There are hundreds and thousands of festive fragrances on sale right now, in the form of candles, reed diffusers, perfumes and essential oils – but why not get creative and make your own at home? From aromatic pine and cedar wood scents, to sickly sweet cinnamon and orange, you’re sure to make a fragrance that you’ll love. Best of all, home fragrances are easier to make than you’d think!
Candles
To make your own candles at home you’ll need a glass jar or votive, wax, wicks and the fragrance oils of your choice. Our range of candle jars and votives are just what you need for this DIY activity.
Homemade candles are brilliant because you have the freedom to make them any colour that you want (to match your home furnishings) and to mix and match scents as you wish. Great scents to use in candles are those big, bold Christmas smells. We think that spiced fruit scents are absolutely ideal for this, and help to get your mouth watering whilst you’re waiting for your big Christmas Day dinner! Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg spices evoke a festive feeling, especially when paired with orange, winterberry and cherry fruit scents. You can find essential oils with all these fragrances online and in health and beauty stores on the high street.
Check out this fantastic tutorial on how to make Pine-Scented Soy Candles from The Glitter Guide.
Reed Diffusers
The easiest and most attractive looking home fragrances to make are in the form of reed diffusers. All you need are some small diffuser bottles, reeds and your fragrance. The beauty of reed diffusers is that they release their smell slowly, so you can enjoy them for longer! Toned down earthy fragrances are good for reed diffusers, such as pine, peppermint and floral scents are perfect as they are not too overpowering.
To make homemade festive fragrances, you need to pick some fragranced essential oils that you think are the true essence of Christmas. We think that spiced fruit scents are absolutely ideal for this, and help to get your mouth watering whilst you’re waiting for your big Christmas Day dinner! Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg spices evoke a festive feeling, especially when paired with orange, winterberry and cherry fruit scents. You can find essential oils with all these fragrances online and in health and beauty stores on the high street.
Once you have your smells decided, you need to find a type of carrier oil, which forms the base for your fragrance. If you were to just use essential oils, the smell would be overpowering and this oil dilutes your fragrance to an acceptable level for your nostrils! We recommend using almond oil, as this is a light oil that can be carried up reeds easily. However, if you can’t find any carrier oils, you can use water as a substitute. Finally, you’ll need a glass fragrance bottle and reeds to soak up and distribute your scents around your home.
We have a wide range of glass diffuser bottles that you can use for your homemade reed diffusers. For a simple, minimalist look we suggest our 100ml Paradis Diffuser, which comes with a synthetic stopper for when your fragrances are not in use. For a more rustic look, why not go for our 250ml Amber Apothecary Bottle, which evoke feelings of times gone by?
Potpourri
The subtle fragrance of potpourri, combined with the decorative bowls and pots you display them in, makes potpourri the perfect Christmas home fragrance option!
To make potpourri you’re going to need fresh flowers and/or fruit, baking paper, essential oils and spices. Take the petals from your flowers and place them on a baking paper on an oven tray in a single layer. If you’re using fruit as well, cut it into thin pieces and add them to the same tray. You can also add whole spices such as cloves and cinnamon sticks at this point. Now, pour your chosen essential oil into a spray bottle and spritz the ingredients on the tray. Bake the flowers, fruit and spices for around 2 hours (or until the mix is brittle but not burnt), then remove from the oven and spritz with more of your essential oils. Finally, just place your mix into a bowl of your choice (our 12.5cm x 7cm Flat Glass Dish would be ideal!) and enjoy the fragrant festive smells! If the scent begins to fade, simply spritz with more of your essential oils.
This Orange and Balsam Potpourri would be the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas! It’s fresh, citrusy and warming.
