Fleurage – Part Two

France and perfume just go to together – well, at least in my mind they do! Grasse, in the south of France, is famous in the world of perfume and almost all of the great fragrances are French. I say almost because today I have a new favourite fragrance and although it was crafted in a French style, it is very definitely an Australian original.

I’ve written before about South Melbourne’s art deco styled, jewel box of a perfumery, Fleurage. Since I first discovered Fleurage, I’ve been keen to visit again to create my own perfume. This was especially true as I have only come across bespoke, personalised perfume making in France and due to my dreadful French language skills, I knew it wasn’t going to be something I could try there in the near future.

A close friend and I finally made the time to book in for a perfume making session. We spent two short hours yesterday morning creating two very special fragrances.

Master perfumer Emma Leah is great fun and she guides you through the whole experience. First she gets to know a bit about your tastes and the perfumes you’ve liked in the past. Then you get to take your sense of smell on a journey as you choose your favourite scents from a seemingly endless range. Once you’ve selected your favourites, Emma weaves her magic to create a fragrance formula that is uniquely yours.

Mine is an intoxicating blend of 17 individual ingredients including sandalwood, leather, amber and rose.

Concentration and a steady hand are required as you follow Emma’s formula to create your perfume, drop by drop. Patience is also required because you are not able to try your creation for 24 hours – this is to ensure that the fragrance develops correctly.  My patience was tested….but I made it to about 22 hours before I tried my fragrance.

I can’t tell you how much I love it!

The whole process is really quite fascinating and I would recommend it to anyone who loves perfume (and it would make a great gift for a milestone birthday or similar). My big tip for anyone considering a visit to Fleurage to create their own fragrance (apart from just do it!!) is to have a little think about the style of fragrance you might like to create. I hadn’t given that any thought at all, which probably made it harder for Emma to narrow down what I was after.

Having said that, Emma did an amazing job of helping me create a perfume that I know I will love wearing for a very long time.

Have you ever created your own perfume? Did you love the process as much as I did?

Until next time – au revoir.

This is an unsolicited post and no compensation of any kind has been received in relation to this post.