DIY Essential Oil Perfume

Essentials oils have become a big part of my everyday life, helping me replace products that have harsh, unsafe ingredients in them. This is including perfume. Perfumes have so many hazardous, unsafe chemicals, and those chemicals can cause serious problems. Thanks to my favorite app, EWG, the Environmental Working Group, they have let the fragrance companies' secrets out. As someone who is on a mission to live a healthier life, I am eliminating chemically perfumes from my beauty collection. I still want pretty fragrances around me, and on me, but there is a much safer way to go about smelling pretty than to douse yourself in poison. 

What's in perfumes that make them comparable to poison? Well, many ingredients and chemicals used in perfume end in "ide," which means in medical vocabulary terms "kill," "kill off," or "die." I know that I definitely don't want to put something that ends in "ide" on my skin. Galaxolide, and Styrene Oxide are used in perfumes, perfumes we use to feel pretty. I don't feel pretty when I know that galaxolide is a synthetic musk, and can mess with my hormones, and be toxic to my endocrine system. Styrene oxide can cause depression, at least that is what it has shown in animal studies. Another reason for switching to non-toxic cosmetics and beauty products, is to show support for cruelty-free brands.

Other scary chemicals lurk in perfumes, such as musk tetralin, methyl benzene, formaldehyde, coumarin, butylphenyl methylpropianol, benzyl benzoate, and many, many others. 

-Musk Tetralin can cause brain cell, and spinal cord degeneration. 

-Methyl Benzene can cause muscle control loss, headaches, brain cell damage, even memory loss,    

  potential vision loss, and can even cause problems with hearing and speach. 

-Formaldehyde, the chemical used in preserving the dead frogs in jars for science experiments, also   

  a chemical used in cigarettes is lurking in your perfumes. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen, which 

  when breathed in can cause allergic reactions, wheezing, coughing, and skin rashes. 

-Coumarin is also found in cigarettes, and in rat poison. Coumarin is not only toxic to rats, but is 

  also toxic to our liver and kidneys. 

-Butylphenyl Methylpropianol can disrupt hormones, and can cause allergic reactions. 

-Benzyl Benzoate can also disrupt hormones.

Why do we keep putting these poisonous chemicals on our bodies? To smell lovely? You can certainly smell lovely without putting your health at risk. 

Ever since I received my Everyday Oils Collection from Young Living, I have been obsessed with the oil blend, Joy. It is florally, beautiful, and really boosts my mood. I really love putting it on my wrists in the morning, and layering it with mood boosting oils to begin my day. I wanted to incorporate it into a homemade perfume so that I could smell Joy all day, and all through work. I decided to make my own perfume recipe that applies to my beauty product standards, and that I feel good about putting on my body. This is an alcohol-free, all-natural, 100 percent pure perfume that only uses three ingredients. I made this perfume about an hour after I received my bottle of fractionated coconut oil in the mail. This fractionated coconut oil from Molivera Organics is absolutely wonderful, and is the perfect carrier oil and base for my perfume. 

Here is what you will need: 

-Fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed, or any carrier oil that does not solidify in cold temperatures. 

-10 drops of Joy essential oil, or your favorite essential oil. This will be your middle note, the main scent of your perfume. 

-5 drops of orange essential oil, or a different essential oil to compliment and accent your middle note. These five drops will be your top note of your perfume, the first impression. 

-a 10 ml, glass roller bottle and cap. 

In your bottle, pour about 8 ml of fractionated coconut oil, or carrier oil. Do not fill up your bottle all the way. Next, add in the 10 drops of Joy, or the main essential oil that you want in your perfume. After that, add in the 5 drops of orange essential oil, or the accent oil that you want in your perfume. Put the roller accessory on the bottle, screw the cap on the bottle, and tilt the bottle forward and backward to gently mix the oils together. 

Perfumes always have pretty names, so I wanted to name my perfume something pretty, and symbolic. Since I used Joy, and orange essential oils, which both have uplifting, and mood boosting properties, I wanted to name it something that reflected those properties. I looked up pretty words, and found the word "panacea," which means: a solution to all problems. I feel relieved when I smell Joy, it is a solution to my problems because I can escape and think about my problems stress-free. I wanted to add something else to "panacea," so since I used Joy essential oil, why not make this perfume a "joyful solution to all my problems," therefore, Joyful Panacea was created. This perfume is perfect for me because I work at a retirement community, and some of the residents are kind of sensitive to real fragrant scents. This being a subtle scent, it won't bother their senses when I wear a little, pretty perfume to work. 

I feel better about my new perfume, since I made it myself, and I know exactly what I put inside my roller bottle. I know that my hormones will not be disrupted, or my brain cells will not die in order to smell pretty. I really like this oily combination, Joy and Orange. It is such a pretty combination, and now I have it in a perfume. I can't wait to make more essential oil perfumes, and other beauty DIYs with my essential oils. 

If you have any questions about essential oils, or how to get started with essential oils, please feel free to leave a comment. I love answering questions, and I love talking about essential oils, so please ask away. :)