MAKING SCENTS

Find bespoke services at these fragrance houses.

PENHALIGON’S

After at least eight months of trial-anderror testing, and for a fee of £35,000 and more, one of the world’s great master perfumers, Spanish-born Alberto Morillas, will create an exceptional and unique fragrance for you.

The Penhaligon’s Bespoke by Alberto Morillas process begins with a series of questions, including “How would you describe your personal style?” “If someone close to you would describe your personality in three words, what would they say?” and “Where do you love to go on holiday – a beach or a city break?”

Three months after that initial meeting, Morillas will provide up to three fragrances to help refine the commission, after which there are two rounds of amendments. The final perfume comes in two handcrafted 200ml bottles. More bottles, at a cost of £3,000 each, can be reordered. www.penhaligons.com

OO LA LAB FRAGRANCE DESIGN & MIXOLOGY SERVICES

Singapore-based Oo La Lab has created a Collector’s Fragrance Mixology Kit

($388) in a black briefcase filled with 12 fragrance notes, two limited-edition crafting ingredients, mini funnels, bottles, a notebook and an instruction manual for perfume aficionados to create their own at home. The fragrance notes are divided into top (such as ozone, tea and aldehyde), middle (muguet, rose) and bottom (oriental, vanilla amber, musk). Oo La Lab also offers perfume workshops at Delta House, 2 Alexandra Road, and has hosted sessions in Dubai and Jakarta.

FRAGONARD

At the Perfumer’s Apprentice Workshop, at Fragonard’s Cote D’Azur factory and Musee Du Parfum in Paris, participants compose their own eau de cologne, customising it with aromatic and citrus notes, and orange blossom. Then they take home their 100 ml bottle of fragrance in a special pouch, along with a Fragonard “apprentice” apron, a signed diploma, and their recipe. Before leaving, they are taken on a guided tour through the facility. The two-hour experience costs € 69 (S$104) in Grasse and € 95 in Paris.

EX NIHILO

This French brand, known for combining refinement with an avant-garde spirit, offers what has been described as the custom perfume experience of the

21st century. Visitors to its Paris flagship store can have their selected perfume personalised by the n°001 Osmologue, a futuristic-looking, polished metal and glass interactive machine.

Customers select perfumes from the Initiale and Babylone collections and can add accents from up to three ingredients such as the absolutes of iris pallida, vanilla bourbon or rose centifolia from Grasse. You can choose to adorn your bottle with precious stones or even 24K gold and diamonds, and the glass can be engraved with a name or dedication. Prices start at € 200 and go up according to ingredients and the bottle.

FLORIS

Founded in 1730 and owned and run today by the eighth and ninth generations of the family, Floris is the oldest English retailer of fragrance and toiletries. After signing up its bespoke perfume service, your custom blend will be securely archived in the almost 300-year-old Floris ledgers for you and your future generations to reorder.

The full bespoke service (£5,000) involves three appointments with a Floris perfumer to create your signature scent. The price includes six bottles of perfume. Floris also offers fragrance customisation programmes, for individuals (£550) and couples (£950), which involve adding new accords to fragrances.