Creating Scents Workshop: Will my fragrance smell good?
One of the reasons I love the fall season so much is because I can take a lot of time smelling and creating new fragrances. I love the busy summer and serving customers in my store, don’t get me wrong, but I love just spending long and uninterrupted Monday afternoons, just smelling and making notes about what inspires me and my perfumes.
A few years ago, I created the workshops to share some of my thinking process with my clients. Yes, you must book the workshop in advance, at least one week ahead of time, one month ahead preferably. I need to book my time, and prepare all the material necessary for my guests to make their fragrances. The workshops are 4 hours, and we often go into overtime, because we have too much fun….
Many of you ask how to prepare for the workshop. While there is not much to prepare for per se, I love when you bring me the fragrances that you love to wear. It is a nice way to start the conversation, and it gives me an idea of what you like or do not like. We then spend about 90 minutes just smelling different materials and making associations. Then, we start creating your signature scent. I have already prepared six simple bases that you can use as a starting point: a citrus, floral, woodsy, fougere, chypre and oriental. You can decide to choose one or many of the bases, and then build from them by modifying the top, heart and base notes. I have a large collection of single notes to work with. You can also choose to not use the bases and fly solo by creating your own chef-d’oeuvre from single notes. The good news is that there is no formal “right” or “wrong” when you create a fragrance. You can color outside the lines….and I won’t tell anyone.
I will spend all my time helping you formulate and compound your fragrance. I will make sure you will leave with something nice. The process is intense and you will need to be motivated to do this. I need you to feed me with your imagination and sense of adventure. It is also a very intimate journey as we will work to create something that truly reflects your soul. Now, you also have to be realistic in that, while we only have 4 hours to do this: we will not create something as elaborate as a Chanel 5 or a Bal a Versailles. Oh, and we will not try to copy any fragrances either.
I take a maximum of five people in each workshop, as I really want to make sure that each participant has my full attention. The first formula is the toughest one. You get to make up to five different trials. Often, after three trials, my participant has found the right formula and is ready to make a large bottle of it. It is so exciting to bottle your very own fragrance.
One of the comments I always hear when my clients leave is: “I had no idea I would learn so much”, or “Wow! I will never smell a fragrance the same way again” and my favorite one: “I have a whole new respect for perfumers”. It is indeed an amazing experience.
Will you join us in learning the Art of Perfumery? For more information or to book, visit: https://www.lilibermuda.com/pages/studio-workshop
P.S. Christmas is 7 weeks away. Give the gift of an experience. We also offer gift certificates for our workshops for that someone special in your life.
