How to make perfumed body powder

Just add a sprinkle of magic powder…

What’s the secret to falling in love? Is it a magic potion, fairy dust, or good old-fashioned chemistry? We can’t say for sure, but we do know that the second we met this DIY perfumed body powder we fell hard! And all the magic we needed was contained in the powder itself, which leaves your skin silky soft and delicately scented. What’s more, it comes in three captivating perfumes. It was love at first sniff for us, and we think it will be for you too!

To make this perfumed body powder, we chose powders with a velvety feel that yield a product that slides on easily and retains its scent a long time. We love how soft our skin is after we put it on! And, you can add a bit of mica to make it slightly shimmering, making it a pleasure for your eyes as well as your nose.

As we’re sure you’ve noticed by now, our whole team has fallen under its charm… Good thing there’s plenty to go around! We encourage you to leave your feedback in the comments. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

Before you begin

In this recipe, you’ll be handling very fine, light powders. We recommend wearing a dust mask to protect your respiratory tract.
This homemade body powder leaves your skin soft and silky while lightly scenting it. If you’d prefer a more strongly scented product, we recommend our solid or bottled perfume recipes.
Keep in mind that all of these perfumes will have a powdery scent—they are perfumed body powders, after all! This is true no matter which scent blend you choose. If you’re not fond of powdery scents, we recommend trying one of the two recipes mentioned above instead.
In this recipe, you may be using mini measuring spoons if you choose to add mica or adapt the recipe to better match your skin tone (see “Good to know” section for more information). Each quantity listed in all caps (DASH, SMIDGEN, etc.), corresponds with one of the measurements listed on the mini measuring spoon set.

Ingredients

Powder base

4.5 g (30%) white clay or red clay (depending on your skin tone; see the “Good to know” section for more info)
4.5 g (30%) mica powder
4.5 g (30%) zinc oxide
0.9 g (6%) magnesium stearate
1 SMIDGEN gold leaf mica (optional)
0.6 g (4%) essential oils or aromatic essences

Suggested scents

Enchanted Grove

0.06 g (0.4%) amyris essential oil
0.24 g (1.6%) honeysuckle aromatic essence
0.08 g (0.5%) balsam fir essential oil
0.05 g (0.3%) white pine essential oil
0.18 g (1.2%) violet aromatic essence

At First Blush

0.09 g (0.6%) Virginia cedar essential oil
0.09 g (0.6%) almond aromatic essence
0.09 g (0.6%) ylang-ylang essential oil
0.09 g (0.6%) frankincense essential oil (10%)
0.17 g (1.1%) violet aromatic essence
0.08 g (0.5%) eucalyptus globulus essential oil

Sweet Folly

Tools

Small stainless steel bowl
Scale, accurate to 0.01 g
A few pipettes
A few ramekins
Mini-measuring spoon set (for quantities given as PINCH and SMIDGEN if using gold leaf mica or brown oxide)
Coffee grinder
Powder spray bottle (30 ml) or jar with sifter (45 ml)
Medium funnel (for spray bottle) or teaspoon (for sifter jar)
Dust mask

Good to know!

Clay is used for its absorptive properties, so it helps the perfume last longer.
If you have fair skin, we recommend using white clay. If you have olive or dark skin, we recommend opting for red clay. You can also add brown oxide in step 2 to create an even darker shade. To do so, just add brown oxide with the mini measuring spoons until you reach your desired shade. We recommend beginning with a PINCH then adding more as needed.
Mica powder makes this body powder easy to apply and prevents the powder from clumping.
Zinc oxide has absorbent and adhesive properties.
Magnesium stearate improves the perfume powder’s adherence. In combination with the zinc oxide, it yields a product with long-lasting hold.
The gold leaf mica leaves a lovely shimmer on your skin. You can use whichever mica you prefer!
The Enchanted Grove greets you with a vivid, resinous scent, followed by a floral bouquet, transporting you to a spring forest scene.
At First Blush is irresistibly floral and soft with pleasant powdery and creamy notes. It’s the perfect scent to add a bit of sweetness to your everyday!
Sweet Folly has a lively citrus scent. Its joyous tart notes first awaken your senses, then are softened by light coniferous and floral notes. With just one whiff, you can almost feel the warmth of the sun!
We offer three different scent blends for your DIY perfumed body powder. Of course, you can create your own using the aromatic essences and essential oils of your choosing. However, there are some things you’ll need to keep in mind:
- Some essential oils are dermocaustic (cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaf, clary sage, clove, ginger, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, thyme). You may choose to use them, but they cannot make up more than 0.5% of the total recipe, as dermocaustic essential oils can irritate or even burn your skin.
- Some essential oils are photosensitizing (bergamot, celery, lemon, lime, pink grapefruit, red mandarin, sweet orange, tangerine, white grapefruit). If you include any of these essential oils, you must avoid sun exposure in the eight hours following application.

Steps to follow

Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace.
Weigh the mica powder, clay, magnesium stearate, and zinc oxide in a small bowl. Pour the powders into the coffee grinder and mix for about 20 seconds.
Optional step: Weigh and add the gold leaf mica (or another shimmering mica), then mix again with the coffee grinder.
Weigh the essential oils and aromatic essences in a ramekin.
Gradually pour the scents into the coffee grinder containing the powders, then mix for about 10 seconds.
Transfer to the container using a funnel, if you chose the bottle, or using a spoon, if you chose the sifter jar.