Introduction to Perfume Blending: Freestyle (in person)

Join us for Introduction to Blending, a class for beginners to perfumery that is focused on learning how to blend with aromatic materials, and how to create (and balance) a formula. Perfume-lovers and burgeoning olfactory artists have the opportunity to jump right into making their scent dreams a reality, with access to the hundreds of aromatic materials in the IAO lab space.

The class will begin with a quick primer to the world of aromatic materials: synthetics vs. naturals, top/middle/base notes, and dilutions. Participants will be guided through the process of setting up a workstation and how to write a perfume formula, with proportions and balance in mind.

The second portion of the class will be the open exploration of the IAO Organ by all participants. After making individual selections, we will get to blending! With Julianne Lee guiding the class, each participant will learn to make bold changes, subtle refinements, and expand their final formula into a small spray vial to take home.

Topics covered:

+ A quick primer on perfumery and aromatic materials: synthetics vs. naturals, top/middle/base notes, dilutions

+ Exploring the IAO’s full organ of 300+ materials

+ Selecting and working with 5 materials of your choice

+ Introduction to setting up your blending workstation

+ Introduction to composing and refining a perfume formula

Take-Aways: Participants will spend several hours blending with 5 materials, and leave with a knowledge of the basics of perfume blending, their five materials (in ⅝ dram vials), and a small first trial in a spray vial.