I love stepping into any place that smells good but the thing is I am allergic to synthetic fragrances. One of the side effects that I get when I smell synthetic air freshener, especially those for cars is I would feel nauseous. Sometimes I would get a mild headache from smelling overpowering artificial scents. Whenever I step into a lift that someone had just left a trail of strong perfume or after the condo cleaner had sprayed air freshener, I would have to hold my breath until I reach my destination seconds later. I wouldn’t want to take any chance for feeling nauseous and choking my lungs and nostrils with chemicals.
The other day, someone had accidentally spilled fish blood and water onto the floor mat of my car after buying fish. Even after washing the floor mat, the odor of stinky fish lingered in my car. The aroma of pandan leaves in my car couldn’t cover the stench of dead fish in my car and I felt like puking. That’s what prompted me to make my own air freshener and it is so easy and so fast! It took me under 5 minutes to whip up a bottle of 50ml air freshener, I kid you not!
All you need is 3 or 4 ingredients and a spray bottle.
Ingredients
1. Spray bottle ~ I used a 50ml clear plastic spray bottle bought from Craftiviti.
2. Filtered water
3. Essential oils ~ you can use any scent that you fancy. I chose Orange, Lime and Cedarwood ~ 10 drops each. You can pick Lavender, Peppermint, Grapefruit or any citrusy scent. You can even choose Rose, if you can afford it 😉 (Pure organic Rose Essential Oil is one of the most expensive essential oils in the world!)
4. If you have vanilla essence, put a few drops as well. I love the smell of vanilla in my air fresheners. It feels as if I am sniffing vanilla cakes and cookies and that’s enough to satiate my desire for these snacks.
Method
1. Fill up spray bottle with filtered water and leave about 5cm space for the Essential Oils (EO).
2. Drop EO of your choice into spray bottle.
3. Add in vanilla essence (optional) but recommended if you love the smell of vanilla.
4. Shake well before spraying.
After a good spray of homemade air freshener in my car, I dabbed a few drops of Lemon Essential Oil and Vanilla essence onto cotton facial pads and slot them between my car air-cond vents. Now my car smells so lemony and vanilla-ish. No more dead fish stench. Love the smell of my DIY air freshener so much 🤗 Best of all, I don’t get nauseous and dizzy from smelling it.
NOTES:
I am a stickler for quality essential oils. The cheaper ones just won’t cut it for me. I’ve tried essential oils that are so much cheaper and I ended up discarding them ~ oregano and grapefruit ones to be precise. They smelled so fake and strong I knew at once they were adulterated.
You can read more about the brand I’ve used for 3+ months here.
These recipes are for small batches. Feel free to double or triple if you find a mix you really like.
These homemade air freshener concoctions make fabulous gifts and they are pretty affordable too.
You can use whatever type of water you have available- I just used plain filtered tap water.
Give your spritzers a good shake before you spray to make sure the oils are mixed into the water.
Let me know if you need help to get the essential oils. I can get them for you at wholesale price. Just drop me an email at shireenyong@gmail.com. You can also click here to sign up as member (signing up online is so easy and fast!) or Whatsapp / call me at 019 266 4290.
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