Since being here in Montreal with Paul, a very special man, we’ve wanted to create something perfumed of our own. We both share a love for fragrance and the idea of experimenting ourselves and seeing what we can come up with was exciting to say the least.
Massage oil is one of the easiest ways to experiment with perfume blending. We’re by no means accomplished perfumers in the slightest, but hey, we were really chuffed with what we created and it was a fun evening spending time together doing something we both love.
We set out to create a blend that smelled romantic, masculine, captivating and reminiscent of each other.
Starting out
It was important to set the scene. We had sweeties and glasses of wine at the ready not to mention the essential oils we felt best suited our little brief.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 1
= Very vetiver smelling. Paul gets a meat thing smell, something like venison or forest animals. To me it smells very vetiver and not much sandalwood.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 4
= Paul thinks sandalwood is starting to emerge. Still smells mostly of vetiver to me.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 4
Black pepper 3
= Creamy vetiver, peppery’ness coming through. Paul gets sandalwood now.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
= Great. The black pepper has levelled off the vetiver dominance. Paul says, “Pepper is sexy, at the back, wow.” I think it smells black and green, with hints of brown and creamy vetiver, it’s not as strong now either.
Paul’s smelling the bottle of geranium and ylang side by side to see if they go well together. The ylang is closer to his nose, as if he wants more of it and less of geranium. He doesn’t like geranium as much. We don’t have much floral oils to work with, and we have a change of heart. Smelling neroli next to the bottle of our blend we like how it smells instead.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
= Interesting. Paul’s trying to think what neroli would be like with it, “Slightly floral, wood in the base, the more I smell the more the flower comes through. It’s good.” I think the ylang has that gummy quality to it, floral and slightly medicinal, I like how it sits with the wood too, and boy is it strong.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
Neroli 3
= We were unsure about the amount of ylang, we thought the neroli would help take the strength off. It smells floral and fresh, like everything up until now was missing something on top, top notes. “This is a fun process,” Paul says, “Like it’s learning to make music with your nose. Why should it be reserved to noses in Paris? It’s fun.” I agree so much :)
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
Neroli 4
= It’s somewhat fresh. Paul questions if we should add more neroli. My feeling is that, I like the ylang, but it’s dominant. I’d like to add more support to it, therefore more neroli could help.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
Neroli 5
= I don’t think it’s making a difference. Paul wants more neroli. Then we’re done with it.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
Neroli 7
= Wow. It has really changed. It’s sexy. We take a two minute break and come back to it. Something smells muddy to me, maybe it’s the ylang and vetiver? Paul’s wondering if it’s like muddy wood too. We’re thinking of adding some citrus to lift it. We go for bergamot because it will work with the neroli. Paul is smelling it side by side, says it looks nice. That everything so far is serious. The bergamot could help and we go for it.
Vetiver 3
Sandalwood 7
Black pepper 3
Ylang 2
Neroli 7
Bergamot 2
= It’s fresh. “I like working with Liam,” I’m told. I like working with Paul :) We put Caribou on. He thinks the bergamot is connecting the materials. Maybe it’s making the vetiver less muddy, it smells uplifting now. Vetiver is still there. Crazy uh?
We’re guessing by association here. We call it a day. Paul mentions that it smells quite piney, it kind of does. Like maybe the ylang and citrus is doing this?
We add 50ml of sweet almond oil based on a ratio of 20 drops to 50ml recipe.
The vetiver is very present to begin. After a minute, it settles and I can smell the neroli. At first I thought it was all muddy but after applying it on my skin I’m totally changed. Vetiver is still there and it’s even a little sophisticated, smokey too. The neroli has real projection and perhaps we were a little generous with it’s quantity. Sometimes when smelling it, it’s chocolatey but it by no means smells muddy or messy now. It smells considered, simple all the same, but very good. We’re very happy because we achieved what we set out to do, create something romantic, manly and close to smell on the skin.
What do you think?
Shared a perfume blending experience before? Like the idea of vetiver and neroli? Have you tried to make a massage oil before, or scented candles for that matter?
