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Natural Perfumery

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Smell wonderful & be natural too ?

Did you know that the mainstream perfume that you can buy is almost always made up of man-made chemicals ?

That is not how REAL perfume started out being made and things are slowly coming full circle.

There is a grassroots movement that is taking us back to natural perfumery.

Yes, I make all natural perfumes : http://organicgiftsbydiana.mybisi.com/

BUT, in this lens, I want to give you a few pointers on how to make a wonderful all natural perfume for yourself - if you choose.

Contents at a Glance

You can make your own all natural perfum...
all natural perfume
Natural Perfume is Wonderful...
What does All Natural mean to you ?
Here are my latest creations
It's Spring !

How ?

Start by being an organic gardener and grow what you love and would love to have a perfume out of - like roses, lavender...

* I love lily-of-the-valley and have tons of it growing at my house/shop - BUT will not make it into a perfume or put it into any of my products because it is poisonous.
So, please be careful to research the plants/oils... BEFORE you proceed.

Harvest the flowers/herbs/roots... of the botanicals that you wish to use and then clean/de-stem it all.

Now, you can either make a tincture out of each botanical (or whatever other ingredient) or you can make infusions.

I choose to not use alcohol which is just my preference - so I make oil infusions.

To make an infusion, you can pour your choice of oil into the top of a double-boiler or into a crockpot or just into a bottle that will be in the sun for its heat.
Next, add your choice of cleaned and dried ingredient to be infused into the oil.
The amount isn't set in stone, but make sure there is enough oil to cover the material completely.
Heat on very low heat for a few minutes. Allow to rest, heat again, rest and repeat for several weeks at least.
Be VERY careful to only used cleaned and dried ingredients or else you might introduce mold or other nasties into your infusion and do not overheat or scorch your infusion. This is a SLOW and deliberate process, but well worth the effort when you get a whiff of the end result.
After a couple of days or a week (more or less depending upon the ingredient being infused) of this - you will need to recharge the infusion. This means to strain out the old ingredients and put in new and then keep infusing/straining/recharging until you get an infusion that is strong enough to be pleasing to you.

This often takes several months.

I have dozens of infusions going at all times and then I can mix and match what I put together for a perfume.

When I get a blend that I like, I then add a little unprocessed pure beeswax to the oils to thicken up my perfume and turn it into a solid perfume.
You can of course leave it as an oil and use it that way too if you like.

all natural perfume

- pictured is my Sandalwood & Vanilla Luxury All Natural Perfume

* These are MY words and hard work and you do NOT have permission to use them.
Should you decide to make your own products, come up with your OWN descriptions... .

Here is a general description of my All Natural perfumes and then a description of the one in the photo - my Sandalwood & Vanilla Perfume as seen on my online store and elsewhere :

Diana's
Hand-Blended
Luxury Solid Perfumes

Soft ~ Subtle ~ Unique ~ Intimate
(Only for you and whomever you wish to experience it with you.)

My perfumes do not assault the nose nor do they enter the room before you do.

Instead, my creations are soft, warm and they become one with the wearer.

Each of my perfumes will "bloom" a little differently on each person and soon becomes your signature scent.

I also make Natural coordinating soaps & bath teas so that you may layer the scent, wrapping yourself in it & giving it a greater staying power - A set makes a great gift and would be wonderful in a gift basket.

How to wear my Perfume:

Any one of my perfumes would love to reside upon your pulse points (wrists, neck, back of the knee...).
My blends would also make a delicate hair perfume by taking up a small amount (size of a baby pea for average length of hair and a little less than a dime sized ball amount for very long hair), rubbing it between your hands and then smoothing the ends (the last few inches) of your hair with it.
This is an oil based formula so do not use where you do not want additional oil on you hair.
The scent lasts for several hours on the hair (longer than on the skin) and is a wonderful way to wear my perfumes.

* See this specific perfume's description below to learn more about this particular blend - this is the perfume in the photo :

Diana's
Sandalwood & Vanilla
Luxury Solid Perfume

~ a most extraordinary blend that evokes warmth and comfort.
This handblended perfume just might make you want to growl like Cat Woman.

I infused organic vanilla beans and sandalwood chips into safflower oil for months to get this full, sweet, wonderful blend.
When the scent was just right, I added unprocessed beeswax to it to turn it into a most delicious solid perfume.
--------------------------------------------
To read more about the process I use to make my perfumes and other Natural products, please see my other Squidoo lenses and my blog which is found on my main website :

http://www.dianascraft-antiqueshop.4t.com/realblog.html

Natural Perfume is Wonderful...

...but the scent doesn't last forever !

* I so enjoy making and wearing my all natural perfumes, but if you get some of mine or make your own - remember that they will not last very long either on your skin or in the container because there are no manmade chemicals in them to prolong the scent in them for years.
You will need to use them up within 6 months or so depending upon the perfume and the botanicals... that are in it.

What does All Natural mean to you ?

I started a discussion here in FaceBook : What does All Natural mean to you ?

Here are my latest creations

Some are All Natural perfumes, some are hand-sewn items and some are vintage items...

I am always making more products so keep checking to see what's new.

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

It's Spring !

Soon my other flowers and trees will be blooming...

Ahhhhhhhhh,
It's Spring !

Soon my lilacs and other flowers and trees will be blooming...
(Update May 16 - 2009 - I harvested many lilacs and a basket of apple blossoms this year so far)
(Update June 14, 2009 - I have been harvesting my pink roses to use in my Frankincense and Pink Roses perfume, soap and bath salt tea - my other roses will be harvested soon too)

Soon other flowers will appear and that means that soon I can harvest some of the blossoms and use them to replenish my supply of infused oils.

My oils are precious indeed as I can only make so much every year.

I do have plans to grow more herbs and flowers so I can expand my business.

August - September 2009

More Natural Perfume making

I think I will try to infuse some of my homegrown organic pear peels this year to see what kind of scent I can get from doing that.