This is an inexpensive and easy way to smell nice! I originally looked into this because I wanted to smell like pine trees, and nobody makes that scent (at least until Ralph Lauren gets a whiff of me). Create a personalized scent for a nifty gift.

The only ingredient that can get expensive is the essential oils, especially if you make a complex scent blend requiring an initial investment of many different essentials. Of course, there's nothing wrong with picking a single pleasant scent. One bottle of an essential oil will make lots and lots of perfume; you use only drops at a time!

You will need:
1 tablespoon Beeswax (available at craft shop)
1 tablespoon Almond Oil (or Jojoba Oil or Vitamin E - available at natural foods/health store)
8 - 15 drops Essential Oils (available at natural foods/health store)
1 container (preferably glass, ceramic or stone but plastic is acceptable)

For a cool gift, find an appealing container at your thrift store (it must be bowl-like, not bottle-like, to allow fingers to access the perfume) to make it special.

Step 1: Measure and Melt

.Put about an inch of water in a small saucepan, then put a small glass jar or pyrex bowl in the water. Measure out the wax and almond oil into the jar/bowl and bring the water around it to a boil.

The wax will melt gradually; when it is 100% liquid, remove from heat and stir in the other ingredients with a straw (the wax will start to form solid on whatever you do your stirring with — a straw has little surface area so you lose less of the end product, and it's disposable so you don't have to clean it off). When everything is thoroughly mixed together, pour the liquid wax immediately into your final container. In about 30 minutes, it will be cooled, solid and ready to use.

Here, I'm making a cedarwood essence perfume to rub on my dogs' collars, so I just used a simple plastic container. The scent of cedar repels ticks, and smells good, too!

Step 2: Apply Perfume

To use the perfume, simply rub a finger around on the surface of the waxy perfume, then rub that finger on the area you want to smell good — the inside of your wrists and behind the ears works well.

Some tips for devising the ultimate scent recipe:

• combine drops of various essentials, totalling 8 -15 drops in all
• pick a primary scent and use more of that one, then one or two "background" scents, using less of each
• check out various aromatherapy sites for info on the psychological properties of various scents

Most stores that sell essential oils have sampler bottles of each one that you can use to "preview" the different scents. Open two or three up at a time and try to get a combined whiff, to find a good combination.

Some nice essentials for background scents are:
• clary sage (a slightly smoky herbal scent that's supposed to help creativity and concentration)
• orange or ginger provide a warming sensation (my wife, who is always cold, attests to this)
• ylang-ylang is a floral that isn't too sweet or girly for guys, but it's a happy smell and subtle enough for a backdrop
• cedar repels insects

Here's my personal scent recipe (and purported aromatherapy effects):
6 drops essential oil of pine (confidence)
4 drops essential oil of ylang-ylang (mood-elevating, energizing)
3 drops essential oil of clary sage (concentration and creativity)

Here's the recipe for my wife's personal scent (and purported aromatherapy effects):
5 drops essential oil of ginger (sweet and warming)
4 drops essential oil of orange (warming, mood-elevating)
2 drops essential oil of ylang-ylang (mood-elevating, energizing)
2 drops of clary sage (concentration and creativity)

Other uses:
• rub some on the seats of your car
• clean out a chapstick tube and fill for an on-the-go applicator
• make a cedar or cypress rub for feet — prevents fungus and bacteria-related foot funk
• rub on the inside of dog collars for a pooch perfume
• rub on the inside of your wallet to get rid of dirty money smell
• apply sparingly on business cards — this japanese tradition makes your card unique and memorable