It must be the dharma factor.  It must be that I want to really contribute something to the world, to do something tangible.  I love fragrance and I've always been obsessed with things like potions and tinctures.

I haven't bought any essential oils, carrier oils, or materials yet, but I've come across my first dilemma.  It seems there's two main ways to distill a scent into your perfume...

a) Essential oils.  This is done by taking a carrier oil, like jojoba oil, and soaking herbs, spices, flowers, fruits, or whatever in it for a certain amount of time.  Jojoba is an incredibly penetrating oil, and will quickly become a powerful essential oil when something is soaked in it.  It also seems that it would easily permeate into any mixture, like a perfume.

b) Essence in alcohol.  Vodka, or a similar clear liquor, is an essential ingredient in perfume, and I know I'll have to use it.  But it can also be used to distill fragrance, as well.

So my question is...drops of fragrance oil (jojoba) or fragrance tincture (vodka)?  I'll probably be going with oil for that...I'd imagine the oil would be less likely to dilute in the alcohol.

Anyway, here's how it works...you add a single drop or so of your base notes (musk, bay, etc), two drops of mid notes (cinnamon, cardamom, freesia, etc) and three of your top notes (peach, red currant, etc) into three tablespoons of vodka and a half cup of distilled water or so.  This is just a sample recipe, but there's a lot of room to play around.  Glycerin can also be used to help the perfume retain its smell for longer.  You stir in each drop of oil as it is added.  What's fascinating is that your perfume can smell ENTIRELY different, based simply on a single drop of oil or how well it's blended into the perfume.  And when you leave it to sit and steep, the longer you leave it, the stronger it gets, so apparently you're not supposed to leave it for any longer than you want the smell's strength to be.

I actually can't wait to try this.  The only problem seems to be bottling it...