Do You Know What's in Your Perfume Bottle?
We can find fragrance in everything, perfumes, body lotions, deodorants and laundry detergents. It’s always included as an ingredient on the label, but what exactly is fragrance made of? That’s a mystery, and here’s why:
Manufacturers of perfume, personal care, or cleaning products purchase fragrance mixtures from fragrance houses which are specialized places/labs where synthetic scents are developed. Manufacturers may then use those fragrance mixtures to develop their own proprietary blends, purchase pre-made fragrances or employ the fragrance houses to develop blends for them.
What’s in fragrances is considered a trade secret. Something like grandma’s secret recipe that restaurants keep in a safe in a dingy basement…just kidding. But either way, we’ll never know the truth of what they’re made of.
I have an allergy to a chemical that’s used in certain fragrances. How do I know? Because I would start sneezing and my eyes would get watery when I inhaled it. It wasn’t the case with all perfumes, only some. So, as opposed to trying to figure it out (which is impossible, anyways), I just try to avoid synthetic fragrances as much as possible.
Just one perfume can contain between 50 to 3,000 distinct chemicals, some of which are known to cause health issues. Did you know that the scent of Jasmine in modern perfumes is created by using a synthetic material named Indole, which is derived from coal tar?
This means that just because your body lotion, perfume or even a cleaning product states it's Lavender scented, it doesn't mean it contains Lavender essential oil. It is probably an artificial scent that is made with different chemicals.
Historically, perfumes have been made from flowers, leaves and the fruit of plants. Cleopatra used to make her own perfume and cosmetics. She even had a factory by the Dead Sea. Some of the natural scents she used (based on available information) were Rose, Jasmine, Blue Lotus, Myhrr, Cinnamon and Vanilla. They are all available to this day, so why not create your own irresistible scent with essential oils?
You might be thinking, oh geez..I don’t even know where to start. It seems so complicated. The wonderful part is it doesn’t have to be!
A little bit over a year ago I attended a botanical perfumery class at the New York Institute of Aromatic Studies in NYC. It was a three-hour workshop and we went over 24 essential oils. At the end of the course we created our own scent. It was such a great workshop and I loved the scent I created.
But, let me tell you right away, you don’t need 24 essential oils to start. You also don’t need to go to NYC and do an in-person workshop (unless you want to of course 😊).
There are 2 easy ways you can ditch your toxic perfume and start using essential oils right away without being an expert in botanical perfumery:
There are a lot of ready made essential oil blends available on the market to purchase (my favorites are Whisper and Passion), OR
Go to Pinterest
Pick one essential oil or scent that you like
Search for a diffuser synergy with that essential oil
You will get recipes for a lot of different blends. They are intended to be used in a diffuser, however, if you like the aroma, why not make it a perfume? You would add 10-20 drops of the blend in a 10ml roller bottle and top it off with jojoba oil. I highly recommend jojoba because it’s fast absorbing and not greasy. You will need to apply it every 3-4 hours as the scent doesn’t last long because there’s no alcohol.
You can also purchase and use perfumer’s alcohol and mix it in a spray bottle with your essential oil blend of choice. It will make the scent last longer and you will not need to re-apply it so often. However, alcohol can dry out the skin and it is not as affordable as jojoba oil so I definitely recommend using jojoba.
I would love to hear from you! Please let me know down in the comments if you have a favorite scent and what is your favorite synergy or blend that you like to use in a roller bottle.
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