This year, I’m on a mission to try at least one new thing per month. I exceeded the brief in May, and I wanted to share my favourite event with you. In fact, when it happened, I described it as my best day of the year so far! Join me as I go to a perfume making workshop…
Perfume: a long term love
Fragrance freaks all speak reverently about their passion, and I’m no exception. My teens were full of the privilege of a beauty journalist auntie who regularly presented me with fabulously packaged perfumes, and even took me along to the launch of one. I was an early adopter of Dior Addict, D&G Light Blue, and Chanel Chance (in fact, I still wear two of those three), but the level up came when I was 20, and had my first experience of walking into a room and turning heads (in the good way!) with my scent. Then I was really hooked.
I adore shopping for perfume – exploring the accords and finding out how a fragrance wears on my skin. We’re fortunate to have some fantastic shops in London, and when I was in Rome last year, I’d accidentally (honest!) booked accommodation on a street which had perfume stores galore. Heaven? Absolutely.
Luxury fragrance and the ultimate win
Niche fragrances are a particular love – it’s all well and good smelling nice, but when everyone knows what your perfume is without even asking (hello, Angel by Mugler, or Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf), it’s less satisfying. I like a fragrance full of intrigue, so you have to push the boundaries and find brands fewer people know about.
And the ultimate indulgence is to have a scent all of your own. That kind of true luxury obviously comes at a price, and it’s one I couldn’t afford… until I had the chance to blend my own attar.
Accessible perfume making
There’s no denying that the costs of raw ingredients have gone up, and I’ve always believed that a good product is worth paying for. So skimping isn’t an option, but there are still ways around spending a huge budget on this kind of thing.
I’ve worn Nancy Meiland’s fragrances for years now, and she has started running workshops at Radical Giving in Lewes, so I nabbed myself a place and prepared my nose. We’d be making an attar of our own – a small, roll on fragrance built using a carrier oil plus a blend of scented ones of our own choice. With this not being a manufactured perfume in the way most people understand, it is cheaper and easier to make, meaning that the workshop was very reasonably priced.
Constructing the perfect perfume
The space at Radical Giving in Lewes’s Needlemakers is lovely. Owner, Milly, has curated a brilliant selection of ethical gifts (I also came home with a new pair of sunglasses!) and there’s a lovely space to enjoy the workshops she runs.
Nancy began with a talk to our small group, sharing the journey of her perfume career from apprentice to independent perfume house, and then moved on to the structure of fragrances. She explained about the different styles and accords, and then encouraged us to get busy playing and creating. There were some tips too on how to go about dreaming up our fragrance – from thinking of a mood board and theme, to following smells we like and putting them together, there was a lot to work with.
Blotters and droppers
I had a brilliant time getting busy with blotter papers and wafting oils beneath my nose. There are several scents I’m ALWAYS drawn towards (I describe myself as a slut for jasmine) and so tried to avoid. I wanted to push myself and create something really different that I’d still love – this was my big chance!
I quickly rejected some scents that just never do it to me, and honed in on a mix of florals and other sweet fragrances, plus the surprise of coffee absolute to give a sharp kick. Soon, I had my blend!
Mixing it up
With smells added to my jar of oil, it was time for the ultimate test – trying it on! I knew as soon as it hit my skin that I’d got it right, and had Nancy bottle my fragrance before I changed my mind. The only thing left was a name, and with a bit of soul searching, I drew from the theme of the tarot workshop and settled on “Expectation”.
I’m so glad I booked a place and pushed myself to try something slightly different. Getting in touch with my nose and what I truly wanted was an incredibly mindful experience, and I’ve got a piece of creativity to show for it and enjoy for many more days to come.
Massive thank you to Nancy and Milly for hosting. There may even be more fragrances in me yet…