Making Botanical Perfumes & Colognes
Did you know that most perfumes and colognes are manufactured using synthetic chemicals, even petroleum? Many of these ingredients do not need to be listed on the labels, but are known allergens, hormone disruptors, and irritants. The majority have never even been studied for cosmetic use! This is pretty scary, but the good news is that we can easily create our own perfumes and colognes from natural ingredients. Not only are they safer, but many botanicals also have therapeutic properties that are grounding, energizing, relaxing, stimulating, uplifting, and balancing. True, these fragrances will need to be reapplied more often than their chemical counterparts, but they are much better for our minds and bodies. If in need of a little sprucing up during the day, carry a small bottle of your favorite aroma in your purse. You can even make special formulas like a relaxing blend for stressful situations or something energizing for afternoons that drag. The options are endless! Below are several blends that I have played around with, but feel free to concoct your own special recipes.
Orange Spice Cologne
A warming, spicy, and exotic blend that will lift spirits, invigorate senses, alleviate stress, mental fatigue, and tension. The aroma is delightfully reminiscent of Chai tea.
- 1 organic Cinnamon Stick
- 25 organic whole Cardamom Pods
- 15 organic Cloves
- 1 organic Vanilla Bean – cut into small pieces
- 1 fresh organic Orange peel – zest only
- 8 oz Vodka
Crush spices in a mortar and pestle. Combine with Vanilla Bean pieces, Orange peel zest, and vodka in a glass mason jar. Cap tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain the spices and pour the infused liquid into a glass bottle with a mister top. Simply add more spices if you desire a stronger cologne.
Citrus Cologne
A fresh citrus scent with herbal notes, this uplifting aroma is stimulating and revitalizing.
- 1 fresh organic Lemon peel – zest only
- 1 fresh organic Grapefruit peel – zest only
- Organic essential oil of choice, examples: Basil, Chamomile, Lavender, or Peppermint
- 8 oz Vodka
Combine Lemon and Grapefruit peel zest in a glass mason jar and add vodka until the liquid rises above the peel zest by at least 1”. Cap tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain out the citrus peels and pour the resulting cologne into a glass bottle with a mister top. Add 2 drops of essential oil for each tablespoon of finished cologne. Add more essential oil if you desire a stronger cologne.
Fresh Floral Cologne
This relaxing cologne can be made with fresh blossoms straight from the garden! The flowers help ease depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, hyperactivity, irritability, tension, and exhaustion.
- Fresh or dried organic Rose Petals
- Fresh or dried organic Chamomile flowers
- Fresh or dried organic Lavender flowers
- Vodka
Combine all ingredients in a glass mason jar and add vodka until the liquid rises above the flowers by at least 1”. Cap tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain the flowers and pour the resulting cologne into a glass bottle with a mister top.
Woodland Perfume
I love this blend! It truly smells like the forest. Uplifting, grounding, meditative, and comforting.
- 4 drops Spruce essential oil
- 2 drops organic Fir Needle essential oil
- 2 drops organic Cedarwood essential oil
- 1 drop organic Vetiver essential oil
- 1 drop organic Bergamot essential oil
- 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil
Drip all essential oils into a glass bottle and roll between palms to evenly mix the oils. Add Jojoba oil, and roll again. Add additional essential oils if you desire a stronger perfume.
Sweet Summer Perfume
A relaxing and warming blend reminiscent of summer, with a lightly floral aroma complemented by hints of spice and cedar. Especially useful during times of stress, anxiety, irritability, or depression. A great lift-me-up during the cold and dark winter months!
- 10 drops organic Lavender essential oil
- 5 drops organic Chamomile essential oil
- 4 drops organic Cardamom essential oil
- 1 drop organic Cedarwood essential oil
- 1 drop organic Geranium (Rose) essential oil
- 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil
Drip all essential oils into a glass bottle, and roll between palms to evenly mix the oils. Add Jojoba oil and roll again. Add additional essential oils if you desire a stronger perfume.
Refreshing Perfume
Rejuvenating, uplifting, energizing, and stimulating. This blend is good for mental clarity, lack of focus, and fatigue.
- 13 drops organic Peppermint essential oil
- 13 drops organic Rosemary essential oil
- 5 drops organic Lemon essential oil
- 5 drops organic Sage essential oil
- 5 drops organic Juniper Berry essential oil
- 1 tsp organic Jojoba Oil
Drip all essential oils into a glass bottle and roll between palms to evenly mix the oils. Add Jojoba oil and roll again. Add additional essential oils if you desire a stronger perfume.
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Please leave a comment to share your own perfume and cologne recipes, we’d love to hear about them!
~ irene
We Are A Zero
A night of refreshments and scented delights : )
Going to do the Floral one soon!
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I love patchouli and bergamot with a touch of vanilla. These recipes sound so yummy! I especially like the Woodland Blend! Thanks!
Hi. I love these ideas and cannot wait to try a few. I am wondering the difference between the bases of vodka and jojoba oil. Can you explain why one is better than another? Thanks.
Hi jmcarree,
Thank you for the great question! Jojoba oil is typically used when creating concentrated perfumes that are applied directly to the skin, and vodka is used when making colognes or perfumes that are less concentrated and misted onto the skin or clothing.
I hope that this helps!
~ irene
Irene, just double checking, but does that quality of the alcohol matter when making colognes? I know it does when you are actually going to drink it, but just checking.
Hi Firefly (love your name!),
Thank you for the wonderful question! I think that a lower quality of alcohol would be appropriate when making colognes, I honestly don’t believe that the quality will make much of a difference in the finished product.
If you try making your own colognes and perfumes, we’d love to hear how they turn out!
~ irene
Hi I’m interested to make my own fragrances without the use of alcohol, is there a particular method to do so, or it’s simply the same as using spring water to make air fresheners?
Hi Y.K,
Thank you for the great question! If you used water instead of alcohol in the cologne recipes, then the mixture would begin to ferment within a few days. However, you can use Witch Hazel Extract instead of the alcohol in these cologne recipes. The Witch Hazel Extract will not draw as much fragrance out of the botanicals as the alcohol would, but it would be perfectly suited for creating air fresheners or lightly scented cologne. You could also turn any of the perfume recipes into room sprays by omitting the Jojoba oil, and adding the essential oil blend to 3 oz. water and 1 oz. Witch Hazel Extract.
We have several recipes for making aromatherapy sprays on our blog, here are links to the recipes:
Winter Spice Aroma Spray: http://mountainroseblog.com/homemade-gifts/
Late Summer Aromatherapy Spray: http://mountainroseblog.com/savoring-summer/
Vanilla Aroma Spray: http://mountainroseblog.com/decadent-vanilla-recipes-2/
Thank you again for the thoughtful question, and best of luck with all of your aromatherapy adventures!
~ irene
Thanks so much for the informative reply Irene, you’re a great help!
Hi! Just wondering what the shelf life of these are? Especially the colognes. Cheers! x
Hi Bluesky1000,
Thank you so much for your question, and for reading our blog! The colognes will last for years since they are made with a base of vodka. If kept stored in a dark-colored bottle with a tight-fitting lid in a cool, dark area, then most alcohol-based colognes will have an indefinite shelf life.
Thank you again, I hope that you enjoy making your own botanical colognes!
~ irene
Hi, if I use Witch Hazel Extract and water,according to your recipe for a room spray, what the shelf life would be?
Thank you,
Alena
Hi Alena,
Thank you for your question! The shelf life would be at least 6 months, and most likely longer. The scent may lessen over time, but the sprays shouldn’t spoil or go bad (especially if you use distilled water).
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns, and thank you again!
~ irene
Thank you Irene! Yes, I do have another question.What would be the best to use for these air sprays, if I plan to sell them at the local market:
1. Grain alcohol only
2. Grain alcohol + distilled water
3. Witch hazel + distilled water
4. Witch hazel only
I’m concerned about the lasting scent and shelf life.
I would really appreciate your advise again.
Thank you.
Alena
Dear Alena,
Thank you for your reply! Selling air sprays at your local market, how exciting!
If you’re planning to offer these to the public, then I would recommend making test batches and carefully monitoring them before you begin selling them. This will allow you to know which base you prefer, and will also help you determine the shelf life of your product.
Thank you again, we wish you the best of luck with your endeavors!
~ irene
Thank you Irene. So I guess it’s possible to use all 4 recipes. I was not sure about using the Witch hazel only.
Alena
Alena
I have gastric health issues so I often make tinctures to help my gut, I couldnt help but noticing that the perfumes with a vodka base, ferment 2-6 weeks and I wonder if I could use the same process that I use to make tincture to make a large batch of perfume for gifts this Christmas.
Basically what you do is add your herbs finely ground into a mason jar and then add a fine(?) alcohol and place the entire mason jar in a pot of boiling water to reduce the alcohol content(?) a hippie girl taught me how to do it and I have only made two very small batches since it is only for me in two years but I wonder if it would reduce the time of (?) infusion? of the herbs and essential oils. I was thinking of the Summer one with the cardomom pods and the floral one. I just wondered if you have ever tried it to reduce the time needed to infuse??
Also I read what you posted about the witch hazel and in heat in the summer I think it would evaporate, in addition in my family we use it as an astringent for acne and cleansing the face but I know that there are tucks that use it for a certain medical condition.
Thanks for your wonderful tutorial!!
Sorry I thought it was Alena not Irene who posted the tutorial, forgive me.
Hi special_k,
Thank you for your question, and for reading our blog. What a fun Christmas gift!
I’ve never infused tinctures in the method that you described, but you can certainly experiment with different methods of preparing the cologne recipes. I would add any essential oils after removing the jar from the heat, once that the liquid has cooled.
I hope that your colognes turn out wonderful!
~ irene
Thank you, Thats really cool, I will will try a small amount since essential oils are so pricey.. but the citrus orange and floral ones will be the ones I will try.
Those I can afford to mess up I’ll really just be out vodka!
[...] Mountain Rose Herbs has a great post about how to make perfume from actual herbs, plants and flowers if you’d like to go that route. [...]