The signal: Among other trends driven by the rise of “maker culture,” people are interested in making their own perfume. But beyond the fun of turning your kitchen into a potions class, people are gleefully bypassing the smelly 90%+ margins that the perfume industry puts on your fave fragrance.

In fact, Fine Fragrance Collection indicates that a $100 bottle of perfume actually only costs $2 of raw materials to make, but ends up costing a small fortune due to manufacturing overhead, licensing, sales, etc…all the things that you wouldn’t be investing in if your perfume is “eau de moi.”

The opportunity: Perfume-making kits are on the up, alongside queries like “how to make perfume” (12.1k monthly searches), serviced with educational blog posts or subreddits like r/indiemakeupandmore. In fact, that particular subreddit is filled with popular keywords like sandalwood, patchouli, bergamot, balsam, and cardamom. But these ingredients aren’t just popular among Redditors… common ingredients in DIY perfume making are searched thousands of times a month.

  • Jojoba oil – 165k monthly searches
  • Sweet almond oil – 27k monthly searches
  • Bergamot – 165k monthly searches
  • Patchouli – 165k monthly searches