Perfume workshop in Bukchon, Seoul: sniffing 48 scents at Muhwawon

I went on a date with my friend after a long while haha. We always just get meals together, so I wanted to try something different, and since my friend loves perfume, we went to make our own!! The perfume workshop I visited is none other than Muhwawon, located in Anguk's Bukchon neighborhood.

Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop / Location: 23 Yulgok-ro 6-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 3rd floor / Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–22:00

How to get to Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop from Anguk Station, and how to book

Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop is a 6-minute walk from Anguk Station Exit 4. We booked ahead through Naver and visited!!

The workshop is in a quiet residential area! It's on the 3rd floor of a one-room building, but the sign is big so it was easy to find~

You need to type in a password to get in — if you've booked, they text you the password on the day of your visit! Let's go in quickly~

Wow,,,,,,, the vibe is seriously no joke, right?

As soon as we walked in there was a great smell, so I already loved it~ And the inside is super clean and modern too!

How does the perfume-blending class at Muhwawon work?

The way Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop runs the experience was really unique too! First you sit down and fill out a quick preference survey

And you learn the theory by watching a video!! Learning through video really helped it click

I always knew perfume had top, middle, and base notes, but hearing about different scent families and the word 'accord' for the first time really deepened my understanding of perfume — that part was great!

Smelling all 48 scents, and resetting your nose with coffee beans

Now that we'd watched the whole video, the actual perfume-making began! You smell all 48 scents laid out in front of you and check off the ones you want!

I genuinely thought my nose was going numb hahahaha. Smelling so many scents all at once made me dizzy, so I kept sniffing the coffee beans on the table to clear my head hahaha.

My friend and I chose really different scents — my friend wanted a sweet floral, while I think I wanted something rain-like and sweet? (If there's a scent you want that isn't there, ask the perfumer to bring it out from elsewhere!!) Based on what we checked off, we got advice, and now we bring over the scents I picked!

The third blending test: finding each friend's own scent

Turns out we only had one scent in common between the two of us hahahaha. How do we not overlap at all haaaahaha. Now I start testing with the scents I picked, and the perfumer explains how the testing works

Testing scents for each other turned out way more fun than I expected haha. And it's so cool how the scent keeps changing~~ Highly recommend for anyone looking for a unique Bukchon date, or an Anguk perfume workshop!!

As you smell it and say what you like or want more of, the perfumer tells you which scent to add more of or take out! We both found the scent we wanted by the third round, I think!

Now you pour the written total amounts into a beaker — you have to be careful and precise, or the ratio ends up like mine did,,, a mess hahahahaha.

And ta-da, somehow it's done~~~~ hehe (not telling you how many hundred times I stirred it after making it)

Name sticker, 2 weeks of aging and gift wrapping

Time to put the finished perfume into a bottle~~~ ta-da~~ The perfumer bottles it for you like this, and once you name your perfume, they print it out as a sticker like that!!

Apparently the perfume needs 2 weeks to age! (so I still don't know how it smells,,,,haha) They wrapped it beautifully and off we went home~

The gift box was so luxurious and easy to carry too, which was genuinely great.

Is Muhwawon worth it as a different kind of date in Anguk and Bukchon?

Today we visited Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop in Anguk-Bukchon, and I loved being able to take a quiet, calm class. It was also fun getting to know each other's tastes better while making the perfumes! It's been a while since I made perfume, so it was fun making it again, and I really liked being able to make a scent exactly to my own taste. Highly recommend to anyone looking for things to do in Anguk-Bukchon or a date course.