CREATING SCENTS

You don’t have to shell out large amounts of money for conventional perfumes. Instead, use them as inspiration for making your own natural scents. Chanel No.5, for example, contains the oils of bergamot, lemon, jasmine, rose otto, ylang ylang, vetiver, cedarwood, neroli and vanilla; use these as inspiration to create something similar.

Perfumes like Angel by Thierry Mugler are a bit more tricky to replicate. This much-loved fragrance is a complex mix. Top notes include melon, coconut, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, bergamot and cotton candy. Middle notes include honey, apricot, blackberry, plum, orchid, peach, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, red berries and rose. Base notes include tonka bean, amber, patchouli, musk, vanilla, dark chocolate and caramel.