Comments on: Repurposing perfume oil

Question: Repurposing perfume oil

slightlybewildered — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:13:29 -0800

Can I make a room fragrance from perfume oil?

I have some nearly-full bottles of Body Shop perfume oil, which I don't want to wear any more. (Some I was given, some I'm just tired of the scent). How can I best use these as a room fragrance? I could only find one fairly elaborate recipe to make a spray. I tried just putting some on a cottonwool ball but it didn't work! Ideally the solution would not involve candles as I have little kids.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:26:06 -0800

Get an oil burner or one of those oil rings for light bulbs.

By: holgate

holgate — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:49:22 -0800

I do this with lavender essential oil to make a linen spray: a splash of cheap vodka or everclear (bottom shelf will do) in the bottom of a spray bottle, 20-30 drops of oil, top up with distilled water. Shake and squirt. Perhaps a bit of glycerine to stablilise it. As that linked site notes, you have to use denatured alcohol commercially, but for personal use, I doubt the ATF will bash your door in.

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:09:48 -0800

You could use the oil for a reed diffuser.

By: pseudostrabismus

pseudostrabismus — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:28:28 -0800

Put a few tablespoons of rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle, pour in about 1/5 of a body shop bottle of fragrance, shake (the alcohol cuts the oil), then top up with tapwater. I use a bottle like this to spray my bedsheets, winter jacket, shoes, carpet, etc. And if my clothes are rumpled, I hang them on the shower rod, spray them, and then smooth them out (I wouldn't do this with an expensive silk blouse or anything similar that could get visible spots from a dot of perfume somehow), but things like jeans, dark pants, synthetic sweaters, yoga pants, bedsheets, etc that won't get water-spotted- will be smoothed & scented.

By: zerokey

zerokey — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:04:19 -0800

I do what pseudostrabismus does, but rather than a spray bottle, I use a Misto. 10-12 drops and the rest filled with water is great. I actually use essential oils (clove, cinnamon and a touch of patchouli). The scent is light enough that it also makes a nice body spray.

By: slightlybewildered

slightlybewildered — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:30:51 -0800

Thanks all. I wanted to find a balance between oil-and-water-shake-it-lots and recipes with a bunch of complicated ingredients with disodium in their names. I've bought reed diffusers before but found them to produce an overpoweringly strong smell in the room they were in.