One of the best things that you can use to make yourself stand out in a room full of people is to use a signature scent. Now you can either go ahead and buy perfume or you can make a cologne yourself that suits your requirements. Think about it, you can mix any number of things that you require to come up with a cologne that is made specifically for you. Today, we will be telling you about the DIY process of making a cologne. So, let’s get started.
“There’s a perception that colognes are for men and perfume is for women, but the difference is actually in the concentration of oils,” says Melina Polly, CEO, and Co-Founder of Henry Rose. “An Eau de parfum is about 15 to 20 percent fragrance oil, while cologne is between two to four percent.”
Matthew Milèo, the chemist, former in-house nose for Chanel and founder of the oud-infused skincare line, Milèo New York, adds, “Cologne is a lighter alternative to perfume that is usually spiked with top notes and aldehydes, and contains a much higher concentration of alcohol.”
“Cologne is less concentrated and more volatile. It is mainly citrus, aromatic base to give a refreshing feeling.”
“It’s quite easy to make one’s own signature perfume, as all you need are alcohol, essential oils/absolutes, water, glycerin, and a fancy spray bottle worthy of the top shelf in your vanity,” says Milèo.
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Things that you will require
- Spray bottle
- distilled water
- glycerine which you will have to use as vegetable oil to enhance the long ability of the solution and make sure that it sticks to your skin
- Alcohol or witch Hazel
- Essential oil blend you can use 3 essential oils: base, middle, top.
You can even be extra fancy and throw in a dried flower or two,” suggests Milèo
How to DIY your own cologne
After you have gathered all of the things mentioned above preparing your own cologne is not a very difficult task. All you need to do is follow the steps mentioned below to achieve your goal.
Step 1: Determine the scale of fragrance
Carina Chaz, the formulator and founder of DedCool clearly mentions that it is important to “understand the fragrance scale,” when you are trying to blend a formula that you will later on used as a cologne. “Top Notes will be the first thing you’ll smell in your composition. The middle will appear once the top note dries down, and the base will be the fragrance foundation. The fragrance is all about ratios.”
Mileo is a formally trained chemist and he completely agrees with the method suggested by Chaz “The best way to guarantee a scent you’ll love is to follow the basic pyramid accord, which is 60 percent of base notes, 30 percent middle notes, and 10 percent top notes. There are many fragrance shapes and configurations, but for a DIY beginner this is a good starting point.”
He added that it is not necessarily required that you are an expert in chemistry labs in order to make your own DIY cologne. Essentially, it is very easy to do so if you follow the hereby mentioned steps carefully
It is suggested to use a ratio of 30% top, 50% middle and 20% base but keeps in mind that the final choice of this particular ratio is completely dependent upon you as you will have to decide it on the basis of the type of profile that you are trying to create.
Also keep in mind that the order in which you mix these ingredients will be highly significant in determining the final fragrance and this also means that if the steps mentioned here are performed in a different sequence from which that is mentioned here, then the outcome can be significantly different and it is upon you decide. You can even experiment if you are not aware of the exact results in order to achieve a suitable outcome.
Step 2: Blend the Essential Oils
This is arguably the most interesting part of this entire process as Chaz says “Now it’s time to start playing around,” says Chaz. “Remember, not all notes go together; this is where the trial and error come into play. Drop a few oils (one by one) and start mixing. Helpful hint: I always recommend using no more than 30 drops total and if one scent is much stronger than the rest, useless.” After you have arrived at your required formula, it is time to add 2 ounces of alcohol into the solution.
Step 3: Brew this solution
After all of the above-mentioned steps are carefully performed the next step is to let your cologne compose for some time. “Allow the fragrance to brew and sit for 48 hours. I always refrigerate for two weeks straight. Then, shake it up so that molecules can mix,” says Chaz.
Step 4: Dilute the formula
After your cologne is almost ready, it is time to dilute it you can use a spray bottle to do so. All you need to do is add 5 drops glycerine and 2 tablespoons distilled water and slowly swirl your new fragrance mixture inside it but make sure that you do not go fast and are careful. And just like that, you have your own DIY cologne ready.
The entire process is not that complicated and is fairly easy from beginning to end. However, you need to keep in mind that the instructions mentioned here must be followed carefully in order to achieve the results.
