Zo Clarke
In my limited spare time, I like visiting antique shops. I love hunting around in them, crouching to scan their poorly shelved collections for old books, finding shoes from the 1930s still in new condition, the fashion prints someone cut out of a magazine because they thought they looked pretty. You'd think antiquing would be expensive, but that depends on the store. The most I've ever spent at once is $20.
I've found that a lot of the history I do - keeping it, studying it, wearing it - isn't that expensive. A lot of the time, you don't even have to go out of your way. What you need is already in your home.
So, one Saturday evening in September, I got bored. I'd recently bought a cheap mortar and pestle, and I'd been looking for an excuse to use it, so cue the googling.
The first thing you need to know about perfume is that modern recipes are incredibly different from ancient ones. Modern perfumes use alcohol, and their measurements are much more exact. Trying to get started with alcohol-based perfume is like entering an entirely new realm of science. One in which pretty much every "beginner's guide" will provide you with a long list of products you need to purchase. Ancient perfumes are, by comparison, much, much easier to make.
My research starting point was a short blog entry on Getty called "The Scent of Love: Ancient Perfumes" (link below). Here are the basics: you need a carrier oil, most often olive oil (though almond oil was also popular), a few herbs, spices, or flowers for scent, and a container. That's it.
Here is a list of potential fragrance ingredients. Some are historically accurate, and some are not (since Coriander and marjoram and less than easy to find in Massachusetts), but they all smell fairly nice, and really, that's what you're after. We have no way of knowing how all perfumed oil was made.
Possible ingredients:
Rose petals, cinnamon (preferably whole sticks), rosemary, anise, marjoram, thyme, coriander, sage, pine needles, honey, juniper berries, raisins, cardamom, mint, almonds, pine nuts, etc.
I don't recommend you throw all of these in at once - that'll definitely be strong. And by no means is this a complete list, either. There are many ingredients (like styrax) that I left off because I thought they were too hard to find. If you want more, however, check out the article on historically significant perfumes linked below.
Whatever ingredients you choose, the method remains the same. Choose your ingredients, and measure out the amount you want of each scent. Some will be weaker than others, so if you want them to come through, add an abundance.
Pour your olive oil into your chosen container. Add your ingredients, and cover. Leave for 24 hours so the ingredients can infuse, and then strain the oil. I'd recommend straining through a cheesecloth or even a rag since it'll catch all the ground bits. Use as you like. Yes, it's that simple.
Some ingredients should be ground first to release their scent, and others can be put in whole. If you're looking for a pleasant combination, I used rose petals, cinnamon, rosemary, thyme, and sage. The result I got was very faint (I didn't use much) but it was nice. I'd recommend adding more cinnamon.
Some recipes are much more specific. If you like measurements in grams, or precise instructions, you can find some in the articles I've linked below. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy the end product.
Getty Article: https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-scent-of-love-ancient-perfumes/
Historically significant perfume recipes: https://www.perfumeworkshop.com/perfumeoil-historical.html