DIY vanilla perfume: find out how to make it easily at home

The scent of vanilla is truly unmistakable: sweet, creamy, enveloping - it is used to flavor in a huge range of sweets, and is amongst the most popular fragrances around including in cosmetic products (shower gel and body creams, above all) as well as in products used for the laundry. Very often, however, it is an artificially obtained aroma that is so cloying that it can also cause headaches.

However, the natural smell of this plant is much more delicate and subtle - it is truly irresistible. We can appreciate it, for example, when in the kitchen and we use the seeds of vanilla pods for some dish or cakes. And vanilla pods can also be used to create a DIY vanilla perfume.

Pixabay, Pexels

What is needed:

• 1 vanilla pod.
• 3 tablespoons of a vegetable oil to act as a carrier oil: you can use a good quality sunflower seed oil, or even sweet almond oil. Grape seed oil and safflower oil are also recommended as excellent alternatives.
• To further boost your perfume, you can add essential oils. Bergamot or orange (30 drops) and cedar (5 drops) go well with each other.
• If you like, you can also add 2 or 3 drops of Vitamin E
• The perfume will be kept in liquid suspension, in a glass container.
• A glass bottle to store and dispense the finished product: Since it has an oily texture, it is better to use a dropper to apply, but it also works with a spray dispenser.

How to proceed:

• Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and take the seeds out and place them in the glass container.
• Cut the pod itself into small pieces and put these in the container as well.
• Add the vegetable oil.
• Close the container with the lid on and keep it in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, shaking the bottle about every 3 days.
• After this period, add essential oils and vitamin E, if you wish.
• You need to extract only the oil, leaving the pod pieces and seeds inside the container used for the infusion. You can use a dropper to do this (or a pipette, if you have one).

This recipe is alcohol-free, so is very gentle on the skin, although it has an oily texture which is different from usual perfumes. You can get more information here.

Would you like to prepare this perfume?