Distillation separates a scent from a plant by heating the natural material in water or by itself and collecting the condensation that evaporates through heat. Typically, water distillation is used to extract scent from flowers, while dry distillation is used to extract scent from wood. For example, boil rose petals in water and collect the condensation in a glass or flask to make rose scented perfume. Dry heat or toast cedar chips to make a woodsy scented perfume.
Enfleurage is a process used to collect scents by using saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature, and then heating and dissolving those fats with a solvent, such as ethanol alcohol. Place shortening on a non-stick surface, such as aluminum foil or wax paper, and cover it with flower petals or stems. After the shortening and plant mixture sits for at least 24 hours, heat it in a pan with an equal amount of ethanol alcohol and the result is perfume.
Expression is a processed used to collect scent by pressing, squeezing or compressing the natural material and then mixing that with a fixative and solvent. This technique is common when making citrus scented perfumes. The juice from a lemon, orange or cherry is easily expressed by compressing the entire fruit or peels. For example, squeeze an orange and lemon to collect the juice, mix it in equal amounts with a fixative, such as castor oil, and a solvent, such as ethanol, to make a citrus scented perfume.
Synthetic scents are chemical compounds that produce an odor. Examples of synthetic scents include products labeled as fragrance oils such as vanillin, which smells like vanilla but does not contain actual vanilla beans, and citronellal, which smells like lemon but does not contain actual lemon. Purchase vanillin and citronellal in the form of fragrance oils, mix equal parts together, along with equal amounts of water, ethanol and glycerol to make a vanilla-lemon synthetic perfume.