Anguk, Seoul perfume workshop: wild grape scent at Muhwawon

Every day feels the same... my healing comes from occasionally escaping the routine by taking a new class. Among all the experiences I've tried, the one I recommend most is definitely a perfume-making class 💘

Whether you go with a friend, a partner, or your parents, you end up learning more about each other and it gives you so much fun stuff to talk about!

This time at Muhwawon, making my own perfume helped me figure out what scents I actually like and what kind of feeling I wanted to create 🪞

Choosing a finished perfume off the shelf is nice, but making one that captures exactly the feeling you want makes it a much more special memory haha. This time I made a scent with coolness, coziness, and sweetness all in one ><

Where is Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop, and how long is the class?

Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop is on the 3rd floor of 23 Yulgok-ro 6-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The class I took was the Premium Perfume 50ml, a 90-minute session.

Muhwawon is close to Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces, so it's a great spot to pair with a stroll nearby. You could easily build a course around it — walk the area or stop by a café before or after the perfume class.

Hanji-style interior and a separate class room at Muhwawon

The interior made me gasp the moment I walked in 🌿 Doesn't this design feel like it's expressing hanji (traditional Korean paper)?

One whole wall is lined with different scent types like this. The overall vibe is clean and modern with a touch of Korean sensibility mixed in, so the moment you walk in you calm down and get ready to focus on scent!!

The class space is split into two separate areas like this, so even with multiple groups at once, it never gets noisy or distracting. That separation really helped me focus on the class!

Choose how much freedom you want in the perfume class

They check everything from your prior experience with perfumery to how much freedom you want in the class. They only step in as much as needed based on your understanding and preferences, so it really feels like a customized lesson haha.

This is what's set up at your seat! You get to sniff sniff all the bottles lined up in front of you...

You listen to the lecture wearing headsets — it was explained in a really easy-to-follow way. By the way, tablets and headsets... you can really feel the investment they put in haha.

This is the theory notebook and the perfumer's notebook! You use these to build the perfume you want.

Finding the scent you want with Muhwawon's perfumer

This time, for the first time, I wanted a scent that was cool and clean but also cozy and sweet. I picked the scents I personally tried and liked, and the perfumer suggested notes to bring it closer to what I wanted haha. She was so professional that I just trusted and followed her lead...

The final seven scents chosen with the perfumer

• Top — bergamot, hinoki, wild grape
• Middle — lily of the valley, osmanthus
• Base — sandalwood, tonka bean

Trying them out myself, I fell for tonka bean and wild grape this time. What stood out at Muhwawon were scents that interpret a Korean, natural mood in a modern way — it was so unique that materials like hanji and traditional herbal medicine could be expressed as scents!

Once you've checked all the scents, you take your chosen ones and head to your seat!

Three rounds of blending, from first mix to final formula

Once you've brought your choices, blending begins! I personally fell head over heels for tonka bean ❤️ Everyone, please try adding tonka bean too!!! The scent is insane. My friend who came with me is also a perfume nerd and she loved the tonka bean scent too — we were both gasping...

You go through a first, second, and third round to find the scent you want together with the perfumer! Even when I described things awkwardly, she perfectly understood and found the mood I wanted! She was also great at describing scents, so I ended up learning a lot about fragrance...

In the end she calculates the final ratio for you! Out of the three rounds, I chose the third round's scent 🤍

Measuring the perfume yourself is the fun part

The lecture explained everything in detail, so the measuring process was easy to follow too. Everything is summarized at the end so you don't need to replay the lecture!

Finally, you stir it over 100 times~

The perfume ends up in this pretty little bottle..💐

The packaging that comes with your 50ml bottle

Even the final packaging is done this beautifully.. it feels like buying a high-end perfume at a department store!!

Walking out of the workshop, the wind blew and I was surprised that both my friend and I smelled fragrant lol. I guess being in such a scented space for so long left the fragrance soaked into our bodies... I felt great all the way home 😍