Fragrance on a Stick

Project365 Frame 032 Feb 1, 2013 1100 hrs


Fragrance on a stick or most commonly called reed diffuser is for me the safest that you can use to deodorize or add fragrance in your room. Compared to time lapse fragrances that tend to lose the scent in between sprays, aerosol sprays that are not healthy and tend to leave residues on fabrics or even scented candles that are not supposed to be lighted while you're away, reed diffusers are just the perfect way to make your room fresh and smell good all the time. The vases too are very decorative that would compliment the color or style of your room. The reeds served as the wick for the fragrance oil inside the vase container so that it could travel up along the length of the reed and release its fragrance to the surrounding air.

Reed diffusers are quite expensive when you buy the whole set in the stores but you can always make your own so that you can also customize the fragrance you want.
The basic starting materials are:
1. A vase or container with small neck. Glass vases are preferable so that you an easily see if the oil inside is ready for refills.
2. Wooden reeds. You can use rattan reeds which are very porous or thin bamboo skewers or sticks.
3. Essential oils. You can buy these locally like in candle stores or craft stores.
4. Carrier oils like mineral oil and
5. A splash of vodka. The alcohol in vodka would act as an emulsifier so that the mixtures would bind together and would travel more efficiently through the reeds.
Essential oils are scented oils so add as many drops of these oils into the carrier oil depending on what fragrance you want to achieve. Put the mixture inside the container and dip one end of the reeds to the liquid and then flip the reed and insert the dry end into the container and into the liquid. Wait a few minutes for the liquid to soak up the reeds and then you can smell the burst of fragrance in your room. If you have scented bath oils, you can use these too. You can even make your own scented oil. A good example is mixing some apple peels and cinnamon with baby oil or pure lemon juice mix with baby oil for a lighter scent. More detailed information are available online, just "Google" them.

The featured photo for today is our reed diffuser that my mom received as a gift.