I was over the moon to be asked to a blending experience at Experimental Perfume Club. You can book a free 20-minute session, where one of the excellent staff will take you through a selection of blends and combinations to find your fragrance. I had the privilege of the Luxe Blending Experience. This is a one-on-one session, rather than being part of a group, but can be booked for two people. For example, a couple looking for something special for their big day will get a fragrance each that will compliment, not clash, or one outshine the other.
In a curtained off section of the boutique in Monmouth Street, is a perfumer’s organ, where it’s possible to sniff various ingredients in their natural state. It may be surprising to find some have very little, if no smell, but a good place to start learning how fragrance is constructed. The fabulously knowledgeable staff will be happy to answer any questions you have on the perfume house.
Emmanuelle Moeglin, founder of Experimental Perfume Club, always had the intention of making fine fragrance as personal and available for as many people as possible. By sticking to the traditional, minimalist French approach to perfumery and sourcing ingredients from Grasse, from a trusted selection of suppliers, helps to achieve this goal. In working this way, sustainability is assured and once the raw materials have been processed, they are sent to London where all the blends are constructed. Cutting out the middleman also means these savings are passed on to the consumer.
Emmanuelle has created 9 Essential blends. Think of these as the building blocks of the fragrances – 3 top blends, 3 heart blends and 3 base blends. They can be worn as a perfume themselves, but they are expertly crafted to work together – blend – in harmony to create all the fragrances from the perfume house.
You would be forgiven for thinking that with 3 top blends, 3 heart blends and 3 base blends that there are 27 combinations. In fact, by adjusting the percentage used of the Essential ‘building blocks’, there are a myriad of concoctions. Some of the most beautifully balanced combinations are available as Signature Blends. Velvet Incense, for example, is 7 parts Bergamot Incense and 1 part Amber Iris, giving a huge dose of sparkling citrus, with a touch of warm amber and soft iris.
After sitting down at the organ, you have an initial chat with your host, who will ascertain what fragrance you like or are looking for. You will then be given the three Essential top notes to try on blotters and be asked to choose one. This is repeated with the heart and base notes. There are no wrong choices as all the blends have been designed to work together. Your selection will determine which two Signature Blends your host will suggest. One will be sprayed on your right wrist, the other on your left. You can then opt for one. It’s no easy task. But once decided, a measuring tube is rinsed with ethanol and after you have donned lab coat and safety glasses, you are invited to pipette the desired measure of each of the Essential blends into the measuring tube. This is then decanted into a bottle for you. Oils are replaced every week and are poured at 28%+ concentration, so not only is the quality of the fragrance exceptional, but at extrait strength, the longevity is too.
Here comes another tricky part – naming your fragrance. A label is printed with your chosen name and applied to the bottle. The bottle is then boxed, with a card telling you your blend, the proportions of Essentials and the date. You can then contact EPC at any future time to reorder your own fragrance as all the details are stored on their database.
As Signature blends are rotated seasonally, they are not always commercially available, but can always be made to order. That way, you get an (almost) unique scent not available to others. Refills can also be purchased at a generous 40% discount. And there is a special refill nozzle for international customers.
The Luxe Blending Experience is £195 pp for an hour, but you do come away with a 50ml bottle of fragrance, worth £145. Knowing it’s a fragrance you love, why you love it, and that not many others will have it, is worth so much more.
If you are unable to get to the boutique in London, the EPC Discovery Set has the nine Essential Blends for you to wear and blend at home and is available to purchase here.
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Written by Alison Pitcher
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