How to Remove the Smell of Perfume

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Putting on too much perfume is something that happens to even the best of us. The good news is you can remove it with vinegar. Yup! I tried using vinegar to remove three different types of  "natural" perfumes.  Here were the results.

Pacifica brand, Tahitian Gardenia scent alcohol-based spray

Image via Pacifica Perfume

It's so effing easy to use too much of this perfume! The website says they're made with essential oils, but they don't list the ingredients. I suspect there's artificial fragrance mixed in there too, especially since it gives me sinus headaches.

Anyhow, for the sake of science I sprayed my wrist with this stuff. About a minute later I sprayed pure white vinegar on a cotton pad. I wiped my wrist and most of the smell went away. I would say things went from 11 to 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. Once I washed my arm with unscented shea butter soap and water, it went down to 4.

The Goddess Line brand, Isis Fragrance oil-based roll-on

Image via The Goddess Line

This perfume is my guilty pleasure! It's made with rose essential oil, but it also has rose & white floral fragrance oils so it's not entirely natural. It's my all time favorite and a little bit goes a long way due to the fragrance oils, which explains why I've crossed into over-perfumed territory with it so many times.

I did the same test with this as I did with the Pacifica. The scent started off full-force at 10. The vinegar left behind just a hint of perfume (about a 4), and a lot of vinegar funk. Once I washed my wrist, you couldn't smell anything.

Auric Blends Temple Essence brand, Golden Vanilla solid

Image via Nature's Tapestry

I believe this solid coconut oil and beeswax based perfume is all-natural, but I couldn't find a listing of its ingredients so who knows. Anyhow, it started off gentle but noticeable, about a 7. It's kind of perfect. The vinegar quickly removed all traces of the perfume and the soap and water got rid of the vinegar stench.

P.S. While researching this post, I became extra annoyed at how little information manufacturers of even "natural" products disclose about their ingredients. Ugh! At some point in the near future, I hope to share a blog post on how to make your own perfume using all natural ingredients. It's pretty easy!

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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