Blending with essential oils is fun and creative and the results can be astounding. We can make our own personal fragrances, use them in our handmade products as well as in our oil diffusers and burners at home. We can even make our own natural perfumes!
This is a beginners guide to blending across fragrance groups with essential oils to help you get started and to demonstrate that it can be really easy. This simple formula is courtesy of Gareth Despres of Aromatic Therapeutics.
In perfumery, there are six fragrance groups and today we will focus on three of them:
Step one
Calculate the total number of essential oil drops required for your blend. This is either 1% (for children, sensitive skin and facial skincare) or 2% (for healthy adults).
1% = 1 drop of essential oil per 5ml carrier oil. 2% = 2 drops essential oil per 5ml carrier oil.
Step two
Divide your total number of drops into three parts as follows. Calculate how many drops are required for your main part (half of the total), second part (approx 2/3 of the remaining) and final part (approx 1/3 of the remaining). The only exception to this is if you want to use ylang ylang as your main part – it is a very strong oil and you may want to try with slightly less than half first.
For example:
Total drops 5: main 3 drops, second 1 drop, third 1 drop
Total drops 10: main 5 drops, second 3 drops, third 2 drops
Total drops 20: main 10 drops, second 6 drops, third 4 drops
Step three
Choose the main part for your fragrance – fruity, floral or oriental. Do you want a fruity, uplifting blend? Or a more exotic, sensuous blend?
Choose the second and final parts for your fragrance from the remaining groups. These will have a more subtle effect on your overall blend.
For example:
Main = fruity
Second = floral
Final = oriental
Step four
Choose the essential oils you would like to use from each category.
For example:
Main = fruity = bergamot
Second = floral = geranium
Final = oriental = benzoin
Step five
Calculate the number of drops you require from each category.
For example:
Main= fruity = bergamot = 5 drops
Second = floral = geranium = 3 drops
Final= oriental = benzoin = 2 drops
Step six
Carefully add your drops of essential oil to your carrier oil or product. Place the top on and give it a good shake.
Hey, presto you have designed your own beautiful, unique fragrance!
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