Discover the basics of bespoke scent, from the perfume pyramid and fragrance families to unique experiences in London and beyond.
Bespoke fragrance has become one of the most personal expressions of modern luxury, shifting the focus from owning a perfume brand to creating something entirely individual. If you are curious about how to make your own perfume, the process usually involves choosing essential oils and fragrance notes, and blending with a carrier substance like perfume's alcohol or oils.
Unlike mass-produced perfumes, which are created to appeal to the masses, bespoke scents are deeply personal, with each note carrying some sort of memory or significance. From the carrier substance to the top, middle, and base notes, every element can be tweaked and personalised. Whether it is a simple homemade perfume crafted from distilled water and just a few drops of lavender, bergamot or sweet orange, or a complex mix of notes fused together in a signature scent, the world of fragrance is beautifully nuanced.
What Is a Bespoke Perfume?
Unlike branded scents, including those from huge fashion houses such as Chanel and Dior, bespoke perfumes are entirely unique and tailored to the customer's preferences. At the heart of any good quality bespoke perfume is a medley of good quality ingredients. Fragrance oils and essential oils must be carefully mixed in structured fragrance notes according to the traditional pyramid which consists of top notes, middle notes and base notes. This structure enables the scent to evolve gradually throughout the day. The top notes feel light and fresh, middle notes build character, while base notes add a touch of warmth and long-lasting depth. What's more, bespoke perfumes are also diluted with perfumer's alcohol to ensure stability and proper performance on the skin.
Why Are More People Choosing to Create Their Own Perfume?
As luxury experiences continue to rise in popularity, so too do bespoke perfumes. People are increasingly more interested in creating a final product that feels much more personal than something plucked from the shelf. Beyond this, there's also a growing appetite for self-expression. When you work with fragrance oils and essential oils, you learn how each ingredient and note behaves on the skin, allowing you to mix a fragrance that feels 100% 'you'.
From recreating floral fragrances that evoke fond holiday memories to fabricating a unique keepsake in celebration of a special birthday, there are so many reasons as to why someone might look to create their own personalised fragrance.
How Is a Perfume Structured?
Every perfume is built using a structure known as the fragrance pyramid. The majority of perfume compositions are based on this three-tiered pyramid and every tier has its own specific purpose.
Perfume Structure at a Glance
Most perfume compositions utilise this layering method as it's an effective way to achieve balance in a perfume. It also allows the scent to develop naturally over time.
Top Notes
The light, zingy top notes constitute 10-20% of a perfume blend. They're typically infused with citrus and evaporate quickly after initial spritzing.
Heart (Middle) Notes
Heart (middle) notes constitute 50% of the main body of a perfume. Once the top notes disappear, heart notes determine the nature of the perfume and usually consist of floral ingredients, such as rose and jasmine.
Base Notes
Rich and long-lasting base notes are the most dominant of all and make up 30–40% of the composition. Think vanilla, wood and sandalwood - notes that linger around long after application.
What Is the Bespoke Perfume Creation Process?
If you're thinking about making a perfume, the process is structured and organised. There's no random mixing of oils and hoping for the best. With the help of an olfactory expert, you're guided through each step, resulting in a balanced formula that develops naturally on the skin.
Step 1: Begin With a Fragrance Consultation
This is where it all starts. It's where you figure out your preferences. The perfumer tries to find out what kinds of perfume you like and what associations you would like to see in your fragrance. This step makes your perfume much more personal compared to any perfume brand.
Step 2: Discover Your Preferred Fragrance Family
Next, you explore different families such as floral, citrus, woody or oriental. This helps you understand how various fragrance notes interact with one another. You learn how to recognise your preferences by experimenting with fragrance oils and essential oils.
Step 3: Experiment With Different Ingredients
This is where the magic happens. Based on your preferred fragrance family, you can use drops of different oils like fragrance oils, essential oils and carrier oils (sweet almond oil, fractionated coconut oil), to create various combinations, each with their own edge. For precision, pipettes and glass beakers are often used.
It's worth noting that essential oils are highly concentrated products that can irritate your skin if applied improperly. Even a slight change in the proportions can significantly affect the way that a perfume interacts and smells on the skin.
Step 4: Blend and Refine Your Formula
The blend is then mixed with perfumer's alcohol to dilute the oils. In professional perfumery, it is important to use perfumer's alcohol instead of vodka, because it allows for better stability and development of the fragrance composition on the skin. The correct formula of fragrance oil and perfumer's alcohol consists of 20-30% fragrance oils and 70-80% alcohol. To test the blend of the formula correctly, smelling strips are used.
Step 5: Bottle, Name and Preserve Your Signature Scent
Once you've successfully whipped up your signature scent, the liquid is decanted into a perfume bottle and later packaged up. Before spritzing, it's vital to give your perfume some time to fully develop, as almost all perfume formulations require ageing. This usually takes between 48 hours and 1-3 weeks.
Which Fragrance Family Best Matches Your Personality?
Once you know a bit more about how fragrance notes work, creating your perfume blend becomes infinitely easier. The vast majority of perfume blends are composed of top notes, middle notes and base notes and each fragrance family places different emphasis on them. Being able to distinguish between these different families can help you to create a fragrance that brings out the best in your personality.
Floral
Brief description: Soft and elegant floral fragrance made from delicate blends.
Typical personality or occasion: Romantic, classic and suitable for daily wear or special occasions.
Common ingredients to research: Rose, jasmine, and lavender.
Who may enjoy this: Sophisticated folk.
Citrus
Brief description: A fresh and bright perfume with invigorating notes.
Typical personality or occasion: Energetic and casual; best for daytime or warmer weather.
Common ingredients to research: Lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit
Who may enjoy this: Anyone seeking a fresh fragrance that feels clean and bright.
Woody
Brief description: Warm and grounded woody fragrance that evolves over time.
Typical personality or occasion: Calming, reserved and best for long-lasting wear.
Common ingredients to research: Sandalwood, earthy accords
Who may enjoy this fragrance family: Anyone who loves subtle scents that evolve over time.
Amber / Oriental
Brief description: Rich and complex oriental fragrance with deep and powerful notes.
Typical personality or occasion: Bold, expressive and appropriate for evening use.
Common ingredients to research: Vanilla, cinnamon, patchouli.
Who may enjoy this: Lovers of strong and long-lasting scents.
Fresh & Green
Brief description: Minimalist and modern fragrance styles featuring light and airy profiles.
Typical personality or occasion: Minimalistic, modern and best for everyday use.
Common ingredients to research: Green, herbaceous notes
Who may enjoy this: If you like subtle perfumes that are easy to wear.
Gourmand
Brief description: Warm fragrance featuring food-inspired notes such as coffee or caramel.
Typical personality or occasion: Playful and indulgent. Ideal for day and night.
Common ingredients to research: Vanilla, sweet accords, caramel, coffee, and strawberry.
Who may enjoy this: Anyone seeking something memorable and playful.
Can You Make Your Own Perfume at Home?
You can absolutely make perfume at home, but it is an entirely different process. Essentially, making a homemade perfume is a process of combining a few drops of either essential oils or fragrance oils with the help of a base such as carrier oils or alcohol. In some DIY recipes, you would combine a few drops of your ingredients such as rosemary and peppermint and dilute them using distilled water or any base like perfumer's alcohol.
Oil perfume is always the simplest way to begin, as it works with carrier oils like sweet almond oil or fractionated coconut oil, which will keep the fragrance closer to the skin. Alcohol based perfumes, however, require the use of perfumer's alcohol to allow the scent to project better. The basic blend requires at least two days to rest, although some fragrance formulas improve over time.
Crafting your own perfume at home is a fun way to experiment with different ingredients and scent profiles. However, it’s essential to source your materials from reliable suppliers—and keep in mind that homemade blends rarely match the longevity and refinement of professionally crafted fragrances.
What Makes a Bespoke Perfume Different From Designer Fragrances?
There is a difference between a bespoke fragrance and a designer fragrance. The former is made specifically for the customer, whereas the latter is designed and produced by a perfume brand as a standardised commodity item. In terms of ingredients, a bespoke perfume includes only those that are required by the client, while the fragrance notes and formulas are combined by the expert perfumer.
The construction of fragrance notes makes the difference. A designer perfume already has its proportions of top notes, middle notes and base notes. However, with bespoke perfumery, the client has an opportunity to change them according to their tastes and preferences. They can change the ratio of these layers and play with proportions or even come up with their own blend by using fragrance oils and essential oils.
Furthermore, the quality of ingredients used also differs. Bespoke perfumes usually include higher-quality materials and perfumer's alcohol to dilute them.
How Much Does It Cost to Create Your Own Perfume?
There is no fixed price for making perfume, it depends on the degree of customisation as well as the setting. That being said, workshops with pre-selected fragrance oils or essential oils are usually less costly than private sessions focused on creating individual fragrances.
The cost is determined not just by the perfume bottle but by the degree of craftsmanship. Factors such as the quality of ingredients, refinement of the base such as perfumer’s alcohol, as well as the time spent on creating your own perfume, are relevant.
So, while a regular session will include guided work alongside mixing of fragrance notes, elevated sessions will usually feature additional steps and processes to better balance the top, middle, and base notes.
Where Can You Find Bespoke Perfume Experiences in the UK?
The UK is home to a plethora of experiential perfumery experiences:
London
London is the centre of bespoke perfume creation. Heritage perfume brand Floris London notably offers a Bespoke Perfume Design experience which spans six months and involves three consultations.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh offers an artisanal approach to perfumery thanks to independent workshops offering a hands-on approach. The Perfume Studio offers multiple different workshops including the gold, platinum, and diamond fragrance experience.
Bath & Other Boutique Destinations
In Bath, The Royal Crescent Hotel offers a private perfume masterclass with Parterre. The luxury experience includes a two-and-a-half-hour workshop and a 50ml bottle of your fragrance to take home.
What Should You Look for Before Booking?
Before you book your bespoke perfume experience, it's worth exploring which sort of base you'll be using (alcohol or oil) in addition to the quality of the other ingredients, and the size of the workshop. Is it a private session or a group workshop? What's more, you might want to check whether your formula will be stored somewhere so that you can recreate your bespoke blend at a later stage should you wish.
Frequently Asked Questions
