Regency and Victorian Perfumes

Throughout the Regency and Victorian eras, women used flowers and herbs to make luxurious perfumes. Since synthetic fragrances were only discovered quite recently, women in the past relied on natural ingredients.

Typical Regency and Victorian women's perfumes were light, floral scents.The most popular ingredients were ultra-feminine florals, including rose, jasmine, violet, and lavender. Herbal scents, especially marjoram, thyme,clove, and rosemary, had been highly popular during the previous century,and were likely still in use during the Regency. Certainly, these herbs were still used in soaps all through the nineteenth century. Regardless of whether they were refreshing florals or rich, multilayered herbals, nineteenth century fragrances were based on natural ingredients from the garden.

Below are some wonderful fragrances based on old-fashioned perfumes and pomades. Most have the light, feminine scent that was most prized by nineteenth-century ladies. Also included, however, is a crisp, spicy scent that's good for both men and women.

Note: All perfume recipes can be easily made with modern essential oils, available in natural food stores and in catalogs.

An Herbal Perfume, based on traditional Eau de Cologne:

Add a few drops each of essential oils of neroli, lemon or lemon verbena,bergamot, and rosemary to 2 oz fragrance-free moisturizer or a scentlessnatural oil, like avocado oil. For a lighter scent, use fewer drops ofessential oil.

A Wonderfully Feminine Floral Perfume:

Add five drops each of rose, jasmine, and lavender oils to 2 oz fragrance-free moisturizer or avocado oil. If you can't find rose oil, or it's too expensive,try rose geranium oil. A few drops of musk can be added for a richer perfume.

A Light, Summer Perfume:

Add a few drops of lemon verbena, lemongrass, and rose geranium oil to2 oz of white wine (yes, wine). Shake well before using. For a differentscent, try adding the oils to a fruit brandy.

You can also make a simple, single-scent perfume by adding a few dropsof rose, lavender, gardenia, or jasmine oil to your fragrance-free moisturizeror oil. Floral waters were also a highly popular form of fragrance. They can be made with roses, violets, or lavender, or a combination of these flowers. Simply gather four cups of violets or rose petals, or a cup of lavender flowers, stalks, and leaves. Bring a cup of water almost to boiling, but don't let it reach a full boil. Pour the water over the flowers, and let the mixture steep overnight. Strain the mixture through unbleached, natural cloth to get out all the bits of the plants.Floral water keeps in a cool place for about two weeks.

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