Solid Perfume Recipe: Make 100 g in 20 Minutes
A solid perfume is a pocket-size balm that holds an essential oil blend close to the skin. There is no water in it, so there is no preservative to calculate and no pH to test: you melt a wax and two oils, stir in your fragrance and pour. The recipe below, Natural Solid Perfume, makes about 100 g, enough to fill roughly six tins of 15 g, in about 20 minutes.
The formula (100 g)
| Phase | Ingredient | INCI | % | 100 g batch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Beeswax pastilles | Cera Alba | 28 | 28 g |
| A | Jojoba oil | Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil | 52 | 52 g |
| A | Sweet almond oil | Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil | 16 | 16 g |
| B (cool-down) | Vitamin E | Tocopherol | 1 | 1 g |
| B (cool-down) | Sweet orange essential oil | Citrus Sinensis Peel Oil | 1.5 | 1.5 g |
| B (cool-down) | Lavender essential oil | Lavandula Angustifolia Oil | 1.5 | 1.5 g |
| Total | 100 | 100 g |
The essential oils are 3 % in total. Weigh them on a scale that reads to 0.01 g.
Method
- Sanitise the tins.
- Melt the beeswax with the jojoba and almond oil.
- Cool for 2 minutes, then add the vitamin E and the essential oils.
- Pour into the tins and let them set.
Fill the tins at the first sign of thickening, so the surface sets smooth. Store them out of the sun and away from heat: a bathroom shelf is fine, a glove box in summer is not.
Make your own blend
Use up to 3 % total essential oil, and swap the orange and lavender for your own blend. A blend is built in three layers:
| Layer | Examples | Roughly how much of the fragrance |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Sweet orange, grapefruit, furocoumarin-free bergamot | 20 to 30 % |
| Heart | Lavender, geranium, ylang ylang, clary sage, rose | 30 to 50 % |
| Base | Cedarwood, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, frankincense | 20 to 30 % |
Freshly mixed blends smell sharper than they will in two days. Wait 48 hours before deciding to change anything, make the smallest batch first, wear a swipe for a full day and adjust one oil at a time.
Firmer, softer, vegan
- A higher wax percentage makes a firmer, longer-lasting stick.
- For a vegan version, swap the beeswax for candelilla at roughly half to two thirds of the weight. See candelilla wax as a beeswax substitute for how to test it.
- To skip the wax entirely, use the roll-on below.
Roll-on variation: Aromatic Roll-On Oil (100 ml)
| Ingredient | INCI | % |
|---|---|---|
| Fractionated coconut oil | Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride | 87 |
| Jojoba oil | Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil | 10 |
| Vitamin E | Tocopherol | 1 |
| Lavender essential oil | Lavandula Angustifolia Oil | 2 |
| Total | 100 |
Mix the oils and vitamin E, add the essential oil, stir and fill roll-on bottles with a small funnel. It fills about ten roll-ons of 10 ml and keeps for about 6 months. Store it out of the sun. Amber glass protects the oils.
Safety
- The 3 % total is for small-area perfume use only, and blends like this are not for the face. Face leave-on products are limited to 0.5 to 1 %.
- Avoid applying to skin that is broken, recently shaved or irritated.
- Avoid sun on spots where citrus oils are applied. Use furocoumarin-free bergamot, because cold-pressed bergamot, lemon, lime and grapefruit react with sunlight.
- Check each oil individually if you are pregnant, nursing, or giving a gift to a child or someone with respiratory sensitivities. When unsure, leave it out.
- Patch test every new blend on the inner forearm and wait 24 hours.
Maximums for other product types are in the essential oil dilution chart.
Gift it
A tin of solid perfume with a lip balm and a few bath melts makes the Scent & Balm gift set from the gift guide. See homemade spa gifts for more combinations, and the lip balm recipe for the balm.
More blends in the book
The Natural Skincare Formulary includes this formula and the roll-on, and a bonus booklet of 12 formulas (eight solid perfumes and four roll-ons) written in percentages, each kept at or below 3 % total essential oil.
