How to Make Your Own Perfume

More than half of all the perfume we buy is sold in November and December - as Christmas gifts. Designer fragrances can cost upwards of £40 so, instead, Kirstie Allsopp, from Kirstie & Phil's Perfect Christmas, and Sally Hornsey, a trained perfumier, explain how to create scent for under a fiver.

1. Use fragrance oils (which are artificially created in a lab and cost around £2 to £5 a bottle) rather than most essential oils (which are pressed from flowers and fruit and are much more expensive – a 500ml bottle of rose essential oils can set you back £800). Orange, other citrus and some herb essential oils (Kirstie used bergamot which is a citrus essential oil) are generally cheaper so it’s worth comparing prices.

Where to Buy Ingredients & Kits:

> Sensory Perfection
> Gracefruit
> The Soap Kitchen
> Plush Folly

2. Create your blend by mixing a few drops of oil on a piece of cotton wool until you are happy with the mix. It's a case of trial and error, but Sally finds it helpful to group her notes: floral, woody, green/fresh, fruity, Oriental (spicy) - and have a balance of each of them.

A good blend of different notes gives a perfume structure and depth, which makes it last longer.

3. Once you've created your blend, dilute with perfumer's alcohol. For an eau de toilette blend, go for 10% perfume oils and 90% alcohol. For a stronger parfum blend, go for a 20/80 ratio.

So, for a 50ml bottle of the suggested eau de toilette blend above, you need 5mls of perfume oil blend (35 drops of each of the four notes) and 45mls of alcohol.

For more information on perfume and soap-making courses, products and kits, go to Plush Folly.