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Most simple and natural spray to make me smell nice ?

post #1 of 36
3/16/12 at 9:12am
Thread Starter 
All commercial sprays and colognes give me a reaction

what is the most simple oil mixture I can use that smells ? or just a single oil I could use to spray myself with ?


Are floral waters any good ? or should I avoid them ?
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post #2 of 36
3/16/12 at 9:34am
Pachouli & Musk oil, etc. but you may have a reaction to them as well. That's a serious issue and certainly would be for most people in this forum. I would consult your doctor.
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post #3 of 36
3/16/12 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
by reaction I mean, like a chemical reaction , the sort that happens when you drive past a factory and you cna feel the itch on your skin. I hope that makes sense.

My original idea was to get grapefruit essential oil, put it in a bottle and just use that , is that a good idea or not ?

Okay, what is Pachouli & Musk oil ? Is it effective ? Can I buy it on ebay ? What are the ingredients ? Do I just need 2 or 3 sprays of it ?
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post #4 of 36
3/16/12 at 9:47am
Indeed, you should really consult a dermatologist. Tests can be done - skin patches, and some bloodwork - that should give you a fair idea of exactly what you are allergic to.

I doubt (though may of course be mistaken) that 'all' commercial sprays could produce an allergic reaction; for in many cases synthetic ingredients are known to be less allergenic than some natural ones. The natural/synthetic dichotomy is a false one; it is all just chemicals. Have you tried just spraying your clothing, not your skin? I do that a lot.

Mixing some drops of lavender with water, and washing therewith, can scent one pleasantly for a while. A more fragrant option is pure jasmine oil. Just apply a few drops to your skin or clothes. Long-lasting, and alluring. (There should be a law against doing this with patchouli.)
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post #5 of 36
3/16/12 at 10:13am
Aubrey
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post #6 of 36
3/16/12 at 10:20am
See a doctor. You shouldn't be looking for this type of advice on the Internet.
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post #7 of 36
3/16/12 at 10:34am
As others have said, there are so many classes of substance people react to - even things that one doesn't know or see. If you know the class that disturbs you, you can choose accordingly. That said, you can also try stuff that is not in alcohol - perhaps it's the alcohol that increases the reactions. Examples would be the perfume sticks by Lush.

cacio
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post #8 of 36
3/16/12 at 11:14am
What are you actually allergic to? I second trying alternative methods like balms or sticks.
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post #9 of 36
3/16/12 at 12:13pm
maybe spray on your clothes or hair? Or adding a spray or so to unscented lotion... I dunno, that's a real bummer...
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post #10 of 36
3/16/12 at 2:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by starshipvelcro View Post

maybe spray on your clothes or hair?

That's a viable option.
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post #11 of 36
3/16/12 at 2:47pm
Welcome!
I guess Clinique's line is hypoallergenic, at least it's what is described on Aromatics Elixir box.
Try also some L'Occitanes'.
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post #12 of 36
3/16/12 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 
I'm actually looking for recipes and oils that I could buy off ebay and use, not medical advice ! lol

I plan to just buy an oil, put it in a bottle and use it as a spray.

jasmine oil looks good.
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post #13 of 36
3/16/12 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 
I could just use one or two sprays of jasmine oil and that would be effective ?
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post #14 of 36
3/16/12 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

I'm actually looking for recipes and oils that I could buy off ebay and use, not medical advice ! lol.


"Thanks" would be a good beggining.
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post #15 of 36
3/17/12 at 4:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

All commercial sprays and colognes give me a reaction

what is the most simple oil mixture I can use that smells ? or just a single oil I could use to spray myself with ?


Are floral waters any good ? or should I avoid them ?

Im afraid the bad news here is that you are far more likely to react to natural materials than to synthetic ones for the simple reason that natural materials are each made up of a large range of chemical ingredients. So the more natural ingredients are in a fragrance, the more different chemicals it contains. Even quite simple oils will have a couple of dozen ingredients and the most complex, such as rose oil, have hundreds. Thats the very reason why, as a perfumer, I love using them - they add great complexity to a blend, which helps to give it lasting interest.

A commercial, synthetic, hypoallergenic is more likely to help you than using natural oils.

Floral waters may help if it is the ethanol in perfumes that is upsetting you, but in that case you may find oil based fragrances will give you more options. There are a huge range of those, mainly targeted at the Islamic market: check specialist Arabic suppliers if you want to explore that option.

Grapefruit oil was also mentioned earlier in the thread and is an exceptionally bad idea as it is one of the oils to which the greatest number of people have a bad reaction - most commercial fragrances use synthetic alternatives for the grapefruit note for that reason and also because natural grapefruit oil tends to break down into sulphurous compounds over time and end up smelling quite unpleasant.

Natural oils are not the answer to allergy problems, despite the mythology.
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post #16 of 36
3/17/12 at 4:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

I'm actually looking for recipes and oils that I could buy off ebay and use, not medical advice ! lol

I plan to just buy an oil, put it in a bottle and use it as a spray.

jasmine oil looks good.

If you buy jasmine oil from eBay it is unlikely to be natural.

The natural product mainly used is jasmine absolute, which is quite thick and sticky - certainly would not work in a spray - and in any case smells quite faecal when neat and will be likely to give you a very bad reaction: jasmine oil, like almost all pure essential oils and absolutes, is far to strong to be used neat. Even at 10% most people find jasmine overwhelmingly strong to smell too.
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post #17 of 36
3/17/12 at 4:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

I'm actually looking for recipes and oils that I could buy off ebay and use, not medical advice ! lol

I plan to just buy an oil, put it in a bottle and use it as a spray.

jasmine oil looks good.


Someone asked a wealthy man for money.
"What do you want it for? "
"To buy an elephant."
"If you have no money you will not be able to maintain an elephant."
"I asked for money, not advice!"
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post #18 of 36
3/17/12 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by martinijo View Post

Someone asked a wealthy man for money.
"What do you want it for? "
"To buy an elephant."
"If you have no money you will not be able to maintain an elephant."
"I asked for money, not advice!"

I love Basenotes: from itchy skin and natural oils to the wisdom of Nasreddin in a single step - wonderful!
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post #19 of 36
3/17/12 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Bartlett View Post

I love Basenotes: from itchy skin and natural oils to the wisdom of Nasreddin in a single step - wonderful!


Well spotted :-)
Always a pleasure to include a tale from the Mulla..
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post #20 of 36
3/19/12 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 
okay, so whats good for me then ?
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post #21 of 36
3/19/12 at 10:18am
A trip to a dermatologist.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

okay, so whats good for me then ?
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post #22 of 36
3/19/12 at 10:37am
Besides getting some professional advice, you could try a hypoallergenic cologne - note that hypoallergenic only means less likely to cause an allergic reaction, not never does - but there are a few on the market that are probably worth trying.

Just before you do that though, you might try a simple test to see if the alcohol is implicated in your problem: get hold of the strongest vodka you can find and just wet your skin with it, to the sort of extent that it would be wetted with a cologne spray, and let it dry. If your skin reacts, then try an oil based perfume and see if that works. If you get no reaction to the vodka then a hypoallergenic cologne is a good bet.

Im planning to release an alcohol based hypoallergenic myself in a couple of months actually - if you want I could send you an advance sample to try, depending on what part of the world youre in.
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post #23 of 36
3/19/12 at 1:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by martinijo View Post

Someone asked a wealthy man for money.
"What do you want it for? "
"To buy an elephant."
"If you have no money you will not be able to maintain an elephant."
"I asked for money, not advice!"

lmao
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post #24 of 36
3/19/12 at 1:41pm
No one is going to be able to tell you specific answers to all of your questions.
You are going to have to buy what seems interesting to you and see how many sprays/ dabs work for you and see if you are allergic to the oils or not.
If jasmine oil looks good-buy it.
If grapefruit oil looks good-buy it.
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post #25 of 36
3/19/12 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Bartlett View Post

Besides getting some professional advice, you could try a hypoallergenic cologne - note that hypoallergenic only means ‘less likely to cause an allergic reaction, not never does - but there are a few on the market that are probably worth trying.

Just before you do that though, you might try a simple test to see if the alcohol is implicated in your problem: get hold of the strongest vodka you can find and just wet your skin with it, to the sort of extent that it would be wetted with a cologne spray, and let it dry. If your skin reacts, then try an oil based perfume and see if that works. If you get no reaction to the vodka then a hypoallergenic cologne is a good bet.

I’m planning to release an alcohol based hypoallergenic myself in a couple of months actually - if you want I could send you an advance sample to try, depending on what part of the world you’re in.

To add to this wonderful advice, CB I Hate Perfume's entire fragrance library is alcohol free, should that be the cause.
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post #26 of 36
3/19/12 at 4:27pm
EDIT: Completely misread the OP.
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post #27 of 36
3/20/12 at 9:56am
Thread Starter 
this is what I currently use

store.thecrystal.com/crystal-essence-body-spray---pomegranate-p11.aspx

ingredients are


purified water, mineral salts and pomegranate essential oil - very simple
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post #28 of 36
3/20/12 at 9:58am
Thread Starter 
hi user Chris Bartlett, I live in Liverpool , England.

However, I am looking for something that I could easily make myself out of 1 or 2 ingredients,, I also wanted baking soda as ingredient as I heard that controls odors exceptionally well also.
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post #29 of 36
3/20/12 at 10:13am
Have you tried Ineke Derring-Do?
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post #30 of 36
3/20/12 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

I'm actually looking for recipes and oils that I could buy off ebay and use, not medical advice ! lol

I plan to just buy an oil, put it in a bottle and use it as a spray.

jasmine oil looks good.

There are numerous books on Amazon on making your own natural perfumes that you may want to look at. They are usually they are under the category of "natural living" or "chemical free living."
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post #31 of 36
3/20/12 at 2:11pm
Dusk cologne by Herban Cowboy

Try also the Blu Mediterraneo line from Acqua di Parma.
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post #32 of 36
3/20/12 at 2:58pm
@ Chris Bartlett ....



time and again, you come through with such sage advice it humbles me ...
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post #33 of 36
3/27/12 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 
Hi I am back

Blu Mediterraneo is too expensive.
The other one is hard to find in the UK.
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post #34 of 36
3/27/12 at 11:18am
Thread Starter 
Oh by the way I am a MALE, I should have mentioned that, I am not looking for a perfume,

just a very simple and natural product with 2 or 3 ingredients or just one oil I can put in a bottle and spray.
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post #35 of 36
3/27/12 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

Oh by the way I am a MALE, I should have mentioned that, I am not looking for a perfume,

just a very simple and natural product with 2 or 3 ingredients or just one oil I can put in a bottle and spray.

A spray to make you smell nice is, by definition, a perfume. Some men prefer to call it cologne in the misguided belief that this will make them more masculine, but in the end its still perfume if you put it on yourself to make you smell nice - thats what perfume is.

All of which being said if you are indeed not looking for a perfume, then I suggest you are on the wrong website, because perfume is what Basenotes is all about.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fuggles View Post

okay, so whats good for me then ?

Some lessons in good manners might not go amiss

Quote:
Originally Posted by moore View Post


"Thanks" would be a good beggining.
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post #36 of 36
3/27/12 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dollars&scents View Post

@ Chris Bartlett ....



time and again, you come through with such sage advice it humbles me ...

Speaking of thank yous thats very kind of you: Thanks!
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