Fragrance has a way of capturing memories, evoking emotions, and even becoming part of our identity.
So, when I was browsing Virgin Experience Days UK and came across a bespoke perfume-making experience hosted by The Perfume Studio,
I thought it would be a fun couples date for my husband and I to try out. Here’s how our afternoon in the world of perfumery unfolded.
On Saturday, 14th December, we arrived at 10-12 Bache’s Street five minutes before the scheduled start time of the workshop.
We proceeded down a short corridor before turning left into the studio space where the workshop was to be held. I was uncertain about what to expect upon arrival; part of me anticipated that my husband and I would have a private session with the perfume trainer. However, to my surprise, the studio was filled with couples and groups of people, conversing enthusiastically and eager to begin the workshop.
We were directed to two seats at the end of a long table, which reminded me of being back at school.
Fortunately, we were seated next to two friendly ladies with a great sense of humour, which helped create a pleasant atmosphere, making us feel more at ease. We were offered complimentary orange juice, then handed a bespoke fragrance booklet.
Our workshop lead for the afternoon was a gentleman named Warren. Dressed in all black with a single-ear headset, Warren began the session by explaining the makeup of a fragrance:
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Top Note: The introductory scent, which usually lasts for 30 minutes after the first application.
- Middle Note: The centrepiece of your perfume and the scent that starts to dominate after the Top Note has faded.
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Base Note: The last scent standing—the foundation of your perfume. Passersby will start to notice this scent more in the afternoon and for the remainder of the day.
Warren went on to explain the process of making a perfume. The Master Perfumers, also known as Perfume Noses, are the masterminds behind the magic. They are specialists who develop fragrances with skill and precision.
Over 3,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Tapputi-Belatekallim was one of the world’s first recorded perfumers—and chemists! A cuneiform tablet from 1200 BCE, once housed in Berlin’s Vorderasiatisches Museum, details her work crafting fragrances in the city of Assur.
In Mesopotamian culture, perfume wasn’t just for personal use—it was used in religious ceremonies to anoint temples and sacred statues atop grand, pyramid-like ziggurats.
Becoming a Perfume Nose takes up to seven years of study.
This includes understanding the human sense of smell (olfaction), learning about perfume ingredients like flowers, spices, and woods, and exploring essential oils and their distillation processes.
A skilled Perfume Nose can remember and identify up to 3,000 different scents.
This expertise enables them to create complex and harmonious perfumes.
Moving with quiet precision, the Perfume Noses began making their way around the room, handing out the first set of scent blotters.
Warren’s instructions were easy to follow: “Hold the scent strip 5 to 7cm from your nose, close your eyes, and take a sniff. And whenever you feel as though your nose needs a break, take a sniff from the inside of your arm.”
Sniffing an unscented, neutral area of our skin helped reset our olfactory senses, making it easier to distinguish between different scents.
Some of the scents, as lovely as they were, were also a little overpowering. A technique we were shown involved folding scent strips into L-shapes, particularly for the strip that was more dominant. This helped us play around with proportions and envision which notes worked well together.
As we worked through the strips, we ranked each note from 1 to 5 stars in our fragrance booklet.
Many strips later, we were ready to get our fragrance mixed and bottled. Hand-blended by Olga (a Perfume Nose), my Eau de Parfum had green top notes, a refreshing marine breeze middle, and a deep, gourmand-woody base note. I wanted my fragrance to transition from fresh and airy to soft and indulgent, then finally to a deep, sensual evening scent.
My bespoke perfume is called ɔdɔ , Abena. ɔdɔ (pronounced "oo-doh") is an Akan Twi word for Love - a feeling that lingers, just like a beautiful scent. Abena is one of my Ghanaian names, making this fragrance a personal reflection of who I am.
Green and Transparent
A fresh opening with hints of fresh-cut grass, tea leaves, and juicy blackcurrant.
Tonic Sport
Airy, watery accents reminiscent of ocean waves and a fresh sea breeze.
Gourmand and Assam Oud
Anchored with a blend of sweet almond, caramel, vanilla, and rich oud.
As I left the studio with my bespoke bottle of ɔdɔ , Abena, I reflected on how scent is more than fragrance - it’s memory, emotion, and identity bottled up. Crafting my own perfume was a fun, creative, and personal experience. I got to create a scent that feels like an extension of myself.
Whether you're a fragrance enthusiast or simply curious, a bespoke perfume workshop is a unique way to explore scent. And who knows?
You might just walk away with a fragrance that tells your story, too.
Ivy Scarlett
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Love, Ivy x
