MakePerfumeAtHome

Finishing Your Home Made Perfume Creation

When you're happy with the perfume or cologne you have just created, pour the mixture slowly through a coffee filter to remove any remaining oil that hasn't fully distilled into the alcohol. Pour into a perfume bottle or atomizer and add distilled water to fill. Although the expensive perfumes on the market often come in clear glass containers, dark glass is generally better as it will help slow evaporation. Your scent will continue to mature and will reach its peak in about 6 to 8 weeks. After that, the bottle of perfume will last about a year before it begins to lose its potency.

Although there are some excellent books on the market regarding the chemistry of perfume creation (see the References Section at the end of this article), it seems that most well-known perfumers learned on their own or through first-hand experimentation. It's one of those things that people in the perfume trade say, “You either got it or you don't.” You may find you have a knack for coaxing new and pleasing scents out of already-familiar ingredients, or perhaps you have a special ability for bringing in just the right accent to set off the new perfume you just created. Some folks even have a 'super-sniffer' ability, i.e., an extraordinary nose for scents that can detect even the subtlest shades that will affect the final outcome. If you do, there's potentially a lot of money to be made in perfumery. It's one area that people seem to prefer the uniqueness of special crafting; you may find yourself building a clientele who want the imprimatur of a perfume expert who tailored a scent just to their needs.

Some perfumers take the local approach, opening a small boutique and crafting unique scents to order. Others offer classes and workshops and will bring their perfume-making supplies to showers and intimate get-togethers for a special and memorable experience for the participants. Others sell their perfumes, colognes and scents online and build a unique fashion brand through internet marketing and word-of-mouth. As you can see, the ingredients to make unique scents aren't terribly expensive, so perfume is clearly a high-profit margin business, it's just a matter of honing a unique talent and having demonstrated sales skills.