# Creating your own scents



## little_fire (Sep 5, 2007)

Now in my fourth year of haunting, I have decided to dabble in using scents. I ordered a few trial size scents from www.gothrosary.com that are made to be used as perfumes, and I've been very happy with them. I'm now looking to whip up a few for use on costumes and in the house in an attempt to show my boss how great these could be. Since I'm not looking to spend every penny I make there buying stuff for work, I'm trying to figure out how to create some creepy/stinky smells at home. Has anyone tried this? If you have, what worked for you?


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## jdsteel82 (Aug 27, 2010)

a good ole jar after eating beans!

But truthfully really need to know what scents you are going for. Different scents have different chemical association. Some chemicals can be safe or toxic. You can come up with some interesting scents by just playing with the different essential oils or alcohol suspended scents.


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## little_fire (Sep 5, 2007)

One that I stumbled across simply while taking my vitamins before work was the smell of a vitamin b complex pill. Those things stink! So, I dissolved one in water, and I'm going to experiment a bit. I may go pick up a few essential oils, but even those aren't cheap. If anyone has any ideas using household items (herbs, spices, other vitamins etc), that would be great!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Do a Google search on the preparation of herbal tinctures and perfumes. There are a number of sites that provide recipes for preparing these concoctions at home and might be a good source of inspiration for your experiments with scents.


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## little_fire (Sep 5, 2007)

As an herbalist-in-training, I actually have a fair amount of knowledge in that area already, and a little extra wont hurt.  I just have to figure out what herbs are going to make the best icky scent without being easily identified by patrons...hmmm....


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## dscrimager (Jun 6, 2008)

Oak moss smells like dirt...but the delivery vehicle I cannot figure out. I tried re-purposing those heated scent plug ins but we could never get it to evaporate and propagate enough since I want to use it outside but do not want open flame...


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

little_fire said:


> As an herbalist-in-training, I actually have a fair amount of knowledge in that area already, and a little extra wont hurt.  I just have to figure out what herbs are going to make the best icky scent without being easily identified by patrons...hmmm....


If you have those same pesky stink bugs in KY that we have here, you could try a concoction made from them


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## little_fire (Sep 5, 2007)

RoxyBlue said:


> If you have those same pesky stink bugs in KY that we have here, you could try a concoction made from them


I'm not sure if we do or not, actually. Though the thought of handling bugs, even for a good cause such as this, squicks me out. I'll be trying out a few things later today and tomorrow while I finish my hat for the big parade Friday, and hopefully something works. I'll be sure to post the recipe if I find a good one!


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

What about a crock pot? That dead mouse I found in my Ween stuff sure gave off a TON of stink.....


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## dscrimager (Jun 6, 2008)

*Crock pot is a great idea!*

no flame heating - I'll try it this weekend and rig up a fan to blow the scent across the yard and see what I get...

My wife is into natural scent and perfumery so we have lots of items we can try....


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## little_fire (Sep 5, 2007)

We can't use any type of heating device...no hot plates, crock pots, flame, etc. One of the drawbacks of being a pro-grade haunt subject to inspection by our ever-charming local fire marshal. That said, sprays or sachets with a fan to disperse the scent are our only options.


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## jdsteel82 (Aug 27, 2010)

I found a long forgotten jar with a massive size spider in it that was dead. upon opening the sealed jar, the moist stink of the spider about made me keel over!


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## dscrimager (Jun 6, 2008)

*candle heaters on hand*

I'm going to try the candle heaters (2 for $8 at michaels) and a small fan over a ceramic cup filled with Oak moss.

If I can get that graveyard smell...

Freshly Doug


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## Rocky666 (Oct 15, 2010)

You could boil that oak moss in some water, remove it, add more moss, boil, remove moss, etc and then reduce it down over low heat so you get a nice, concentrated oak moss infusion to spread about.

Also, herbs like valerian and wormwood have a good stink to them and could be treated the same way as above.

I was wondering if a ionizer submerged in a stunk up container of water would help disperse the smell.


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## dscrimager (Jun 6, 2008)

*I tried the candle warmers*

first with a small glass vial ( narrow necked) which did not work.. but then with a flat bottomed lab flask with straight sides. Once the potion was bubbling it certainly let off enough scent to be very noticeable.

I am still tempted to get some of the non-natural scents ( like fresh grass and dirt) and see what they will do.

Ran out of time for this year but have enough to start with for next I think. For me a small fan and the candle warmer is going to be the solution.

Freshly Doug


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Umm..not to be obvious, but I remember the time I forgot a doggie bag full of Mexican brisket under my car seat. By day 3 (it was a long weekend of no car drives) it smelled like I had Hoffa in there. No lie. Rotten meat smells like...umm...rotten meat!


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## Dixie (Feb 18, 2009)

debbie5 said:


> Umm..not to be obvious, but I remember the time I forgot a doggie bag full of Mexican brisket under my car seat. By day 3 (it was a long weekend of no car drives) it smelled like I had Hoffa in there. No lie. Rotten meat smells like...umm...rotten meat!


THEN you could dress up all the wild dogs that suddenly appear in your yard as werewolves, and have an instant actors group!

haha, jokes aside, Debbie, that is such an easy thing to imagine doing - yet oh-so-stinky... what'd ya do, sell the car?!?! hehe


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Nah-...it didn't leak in the car, but it did take a few days of airing out to get the stench out. I still wanna buy that "Liquid Ass' that was on another thread....heh heh heh.


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