Personalised Fragrances
Personalisation of cosmetic products, as well as personalised fragrances was another trend of 2024 and we're here for it. Essential oils are perfect for this because they're natural, have therapeutic benefits and there are a huge variety of options to choose from (and even more when you blend them together). Be sure to check out our articles on essential oil blends for inspiration.
So how do you go about creating a personalised scent?
Scent is a highly subjective sense. What smells nice to me, may not smell the same to you. Scents are also able to bring back memories, making them even more of a personal choice.
Signature scents may change with the seasons, days of the week or your mood - which is totally normal. Right now I’m enjoying cooling, fresh scents, but in winter I might like something a bit more sweet and spicy for example.
How To Make Your Own Signature Scent
Since scents are subjective, creating your own signature scent is entirely up to you!
Think about whether you prefer sweet scents, floral scents, spicy, woodsy, or herbaceous scents, as this will help you decide which essential oils to go for.
Think about what scents you like. Do you enjoy the soft, papery scent of books, the invigorating smell of fresh grass or a forest (woodsy, herbaceous), the smell of rain in the air or of damp ground (earthy); freshly baked ginger cookies or sweet ice cream (sweet) or even the smell of a certain alcohol. Think about scents that you love and then think whether they fall into certain categories such as floral, spicy, woodsy, herbaceous etc. You can also google what a specific scent smells like, to give you an idea of how to build it. Once you know more information then go to the next step below:
I suggest first finding one essential oil that you really like. Hold it under your nose and breathe in deeply. Think about what the scent evokes in your mind, and if you could happily sniff that all day long or if you will quickly get over it. What scent do you keep coming back to?
Then choose another essential oil and remove the lid, holding the two under your nose so that you can smell what they are like together. As both essential oils waft up, this will give you an idea of whether they combine well or not. If they don’t, choose a different essential oil to try with your first oil and see if they work together. Repeat until you find two that go well together. Once you’ve found two that you like, try a third to see if it blends well with the other two. And so on.
Note: you don’t have to have a set number of essential oils combined together; you may just fall in love with one or two scent combinations. But if you are going for more complex scents then you will likely need to build at least three together.
Using one drop each at a time, mix up some different essential oils until you find something you really love. Always start with a base note first, then a drop of a middle note, then finally a drop of a top note. For more information on which essential oils fall under which notes, please read The Art Of Natural Perfumery and also Solid Perfume Making.
This is a process of trial and error. You may need to add more of one to bring it to the fore. But start with one drop of each and then smell to decide.
You can also hold the vial submerged in a cup of warm water to bring out the scents. Your skin is warm so create similar conditions to really tell what the scent will smell like.
And that is how you build a scent profile. You will end up with an essential oil blend in a vial and you can use your personalised essential oil blend in a variety of ways.
Always do a patch test of the essential oil blend first to check you aren't allergic to anything.
How To Use Your Signature Scent
1) You can dab a drop on your neck and wrists for a long lasting fragrance. You will need very little, literally only a drop!
2) You can dilute it into a carrier oil blend to scent it, or add it to a moisturiser.
3) Add a few drops to your bath water.
4) Add it to a burner or diffuser to scent your whole space.
Juliette’s Signature Scents
Who said you only have to have only one signature scent? I love a couple of different scents so here are two of my favourites.
I love the smell of chamomile blue. It’s a little floral but not too sweet, and has hints of fresh notes and even some mint. Combining the chamomile with grounding vetiver and a top note of fresh lime gives it a slightly more complex scent.
Scent #1
1 drop vetiver
2 drops chamomile blue
2 drops lime
Add the vetiver to a vial first, then add the chamomile and lastly the lime - in order of their scent notes.
My second signature scent is reminiscent of damp earth and fresh foliage after a rainfall. It uses a lot of earthy, grounding notes with a couple hits of fresher ones. This scent is pretty unisex so I think even men may enjoy it.
Scent #2
10 drops copaiba balsam
5 drops sandalwood
5 drops vetiver
2 drops clary sage
2 drops lemon
Add the scents in order of their notes starting with the base notes: copaiba balsam, sandalwood and vetiver. Then add middle note clary sage, and finally top note lemon.
Let us know what scent combinations you love!
About the author:
Juliette van der Meer
BSc, BScH, Adv Dip Cosmetic Science
Cosmetic scientist
