One of the original uses for essential oils, was that of perfume blending. Unknowingly, these essential oils served not only to scent but also to protect the wearer from falling ill. Perfume blenders and those working in the perfume industry were often spared from rampant plegues in the middle ages. All perfumes were produced with actual botanical extracts with fragrance oils being first produced for the popular Cannel number 5. After the invention of chemicals that mimicked the floral and other scents, the perfume industry moved from expensive essential oils to cheaper fragrance oils. Other products manufactures followed suit and while the cost of these products went down, the healing qualities they once held using essential oils disappeared.
Nowadays people once again want to use real, pure essential oils for perfume blending not only for there wonderful scent but also Aromacology qualities. Perfume blending is quite easy and can involve one to 15 oils. Beginners should start out with simple blends containing one to 3 essential oils. If one is having an extremely hard time finding essential oils, fragrance oils may be substituted in small amounts.
In order to create a perfume as the professional perfumeries would, you must take into consideration what note the essential oil falls under. There are 3 tiers to the scale of notes.. top, middle and bottom. At times, some essential oils may fall into more than one note. The top note essential oils (i.e. bergamot, lemon, orange, etc.) are the first oils or scent to evaporate or disappear when applied to the skin. These essential oils are highly volatile and will dissipate quickly when exposed to air. You may find that you will need to add more of these essential oils to a blend if you would like their scent to last longer on the skin. Middle notes, (i.e. lemongrass, thyme, etc.) which are not needed in a simple blend, are the second fastest to dissipate into the air. Base notes (i.e. cedarwood, peppermint, ylang ylang, etc.) will remain on the skin for the longest period. Many perfumes will do quite well when only containing a base note essential oil. What you will find, when you create your own perfume is that as the day progresses, your natural perfume will change and smell different as the layers of the notes evaporate. To help control this, you can add a natural preservative such as honey which was traditionally added to perfumes to give them shelf life. Always dilute your perfume, even if you're using fragrance oils, in a base oil such as jojoba or sweet almond.
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