My artisanal perfumery workshop is located in Valliguières (France) at number 9 of the rue des remparts (battlement street in English).

As the street name suggests, it is located on the edge of the historic center of this small medieval village. It is actually an old vaulted cellar where the elders stored food, at a time when refrigerators and freezers did not exist.

Their skill and know-how make it an ideal place to work and store my perfumes, thanks to its constant temperature of 17ºC, in all weathers!

In this workshop, I carry out two main activities: I create and make perfumes. I invite you to discover below how I create and make perfumes step by step.

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THE ARTISANAL CREATION OF PERFUMES

 

It always starts with an idea, an inspiration. Whether it's my travel photos or a work of art from the collections of museums that commission me.

I first note down the materials in my perfume organ that might evoke this idea, this feeling that I want to express into scent. Then I write a first formula that I weigh using my precision scale.

Weighing a test on my precision scale

And there begins the adventure, trial after trial, I modify dosages and ingredients, until I recognize my idea in a trial: it's the right one! I feel what I wanted to express.

Evaluation of two trials on smelling strips in order to compare them and choose which is the best one or which formula to use for the next trial.

 

Watch me in my workshop while creating in the video below.

Step 1 · The creation of a perfume

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THE ARTISANAL MAKING OF PERFUMES

 

There are many steps involved in making a perfume. I would almost say it's like a gestation process that requires patience until the birth of a fragrance that I hope will bring joy, comfort, and well-being to those who cross its path.

But before getting to that point, it all begins with weighing the aromatic base, or otherwise known as the concentrate, which is the very identity of the perfume. The formula weighed in small quantities during the creation phase is weighed here in larger quantities.

Once all the ingredients in the formula are weighed into a single opaque glass container, the concentrate spends at least three months in the dark, at a constant moderate temperature. These conditions and this time are necessary and essential for all the base ingredients to "get to know each other" and for harmony to occur.

Step 2 · The making of the concentrate

Once passed these few months of maturation, the base is ready to be used for making eau de parfum.

The aromatic base and alcohol are then weighed into a larger, opaque glass bottle, which will also macerate for at least three months in the dark at a constant, moderate temperature. As in the previous phase, the fragrance will get better over time.

Step 3 ·  The blending of the concentrate with alcohol

And there you have it, at least six months have passed. The perfume, which has acquired roundness and harmony month after month, is ready to be bottled individually for sale. But a few steps are necessary before getting there.

Before bottling, some perfumes require icing. This practice involves placing the perfume in the refrigerator for 24 hours to precipitate any ingredients that are not completely soluble and remain in suspension. The result is a cloudy eau de parfum. Icing allows these insoluble parts to fall to the bottom of the bottle and makes them easier to remove when filtering the perfume.

Step 4 · The filtering of perfume before putting it into spray bottles

Filtering is an essential step for two reasons. An aesthetic reason, of course. A translucent perfume is better! ;) but it's mainly for a practical reason. Indeed, any deposits that might remain in the perfume could clog the pump used to spray the perfume.

Alongside this workshop work, other tasks are being implemented in the office:

- the manual cutting of the plungers, this small tube which is part of the pump and which literally plunges into the bottle, and which must be cut to the size of the bottle for which it is intended,

Step 5 · The manual cutting of pump plungers

- manual labeling of bottles. Of course, of the label on the front of the bottle, which is used to identify the product, but also of another label under the bottle, which specifies the name, the format in ml of the product, the name of the manufacturer and the place and country of manufacture.

Step 6 · The manual sticking of labels using a template

Once everything is ready, let's go back to the workshop for bottling.

The bottles are placed on a support designed to hold them securely and thus prevent any spillage during filling.

 

Step 7 · The filling of bottles

 

Step 8 · The crimping of bottles

 

Step 9 · The putting of pump covers and caps

The now hermetically sealed bottles are ready for the final phase: the end packaging.

Back at the office, all the elements are gathered: bottles, fabric pouches, wooden boxes, small photos, interior padding, ribbons and labels.

 

Step 10 · The boxing of perfumes

Each perfume that comes out of my workshop has been entirely created and handmade by myself.

Your purchases support this 100% artisanal journey, from idea to product, without intermediaries, a rarity in perfumery.

Discover the full range by clicking here.