Vanilla Rose Reed Diffusers – DIY Reed Diffuser with Essential Oils

Surprise your galfriends this Valentine’s Day with homemade vanilla rose reed diffusers! These DIY diffusers with essential oils are the perfect way to fragrance a room and they make adorable gifts. The indulgent scents of rose and vanilla create a romantic and relaxed atmosphere and will lift your mood.

The best part is that DIY diffusers are only made with natural ingredients and you have full control over what goes into them. Honestly, I welcome every opportunity to reduce the number of artificial chemicals in my home. Read on if you want to know what you need to create these lovely diffusers and check out our collaboration with our blogger friends for even more homemade air freshener ideas!

Materials do I need to make vanilla rose reed diffusers?

To make your own vanilla rose reed diffusers, or any kind of DIY reed diffusers really, you need the following ingredients and materials:

• Use a container with a narrow opening. A small opening ensures that the scent evaporates slowly over time. The container should be made of glass or ceramic but not plastic as the latter can react with essential oils. I used small glass milk bottles with caps so I can close the containers and gift them to friends.
•  It’s best to use rattan reeds specifically meant for diffusers as they are best for dispersing the fragrance. Bamboo skewers are an alternative, but they won’t create the same scent throw as reed sticks. Ideally, the sticks should be double in height as the container or at least be long enough to stick over the rim of the container.
•  I used sweet almond oil as a base oil for the diffuser. Oil takes much longer to evaporate than diffuser made with a water-and-alcohol base. Other carrier oils, such as safflower oil, soybean oil, or fractionated coconut oil, are great alternatives for sweet almond oil. Just make sure the oil is neutral and doesn’t have a strong smell (as olive oil has for example.)
•  Finally, choose only essential oils of the highest quality with 100% concentration. For these Valentine’s Day-themed reed diffusers, I used a small amount of bergamot oil as a top note to give off a refreshing and positive vibe right off the bat. Rich damask rose oil is the heart note, while I chose warming vanilla oil as the base note. Both oils are calming and create a create a welcoming and romantic atmosphere. Of course, you can experiment and adjust the essential oils to your liking. If you do so, please share your scent combo ideas with me and write a comment at the end of the post.

How to use homemade reed diffuser with essential oils

Here are a few tips that’ll help you to make the most of your vanilla rose reed diffuser:

• DIY reed diffuser tends to have a lighter fragrance throw than commercial diffuser made with strong perfume oils. Therefore, it may be difficult to fill large areas with scent. I recommend displaying the reed diffuser in smaller, intimate spaces. Since the smell isn’t overpowering, you can put this vanilla rose reed diffuser in a small powder room, on your desk, or even your nightstand.
• Rattan reeds need a day until they’re fully saturated with oil and give off scent. It’s best to flip the reed sticks once every day so that the dry ends are replenished with oil. I also recommend to replace the sticks after a month with new ones as overly saturated reeds won’t distribute the scent very well. You can tell that a reed stick is saturated once it has fully darkened.
• I also recommend giving the bottle or container a gentle swirl every few days, so the carrier oil and essential oil(s) stay blended.
• You can top up the evaporated oils after a few weeks. Simply add more carrier and essential oils following the original ratio. If you found that the initial rate wasn’t strong enough, use this opportunity to amp up the amount of essential oils.

Gifting the DIY diffusers

I LOVE surprising my girlfriends with homemade gifts, and I always look for ways to make any DIY as giftable as possible. The diffusers are great for Galentine’s, make a lovely hostess gift, or sweet favor for bridal and baby showers.

To turn these reed diffusers into thoughtful little gifts, I poured the oil mixture into cute small milk bottles with white caps so I can close the containers and transport them without spilling the content.

Cyna created adorable printable labels, which I used to decorate the bottles. As a finishing touch, I used a piece of pink ribbon to tie a few reed sticks to the bottles. And voila, done is a pretty DIY air freshener!

Amazing DIY home fragrance ideas from our friends

I’m over the moon to share more romantic and cute air freshener ideas from our friends! The blogs of these talented ladies are must-drop-everything-and-check-out-immediately for anyone interested in natural beauty and home ideas.

Cari Dunn from Everything Pretty has created beautiful wax dipped flowers that make a great gift for anyone in your life.  These are popular around Valentine’s Day, but they can be displayed at any time.  They are dipped with soy wax and a natural fragrance, so they lightly scent the room.

Rebecca D. Dillon, who blogs at Soap Deli News Blog and recently shared a wonderful winter soap recipe on CHC, made adorable DIY unicorn air fresheners that perfect to remind your BFFs how magical they are. Scented with natural essential oils, these unicorn air fresheners are perfect for musty closets or to use as drawer sachets. And they’re super easy to make.

Kim and Kyla of A Life Adjacent came up with an all-natural homemade room spray that captures the romantic scent of roses and chocolate. Your entire home will be filled with the delicious, fragrant aroma of dark chocolate and fresh roses. Best of all, you’ll avoid the chemicals that are found in most store-bought room sprays.

Print the labels

Print the labels on A4 or letter self-adhesive paper or vinyl sheets. Cut out along the outlines and apply to the bottle or container. Use your printer’s setting to adjust the size of the labels if needed.