It’s spring! At least for those of us here in the northern hemisphere. It’s a great time to make your own seasonal perfume blends to celebrate the return of green. Spring brings to mind rebirth, flourishing, moving forward and movement in general. Any of these can inspire a great-smelling, natural blend. Or you can center your perfume around one main essential oil.
Here are some scent qualities and a handful of representative oils that jive with spring:
Floral – Floral is just that…scents that smell like flowers and generally originate from — you guessed it — flowers. Some good ones for spring include Neroli, Geranium, Rose, Chamomile, Lavender and Lavandin. Lavandins are Lavender hybrids that have a higher level of “top notes” for blending.
There are other lovely floral scents. But some, like Tuberose and Jasmine, I think fit better with summer. This isn’t related to their bloom time, but more to their big, fat, luscious scents that fit well with the plentitude and lushness of summer. Rose is also great for summer!
Green – Green scents may be grass- or plant-like. There is a definite quality that says “vegetation”. Examples include Petitgrain, Conifer oils such as Cypress and Juniper, Rosemary (verbenone chemotype), and Helichrysum.
Fresh – These are clean, refreshing scents. Examples include Petitgrain, Bergamot, Lemon, Grapefruit, Tangerine, Conifer oils like the aforementioned Cypress, Juniper. Pine is another with a fresh scent, but in my mind, Pine brings up winter.
Ethereal – These are heady scents with a high vibration…way up there! Light, but not as in a wimpy scent. If you’ve ever smelled ether (though I don’t recommend it…not so healthy) from which ethereal was derived, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Ether itself has been described as sweet, cloying scent…hard to really describe well but once you’ve smelled it, it’s logged into your brain forever. Some examples of oils with ethereal notes include Neroli and Davana.
Also, a touch of sweet and spice is never a bad idea. The sweet citrus scents I think are better for summer…we’ll get into them as summer approaches. For the following blends, the amounts are a good starting place, alter as you like then dilute with jojoba oil before using.
Spring Rain
Petitgrain 8 drops
English Lavender 7 drops
Grapefruit 2 drops
Davana 2 drops
Vetiver 1 “toothpick” (dip skinny end of toothpick in, then swirl it in the mix)
New Garden
Petitgrain 6 drops
Lavandin 6 drops
Frankincense 3 drops
Geranium 1 drop
Roman Chamomile 1 “toothpick” (dip skinny end of toothpick in, then swirl it in the mix)
Spring Equinox
Frankincense 3 drops
Petitgrain 3 drops
Cypress 2 drops
Juniper 2 drops
Bergamot 1 drop
Tangerine 1 drop
After the initial blend, set it aside for a few days, then come back to it to “edit”. Perfumes are like soup, the blend gets better when it sits for a bit. Also, the base notes (eg. Vetiver, Frankincense) will be more noticeable the next day. If they are too much, you can add in more of the top and middle notes.
Keep in mind that natural perfumes don’t last as long as synthetic, so you’ll need to reapply again during the day. Though they don’t last as long, you’ll find that natural scents have more nuance and are less flat than synthetic.
Happy blending!
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