Should I Make My Own Perfume?

A few years ago, during my "get rid of all things chemicals" purge when I started my green journey, I stopped using my Clinique perfume. Conventional perfumes are filled with chemicals, including phthalates, and they are not required to lo list ingredients, so who knows what else they put in there. I no longer wanted to put chemicals on my body, so my perfume, and pretty much every other personal are product I owned went bye-bye. And so I began my hunt for a natural perfume.

Finding a perfume has never been easy for me. I am extremely sensitive to smells and most perfumes give me headaches. So finding a natural option proved to be quite a challenge, especially since I had to shop online and couldn't smell them. So many that I had come across were floral and flowery scents do not sit well with me. I finally decided to try a Fruit scent roll-on perfume by Aura Cacia. It is made with just pure essential oil, no chemicals, and I fell in love with it. I instantly ordered myself a second bottle so I had a small supply. I wish I had ordered more since shortly after that, they discontinued this line of perfumes and I was unable to find it anywhere.

I have used it sparingly over so it would last longer, using it only when I go out. And being a work at home mom to four young kids, let's face it: I don't get out too often. Trip to Stop & Shop are hardly worth of my precious perfume! So my two small bottles have lasted me about four years. But now I am down to my last few drops and I have the daunting task of finding a new perfume to wear. I am not looking forward to it and have been putting it off. I am actually seriously contemplating ordering all of the individual essential oils that are in my perfume, I have the ingredient list, and mixing them together to make it myself. Of course I don't know the first thing about mixing essential oils or making perfumes, so some research is in order. This will definitely be interesting and educational. And hopefully fun too!

Have you ever mixed essential oils to make your own perfume? Any tips for me?

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Aura Cacia Essential Oil Giveaway!

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about the toxins that can be found in air fresheners and candles. A wonderful, natural alternative to these are essential oils. Aura Cacia has 100% Pure Essential Oils. In my house you will find Lemon, Sweet Orange and Peppermint. I use the Sweet Orange in my diffuser all the time, I just love the scent. I use the Lemon to add fragrance to my homemade cleaners. I'm not a huge fan of Peppermint to be honest. It has nothing to do with the brand, just Peppermint in general. I had bought it when I was pregnant with my twins to try turn Josh around (he was breach). Yes, it worked, but then he turned sideways later on. Little stinker. It is also good for keeping pests like ants away. I mix it in water with a splash of vinegar and spray it where I see ants entering my house. So see, essential oils have so many uses!

Aura Cacia also carries a line of Essential Solutions. The Essential Solutions are a combination of essential oils that compliment each other to give you a nice fragrance.

So to help you get started, I am giving away one 0.5 ounce bottle of Aura Cacia Pep Talk Essential Solution (retail value of $10.19). This is my gift to my readers for stopping by and checking out my blog. The ingredients are Elettaria Cardamomum (Cardamom) Seed Oil, Citrus Sinensis (Sweet Orange) Oil, Citrus X Lilom (Lemon) Oil, Mentha X Piperita (Peppermint) Oil. From Aura Cacia:

Peppermint refreshes the senses and clears away the grogginess; the delicious aromas of orange and lemon are an invitation to the unique possibilities the day can bring. Cardamom will add a little spice to your life.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Going Green: What's That Smell?

No one likes a stinky house right? For us moms who have little ones in diapers, bad smells are simply inevitable. Even when there are no lingering smells, sometimes we just like to have a fragrant aroma to brighten our mood. So what do we do? We spray air fresheners or plug-in an oil one or burn fragrant candles. Mmmmmm, love that vanilla or refreshing citrus! Unfortunately, that lovely scent really isn’t so lovely. No, what you are really smelling and inhaling into your body are harmful chemicals.

Ever walk into a bathroom after someone has gone crazy with a spray air freshener? Oh my god it is suffocating! Just that alone is an indication that they are not healthy. And most air fresheners contain phthalates. You may remember I mentioned them in my post about toxic shower curtains.

“Phthalates have been found to disrupt the endocrine system. Several phthalate compounds have caused reduced sperm counts, testicular atrophy and structural abnormalities in the reproductive systems of male test animals, and some studies also link phthalates to liver cancer.” (Environmental Working Group)

Yes, this toxic chemical was found in over 12 common household air fresheners. Some of these were even labeled as “all-natural!” Unbelievable. Since manufacturers are not required to list all ingredients, its hard to tell which ones are the culprits.

Candles really aren’t much better. For starters, traditional candles are petroleum based (paraffin wax). They are loaded with artificial dyes and synthetic fragrances which result in indoor air pollutants. They also can contain other toxins like acetone, lead, and benzene (know to cause leukemia).

So what are your other choices? Instead of your typical air fresheners, opt for all natural alternatives like diffusers with essential oils. I use a plug in diffuser from Aura Cacia along with some Aura Cacia 100% Natural Essential Oils. My favorite one to use is Sweet Orange, its just so invigorating! William loves it too “Mommy, I smell oranges in my nose! Smells Good.” There are many types of diffusers or you can use a candle lamp, which is similar to a tart warmer. Just make sure your tealights are all natural soy or beeswax. In our bathroom I keep some Aura Cacia Aromatherapy Mist. Do you see a trend here with my brand of choice? The ingredients are water, grapefruit oil and tangerine oil - that’s it! Plus it is non-aerosol. Love it!

For candles, buy ones that are made from natural waxes like soy or beeswax. They should be fragranced with 100% natural essential oils. It’s important that they are essential oils and not fragrance oils, the latter are synthetic. An extra benefit, soy candles burn cleaner! They are not completely soot-free; they produce a small amount of white soot. But it is not harmful like the black soot from the paraffin wax candles. I don't really burn candles so I can't give you a personal favorite. But you can visit Etsy and do a search for natural soy candles and you will find a ton.