A spritz of your favourite fragrance is the finishing touch to complete an outfit.
While some may stick to one particular perfume as their signature scent, others may mix and match, or layer a medley of fragrances in an attempt to create a bespoke scent that no one else can emulate.
Over the last year, Google searches for how to create a bespoke fragrance have soared by 400 per cent in the UK alone. Popular beauty brands, including Jo Malone, Floris and Experimental Perfume Club (E.P.C), allow customers to channel their inner perfumer and concoct an entirely new customised fragrance separate from the main fragrance collections.
In recent months, there has also been an increase in pheromone fragrances, perfume profiling and fragrance layering in a bid to find a unique scent personal to each individual. Pheromone fragrances work with the chemicals naturally secreted by your body to create an alluring scent, while layering involves spraying two different perfumes on your skin, such as Le Labo’s Santal 33 spritzed alongside Another 13.
Other fragrance brands rely on an expert perfumer or online questionnaires to navigate the existing perfumes and whittle down to find the one that suits your preferences.
While the former fragrance-finding options may help to discover this, they are not necessarily unique blends personalised to each individual. Plus, it can prove expensive to buy two perfumes to create one. What’s more, recreating the exact aroma each time can be inconsistent, which is why creating a bespoke fragrance is a popular option.
Creating a customised fragrance is much more than personalising the bottle, or discovering your perfume profile, it involves custom-making the aroma by selecting the base and top notes, as well as the ratios, for your unique blend.
A bespoke fragrance is ideal for those looking for a new, personalised perfume to shake up their existing collection or couples shopping for a special occasion-worthy wedding scent to wear during their nuptials and beyond.
Keep scrolling to find the best places to create a bespoke perfume in person, virtually and at home to suit all budgets.
Is it possible to get a custom fragrance made?
There are numerous fragrance retailers to bookmark if you want to create a bespoke fragrance, whether you wish to enjoy a solo, couple or group session with a perfumer to guide you.
While some fragrance labels boast their own lab to create your fragrance in person with a perfumer, other brands offer virtual fragrance-creating workshops or DIY kits to create your unique scent at home.
Retailers such as E.P.C and Floris offer a variety of sessions with a perfumer on hand to assist in the fragrance-creating process, while Jo Loves offers a Shot Candle to create a bespoke home fragrance.
How much does it cost to make your own fragrance?
The cost to create a bespoke fragrance, whether it is an eau de parfum, or a scented candle for your home, can vary in price.
Factors that can alter the price are the brand and whether you are going solo, or as a group. E.P.C offers a free Blending Consultation, in which you can create your own scent with no obligation to purchase your blend, while a private fragrance-creating session at luxury perfumer Floris can fetch anywhere from £550 to £5000.
How much you spend on your bespoke fragrance is dependent on each individual’s budget, but we have found the average cost to create your own fragrance ranges from £65 to £200.
How do I create my own signature scent?
When it comes to creating your bespoke fragrance, you will be guided every step of the way by a professional perfumer.
At the start of the creative process, the perfumer will invite guests to share their favourite scents, as well as the notes they dislike, elements of their personality, and if their bespoke fragrance is for a particular occasion or need, for example, a light everyday fragrance, or a deeper aroma for evening wear.
After noting your likes and dislikes the perfumer will invite you to smell individual scents such as bergamot, musk or rose to whittle down your favourite accords, before sampling different blends with your specific notes in, and across different strengths.
Some brands may have examples of the various formulations for you to swatch on your skin, while others may encourage you to experiment with different ratios of your chosen base and top notes until you are satisfied with the outcome.
After you have manufactured the bespoke fragrance, your session will conclude with the blend poured into a bottle, which you can assign your own title to and take home.
How do you layer perfume to create a signature scent?
Perfume layering is similar to skincare slugging. Layering perfume can start from your skincare routine with a perfumed shower gel or scented body lotion acting as a base for your fragrance to sit on.
While this combination of scents can achieve a new bespoke fragrance, perfume layering generally relates to mixing different perfumes directly on your skin.
To perfect perfume layering, it is recommended that you spritz the stronger scent first, before spraying a lighter perfume on top – but do not rub together, simply dab to infuse the notes together.
There is no limit as to how many scents you can layer, or specific accords to blend together.
Some perfumers recommend blending similar notes together, such as jasmine with other florals, while others encourage you to get creative and blend contrasting scents such as sweet vanilla with spice base notes from black pepper or cardamom.
How can I make my signature smell without perfume?
If you are looking to create a bespoke scent, but want to avoid eau de toilette or parfums, there are easy ways to do so, mainly through your skin, body and hair care.
Using a scented body wash or shower gel, combined with an equally fragrant body cream is a great starting place, though it may not provide a long-lasting scent.
Alternatively, blend diluted essential oils on your skin, or use an essential oil after applying a scented moisturiser, to leave a pleasant aroma in your wake.
Some may even include natural oils in their hair care routine, which will not only nourish your locks, but hold the scent.
How to make your scent last
When you have created your bespoke scent, you will want to catch a whiff of it throughout the day, and there is a simple beauty secret to make your fragrance last longer: moisturiser. Experts recommend applying your fragrance to moisturised skin as dry skin does not hold scent as well as nourished.
Many stress using a fragranced body lotion to enhance and intensify your bespoke fragrance. However, if you are conscious a scented moisturiser will interfere with your selected accords, we recommend using an unscented body moisturiser from E45, CeraVe or Cetaphil.
Best fragrance retailers at a glance:
- Best overall bespoke fragrance: Experimental Perfume Club The Luxe Blending Experience – from £160, E.P.C
- Best for bespoke home scents: Jo Loves Shot Candle – from £75, Jo Loves
- Best bespoke wedding fragrance: Floris – from £550, Floris
- Best variety of bespoke fragrance experiences: The Perfume Studio – from £49, Boots and Virgin Experience Days
- Best luxury bespoke fragrance: The Perfumer’s Story - £850 from The Perfumer’s Story
- Best tech-forward bespoke fragrance: The Fragrance Shop - £45, The Fragrance Shop
- Best bespoke fragrance DIY kit: Bon Parfumeur Atelier Box - £120, Lookfantastic
- Best eco-conscious bespoke fragrance kit: Our Hands – £24.99, Amazon
Shop the best personalised fragrance brands below
Experimental Perfume Club
Best: Overall
Experimental Perfume Club – otherwise known as E.P.C – is a female-owned fragrance brand where pre-made, unisex, eco-conscious, cruelty-free and bespoke perfumes can be created in the London lab, virtually, and at home, to suit every individual.
Select from one-to-one workshops in the lab, private sessions for couples, or group experiences across one to two hours, half-day and full-day sessions.
During the sessions, each scent is explored as a single accord or different blends, so you truly get a flavour for each note and combination to help with your creative process.
When you have created your full-size fragrance, and assigned a title, you will have your specific formulation noted for when you need a refill.
If you prefer to create your bespoke fragrance at home, E.P.C offers virtual sessions and DIY sets (such as the Creation Set) to help you channel your inner perfumer from the comfort of your own home.
Buy now £160.00, Experimental Perfume Club
Jo Loves
Best for: Bespoke home scents
Jo Loves - the second brainchild of Jo Malone - combines fragrance with art; from its paintbrush scents to the Fragrance Tapas and Shot Candle experiences.
Head to London’s Victoria store to create a bespoke Shot Candle with your preferred base and top notes, ranging from Charcoaled Lemons and Fig Trees, to Log Fires, Patchouli and Salted Caramel. Though, if you already know your combination, save yourself the trip and select your desired combination online.
The shot candles fuse together the sensorial shot, which is the top layer, with the base for a total burn time of 60 hours. On the first burn, the shot fragrance will be instantly released, before a blend of both scents fills your home, followed by the base, to provide a long-lasting and multidimensional aroma.
Buy now £75.00, Jo Loves
Floris
Best for: Luxury scent
Floris draws on its centuries of perfumery knowledge to create luxury bespoke fragrances for customers, whether they are shopping for a new everyday signature scent, or a unique wedding fragrance.
The perfumer will identify your fragrance preferences, and find complimentary accords for you to sample and blend to refine your unique scent. When you have perfected your bespoke fragrance, the formula will be decanted into a 100ml bottle and finished with a handwritten label, before it is signed by the Floris expert for a professional final product.
Select from a two-hour solo consultation, or a creative session for two people spanning three hours, or book a bundle of three sessions across six months so you can take time creating your bespoke fragrance.
Buy now £550.00, Floris
The Perfume Studio
Best for: Variety of experiences
The Perfume Studio offers an array of bespoke fragrance experiences to suit all fragrance enthusiasts that include the Gold Fragrance Experience, Diamond Fragrance Experience with Afternoon Tea, a Day With a Perfumer and the Ultimate Perfume Design Experience.
Most fragrance-creating sessions are available nationwide, while other experiences are only available at select locations.
Aside from the option to select afternoon tea or a three-course meal alongside your bespoke perfumery session, the main difference is the size of the custom-made fragrance you will receive. The Gold Fragrance Experience will result in a 5ml mini atomiser, 30ml with the Diamond Fragrance Experience, or three signature fragrances in numerous sizes, as well as refills, in the Ultimate Perfume Design Experience.
The best part is once you have created your signature scent, The Perfume Studio will keep your formula in the fragrance library to re-order when it is time for a refill.
Buy now £49.00, Virgin Experiences
The Perfumer’s Story
Best for: Unique handmade scent
The Perfumer’s Story is a popular haunt for celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter, Jude Law and Kylie Minogue to create bespoke fragrances.
In the private workshop, fragrance buffs will be guided through the various aromas by perfumer Azzi Glasser to find the best blend, with the desired intensities, to suit their palate.
A bespoke fragrance workshop is ideal for creating a scent for yourself, a gift for someone who is hard to buy for or milestone events, such as a wedding, monumental anniversary or big birthday.
After the 1-2-1 session, you will receive your bespoke eau de parfum in a 30ml and 150ml variation. The fee also includes a personalised Love Oil perfume, scented body wash and The Perfumer’s Story’s tote bag, which is an extra special gift for that important person – you.
Alternatively be guided by The Perfumer’s Story’s online Robotic Perfumer to whittle down the best scent for you based on your style, character, and preferred aromas.
Buy now £850.00, The Perfumer’s Story
Our Hands
Best for: Budget
Our Hands enables those who wish to make their bespoke fragrance from the comfort of their own home accessible and affordable, as the DIY kit retails for under £25, and is available from Our Hands and Amazon.
Inside the Perfume Blending Kit are five fragrances, including Rose Iconique, Ambre Vanille, Oud Eternal, Espirit d’Amalfi and Fleur d’Amandier, which shoppers can blend to create multiple fragrance combinations, whether it is deep oud notes, energising zesty scents, or warm and fragrant concoctions.
When you have created your unique blend, decant in the reusable glass atomiser, which is compact and ready to take on the go.
Beginner perfumers will be guided by the instruction book. As the finishing touches to your bespoke fragrance, use the accompanying sticker sheet to create a custom label.
Buy now £24.99, Amazon
Bon Parfumeur
Best for: Luxury home fragrance-making kit
Bon Parfumeur is a French perfumery, or as the brand describes itself a “haute perfumery” because of the rare ingredients used to create its eco-conscious, unisex and luxury scents.
Bon Parfumeur allows shoppers to select individual scents, pre-made creations or the Atelier Box Collection to create your bespoke fragrance at home, which is available at Bon Parfumeur and lookfantastic.
The Atelier Box Collection houses 30 miniature perfumes, paper perfume tester strips and a guide, so you can create your own signature scent wherever you please.
Each of the 30 miniature scents is a blend of three notes, which can be combined with other accords depending on your preference. The individual vials range from orange blossom, petitgrain and bergamot, to sea spray, cedar and grapefruit – plus 28 other blends to create a unique and layered bespoke formulation.
Buy now £120.00, lookfantastic
The Fragrance Shop
Best for: AI bespoke fragrance making
The Fragrance Shop houses an expansive collection of fragrances from affordable to designer brands and has recently launched the UK’s first Algorithmic Perfumery experience, which is exclusive to the Oxford Street store in London.
The longstanding high-street fragrance retailer has partnered with Every Human to create an innovative experience, which utilises AI technology to understand shoppers' perfume profiles and create a trio of bespoke scents.
If you are a tech or beauty enthusiast, this unique AI perfumery experience is something to behold. The artificial intelligence poses a string of questions and invites you to smell an array of fragrances to hone your preferred scents, while pinpointing the words you associate with those scents selected.
The device uses this information to combine natural and synthetic molecules to generate three bespoke fragrances, including an iteration if you want to experiment with your bespoke fragrance further, in-store instantly.
Buy now £45.00, The Fragrance Shop
Verdict
Experimental Perfume Club is our top pick as it covers all bases for those who want to educate themselves on perfumery and get creative.
E.P.C offers shoppers a variety of bespoke fragrance-creating sessions in the Monmouth Street HQ, as well as the option to channel your inner perfumer at home, across 30-minute one-to-one consultations, one or two-hour classes, half-day and full-day experiences, so there is an experience to suit every budding perfumer.
The freedom to explore every base, middle and top note, as a single accord, and create your own blend by hand using the eco-conscious ingredients in the private, yet relaxed, London lab, makes for an unforgettable and insightful experience.
What we love is once you have finished your bespoke fragrance, shoppers can return to the store and refill their bespoke fragrance at a discounted rate, or shop the unique blend, and other pre-made formulations, online, which can be shipped worldwide.
If you want to delve even further into the world of perfumery, E.P.C. offers online courses, which is another huge tick box in our opinion.
