Essential oils have been with us since the early Egyptians. From the earliest recorded texts,
fragrant oils and potions have adorned the wealthy and non-wealthy alike. Today, essential oils have
enjoyed a boom and we find them in such places as doctor's offices and on grocery store shelves.
Blending your own essential oils takes a bit of practice, but with the following information you
should be well on your way to creating customized blends.
The first step is to determine the overall scent you want to create. Do you want your scent to be
citrusy or woodsy? Your choice of scent family will determine the next step. The second step is to
determine the top, middle, and bottom notes of your blend.
Essential oils are divided into top, middle, and bottom notes. Every good fragrance will have a
combination of all three notes.
Bottom Notes: Bottom notes provide the foundation for your blend and anchors
them to the other two notes. They are also known as earthy or woody notes. Bottom notes are the last
to develop in the blend and stay the longest on the skin. Common bottom notes are: myrrh, pine, and
cedarwood.
Middle Notes: Middle notes are the most dominant of your blend. Middle notes tend
to last longer than top notes and have to work well with both top and bottom notes. Common middle
notes are clary sage, cinnamon, lavender.
Top Notes: Top notes are the first thing you smell when creating a custom blend.
These smells are usually sharper than middle or bottom notes and fade fairly quickly. Common top
notes are peppermint, lemon and orange.
Let's use an example:
You would like to create a room spray. You want it to be citrusy and a little woody. So, you would
begin with a base note. Since, we want a bit of woodiness in the blend, we'll add cedarwood.
Next, we need a bridge or middle note. Let's go with a Bergamot. It's heavier than other citrus
scents, but it is still citrusy. Our final note will be a bright citrus, so we'll add orange. So,
our final blend is:
Orange
Bergamot
Cedarwood
Try out a few combinations yourself and have fun!
