How I make my own perfume

It can be hard to go plastic free and be zero waste when buying perfume. But there is a way to limit what is added to landfill by making the choice to reuse. Plus this trick will also help you to avoid unknown chemicals and save on money.


How I make my own perfume

When I ditched the plastic, got educated on hormone disrupting chemicals in everyday items like perfume and decided to limit my trash much of my whole life changed. I had to let go of habits that brought me joy. One of those was my perfume.

I loved my perfume. My first was 4711 that I would dab onto my wrists. Then in my teenage years I would shower myself in the heady fragrance of Impulse (cough cough). It was at the tender ago of 18 that I discovered my perfume, Yves Saint Laurent's perfume named Paris. And it was only until last year that I wore it religiously. I flirted with other fragrances over the years but I always returned to the sweet powdery smell of Paris's roses.

But anyway, let's not dwell on the past. I have said my goodbyes and rather glad I have (even if I did miss it for a while). Today I am very happy to not be exposing myself to...well who knows what! The list of ingredients on perfume packaging is virtually non existent. Plus the bottles are a pain to recycle, there is the silly plastic nozzle and plastic tube. Oh, and its a bit expensive! My new perfume is oh so much easier.

Last year I discovered Perfect Potion. An Australian brand selling essential oils and oil blends. I was drawn to them because I could buy the bottles without a box and they were Aussie. After my first smell of their oils I became hooked. I use a range of them for our toothpaste, cleaning and...yep, you guessed it – my perfume.

Each bottle costs around $20 and contains 100 drops. The bottles are made of glass but do feature a plastic lid and dropper. The plastic is recyclable as is the glass with a bit of a clean. The only problem is that when I used one as my perfume I went through the bottle in three months.

Aside from the money being spent, it was also a waste of packaging. Recycling is great but reducing is smarter.

I chose to buy one of their roll on perfume oil blends, deciding to use the perfume up and then fill the empty bottle with a carrier oil (almond or grape seed oil) that I can buy in bulk and add an essential oil too. This was a smart move as I am still using the same bottle of Umi I bought at Christmas time.





As the oil becomes low I fill the bottle then add 10-15 drops of the essential oil, give it a shake and let it sit for a day before using. The fragrance from the essential oil blends with the carrier oil to create my very own perfume.

It's too easy. 

Essential oils and medicine are the only two items I actively buy with plastic. I have not been able to find a alternate yet. For those wondering the roll on bottle is made of glass, the ball is glass but is held in there with a plastic stopper and the lid is metal. I'd prefer to not buy anything consisting of virgin plastic and really debated about it for a long time. This method of reusing the roll on bottle reduces the frequency my essential oil bottles are going to the recycling depots. Recycling is taxing on resources also but if I look after this then I should have it forever. 

I was able to find a Plain Roll-On Glass Perfume Bottle on Amazon. Any essential oil would work for this too.

Fellow zero waste blogger and cleaver lady Ariana of Paris to Go has also shared her zero waste perfume using vodka and rose petals.

Essential oils are not the perfect plastic free or zero waste item to buy. Check out Tiny Yellow Bungalow's recommendation on whether essential oils are necessary and choosing a more eco friendly option.

I would love to know what you use for a perfume? By the way, this is not a paid endorsement by Perfect Potion. I am just a fan of this brand.

6 comments:

  1. Your creativity is impressive! I love how you always search for solutions that work for you and the planet. After reading a book about the chemicals in cosmetics and care products, I critically reviewed what I was using. I slowly moved away from most regular products. For perfume, I used Lush solid perfume for a while. These come in a tiny box. Very little waste. However, these too are filled with ingredients I would like to avoid, so right now I am not using any perfume. I am too lazy to make my own and like how -since going perfume free- my nose now has an easier time detecting smells, e.g. flowers and food.

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    1. They are some very kind words Annemieke :) I used to be a huge fan of Lush too but found some of their ingredients and the amount of them unnecessary. I will agree that since I have reduced synthetic fragrances my smell and taste is much better. I cannot walk into a department store without feeling slightly nauseated.

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  2. A really fantastic article, Erin- thank you! I honestly didn't realise how simple making your own perfume was. I love Perfect Potion oils too, as well as Doterra.

    Will have to give it a go!
    Katie xx

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    1. Happy you found it useful Katie :)

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  3. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing :)

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