How to Make Your Own Perfume at Parfum9

Information

Hours: 12:00 – 21:00

Available Reservation Hours: 12:00 – 20:00

Duration: 1 Hour

Available Languages: Korean, Chinese, English, Japanese

Address: 2F, 25 Hongik-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울 마포구 홍익로5길 25 2층

How It Works

Perfume Making Experience at Parfum9

Parfum9 is a perfume workshop in Hongdae, Seoul, where visitors can create their own custom fragrance. The name combines “parfum” with 9, the highest single-digit number, representing the completion of fragrance and a commitment to quality.

The interior of the store was elegantly designed with a simple yet sophisticated ambiance. The most impressive feature was the vanity table displaying used perfume bottles right to the left of the entrance. Although they were empty bottles, the fact that they were repurposed for decoration highlights the essence of a perfume studio.

Upon your arrival at the store, you will be provided with a perfume making chart. Before we begin, please fill out your personal information and a brief questionnaire.

The perfume workshop follows five clear steps: choose your fragrance base, explore individual fragrance notes, compare two sample blends, create your final perfume, then label and package it to take home.

The central fragrance testing table is referred to as the Parfum gallery. Here, you’ll find a collection of premium luxury fragrances meticulously blended by skilled European perfumers for the purpose of creating high-end perfumes. These scents have been carefully curated and recreated by Parfum 9 to offer a unique and refined perfume experience.

Take turns smelling the fragrances one by one. When smelling, simply open the cap and inhale the scent from the cap. After smelling, write down your favorite scents or the ones you’d like to use for creating your perfume on the perfume making chart. At the end of the Parfum gallery, there are four perfume bottles. Choose one of them and also note your selection on the perfume making chart. With these preliminary steps completed, are you ready to proceed and start crafting your perfume?

The perfume creation process takes place right behind the Parfum gallery. The bottles you see in the second picture are the ones you’ll be using for this session, and they need to be used up entirely.

These components are single fragrance materials used for blending and testing scents: Starting from the top, they are referred to as top, middle, and last notes. Top notes are characterized by scents that evaporate relatively quickly, typically lasting around 20-30 minutes. Middle notes consist mostly of floral and herbal scents. Last notes linger longer, with their fragrance lasting several hours, leaving around 10-20% of the residual scent after a few hours.

Explore the individual fragrance notes and choose four scents that you like. We generally recommend including at least one top note for a balanced fragrance. Avoid smelling too many scents at once, as it can overwhelm your senses and make stronger notes more difficult to compare. To reset your sense of smell, you can use the coffee beans provided.

Once you’ve chosen your scents, please write down the names of the fragrances on the perfume making chart. Afterward, the scent coordinator will select a few single fragrances for you. These fragrances will be dropped, one drop at a time, into a testing container. The container will then be mixed to create a first sample for you.

Next, compare two sample blends in the fragrance testing area. Share your preferences with the scent coordinator, such as which notes you would like to be more pronounced or whether a scent feels too strong or too light.

After comparing the two sample blends, choose the fragrance blend that best matches your preference as the basis for your final perfume.

Next, you’ll move on to combining the scents based on the sample you chose earlier, using the perfume bottle. The scent coordinator will guide you on how many grams of each scent to mix for each category. Please write down the quantities on the perfume making chart.

Using the sample as a guide, you will now add the fragrance materials into the perfume bottle. While a slight variation in quantity is okay, it’s important to try to match the gram measurements as closely as possible. Excessive deviations can potentially change the final scent, so please aim to follow the specified gram measurements.

Once all fragrance materials have been added, the blend is ready for the final finishing process.

Now, the scent coordinator will fill the perfume bottle with Fine Fragrance Oil. This oil has the highest cosmetic grade and adheres to strict global standards set like RIFM and IFRA.

The perfume is now complete. Since it has just been created, there may still be a faint alcohol scent. For the best fragrance experience, we recommend waiting about five days before regular use. The fragrance will continue to mature and develop over the following weeks. Choose one of the provided stickers and attach it to the perfume bottle.

Your finished custom perfume is packaged in the provided gift box and shopping bag. You can then take photos in the studio’s photo zones before taking your signature fragrance home.

There are a total of four different photo zones, and you can choose one that suits the fragrance and ambiance of your perfume.

The photo zones are so well-designed that any angle you choose will result in great photos. Experience the unique opportunity to create a premium perfume and find your own signature scent at Parfum 9 in Hongdae.

How to Get There

Please leave Exit 9 of Hongik University Station.

Please proceed straight in the direction to your left as you exit.

Make a right turn at the first intersection.

Continue straight ahead.

Cross the crosswalk and continue straight in the direction of the arrow. After walking about 30 meters, you’ll see a blue sign on your left.

Enter the building and head up to the second floor to reach your destination!