Perfume workshop in Daejeon: hinoki forest and soap scent at Scent

Scent Perfume Workshop is a great pick for an offbeat date in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon. It's a place where you pour your own taste into a one-of-a-kind perfume.

During my trip to Daejeon, I went to Scent Perfume Workshop (센트 향수공방) and made my own perfume.

Pick the scents you love and complete your own perfume, right down to the combination of top, middle and last notes!

From choosing scents to measuring them out and decorating the bottle, it was far more fun and meaningful than I expected. Even if you don't know much about fragrance, the owner recommends things to suit your taste, so I ended up with a perfume I was really happy with. It works well as an offbeat date in Dunsan-dong too. Okay, here comes my honest review!

Where is Scent Perfume Workshop, and where do you park?

Scent Perfume Workshop is at 19 Dunsanjung-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon, on the first floor of the Sharkzone building, Unit B187, 387m from Exit 1 of City Hall Station. Park in the Sharkzone underground car park. It's open daily 10:00–19:00, and an advance reservation is required. Groups, reservations and Wi-Fi are available, there are separate men's and women's restrooms, and it's wheelchair accessible.

After parking, come outside, face the entrance and head all the way to the left. The workshop is at the far left end. It's Sharkzone 1st floor, Area B, Unit B187! If it's your first visit, use this as a guide to find it.

What is the atmosphere inside Scent Perfume Workshop?

What caught my eye as soon as I walked in was the bright ivory-toned interior and the huge variety of fragrance ingredients. There really are so many scents, as you'd expect from a perfume workshop. You can smell all of these and build a combination that suits you! If you love fragrance, I think you'll be excited from the moment you step in, haha.

The space where you make the perfume is neatly organized too. The tools you need are all ready, so it was nice and calm for making your own scent.

The owner, who holds various perfume-related certifications, guided us through the process, which made it even easier to trust.

While we were choosing scents, they also set out snacks like chocolate and juice.

How much are the classes at Scent Perfume Workshop?

Classes range from a 15ml blending class at ₩15,000 to a hand cream set at ₩50,000. The classes and prices listed in the original post are below.

• Korean-incense sachet class + 10ml mini perfume ₩40,000
• Basic/luxury-style perfume blending class 15ml ₩15,000
• Basic/luxury-style perfume blending class 30ml ₩30,000
• Elementary/middle/high school cologne making 50ml ₩20,000
• Aroma herb scent pouch making ₩30,000
• (Sale) Blending + solid stick 15g ₩38,000
• (Sale) Blending + hand cream making 50g ₩38,000
• Perfume hand cream 50g + 15ml perfume (1 person) ₩50,000
• Room spray/fabric deodorizer 100ml ₩30,000
• Premium diffuser 100ml ₩30,000

We did the personal blending class. The size is 30ml and the price is ₩40,000!

How we made our own perfume at Scent Perfume Workshop

The biggest charm of Scent Perfume Workshop is that you choose not just the fragrance but also the bottle and the cap. From picking the scents to decorating the bottle, every step reflects your own taste.

1. Choose the mood of the scent

First, you decide the overall mood of the scent you want to make. You pick from families like forest, floral and clean soap. I couldn't decide at first between a forest scent and a soap scent. The fresh, crisp feel of forest is lovely, and the clean, cozy feel of soap is lovely too. In the end, instead of choosing just one, I decided to capture both moods.

2. Choose top, middle and last notes

Perfume is divided into top, middle and last notes according to the order in which you smell them. The owner explained each one in detail.

Once you understand what each note does, you can build your own scent more concretely.

• Top note: The scent you notice first when you spray. It evaporates quickly, so it sets the first impression.
• Middle note: The scent that comes after the top note. It's the heart of the perfume and carries the overall mood through.
• Last note: The lingering scent that stays until the end. It decides how the perfume finishes, so the overall feel can change depending on which one you choose.

3. Dab ingredients on test strips to check the combination

You use a dropper to put one or two drops of each chosen ingredient on the tip of a test strip and smell it. Smelling each scent is important, but you also have to check carefully how they feel when mixed. You wave the strips to combine the scents and check the overall balance with the owner.

If there's a scent you don't like or something you want to improve, you can add or remove scents. The owner listened to the mood I wanted and recommended what would go well, so even I, who know little about fragrance, got through it easily. It wasn't just picking and mixing ingredients; adjusting one by one to match the mood I wanted was fun.

I chose 2 top notes, 3 middle notes and 3 last notes. Here's what I picked.

• Top notes: bergamot, fig
• Middle notes: violet, lavender, lily
• Last notes: white musk, hinoki, sandalwood

I decided to combine 8 scents in total to make my own perfume. I was excited to see how my taste, wanting both the freshness of a forest and the cleanness of soap, would turn out, haha.

4. Set the ingredient ratios & first test

Once the combination of top, middle and last notes is set, you adjust the ratios of the ingredients next. Even with the same ingredients, the finished scent changes with each ratio, so this is a really important step.

The owner sets a fitting ratio, and you make a small amount of perfume at that ratio. Then you dab it on a test strip and check from the first impression through to the lingering scent. Even if it smells fine at first, the feel can change over time, so you need to wait a little and check the dry-down too.

Rather than loving it perfectly from the start, I found it more appealing to tweak things bit by bit until you find the scent you want.

5. Finish the final scent with a second test

After the first test, you fix what's lacking and do a second test. You can adjust more finely by changing ratios, adding scents you need and removing ones you don't. I checked the overall direction with the first test, then found the scent I wanted in the second.

I finished it in a direction that keeps both the fresh forest scent and the clean soap feel I was torn over at first. Comparing and adjusting scents myself also made it a bit clearer which scents I actually like.

Above all, I liked that the owner recommends the right direction for your taste. I think even people who don't know much about fragrance can try it without pressure.

6. Measure the ingredients and make the perfume

Once the final scent is decided, you finally make the perfume. The owner calculates the amount for each ingredient by ratio and tells you.

You carefully measure each ingredient with a dropper on a scale, following its set ratio. Then you fill in the perfume base, which is mixed with alcohol and so on, and the making process is nearly done.

Choosing the ingredients, adjusting the ratios and making the finished product myself was a different kind of fun from buying perfume the usual way. It felt extra special because I'd made the scent I wanted myself.

7. Decorate the bottle & wrap it

When the perfume is made, it's finally time to decorate the bottle! There are various stickers ready for bottle decorating, so you can style it to your taste. I liked that you can choose not just the scent but the bottle design too.

My one-of-a-kind perfume is done! Maybe because I made it myself, I got extra attached to it, haha.

The owner also wrapped the finished perfume carefully and prettily.

Small touches at Scent Perfume Workshop, and a review event

Scent Perfume Workshop keeps coffee beans on hand to refresh your sense of smell. When you keep smelling so many ingredients in a perfume workshop, your nose can get a little dull, right? In that case you can sniff the beans for a moment to reset. It's a small thing, but it helps you compare and choose scents more comfortably.

If you join the Naver review event, they also give you an extra 10ml luxury-brand perfume. If you're planning a visit, it's worth checking before you book whether the event is still running and what the conditions are, haha.

How long it takes to make perfume at Scent Perfume Workshop, and how the finished perfume wears

From choosing scents and testing to setting the final ratio and finishing the perfume, it took about 2 hours at Scent Perfume Workshop. Since the process includes comparing scents thoroughly and adjusting them the way you want, I focused without noticing the time pass.

They say the finished perfume smells more harmonious after resting about 1–2 weeks! I tried mine about a week after the visit. The scent didn't feel too strong and was soft, so it's good as a daily perfume.

I especially liked that it holds together the freshness of forest and floral scents I'd been torn over, along with the clean, cozy mood of soap.

Why I recommend Scent Perfume Workshop for an offbeat date in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon

Scent Perfume Workshop in Daejeon was a really special experience because you get to make your own perfume. Even without much knowledge of fragrance, the owner recommended ingredient combinations and ratios based on my taste and the mood I wanted, so I got a result I was happy with.

From picking and combining ingredients one by one to decorating and wrapping the bottle, everything flowed together as one experience, so time flew by. My sister, who came with me, even said making perfume was her favorite part of our Daejeon trip. We had such a fun, meaningful time.

The finished perfume felt extra special as a souvenir of the trip and also something I can use in everyday life.

If you want an offbeat date in Dunsan-dong, making perfumes that hold each other's tastes at Scent Perfume Workshop sounds good to me. You choose scents together, share your tastes and leave with a fragrant memory just for the two of you 💓 If you're looking for an offbeat date in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, a perfume workshop in Daejeon or a way to make your own perfume, I recommend Scent Perfume Workshop!