DIY Home Fragrance- Lime, Basil and Mandarin

I have a confession to make, the day I was introduced to the Jo Malone’s ‘Lime Basil Mandarin’ bath shower fragrance, I was hooked. I have been a lover of Jo Malone’s amazing combinations for a quite sometime now and thought of recreating one for my home since I loved it so much. Plus I hate artificial home fragrances. There are so many brands available online but creating your scent is special and best that it is natural. What I didn’t realize was that it would be this simple! I know you think that how can you create a home fragrance at home? Well I thought so too and after some research I decided to create it and the result was super soothing 

I’ll be listing on how to create it step by step; actually its too simple ;)

Ingredients

• Lime/Lemon- 2-3 pieces - Its awesome if you can source the big hilly organic lemons. If not then normal vegetable shop lime/nimbu will also do
• Basil- Approximately 10-12 leaves but take it as you go. If you want a stronger basil fragfrance opt for more. Also you can use the Italian ones or the homegrown tulsi. Both will give a very earthy smell.
• Mandarin-  1 piece. Although later I realized for a stronger fragrance I could have used 1.5 but the fruit was so tasty, I ended up eating the other while cooking :P Also Mandarin isn’t easily available in all cities but if you have a the old style mandarin (narangi) plant then you’re in luck. In my case, I used the very juicy malta orange and it did the trick too

And lots of water

Method:

• Cut all ingredients in spherical form or any form you like. I like spheres as it looks pretty
• Put 1.5-2 cups of water in a small pan and put all the ingredients IN

• Put the heat on and let it come to a boil; after one boil let it simmer for ~ 30 mins

• Don’t leave the gas unattended because if you’ve put less water then it might dry up quickly. In case you feel water level is drying then quickly add more water to it
• Once its simmering you will notice the subtle fragrance travelling through your entire house. Try not to make indian rich food or the tadkafull stuff right after you make this as your hardwork will go waste 
• I put this fragrance in our bedroom as its a smaller room and fragrance will be stronger so try putting in a smaller room for it to be more effective

Storage and making the fragrance last

This was the part I was most worried about because I didn’t want to make something that could only last a couple of hours. Well good news is that this fragrance can easily last for 3-4 uses ie. 4-5 full days.

To make it last longer, I used the old teapot hack. Transfer the mixture to a tea pot and put a tea light under it and it will last for 10-12 hours for immediate use.

After using it, you can store the mix again in the fridge and re-use it again after a day or so. The colour won’t be as pretty as the 1st time as it turns a bit milky and soapy but If the fragrance comes through then reuse it.

For reusing the refrigerator stored one, I would suggest to put the mix back on the heat, add some fresh water and maybe half a spoon of any essential oil you have available with you.

Tip: I added a spoon of jasmine oil (nothing special, a variety I had got when I visited Bali) to the mixture and I think the fragrance was enhanced a bit

Some more combinations you can try if you like more woody and strong smells:

• Orange, Cinnamon and cloves
• Mango, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla
• Lemon, Rosemary and Vanilla
• Lime, Thyme, Mint and Vanilla extract

You can mix these with some chamomile or lavender blossoms to give the perfect floral hit. I’ll be trying one of the above very soon and will update you.

 Would love to see you guys try it at home. Tag #houseofekam and show us what you did.