Using herbs in beauty and body care products may only seem to take the value of herbs skin deep. But in a time when the cosmetics industry, with its confusing messages and deceptive promises, has gone so far astray, coming back to our roots and learning simple, herbal ways to take care of ourselves is truly valuable. In this series of articles, I’ll be sharing with you my own explorations in the use of herbs for beauty – from head to toe!

I’m not going to start at the “head” though. With Valentine’s Day approaching I couldn’t resist starting with the use of herbs in perfume, and brewing up some heady herbal scents in preparation!

While the use of perfumes dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, modern perfumes are said to have originated in the 14^th Century with Hungary Water, reputedly formulated in 1370 for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary. The details of this early fragrance are somewhat debated, but it was around this time that perfume really took off in Europe, flourishing in the Renaissance period. By the 18^th Century, France had become the centre of the perfume trade, a role which it continues to hold to this day. Early perfumes were sometimes used and valued for their therapeutic benefit as well as their pleasing scent – Hungary Water for example was considered beneficial for gout.

Today, the global perfume industry is a multi-billion dollar business with fragrance formulation an extremely complex and secretive art. Commercial formulations use plant, animal and increasingly synthetic ingredients, and one perfume blend may contain hundreds of ingredients. Nevertheless, for the home crafter it is possible to make some very pleasing perfumes with just a little knowledge of the basics.

Perfumes can be made at home using essential oils blended in an oil (e.g. – jojoba) or solid base, or by infusing herbs and spices in alcohol (usually vodka). Common plants and herbs used in fragrances include: rose, orange blossom, vanilla, cinnamon, juniper berry, lavender, patchouli, sage, rosemary, myrrh and cedarwood. Generally the fragrance of homemade perfumes does not stay as long on the skin as commercial ones, although the use of orris root tincture is said to help this by acting as a fixative.

While planning this article I tried out some perfume recipes from Nancy M. Booth’s “Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes”:

Hungary Water

There are many versions of this recipe, and this is almost certainly a simplified/ modernised one.

• Zest of 1 orange or lemon
• 1 cup orange flower water
• 1 teaspoon glycerin
• 1 cup vodka
• ½ teaspoon lemon essential oil
• 2 teaspoons bergamot essential oil
• 1/8 teaspoon rosemary essential oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped peppermint leaves

Combine the ingredients and store in sealed container in a cool dark place for 2-4 weeks, then strain. My Hungary Water has been brewing for just a week and already smells very pleasant, reminding me of fresh cut herbs, citrus and spring! (Remember that it is not recommended to wear products containing citrus oils in the sun as they increase the skin’s sensitivity to the sun).

Spice Island Cologne

Similar recipes, especially for bay rum aftershave, abound on the internet.

• 2 cups vodka
• 1 nutmeg, broken
• 3 cinnamon sticks, crushed
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 bay leaves, broken up if dried
• 1 tablespoon cloves

Combine the ingredients and store in a sealed container in a warm dark place for 2 weeks, then strain. This has been brewing for just over a week and although it is quite overpowering in the jar, applied it is a rather delicious, masculine scent.

I’m also trying out some other recipes including ingredients such as vanilla pods, angelica root and lemon balm leaves. The recipes may be simple and the results less sophisticated than commercial perfumes, but the joy and satisfaction in making, wearing and giving your own perfumes in incomparable.

Resources and references:

• Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes – Discovering and Crafting your Personal Fragrances, 1997, Nancy M. Booth
• Queen of Hungary Water – Some Experiments in Perfumery, 2000, Jennifer Heise (http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/hungarywater.html)
• Perfume, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume)