Scents can be expensive, vanilla essence isn’t – maybe an alternative to designer brands is lurking among your baking essentials

The hack Can you make perfume from the sort of vanilla you keep in your kitchen? A bottle of extract, or even a simple vanilla pod?

The promise Designer scents can be costly. So is the hack of making your own fragrance using vanilla essence or fresh vanilla pods genius?

The test The first method does require a little bit of patience. Take one vanilla bean pod, chop it up and add it to a jar with four tablespoons of a light carrier oil (such as sunflower or grapeseed). Leave it somewhere dark for two weeks to infuse, then strain out the bits. You should be left with a sweet-smelling oil to which you can add other essential oils, such as bergamot and cedarwood.

I kept mine single-noted and instead of the recommended spray bottle, opted for a glass rollerball. It smelled lovely, but the scent didn’t last long. For the next attempt, I went all in to see if pure vanilla extract – straight from the baking cupboard – might work better. I applied that to my skin directly, but it smelled a little bitter and evaporated quickly.

The verdict As a perfume, it’s a no, simply because it doesn’t last. Still, I used the rest of the oil blend as a scented bath oil – a nice win.