Foundation Class - the perfume-making basics

Basic Skills Afternoon

If you know nothing about making perfume but you'd like to give it a go with the intention of taking it seriously, start here. This is a three hour workshop to learn the absolute basics so at your next session, or with the materials you have at home, you can start blending and feel that you're actually getting somewhere.

It's led by our award winning artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney, co-author of The Perfume Companion (and author of its introduction with all the technical information).

Don't expect to create a finished fragrance, this is an introduction for people who want to take up perfumery as a long term interest.

There are many seriously misleading videos on YouTube which aim to sell you their materials or worse still, to sell you unattainable dreams of fortune and fame. We're very down to earth here, and we aim to give you practical skills for real life.

If you'd prefer a short workshop in which you do make a fragrance in an after noon or a day, using our materials already diluted for you and formulas which Sarah has created and which we know smells great, start here.

You are also free to ask all the questions, not worrying that anyone will think you're daft. For us, there are no daft questions, just unanswered ones. We've heard them all before so we won't be surprised, and we won't judge. The perfume industry is so secretive that it's difficult to know where to start, plus there's an awful lot of nonsense on YouTube so we started our YouTube channel to help. You might find everything you need here in our free advice film - and if you'd like to ask more, go ahead and book.

Long term, what kind of scale do you need long term? Do you measure in drops? Can you use the essential oils you buy at Boots? Do you filter your fragrance? What with? Can you use vodka to make perfume? (No.) How do you dilute materials? Why would you do that anyway? What's a top note? 

You only buy what you need - and you don't have to buy anything from us - so you can set up your making area ready to take part in more advanced courses.

To start making perfume in your own space and time, you will need the following kit, but you can come to the studio and use ours if you don't have any yet:

A basic small electonic balance, I'd recommend a pocket scale, with USB connection rather than battery, measuring 0.01g up to at least 100g. These cost about £20 and are generally available on eBay.

Glass bottles with pipettes, like these.

Mixing beakers: this Ebay shop has some.

Perfumers' Alcohol: In the UK, to start you can buy from Mistral

Materials: use your own essential oils and aromachemicals.

Scent strips: you can cut these from watercolour paper, or other string, absorbent paper, or buy from eBay and Etsy.

If you have no equipment yet, get in touch and we can get a kit to you.

Venue: Your place (or our studio)

Dates: 14th June & 19th July 

If you're considering taking our five day intensive courses - Spring School or Summer School - and you have never diluted an essential oil in ethanol, it's a really good idea to do this first.

You'll follow basic good manufacturing practice (GMP), and learn about materials safety as you will be handling 100% strength materials rather than the dilutions we use in our usual perfumemaking workshops.

By the end of the day, you will have experience of how to use your materials, measure, label and record your work so that your own practice is safer, more economical, accurate and productive.