Paris Perfume Workshop - How To Blend Your Own Perfume

Is there a more indulgent beauty purchase in Paris than a custom-blended perfume? The afternoon was the most luxurious of DIY classes, a Paris perfume workshop in the posh neighborhood of the 16th arrondissement. I learned the basics of creating a scent from one of the famous "noses" of the industry, Marina Jung-Allegret.

Marina has created signature fragrances for many brands and served as a consultant for Givenchy and Christian Dior. She taught the workshop in her stylish flat as part of her L'ABC du Parfum school. She also leads seminars for companies and teaches marketing as well.

The key points in blending a fragrance? You should have 2-3 top "notes" that define your scent. General categories include types like floral, Oriental, spicy and green. You could have many "notes" though. Florals include flowers like cassis, Lily, and bergamot that also are the quickest to fade. More woodsy and heavier notes include ingredients like oak moss and cashmere wood that stay in the scent the longest. Then you have warm notes like vanilla or medium weights like exotic fruits, green tea, powdery iris, etc. Ideally, you have a blend of different elements that make your perfume have a complex character from the first impression to last.

While natural essential oils are used, many ingredients have been synthesized as standard industry practice since the late 1800s. This is particularly necessary for popular ingredients like musk which originally required the killing of animals to obtain. Synthetic ingredients are also necessary for stability.

My first blend, I tried a mix of things I thought would smell good, like bergamot, blackberry, mandarines and violets. It turned out to be far too sweet and fruity. With Marina's help, I learned how to round out a fragrance and add elements I didn't expect to achieve my final blend. The "Mlle. Fabuleux" fragrance ultimately contains a combination of bergamot, cashmere wood, musk, clove, melon, green tea, mandarin and pink pepper for what Jung-Allegret categorized as "Fresh/Spicy".

The class was a small group, there were two ladies from New Zealand, one from Mexico, a local Parisian and myself. Marina taught in both English and French. Make a day of it as this area of Paris was perfect for shopping and finding treats before and after the workshop. You can book your Paris perfume workshop through the L'ABC du Parfum site by contacting them directly. However, I had originally booked through Tripadvisor's Viator site because I had found a $10 discount code online. You can use the Viator $10 code to book this and other excursions too.