How to Create Your Own Signature Scent

There is something special about wearing a scent that nobody else has. With a few essential oils, a roller bottle and a little patience, you can create a natural perfume that is entirely yours.

Understand the three notes

Every good perfume is built like a pyramid:

• Top notes are the first thing you smell and the first to fade. Think citrus and light herbs: bergamot, sweet orange, grapefruit, peppermint.
• Heart notes appear after a few minutes and form the character of the scent. Think florals and soft spices: lavender, geranium, ylang ylang, neroli, cardamom.
• Base notes linger for hours and hold everything together. Think woods and resins: cedarwood, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, frankincense.

The golden ratio

A balanced starting point is roughly 3 parts top, 5 parts heart and 2 parts base. You can adjust from there once you know what you like.

Step by step

1. Choose your mood. Fresh and sunny? Warm and cosy? Romantic? Our scent families guide will help.
2. Test on paper first. Put one drop of each oil on separate strips of paper, wave them together under your nose and see which combinations you love.
3. Blend in a tiny glass dish. Start with your base, then heart, then top, counting drops as you go and writing them down.
4. Let it rest. Leave the blend for 24 to 48 hours. The scent will soften and come together.
5. Dilute. Add up to 6 drops of your blend to a 10ml roller bottle, about 3%, and top up with jojoba or fractionated coconut oil.
6. Patch test on your inner arm before wearing it properly.

Three recipes to try

Riviera

2 drops bergamot, 3 drops neroli, 1 drop sandalwood. Fresh, elegant and sophisticated. Best worn in the evening, as bergamot is sun-sensitive.

Spice Market

2 drops sweet orange, 2 drops cardamom, 1 drop ylang ylang, 1 drop vetiver. Warm, exotic and intriguing.

Garden After Rain

2 drops grapefruit, 3 drops geranium, 1 drop cedarwood. Green, floral and fresh.

Tips from the studio

• Smell coffee beans or your own forearm between tests to reset your nose.
• Fewer oils often make a better perfume. Three to five is plenty.
• Keep notes. Your perfect blend is no use if you cannot make it again.
• Wear citrus-based perfumes on covered skin or after sunset. See our citrus and sunshine guide.

Find all of these oils in our single essential oils range, and read our dilution guide before you start.