Make your own designer scent

There are so many fragrances in the world. Every year, more flood the market, usually by designers or celebrities. But what about a special scent just for you?

At times, I found perfumes I adored enough to wear often as my “signature scent” – for a while. None truly satisfied in the long run. Their allure wore off; they weren’t 100 percent me. My shelves are lined with bottles of perfumes collected over the years, but I came to crave a more personal scent. Perhaps you’ve felt this way too.

Then a friend and I discovered Aroma Workshop (which caters to guys as well as gals) in Chicago while shopping the charming area along Armitage near Halsted. And recently, she scored a Groupon to get us a special deal to attend a class there where we could create our own perfumes and, with our Groupon, get the larger size bottles of our own perfume to take home with us.

Being planners, we both arrived early, eager to smell all the scents available to get a bit of a head start before class started. I also brought with me a couple of scent lists with my own ideas. But none of that was really necessary, because they have a well-thought-out, well-organized process. Once class starts, they give you plenty of time to smell the scents, which is appreciated, because there are many, and this isn’t a project you want to be rushed through. You are not battling with others or waiting to smell each scent, because each classmate has all the scents in front of them. Note cards are handed out to mark one’s top ten favorites from four categories: sweet, flowery, exotic and fresh.

Funny what you can learn about yourself and your friends while doing this. After years of hanging out with my girlfriend, I learned she strongly prefers the aroma of flowers. I didn’t think I liked flower scents – not on myself – but some of them smelled so good, I ended up picking a couple of flower scents for my top ten list.

A perfumer mixes three samples, each with a combination of three of your favored scents. Next, it’s time to smell each prototype — each being distinctive since nine out of your ten chosen scents are used in this process — and decide which of the combinations is your very favorite. From there, the perfumer makes your bottle of perfume.

The shop keeps your list and your final choice on file. This way, you can go back for the other combinations or to restock your own designer scent and buy additional products. And if you wish, you can name your scent. One of the scents mixed for me was very nostalgic: I sniffed deeply and closed my eyes; I was whisked way back into the past, and it made me smile. Scents have the power to do that. And now that I have my personal perfume, I can be transported to that magic place any time.

The store features several types of unscented lotions and creams, bath gels and bath bombs to which you can have your custom perfume added. I got a bath bomb and sparkly lotion, but I wish I’d picked up the bath gel too, because I want it all. I’ll just have to go back! Maybe I’ll see you there. Smell you later!