By Kate Pickford
Walking down Rue de Provence with my mother on a blustery March morning, we made our way to one of the first French perfumeries, Galimard, a Parisian institution since 1747. Having once provided scents for the court of Louis the XV, they now offer perfume-making workshops as well as their traditional premade cosmetics.
Each workstation has a display of countless scents, each labeled with a sticker showing its depth: base notes are on the lowest tier, with heart notes above and head notes on the top row
Always on the lookout for mother-daughter adventures, we decided that a visit to Galimard would be our next activity. After a quick cappuccino across the street, we entered what could only be described as a world of perfume. The main room was set up as the workshop, with tables and workbenches surrounded by hundreds of glass bottles meticulously labeled with their scent and notes. The same scents could be seen on colorful descriptive plaques along the walls. The air had subtle floral and sweet notes that served as a promise of our final product.
We were guided expertly through the process, starting with picking four to six base notes, the scents that would linger throughout the entire day after application. These were mainly musky or woody, though some were also on the sweeter side. Both my mom and I chose chocolate as one of our scents, with tuberose, cedar, sandalwood, and vetiver rounding out the rest of my base notes. In contrast to my collection of sweet floral and earthy tones, my mom was surprised by her interest in the musky notes, with bottles labeled charmingly with cartoon raccoons.
Measuring each scent into the graduated cylinder took a level of concentration and skill that far exceeded what I needed in Chem 101, but the final product was more than worth it
After receiving a personalized recipe for our base, which provided the proper ratios of each scent to blend rather than overpower, we used the droppers inside the scent bottles to measure the correct amount into test tubes. With the base complete, we felt as though we were getting the hang of it. We were sent back to work on the heart notes, with the tip to smell each new scent in the same breath as inhaling our developing perfume to pick notes that worked well with our perfume.
The heart notes would stay on the skin for two to three hours and were generally sweeter and spicier than the base notes. Again, we could choose four to six out of what seemed to be nearly a hundred. I landed with five: ginger, linden, prune, freesia, and mixed fruit. The lightness of the fruit and florals contrasted nicely with the ginger, which was by far my favorite scent out of the heart notes and gave the perfume more of a “zing”.
The next-door workspace had a similar setup to where we worked, and we stopped to admire the view onto Rue de Provence
When measuring and mixing a second time, I was surprised by how noticeably my perfume was evolving while still being able to distinguish the base notes. Though I was already happy with how it was going, the top– or “head”– notes were still missing.
Repeating the same process, we chose the scents that would linger just minutes after application. The labels on the bottles were mostly scents that I most traditionally associate with perfume: orange blossom, rose, as well as some that promised more unique depth, such as cardamom. I ended up with anise, pamplemousse, lychee, English tea, pear sorbet, and “secret du perfumeur” (a blend of scents that was unidentifiable, but undeniably delicious). The combination of anise and tea reminded me of the cozy familiarity of my kitchen’s spice cabinet, and the pear and lychee scents had a dessert-esque quality. (Is it clear that I was getting hungry?)
Our chosen names were printed onto their signature label, giving an extra layer to an already thoughtfully-designed experience
After a final round of measuring and pouring, our perfumes were ready! The finishing touches involved choosing our bottles–we both opted for light, frosted glass–and picking our names. My indecision could have kept us there for the rest of the day, but I finally decided on “Soleil,” or “Sun,” in French.
Everything was thought of to make this workshop feel complete, and the certificates were the perfect final touch
We left Galimard over two hours after we arrived, with little tote bags for our perfumes (and personalized perfumer student diplomas printed on thick cardstock). Our time at the workshop was amazing; it is always lovely to take some time to be creative and try something new with someone you love. We walked away with more than unique souvenirs: we had a special experience I will remember whenever I wear my perfume.
