Perfume-making date in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon: an insider's pick, Scent

Looking for a different kind of date in Dunsan-dong: why I chose Scent Perfume Workshop

Scent Perfume Workshop in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, is a studio where you make your own perfume, so we picked it as a date where we make something instead of just looking around. Lately my days off with my boyfriend (I call him Ditto) are mostly meals, cafés, movies, or binge-watching Netflix at home, and I wanted to try something a little different. Then a good opportunity came up, and I thought: instead of a sightseeing date, let's make something ourselves. So off we went to a perfume-making class, Scent Perfume Workshop in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon!

📍 Scent Perfume Workshop / 19 Dunsanjung-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon / Hours: 10:00 - 19:00 (closed Sundays)

That workshop smell, it's been a while. Actually, I used to work in a workshop for five whole years, so I'm a veteran.

Can you do a perfume workshop if you don't know much about fragrance?

Yes. At Scent Perfume Workshop you smell the fragrance oils one by one as you go, so it's great with friends, family or a boyfriend even if you know nothing about scent. A perfume workshop somehow sounds like a place only perfume experts go, so many people arrive not knowing much, but once you look into it, it's an easy and unusual date. The location is also convenient to combine with a meal and a café on a Dunsan-dong date, which is why I decided on Scent Perfume Workshop for our date.

The 30ml perfume class at Scent Perfume Workshop

What Ditto and I made at Scent Perfume Workshop was a 30ml perfume. We both like perfume, and even when we first met we reacted to each other's scent right away... maybe we both have dog noses??? I'm always the one teaching the class, so sitting on the other side and listening was more fun than I expected.

They give you drinks and snacks too, and in the middle you can refresh your numbed nose with coffee beans. Perfume is like cosmetics that touch your skin, so it needs strict ingredients and safety. The person teaching seemed to be an expert who majored in cosmetics recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and they say they use premium fragrance oils and a plant-based base.

What a workshop veteran looks at when choosing a perfume studio

Having worked five years in a workshop, I looked most closely at the range of fragrance oils and the quality of the base. I'm not clueless, so I know they all use certified oils, but if there are too few kinds, or if they use cheap-ish oils or base, the scent won't last and I'd worry about what touches the skin. I checked many things and chose Scent Perfume Workshop in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon.

How does perfume making at Scent Perfume Workshop work?

At Scent Perfume Workshop you smell various fragrance oils one by one, pick the ones you like and combine them, so even first-timers can join without difficulty. The scent is different when you first smell it and after some time passes, and picking out each other's favorites with Ditto was surprisingly fun. I like powdery notes and my boyfriend likes clean, cool ones, so our tastes are definitely different.

Even our food tastes are completely different, so how have we lasted this long? A thought I get sometimes 😝 Still, maybe because it was unlike our usual dates, we didn't notice time passing, and that's the fun of an unusual date. Compared to just eating together, we had time to learn each other's tastes, so there was more to talk about! Choosing the scents myself was the most fun part.

Scent is a funny thing: at first you pick whatever you like, but once you mix them the feeling changes, and it smells different later than at first, which is probably why I can't give up perfume's charm. Best of all, once finished it's perfume you can actually use, so it doesn't end with the experience; you take it home and keep using it! Since you made it yourself, I think you'd get more attached to it than to a store-bought bottle. A 30ml perfume you made yourself, with the memory of the day staying on as a scent!!!

Finishing with a bottle cap and initial stickers

At Scent Perfume Workshop you can also choose the cap for your finished bottle and finish it with stickers. We went with our initials, which made it feel even more upscale! The teacher said it looked really classy and pretty, which put me in a good mood. Compliments always feel good, no matter when you hear them.

Booking and other activities at Scent Perfume Workshop

Besides perfume, Scent Perfume Workshop in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, offers other scent-related activities such as diffusers and hand cream, so you can pick what you want. It runs on reservations, so book ahead, though same-day booking seems possible if there's space.

If you want a time to learn each other's tastes with your boyfriend and make a scent that's one of a kind, just for the two of you, visit Scent Perfume Workshop in Dunsan-dong, Daejeon, as an unusual date.