Perfume making stands at the crossroads of art and apothecary. Perfumes have alcoholic base, and if perfumer’s alcohol is unavailable, a substitute like Smirnoff’s vodka can be used. The essential oils can be sourced locally or through Internet. Essential oils are used as base notes, middle notes and top notes. Cedar wood, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood and vanilla constitute base notes. Clove, lemon grass, germanium, nutmeg, ylang-yland are the middle notes. Bergamot, lemon grass, lavender, lime and jasmine are the top notes. Vanilla and lavender also serve as bridge notes. We have to take at least 25 drops of essential oils divided evenly between base, middle and top notes. These drops are poured into 15 ml of a base oil e.g. jojoba or almond oil in a glass bottle. The essential oils are added in the order, first the base, then the middle and then the top. Then add to this mixture 75 mil of alcohol. Shake for a few minutes and let it stand undisturbed for 48 hours. Then add 2 tablespoons of distilled water. Let it  stand at least for three weeks in a cool, dark place. Filter it through muslin cloth or coffee filter to remove the oil sediments. Bottle it.