Fragrance Workshops Make Perfect Presents
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Fragrance Workshops Make Perfect Presents

29 november 2013

As you must have noticed, the holidays are getting closer, and the level of good cheer is turning frenzied. In the meantime, you’ve been trying to find an unusual perfume for your fragranista sister/mother/cousin or boyfriend. That can be tough if she or he already knows about everything from the latest big launch to the most  exclusive niche scent… and already has at least 30 different bottles...  So why not think about a fragrance workshop, to give your loved one a chance to delve deeper into their passion? Osmoz is here to give you some ideas!

Looking for an initiation into how perfumery works? Go for Cinquième Sens, an institute that offers an alternative to the ISIPCA (a school that trains professional noses), and is also open to serious fragrance fans. Especially with their Orgue du Parfumeur (Perfumer’s Organ) workshop, a 3-hour class that lets you learn the basics and get introduced to the classic perfumery ingredients (100 euros). Or, if you’d like to be a fragrance designer for a day, the Atelier de Creation (Design Workshop) is an entertaining 3-hour formula that gives you a chance to create your own mini-fragrance based on simple, classic accords (130 euros).

   

Cinquième Sens

One-time Training Director at Clarins, Constance Deroubaix also brought her creative energy to the Ateliers Mugler. Nowadays, she is communicating her passion and enthusiasm through one-of-a-kind events dreamt up by her new agency, IN THE ERE: Chef’s Triathlon, Food & Fragrance, and more. InTheEre proposes all sorts of activities for exciting, olfactory-based adventures. For Christmas, the IN THE ERE Gift Certificate (54 euros VAT inclusive) lets you give your favorite fragranista a choice between two innovative olfactory experiences. The Olfactive Safari is a VIP guided tour that introduces fragrance fans to in-the-know perfumery addresses like Jovoy, Patou and others. As for those who love both perfume and art, why not take the special fragrance tour of the impressionist paintings at the Musée d’Orsay? An art historian will share her knowledge of both the paintings and the emblematic accords of the 19th century (Des Effluves et des Oeuvres "Waves of Scent and Works of Art”).

While everybody knows that the house of Guerlain thrills fragranistas with their mythical perfumes, did you know that they also offer day-long discovery workshops focused on the olfactory families and ingredients that make up the legendary house’s heritage. The morning is spent reviewing the various essences, illustrated by the house’s fragrances. Then after a pleasant lunch, the afternoon is devoted to composing a mini-creation of your own (230 euros).  It’s the perfect occasion to visit Guerlain’s flagship Champs Elysées store, because the legendary address has undergone a complete makeover, and is now all decked out with a sumptuous new look. Plus, since last summer, there’s also been the possibility of learning all about the best of Guerlain at workshops in Versailles’ Cour des Senteurs (Scent Courtyard).

Maison Guerlain

Sophie Normand

Sophie Normand

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Even though I’ve been fascinated by perfume since I was a teenager, I still studied first law and then journalism. I started writing professionally, and then about three years ago I thought of doing a blog about perfume. Alongside that, I share my passion for perfume through other media as...

  • 18 december 2013

    L'article est très intéressant mais je rejoins les deux avis précédents. Ces ateliers s'adressent avant tout aux Parisiens ainsi qu'aux Franciliens et comme j'habite également en province...

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  • 15 december 2013

    J'aimerais bien participer à un Atelier Parfum, mais tout comme Flur66, difficile d'en trouver un quand on n'habite pas à Paris et environs.

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  • 14 december 2013

    Hélas, j'habite à l'extrême sud de la France et ne trouverai que difficilement un atelier de parfumerie... Dommage que ce ne soit pas plus à la mode... L'odorat est un sens trop souvent délaissé et méconnu...

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