Potion Recipes - The Sims 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

Learning Recipes

Most Potion Recipes are learned by interacting with your Alchemy table and choosing the "Research Alchemy" command. Sims can't learn spells above their level.

Some recipes can only be learned through potion books, similar to how some cooking recipes can only be learned through recipe books bought at the bookstore. Unfortunately, the bookstore does not sell potion recipe books. You can only buy potion recipe books at the alchemists' consignment store, and even then, due to the rotating stock, you'll have to have some luck. If you're serious about learning Alchemy with a particular Sim, make sure that Sim visits the consignment store every day, and buy any potion recipe book you see even if you can't yet learn it.

Like with cooking recipe books, the book will disappear as soon as the recipe is learned. Because Sims can't pass the knowledge to each other, you may want to consider buying multiple copies of the same book if you have several alchemists in the family. Either way, only 7 of the 45 potions require a book to be read; all others can be learned through simple research.

Getting Ingredients

Ingredients for potions are fairly general. Many early potions ask for "any fruit" or "any insect." Ingredients can be grown, purchased, found during Tomb Raiding, or any other method you wish.

Higher level potions may require specific ingredients, but nothing will ask for anything extremely obscure. Remember that if a potion asks for gem dust, you can acquire that by cutting the appropriate gem with the gem cutting machine, or you can mail the gem away to have it changed to gem dust.

To acquire Fairy Dust, merely ask any of the Fairies you happen to know. (If you don't know any, head to the Arboretum and select "Search For Fairies" on the building.) Once you're friendly with the fairy, you can simply ask for some dust with the basic social command.

Beekeeping

Honey and beeswax are two other popular Alchemy ingredients. Both can be acquired with a beekeeping box, which is $275 in Buy Mode in the Entertainment sort and Hobbies & Skills subsort.

To work with your bees, place the box outside, then simply interact with it as you would any other object. Be careful: trying to harvest honey or feed the bees while they're awake will get your Sim stung, resulting in a 24-hour debuff! Select the "Smoke the Box" command. This will put the bees to sleep for a bit, and then you can give the other commands. In fact, if you queue up smoking the box first, you'll have time to do the other three commands in a row without being stung as long as you do them immediately.

Full Recipe Table

Below is a table of all 45 recipes in the game, their ingredients, and their effects.

Level 1

Ad Nauseum

• Requires any insect
• Applies "Nauseated" debuff, forces the target to vomit after two hours.

Flask of Sleep

• Requires any mushroom
• Lowers the target's Energy meter.

Invigorating Elixir

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower
• Slightly fills the Energy meter, and applies an "Invigorated" buff that slows the decay of the Energy meter, even while exercising.

Vial of Bliss

• Requires any food
• Applies a 6-hour neutral "In Bliss" moodlet, which stops the decay of the Fun and Social meters.

Level 2

Cure Elixir

• Requires Red Valerian Root and Mandrake Root
• Removes some debuffs brought on by magical effects, such as certain witch Spells. Does not the Inner Beauty Fairy Trick or other non-magical afflictions.

Flask of Angry Bees

• Requires Beeswax and Honey
• Forces the target to freak out and do nothing constructive for a half-hour, then applies (or reapplies) a 24 "Stung!" debuff.

Jar of Discord

• Requires Mandrake Root
• Decreases relationship with the target by about 10 points.

Jar of Friendship

• Requires Red Valerian Root
• Increases relationship with the target by about 25 points.

Level 3

Melancholy Serum

• Requires Mandrake Root and any fish
• Mainly affecting Free Will, this applies a 6-hour neutral moodlet that makes the target unwanting to socialize or do anything fun. In other words, it makes the target mope around without doing anything constructive (though your orders will still work as normal).

Vampiric Sunscreen

• Requires any metal and any insect
• Allows a vampire to wander around outside in the sunshine without worry about any damage.

Vial of Enlightenment

• Requires any mushroom and any gem or gem powder
• After being drunk, when the Sim takes a nap, he'll immediately gain a single skill point of a random skill.

Zombification

• Requires Mandrake Root, any mushroom, and any insect
• Turns the target into a Zombie for two days.

Level 4

Essence of Magic

• Requires Honey and any mushroom
• Fully restores the mana of Fairies or Witches. Doesn't affect any other Sim, including other Supernatural races.

Large and in Charge

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower and Links (raw hot dogs)
• Permanently fattens the target to extreme proportions. Muscle size and definition are unaffected.

Lean and Mean

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower and Apple
• Permanently thins the target as much as possible. Muscle size and definition are unaffected.

Skill Booster

• Requires Red Valerian Root and any gem or gem powder
• Permanently adds a little bit of progress to a random job skill.

Vial of Potent Bliss

• Requires any food and any mushroom
• Applies a 24-hour neutral "In Ecstacy" moodlet, which stops the decay of the Fun and Social meters.

Level 5

Flask of Potent Sleep

• Requires any mushroom and Red Toadstool (or two Red Toadstools)
• Completely empties the target's Energy meter. Usually makes the target pass out while standing.

Personality Adjuster

• Requires Red Valerian Root and Monarch Butterfly
• Randomly chooses one trait of the target, then changes it to a different, random trait.

Potent Melancholy Serum

• Requires Mandrake Root, any fish, and Spotlight Mushroom
• Applies a 24-hour neutral moodlet, causing your Sim to avoid any fun or social activities.

Procreation Elixir

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires Wolfsbane Flower and Red Toadstool
• Increases the chance the next "Try For Baby" command will result in pregnancy, and increases the chance of twins or triplets. If both parents are under the effects, they're almost guaranteed to have triplets.

Level 6

Jar of Potent Discord

• Requires Mandrake Root and Beeswax
• Sets the relationship with the target to -100 both directions, but doesn't apply any relationship flags.

Jar of Potent Friendship

• Requires Red Valerian Root and Beeswax
• Sets the relationship with the target to +100 both directions, and applies the Best Friend flag.

Liquid Job Booster

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires Smoky Quartz and Spotlight Mushroom
• Increases productivity for the target at a conventional job, leading to a faster promotion with less effort (or a really fast promotion with a lot of effort). The neutral "Jobtastic!" moodlet only lasts 24 hours, so if the Sim is off the next day, the effect will be wasted. Best used right before a shift start.

Potent Invigorating Elixir

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower and Spotlight Mushroom
• Greatly fills the Energy meter, and applies a moodlet to slow the decay of the Energy meter as well.

Level 7

Bottled Mummy Curse

• Requires Crypt Moth, Scarab Beetle, and Black Goldfish
• Converts the target to a mummy. Note that the required ingredients require a trip to Egypt, so The Sims 3 World Adventures is required to make this potion.

Bottle Vampire's Bite

• Requires Red Valerian Root, Bloodstone, Vampire Fish
• Converts the target to a Vampire. The Sims 3 Late Night is required, but the ingredients can be found in any neighborhood if you've got it.

Opposite Personality

• Requires Toad (acquired by fishing), any metal, and Mycenas (a type of mushroom)
• Replaces all of the target's traits with the opposite ones, if an opposite exists.

Potent Cure Elixir

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower, Glow Orbs (a type of mushroom), and Ruby
• Cures any magical debuffs, and permanently reverses any sort of magical race. That means if the target is a mummy, Vampire, Werewolf, Genie, Fairy, Zombie, or a playable ghost who has not yet lost his grip on the mortal realm, the target will permanently change to a normal human. Also, Witches will lose their magical abilities. Ergo, be very careful with these elixirs!

Vial of Potent Enlightenment

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires any mushroom, Emerald, and Red Toadstool
• After being drunk, when the Sim takes a nap, he'll immediately gain two skill points of a random skill.

Level 8

Age of Instant

• Requires Royal Purple Butterfly, any fish, and Red Valerian Root
• Immediately triggers the target's birthday, aging them up, even in a public lot (every Sim on the lot will gather around for the birthday celebration). For elders, this will instantly kill them.

Bottled Curse of the Lycan

• Requires Wolfsbane Flower, Moonstone, and Silver
• Immediately converts the target to a Werewolf.

Bottled SimBot Converter

• Requires Iron, Gold, and Palladium
• Immediately converts the target to a SimBot. You are required to have The Sims 3 Ambitions installed to use and create this potion.

Clone Drone

• Requires any metal, Luminous Salamander (a type of fish for the purposes of the game), and Diamond
• Immediately creates a clone of the target. The clone is only temporary and stays outside of user control, even if the potion is used on a member of the active household. The clone is permanent, but will eventually leave to find a different place to live.

Potent Personality Adjuster

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires Red Valerian Root, Monarch Butterfly, and Glow Orbs (a type of mushroom)
• Randomizes all five traits of the target.

Level 9

Bottled Witches' Brew

• Requires Toad, Light Beetle, and Moonstone
• Bestows magical abilities to the target, turning him or her into a Witch, assuming the target is a human. (If the target is a different supernatural race, the potion does nothing.)

Fountain of Youth Elixir

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires Tanzanite, Green Swallowtail Butterfly, and any mushroom
• Removes current age progress for the target. Does not age down the target (a Young Adult will not revert to a Teenager, for example). Most effective to be used when the Sim is approaching his birthday.

Potent Skill Booster

• Requires Red Valerian Root, any gem or gem powder, and Mycenas (a type of mushroom)
• Significantly and immediately increases the progress of a random skill.

Potent Zombification

• Requires
• Permanently converts the target to a Zombie.

Vial of Bottle Genie

• Requires Firefly Pratinus, Firefly Caeruleus, and Firefly Purpureus
• Converts the target to a Genie if not already a different special race. You must have The Sims 3 Showtime installed to use this potion.

Level 10

Bottled Blessing of the Fae

• Requires Red Toadstool, Sunstone, and Fairy Damsel (a type of fish)
• Converts the target to a Fairy, assuming the target isn't already a supernatural race.

Midas Touch

• Requires Gold, Yellow Sapphire, and Luminous Salamander (a type of fish for the purposes of the game)
• Applies the "Golden!" buff for 6 hours. During this time, the target can use a special interaction called "Midas Touch" on some objects to convert them to a gold version, making them more valuable and changing their skin. This can also be applied to Sims, which will turn them into gold statues for six hours (starting at the time the touch happens).

Origin of the Tragic Clown

• Requires reading a book to learn the recipe
• Requires any insect, Mycenas (a type of mushroom), and Tragic Clownfish
• Converts the target to a "Tragic Clown," forcing a costume change and costume make-up change. The target will then produce an aura that will force all Sims in the same room (or outdoors on the same lot) to suffer a strong debuff. The effect lasts on the target for 24 hours unless reversed by a Cure Elixir.

Wish Enhancing Serum

• Requires Red Admiral Butterfly, any gem or gem powder, and any mushroom
• Applies the "Wish Master" neutral moodlet for 24 hours, which doubles all earned Lifetime Points for fulfilling wishes. This stacks with the bonus for fulfilling special wishes during Teen Mood Swings or Mid-Life Crises, so it's very useful if you have The Sims 3 Generations installed. Also extremely useful if you're very close to fulfilling your Lifetime Wish.