While I was dreaming up this year’s Christmas projects, I really loved the idea of a Christmas Eve Pillow Mist—something you could spritz over your bed before crawling between the sheets and listening for reindeer on the roof. I decided to give it a bit of a twist, though, and stray a touch from the typical Christmas scent blends.
I no longer recommend making this as it no longer lives up to my formulation standards.
The majority of this blend is fir essential oil, which has always smelled exactly of Christmas trees to me. If your nostalgia prefers pine, spruce, or cedar, feel free to substitute.
The secondary note is roman chamomile, which is more prominent than you might think from just four drops. Its calming apples and hay scent helps lull you off to sleep.
A hint of exotic frankincense and myrrh essential oils add a unique scent hit and a call-out to the gifts of the magi. Last but not least a few drops of spice and a touch of bright orange rounds out the blend.
The final mist is clean and lightly spiced. It’s Christmassy, but not cliché. I like it.
I no longer recommend making this as it no longer lives up to my formulation standards.
Christmas Eve Pillow Mist
15 drops fir essential oil
1 drop cinnamon bark essential oil
1 drop clove bud essential oil
3 drops orange essential oil
4 drops roman chamomile essential oil
2 drops benzoin essential oil
3 drops frankincense essential oil (optional)
2 drops myrrh essential oil (optional)Equal volume of polysorbate 20
15mL | 1 tbsp 99% isopropyl alochol
Water, to fill
60mL/2oz spray bottle
Count the essential oils out into the bottom of your bottle and top off with an equal volume of solubilizer. Swirl to combine.
If you don’t want to use solubilizer you can simply dissolve the essential oils in perfumery alcohol (cheap, high proof vodka will do) and use that as your spritz. I opted not to use my Turkey Red Oil/Guar Gum alternative here for two reasons: 1) It’s a bit too thick to properly mist, and tends to squirt too heavily for a pleasant pillowcase application experience; 2) Turkey Red Oil will leave your pillowcase oily, and you likely won’t want to be rubbing your face and hair on that all night.
What’s a volume stabilizer?
What you need is an equal volume of solubilizer—generally polysorbate 20. By blending the essential oils blend with an equal amount of solubilizer you can blend the oils with water 🙂
Is this the same thing as emulsifying wax? If no, what is emulsifying wax for?
No, they’re not the same thing at all. Emulsifying wax thickens products and requires a precise ratio of oils to water to form an emulsion, making it ideal for lotion type applications. Solubilizer emulsifies small amounts of oil into mostly water based concoctions without thickening them, making it ideal for room sprays, mists, and other almost entirely water formulas that require a small amount of oil or essential oils. Hope that clears things up!
I use witch hazel to dissolve the essential oils in my pillow sprays. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hmm, how well does this work? Witch hazel is mostly water, so this doesn’t make sense to me, but I haven’t tried it.
I put the witch hazel in first, then the essential oils and shake for about 10-15 seconds. Then i add distilled water. It works decently well, but you still have to mix it up every now and then. I’ll try the solubilizer at some point but I kinda like the idea of just using witch hazel for a more natural mix.
It’s better than just straight water, without using alcohol (i know witch hazel has some alcohol in it) or vodka but not as good as something like solubulizer.
When mixed with witch hazel, it’s a little cloudy.
Cool, thanks—I’ll have to give it a try sometime 🙂
A solubilizer keeps everything mixed up so you do not have to constantly shake to mix.
🙂
Marie –
I hope your Christmas is extra blessed this year and every year!
You add so much joy to my days! I love your posts and recipes; they are a wonderful balm for hectic days!
Thank you for being you!
Leslie
Thanks so much, Leslie!
Hi, I discovered your blog this morning since I’ve been doing research for diy recipes for I no longer want to use commercial skin care/hair care products; finally after a couple weeks of research I’m beyond thrilled with your content ’cause of your knowledge of the ingredients (and how they actually work), and for the friendly way every step of the process is explained. Thank you for these amazing recipes and for making this transition from store-bought products to home-made ones easier for me.
Hi Andrea! I’m so thrilled you’ve found my wee blog 🙂 Be sure to check out my “DIY Basics” section as you’re getting into things, there’s lots of great info in there!
Thank You for the tip! And Merry belated Christmas 🙂
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays! You are awesome! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes, talent etc….
Thanks so much, Staci!
Hi, Marie: just wandering through your website, and came upon this recipe. Do you need a preservative because water is added? and if so, what kind of preservative?
Good catch! I’ve modified the recipe to include enough alcohol to preserve the spray 😀 Thank you!
Hi and thanks for the information you share with us. What is an option for alcohol free recipe ? Is this recipe the same for room spray?
Thanksss
Check this out 🙂