivalent of a week’s rent or more for something you’ll wear maybe a couple of times a month.
By Team Savant
Image: Hanna Balan
Where Do You Start?
The first step in becoming a perfumier is to get your ingredients and equipment together, and what exactly this means will depend on the process you’re going for. Some people make perfume from a mix of essential oils in a carrier oil, which they decant into dabber bottles and then apply to the skin in small drops. Others will use an alcohol base and add fragrance, usually in the form of an oil. The idea with the latter is that the base will project the fragrance further and give the perfume more of a “pop”.
You can find all of the ingredients for your efforts online, and some of the carrier oils may even be available in your local supermarkets. You should buy small amounts to begin with, as you’ll need to get the technique down before working with volume - but in the long run, it’s simple to source wholesale chemicals and then branch out with the fragrancing ingredients. Some people use crushed flower petals for fragrance; this does allow a more natural scent, but it can be harder to detect in the mix.
What Do You Need To Know?
It is essential to keep an eye on the safety and legality of everything that you buy and use - and doubly so if you intend to sell your concoctions for a profit. The best bet when making perfume is to start with someone else’s recipe as a base idea, so when it comes to sourcing the ingredients for the process you should simply run a Google search for the name of the compound along with “safety recommendations” and “legal in UK”. Usually it will be completely fine, but it’s worth checking, especially as ingredients bought from overseas can be held up in a customs check and refused entry if they are deemed dangerous.
Why Make Your Own Perfume?
In truth, the making of a perfume to your own preferences is an indulgent process - there are plenty of excellent options that you could just buy, and once you’ve gathered together the ingredients, bottles and other containers, you’ll probably have spent enough for a few high-end scents. However, if you persevere, you’ll get more than your money’s worth, and more importantly you’ll be creating something of your own. If you get good at it, there may well be profit potential - and let’s not forget, you can create a signature scent that is yours alone, which is a pretty cool thing to be able to say.
Anything Else To Bear In Mind?
If you’ve ever made your own candles, you will know precisely how messy the process can be, and there are similar concerns with perfume. If those candles were scented, you will also know how the fragrance can stick around — so make sure that you are careful with ingredients. This is not a process that involves heating things, so you don’t need to use your kitchen and you shouldn’t — the contamination risk may be small, but it exists, so shut it down. Find or create a place where you can mix and match without the fear of people or pets ingesting anything, and then fire away.
Making perfume from base ingredients is an intriguing twist on the crafting process, and is well worth getting into if you enjoy scents and smells. Before too long, you’ll know more than you ever knew there was to know about perfumery, and be able to create magic of a kind that most people never even dream of.