Watering down perfume ...

MrsB2100

Hello! Does anyone know whether it's safe to use tap water if I wanted to water down some perfume? I've nearly run out of one I got from Givaudan, and as it's a screw top one, I thought I might water it down a bit and make it last a little longer! (I know that it'll make the fragrance a bit lighter, but that's OK - it's quite strong anyway!)

I wasn't sure whether I could use tap water, if it I should use mineral water, or even distilled water ... :money:

I did have a quick search to see if it's been posted before but I couldn't find anything.

Many thanks!

honeythewitch

MrsB2100 wrote: »

Hello! Does anyone know whether it's safe to use tap water if I wanted to water down some perfume? I've nearly run out of one I got from Givaudan, and as it's a screw top one, I thought I might water it down a bit and make it last a little longer! (I know that it'll make the fragrance a bit lighter, but that's OK - it's quite strong anyway!)

I wasn't sure whether I could use tap water, if it I should use mineral water, or even distilled water ... :money:

I did have a quick search to see if it's been posted before but I couldn't find anything.

Many thanks!

Its a great idea. Does anyone know how to get the tops of the normal ones?

allybee101

I don't know if it would work or not - I'd be inclined to use distilled water over tap water - fewer impurities to taint the scent. Could you try putting a bit of perfume in a separate bottle and add the water to see what happens?
I imagine the alcohol in the perfume (don't drink it!) will prevent bacteria developing.

cherryblossomzel

I don't know that using water will be successful, things might separate. You could try adding some to an unscented moisturiser and using as a body lotion?

MrsB2100

Hmm ... interesting! I might try that body lotion one ... thanks!

cherryblossomzel

Be careful though, again things might separate, depending on what's mixing with what. Oils/alcohol/water behave differently. Try a tiny bit first to see how it mixes.

booter

From Wikipedia

"Perfume oils are often diluted with a solvent, though this is not always the case, and its necessity is disputed. By far the most common solvent for perfume oil dilution is ethanol or a mixture of ethanol and water. Perfume oil can also be diluted by means of neutral-smelling oils such as fractionated coconut oil, or liquid waxes such as jojoba oil."

HTH!

peachyprice

I remember putting water in my Mum's perfume when I was a child, it went all cloudy. I was not very popular, although not as unpopular as my brother when he did it to the Pernod (we were children of the 70's;) )

cherryblossomzel

peachyprice wrote: »

....it went all cloudy....

I imagine it would be the perfume oils coming out of solution, because oil and water don't mix.

But it might be OK with an oil-based moisturiser, like the coconut oil mentioned by booter.

MrsB2100

Many thanks everyone! Perhaps it's just not as easy as I'd initially hoped ... I guess we'd all be at it if was!

Downsizing__for_sanity

You could try diluting it with pure alcohol ie vodka if you have any lying about? I add a tsp or so when the kids are making "perfume" out of flowers etc to keep from bacteria growing. Not sure if you would smell alcoholic or not though!

DFS