Category: Perfume

If you have been following my various activities, you know that not all of my projects are successful. Some of the recipes for baking sound yummy on paper, but end up being boring, tasteless, etc. A few of my body care formulations seem easy to follow but I end up with a product that just isn’t something I’d ever use or share. That doesn’t stop me from trying to make something new!

Spray perfumes are one of those products that have been sort of successful; roller ball perfumes have been more successful, but solid perfumes have been a bust. You can see my previous attempts at https://marykisner.com/diy-perfume/ and https://marykisner.com/maple-perfume-experiment/.

I came across a new recipe for a solid perfume that sounded like it might work. For one thing, it had way more essential oil incorporated into the mix. For another, the procedure was a little different so I thought I’d give it one more try!

Here is the recipe:

I first needed to order two of the essential oils that are listed but I did not have…Vetiver and Cinnamon Bark essential oils. Since I can’t rely on my nose to tell me what this combination would smell like, I just followed the recipe.

Once I had all the essential oils, I began with the beeswax and Jojoba oil. I measured them into a heat-safe glass cup and set the cup in a pan of water on the stove.

Heating the pan of water on the stove did not take long.

When melted, I removed the cup from the boiling water and started stirring. Let me tell you…I very quickly decided I would be there for a very long time waiting for it to get to room temperature!

I stirred for a while but then decided to just start adding the various oils. I stirred well between each addition. I did not see it turn into a “soft butter” consistency. I was too impatient!

Then I poured the mixture into my tiny containers.

It took less than 30 minutes to cool and set up.

It looks like it was successful! It is not a flowery scent…more subtle and woodsy. I smell the sandalwood first but I suspect over time, the other scents will be noticeable. We’ll see how it is in a few days. This will need to be applied over a larger area, but I think I’ll enjoy it!

So, don’t be afraid to experiment…sometimes you discover something new! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Why would I experiment making perfume that smells like maple syrup? Back in December I did another experiment with lip balm flavors…one of which was Maple Coffee. (see https://marykisner.com/two-lip-balm-flavors-and-a-cool-new-tool/). Quite a few folks liked it, including my niece in California. In fact, she let me know that it was the first scent she could actually smell since she had had Covid months before. Interesting! Recently, she asked if I would try making a Maple perfume…she didn’t care if she smelled like a pancake breakfast! Kind of yummy if you think about it!

I’ve been brainstorming with a local friend about how to make this perfume (thanks, Becky!). I knew that I needed several scents to make a balanced perfume…but what would complement the maple scent? After much deliberation, we decided that the maple would be the heaviest scent and could be enhanced with vanilla, wild orange and black pepper essential oils. (Sounds like a breakfast buffet!)

The maple flavoring was really meant to be used in cooking and baking, so one look at the ingredients let me know that I would have to use something as an emulsifier. I’ve used Polysorbate20 in the past and glycerin and alcohol can also serve that purpose. Here are the ingredients for the maple flavoring:

I tried two formulas, one with sweet almond oil as the base and the other with alcohol and glycerin as the base.

Maple Perfume #1

For the first formula I mixed the ingredients up directly in the roller ball…thinking they would blend and be easily applied with the roller ball. The ingredients included:

Unfortunately, the mixture separated, leaving a huge glob of the maple flavoring floating around. Shaking hard helped but it separated again. Not sure if I used enough Polysorbate20. It was certainly fragrant and lasted on my wrist all day!

Maple Perfume #2

The second recipe started with a 1-cup glass measuring cup and ended up filling 6 10ml spray bottles and two 10ml roller balls. However, it made it much easier to mix the ingredients.

The Maple flavoring seemed to stay mixed in this recipe but I’ll still recommend a shake before spraying!

I’ll put these in the mail to California and wait for feedback before I make any more! I must say, my kitchen smells great today! Never be afraid to experiment! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.