How to create your very own perfume

Anyone who’s had a whiff of her grandmother’s Chanel No. 5 would agree that nothing brings back a memory like smell. It can instantly transport you to another time.

As the only perfumer to blend, bottle, and sell fragrances in the United States, Renee Gabet of Annie Oakley Perfumery has loved fragrances since she was a little girl.

“My mom and grandmother would look at lingerie, and I’d go to the perfume department, where my passion was to smell all of the scents,” she says. “I learned about all the wonderful, beautiful, natural smells.”

While most fragrances are synthetic, Annie Oakley uses natural scents, including some sourced from India, and some perfumes take up to three years to complete.

Gabet has a mastery of every natural scent and mixes the different notes ­— base notes, middle notes, and top notes — to create complexity that appeals to specific markets. For custom scents, however, Annie Oakley offers tours of the perfumery for those who want their perfect personal fragrance.

“For signature scents, we go through a process of profiling. It’s not just what you like to smell, but also your hobbies, your environment,” Gabet says.

For those who can’t make it up to northeast Indiana for their own tour, try making a homemade perfume. We tried making our own using a recipe from the blog designsponge.com. The process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to make. Gabet recommends focusing on quality.

“We use the best lavender in the entire world, and you can really notice a difference,” she says. “Try to find something of good quality in your price range.”

WHAT YOU NEED

2 Tablespoons carrier oil, such as jojoba, sweet almond, or grapeseed oil
6 Tablespoons high-quality vodka
2½ Tablespoons distilled or spring water
Coffee filter
Funnel
Essential oils for blending. We used 7 drops orange oil, 14 drops lavender oil, and 9 drops lemon oil.
Two dark-colored glass bottles — one for curing, one for storing
Decorative perfume bottles for storage (optional)

WHAT TO DO

1. Begin by washing the bottles.

2. Place the bottles on a rimmed baking pan in an oven set to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove bottles from the oven once they are completely dry. Put a lid on the bottle you’ll use for the finished product and set it aside.

3. Place the carrier oil into one of the bottles.

4. Add the essential oils in the following order: the base notes, the middle notes, and the top notes (lavender + orange + lemon).

5. Add the vodka. Place the lid on the bottle and shake vigorously for several minutes.

6. Allow the bottle to sit for 48 hours to six weeks. The scent will change over time, becoming strongest at around six weeks.

7. Check it regularly, and once you’re happy with it, add two Tablespoons of spring water to the blend.

8. Give the bottle a good shake for one minute. Place a coffee filter into a funnel and transfer the contents from the curing bottle to the other bottle. Label your blend.

9. Your perfume is ready to wear. Remember, the best place for storing your creation is in a dark-colored bottle.