When crafting your perfume, it's best to let one oil act as your 'base scent', another to act as a 'middle note', and a third to act as your 'top note'.

Sandalwood, jojoba, moss and patchouli are all excellent and popular base scents for perfume creation. Ylang ylang, lemongrass, chamomile and geranium are all excellent middle notes. Bergamot, sage, orchid, lemon, aldehydic and neroli all make great top notes. What makes a great top note? It's sharp, fast-acting and immediately detectable. Choose no more than three oils at this stage – with perfume-making less is more, as essential oils are highly concentrated. When learning how to make essential oils, remember! you can always add, you can never subtract.

A blended perfume will evolve over time, so don't discard your mistakes! Let them season on the shelf, in a dark place preferably, unless you really don't like the scent in which case put it in direct sun to let the sun's rays break down the compounds and perhaps transform it into something extraordinary. Many successes begin with failures.

Essential oils can be grouped by their main scent. The most common are Citrus, Spicy, Floral, Woody and Earthy. Citrus – orange, lemon, lime, tangerine and bergamot. Spicy – cinnamon, clove and ginger. Floral – Ylang ylang, geranium, rose, jasmine, violet, water lily, honeysuckle, hyacinth, lavender, chamomile and neroli. Woodsy – cedarwood, sandalwood, rosewood, cypress, petitgrain, juniper and pine. Earthy – patchouli, spikenard, frankincense and clary sage.

Anything within the same group will mix, and the most reliable inter-group pairings are: Floral/Citrus, Spicy/Woody, Earthy/Woody, Floral/Woody/ and/or Earthy. Spicy combines with most groups. Use just a couple of drops of a base when starting your perfume, while 45% of a blend should be the middle note and 45% should be the top note.

After you've added as much as you want of the essential oils you've made to your perfume mix, put the cap on and shake your perfume bottle gently for at least a minute to allow the oils to disperse through the alcohol. Sniff the fragrance gently, then from varying distances. At this point, you can add other ingredients for additional top notes to your perfume mix such as sea salt (for an ocean breeze), pepper (to add spice), vanilla and camphor.