a scent-sational homemade gift!

i love giving gifts. i love remembering snippets of conversations throughout the year and writing down ideas that people (intentionally or unintentionally) give me. i love hunting for the perfect gift. i love shopping for the perfect gift. i also love making the perfect gift. a homemade gift shows that you care and that you love someone enough to spend the time and effort to make them a personalized gift. i like making perfume or cologne for friends and family. pretty much everyone likes a nice scent...and they are so easy to make, why not try it. here's how...

start with your favorite scent. i happen to love egyptian musk and lavender. but you can pretty much find any scent you are looking for online. try camden grey essential oils for a wide variety. you can even find oils that replicate your favorite perfume...they are a fraction of department store prices. try hayward enterprises to find inexpensive perfume or cologne oils.

now you've got your scent. you will also need vodka and water.

here are the basic ratios for making scents. remember, you can tweak it however you want, according to your taste.

perfume:
8 parts oil, 19 parts vodka, 1 part water
eau de toilette:
2 parts oil, 23 parts vodka, 3 parts water
eau de cologne:
1 part oil, 14 parts vodka, 6 parts water
cologne (splash):
1 part oil, 28 parts vodka, 7 parts water

then you will need a pretty package. a vintage atomizer or avon decanter would work perfectly!

you want to let this sit for at least 48 hours before giving as a gift. the longer you leave it, the stronger it gets. enjoy! i hope your holidays smell beautiful!