Happy New Year! I’ve decided to kick 2015 off with this complex and intoxicating perfume that I’m rather infatuated with.
It’s dry and warm, with a tangy mid note and high notes of sweet citrus and bright coniferous trees. It also matures beautifully on the skināsomehow the notes both clarify and blend over time, which is sheer perfumery magic to me.
A base of sweet, mysterious labdanum mingles with mid notes of fir and cedar to create a deep, dry base.
Lavender and lime top off the blend. The lavender softens off quickly, leaving sweet, tangy hints of lime that mellow and blend with the cedar as you wear it.
The final blend makes me think of a hot, dry summer night, with a thunderstorm crackling in the distance. We can hear a chorus of crickets calling back and forth in the bush. I still smell a bit like sunscreen from earlier. There’s talk of lighting a fire later, but only if it cools off a bit more. I can see fireflies dancing over the lake out the screened-in porch. The neighbors are having a dinner party and laughter drifts our way. Time feels like it’s standing still. It’s perfection.
Crickets & Fireflies Perfume
25% labdanum essential oil
10% lavender essential oil (I used Bulgarian)
8% lime essential oil
4% cedarwood essential oil (I used Atlas)
3% fir essential oil50% perfumery alcohol
Measure all the ingredients out into your perfumery container of choice (I used a 5mL roller bottle from Saffire Blue). For more information on using recipes written in percentages, check out my FAQ.
Cap the bottle, turn it over a few times to help things combine a bit, and then leave it for at least a month to let the essential oils dissolve (this part should happen in a day or two) and let the scents mingle and mature.
Once the perfume has aged, use it as you’d use any perfume. Enjoy!
Could you use a grain alcohol such as Vodka or Everclear? or should you use the perfumery alcohol? I would like to try it, I have everything except the alcohol š
I use vodka and it’s fine:) I think the alcohol needs to be very strong without much flavour and that’s all.
Thanks, Celine!
Hi Nicole! Another reader named Lauren Ann commented with this on my last perfume post:
Hi sweety! how are you? how is the weather there now winter?, wish you have a good Christmas!…I wish you a happy new year with health, happiness, and all good for you and those you love!.Greetings from the cold this time Greece!. Athanasia.
Hi Athanasia! It’s -27Ā°C with windchill and snowing like mad todayādefinitely winter. Brr! Happy New Year and thank you so much for reading and for your support š
Wow, you really made me feel like it was some warm night in July, here in Finland – we have that all, except those fireflies… š
Thanks, Signe! We can dream, eh?
Hi Marie,
I am really intrigued by this perfume blend and cannot wait to try it. Just one question though, I have all oils but for the balsam fir. In your opinion would it radically change or ruin the perfume if I used pine instead?
Thanks, Katja
Hi Katja! I find pine to be, perhaps, a bit less sweet than fir balsam, but if you like it I think you’ll be happy with the final blend š
Hi Marie, I will put the perfume together soon if possible tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it turned out.
Love from Holland, Katja
š I look forward to hearing what you think!
The solid perfume turned out fine! Pine is no problem instead of fir balsam I think it adds a somewhat dry note. I look forward however to playing a bit, adding perhaps a sweeter floral note, rose or maybe bourbon geranium especially after I read about the beguiling embrace perfume. Just a little sweeter not much. Have to save up for rose absolue though, criminy that is VERY expensive. But I wonder, is it also the best?
Hmmm… a thought. If you’re doing a solid perfume anyways, you should check out rose waxāit’s WAY cheaper than all the other rose products and still packs a serious real rose scent š Saffire Blue sells it.
Oh bother, rose wax sounded so good! Alas Saffire Blue is a really nice source for supplies but for one thing, shipping costs are crippling. $52.- shipping for a $12.- order. Checked European suppliers but no rose wax. Ah well, back to plan A, Rose absolue or Bourbon geranium. That is, after my numb nose clears up…
YIKES o_O
Because you reminded me of my research into cistus aka labdamum, I bought some a month ago and have been wondering what kind of perfume I could use it in. Which means, this goes on my list. š I love the idea of the scents. I bet even tangerine would even go well if you didn’t have lime. *claps hands* Yay! This is a great start for my 2015!
Wonderful! Also be sure to check out Beguiling Embrace, it’s my daily perfume now š
I have all of these ingredients except for the labdanum. I have probably 50+ essential oils in my cabinet, though…..what do you think could be substituted for the labdanum? I’ve never smelled it before.
Honestly, absolutely nothing. I have ~100 EOs and labdanum is 100% unique (which is why I love it in perfumery).
Love your description of everything a scent can make you envision! That is why I love the perfumes I do, is because they do that for me too. Have to try this mix, thank you!
Thanks so much, Tamara š
As always, your description of your products make me want to try everything. You could be a poet! Anyway, I don’t really like using alcohol in my perfumes, so would it still work fine in a carrier oil?
Thanks, Mylan! I canāt speak for the āminglingā/aging of the scent over time with an oil base, but the general effect should be similar.
Hi Marie, I know this post is quite old but I just wanted to let you know that I made this a year and a half or so ago (yep, I was late to the party even then haha) and packed it “safely” away when I moved (see: lost it in my millions of boxes and found it recently). When I found it…man oh man, the scent is AMAZING now! It was nice before but it really aged well. It’s a good unisex blend too, which is nice. Might be my new go-to! I think I’m gonna have to make another batch soon just so I have it ready for when this one runs out. Thanks, as always, for sharing.
I’m so thrilled to hear it, Katie! Wahoo! I love how perfume blends can become extra magical over time š Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making š
I love this recipe, it sounds like just the blend of smells I like since I love fresh woodsy scents and citrus smells. But I have heard all citrus oils except specially treated bergamot oil are photo toxic and will make the wearerās skin more susceptible to sunburn? I would love to make this but am concerned about the safety of the lime oil. Thanks!