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Making this easy solid perfume is probably one of my favorite recent projects. I’m not the only one who loved it, though…
I had some friends over last weekend after having made my last batch, and they were curious as to what I had made in those cute little aluminum tins. When I showed them and let them smell it, they both wanted me to make them some.
Would you be surprised if I told you that I’m not talking about two girls? 😉
That’s what’s so great about this. You can make these in whatever scent you like, be it fruity or floral or woodsy or whatever you prefer. It can be masculine or feminine or even unisex like my last citrusy batch which appealed to both my male and female guests.
This is one of those projects that is truly much more simple than most people would imagine. If you can warm up a bit of oil and wax in a double boiler, you can easily make yourself some solid perfume. Seriously!
I’ve been making salves and lip glosses for years using this technique, but this time I decided to add in more scented essential oils to make myself a solid perfume.
Why would you want to make solid perfume?
Why wouldn’t you?
But seriously, I love having solid perfume for traveling or just taking around in my purse. Liquid perfume isn’t as compact or practical.
Why would I make my own?
Because it’s easy and I can choose the (natural) ingredients to make whatever scent I want to make.
Materials
- 1 Tbsp. sweet almond oil or other oil of choice
- 1 Tbsp. beeswax pellets
- essential oils
Instructions
- Measure out your oil and wax and place in the top of a double boiler. I used sweet almond oil this time, but have also used both coconut oil and jojoba oil in the past. Coconut oil is solid at cooler room temperatures, so the end product will also be a bit more solid in the end. If that concerns you, you can use slightly less wax to compensate.
- Warm your ingredients over medium heat until the wax melts.
- Remove from the heat and mix your wax into the oil thoroughly.
- Choose your essential oils and mix into your oil and wax mixture.
- Pour your perfume into small containers. It will set as it cools off. In the winter mine was ready in just a few minutes, but in the summer, it will take longer, of course.
My popular citrus perfume was made with a mixture of all of my citrusy essential oils.
Citrus Perfume
5-10 drops lemon EO
5-10 drops sweet orange EO
5-10 drops tangerine EO
10-15 drops bergamot EO
Homemade Lavender Sachets
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Marilyxrose
What can I use instead of essential oil, I dont have any essential oil nor I can buy them? any suggestions.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Marilyxrose,
Fragrance oils are also available, but many have toxic ingredients. That’s why I prefer making a more natural perfume with essential oils.
Essential oils can be easily found online and in herbal stores in most parts of the world.
Amelia
For how long can you store it ?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Amelia,
Because no water is involved in the recipe, it should keep for as long as your oils and waxes would. I’d go by the expiration date of the oil you use as a guide. 😉
Michelle
This looks like a wonderful recipe. I currently don’t have any tins, so do you think twist up chapstick tubes would work instead?
Thanks!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Michelle,
Yes! That’s an awesome idea for easy application. It should work perfectly! 🙂
Manoj
Hi,
Awsome post, just loved it. Too suprised to see its that simple.
Just one doubt, you have mentioned almond oil and essential oil along with beewax, will just using almond oil with beewax work fine or will it make it difficult to apply?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Manoj,
The essential oils are what gives the perfume its fragrance, so if you don’t use any, you won’t really be making a perfume. You’ll end up with a sort of hydrating balm instead that you could use to soothe chapped lips instead. 😉
Kathleen
I have made the solid perfumes and really love the scent. However, the scents don’t have much longevity. This is the same case for my experimentation in making liquid perfumes in which I’m using vodka as the medium. I read that you have to use a fixative to make the scents last. Do you have some experience in this or recommendations? I read to use vetiver EO but that didn’t work so well.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Kathleen,
You’ve just touched on the major disadvantage of natural perfumes. I normally bring a small tin with me for using whenever I want to, but you’re right- the scent doesn’t last very long at all. The problem with the fixatives is they are all usually synthetics. It depends on how stricly natural you want your product to be.
To be honest, I bought a couple of fixatives at the last minute on a whim one day when I was already making a large purchase of materials for making soaps and lotions. My intent was to come up with a liquid perfume recipe for the blog. I normally buy from an all natural suplier, so I didn’t even really look at what I was buying. (I guess I figured I’d study it when it was time to make and use it.)
In the end, I never tried using them- and they are still sitting unopened in my cupboard. They are mostly made up of silicones, which some people may not have a problem with, but I just wasn’t 100% onboard with making a product with them.
So, long story short, no, I’ve never used the fixatives (despite having them), and I haven’t really found a great solution to increasing the longevity I’m afraid. I hadn’t read that about vetiver- definitely something to look into.
Mita
Hii, I just read your comment, and I was wondering, do you mean ‘liquid perfume’ as in the sort that is blended with a carrier oil and essential oils in a glass bottle? I have an Etsy store where I sell these (Svcoleccion). Basically, with vodka, you use the oils (they have to be a base scent, a middle note, and top note) and leave the bottle in a cool, dark place for about 24-48 hours, and shake the bottle for a few seconds everyday. The perfume I made for myself has become stronger over time! I have organic vetiver oil, and the roots we got from India, and because the oil is on a thicker side, it’ll take longer to blend. If you are using sweet almond oil as a carrier, or jojoba, use more essential oils. The roll-on blends I’ve made for my fam still have a strong scent! (Some oils can’t be used in huge amounts, so check for the dilution ratio). Hope this helps!
Kate
This looks like an ideal solution to my leaking perfume problem when traveling. What temp does this usually start to sweat and melt? Will it hold up in tropical climates without melting all over your stuff in bag?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Kate,
Beeswax has a melting point around 145ºF, so the perfume should hold up pretty well to whatever heat you can stand. If you leave it in a hot enough car, perhaps it could eventually melt. I’m not sure how hot it can get in a closed car on a hot day. For taking with you, though, you shouldn’t have any problems. I’ve never had any melt in my purse, not even in the summer.
If you’re in a tropical climate, I am jealous. I’m freezing today. 😉
Georgia
Hi Tracy, thank you so much for sharing this.
I’m vegan so I wouldn’t want to use beeswax, is there any other items you would suggest? I saw someone else mentioned Shea Butter?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Georgia,
Candelilla wax is the wax that is normally used as a vegan substitute for beeswax! I’ve used it before and have found that it works as a great substitution for all of the recipes I’ve tried it with!
Shea butter probably wouldn’t work very well. It’s not hard enough, and if you use unrefined, it has a strong scent of its own that would interfere with your perfume. You could maybe use only refined shea butter mixed with essential oils (not using any other oil with them), but the texture would be different from this recipe.
Penny
How many tins does this fill?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Penny,
The recipe makes around 1 fluid ounce, so depending upon the size of your tin, that should give you an idea.
Elizabeth
Hello!
Do you add water to boil the beeswax pellets?
Whats the measurement of the water and pellets?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Elizabeth,
Don’t add water to the pellets. The water is just boiled underneath it to melt the wax in a double boiler system. You don’t want any water in the wax/oil mixture. You just need equal parts of wax and oil which you melt together in a container over the wáter.
Leslie
Love this recipe. If you don’t mind me asking, what oils and drop amount do you use for the more woodsy perfume??
Tracy Ariza
Hi Leslie,
I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember what I used. Most of the time I go by trial and error, and I’m not very organized with my notes, unfortunately.
If I find my notes, I’ll try to update here with more ideas for different combinations that I’ve enjoyed.
I’ve seen tutorials online for different combinations of perfumes made with essential oils. They are geared towards making liquid perfumes, but you can apply the same combinations of oils here. You may be able to find some good combinations there.