DIY Natural Rose Perfume

Ever had so many suitors that you literally have bouquets of roses all over your house, taking up all your table space? UGH, right? What are you even going to do with all those flowers?

JK. I’ve never had this problem (and why not? I AM charming...). But when I do encounter this most difficult of situations—an overabundance of blooms, when perhaps I’ve gone a little crazy at my local florist—I know exactly what to do. I make a light perfume from the petals of my many bouquets. Yes! It’s possible to use fresh flowers to make ultra-light fragrance, and you don’t even need a ton of flowers to do it. It’s be easy to use what you have in your garden, or wander down to the market and pick up a few blossoms.

There are recipes for DIY rose-petal perfumes all over the web, but I’ve been using and tinkering with one in particular for years. Bonus: the same recipe also works with fresh lavender. It’s easy!

You will need

strainer

¾ cup fresh rose petals
The petals can be any color. If you prefer, you can also use lavender flowers.

1/2 cup 80- or 100-proof vodka
It doesn’t matter what kind. I always go with whatever’s on sale, which was Ketel One in this case.

2 1/2 cups distilled water
You can get this by the gallon at a drugstore; pour any leftover into your humidifier.

big glass jar or bowl with a lid
You want to make sure that it’s large enough to hold at least five cups of liquid.

empty glass perfume bottle
Why not go extra-fancy and use something like this?

optional: 2-4 drops rose essential or fragrance-grade oil

This one is my go-to, but you can buy something similar at your local Whole Foods or co-op. Keep in mind that pure rose oil is insanely expensive and crazy-strong, so any rose oil you get will be diluted, but it will be more than enough for our purposes here. If you’re using lavender instead, pick up a lavender essential or fragrance-grade oil.

Put your petals into the bottom of your big glass jar or bowl and pour the vodka over it. Cover and let it sit for 24 hours in a cool, dark place. After 24 hours, use a big cooking spoon to pulverize and squish the petals or blossoms, then add the distilled water into the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave it to sit in a cool, dark place for four to seven days, taking it out once a day to mix and pulverize the petals. After the concoction has been sitting for up to a week, strain the mixture into one or two glass perfume bottles. Shake before each time you spray it, and keep your fresh perfume in the fridge. Ahhh, so fancy and natural!