Craft workshop (a.m): The Journey of Scents (perfume making)

The Journey of Scents – how to make your special perfume blend

In association with Petit Lab and Artscape Café, FVH is delighted to hold  2 workshop sessions on one day titled ‘the Journey of Scents’.  The morning is perfume making and the afternoon is making a hand-made candle – both designed to your own recipe of essential oil scents. Through both or either, you can discover the secrets and stories of each individual scent and combinations.

You are welcome to sign up for both as a full day (cost is discounted) or just one. We will run these workshops again.

Petit Lab was set up by Dũng, a young entrepreneurial Vietnamese who decided to do something different during Covid. He studied to be an expert in Vietnamese scents and perfumes and set up Petit Lab (PL) as an independent perfumier specializing in candles, perfumes and scents based in Thai Binh. Dũng is a like-minded person for FVH so we thought he would be lovely to run these workshops for us. He has great scent knowledge and good technical skills and patience to explain the subtle differences that even one drop of oil can make.

Topics that will be covered off either as a mini presentation and general chatting/Q&A and explanation during the workshops may/will include: development of scents in Vietnam from the dynasty times to the French era to the present day, special Vietnamese oils, how they differ from their global counterparts, the rise of today’s perfume houses and the economic contribution this industry makes to Vietnam.

Perfume making

Each perfume has its own name, a reason for this name, and an emotional narrative behind it that tells its story. This in turn helps us experience the scent.  Dũng will discuss the past and present stories of Vietnam’s perfume industry, how to create a story and give the perfume a name. How to blend the fragrances that suit you as a person. You get to keep a vial of your very own unique perfume that you have blended.

AGENDA 

• The history of perfume globally and in Vietnam.
• The raw materials market and opportunities for essential oil resources in VN.
• Overview of the Vietnamese fragrance market and opportunities for scent creators in Vietnam.
• An understanding of the basic components in a bottle of perfume.
• Essential oil extraction methods and blending materials.
• Popular fragrance families.

Followed by the hands-on experience WORKSHOP blending and crafting your own bottle of perfume.

WORKSHOP

• Dũng will explain how a perfume is structured. Learn about Top Notes (the first thing you smell; evaporates quickly, like citrus), Heart Notes (the core character of the perfume, like florals and spices), and Base Notes (the lingering foundation, like woods, musk, and vanilla).
• We will sit in front of a “perfumer’s organ“—a tiered display of dozens of little glass bottles of essential oils and aroma chemicals. Using paper blotter strips, we can smell various essences, taking notes on what we like.
• Choose roughly 3 to 6 notes combine to make your fragrance. We will be guided on which scents play nicely together so we don’t accidentally create something that smells horrible.
• Write down the formula detailing exactly how many “drops” or milliliters of each oil you will use.  Using small pipettes or droppers, carefully measure your chosen oils into a small glass beaker or directly into your final bottle.
• Pure essential oils and aroma molecules are too strong (and sometimes unsafe) to apply directly onto the skin, so Dũng will fill the rest of your bottle with a carrier oi – usually perfumer’s alcohol.
• Cap the vial, give it a gentle shake, and fill out your custom label and your perfume has been created.

RSVP: please RSVP to stella@fvheritage.org

Venue:  Artscape Café – 160 Nghi Tàm, Quảng An (2nd floor)

Numbers: min 5 max 10 pax

Cost: VND 600,000 includes a vial of the perfume you created, expert and technical instruction how to mix essences, talk and all materials, ingredients and packaging.  (the candle making is VND 350,000 so if you register for both you get a discount of VND100,00. Total cost for 2 workshops is VND 850,000). The perfume making fee is higher due to it needing more instruction and technical time.

Payment: IMPORTANT NOTE – for the perfume and candle making workshops, Dũng is coming up from Thai Binh specially and there are materials and ingredients that he will purchase and prepare in advance. Therefore, we require 50% non refundable deposit paid in advance once you RSVP to secure your space (payment to Artscape by bank transfer or cash – details will be in the confirmation email once you RSVP). Thanks for your understanding with this

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