Scents of Arabia - Perfume-Blending Workshop

One of the things which I won't easily forget about my recent trip to Abu Dhabi are the scents. The whole city was awash or Arabic scents. The scents that featured the most was sandalwood. Shops would burn sandalwood outside their establishment, even inside shopping malls which I must admit I thought was a little bit odd as I had believed sandalwood was a natural mosquito repellent. How many mosquitos have you seen in a shopping mall?  By happy chance I had already booked myself into a  2hr Introduction to Perfume-Blending workshop at Homemade London. With shadows of scents fresh in my memory I was hoping to be able to make a blend which I had smelt in the desert only a few days before.

Perfume-Blending Workshop

Nicola and Tanya warmly welcomed me with a glass of rose bubbly and as other ladies entered the workshop everyone relaxed looking forward to being creative. Tanya took us through the history and the bio-chemistry of perfumes. We shared our own 'signature scents, with most women favouring something floral. These of you who know me know that I don't 'do' floral. Thankfully a woman after my own heart Ann-Marie was sitting next to me and we became each others second nose.
Tanya took us through the three notes, top, middle and base. The top note is the most striking scent when you first smell at first, something usually fresh and light. The top note lasts about 30 minutes. Pink Grapefruit, Sweet Orange or Neroli are great top notes. The middle notes are scents that last 2-3 hours and come through once the top note subsides. They provide fullness and warmth. Jasmine, Rose and Lavender are great examples of these. Base notes are the heavier scents which can stay on fabric for days. Sandalwood, Cedarwood and Frankincense can all be used as base notes. A balance between top, middle and base notes is required to make a successful blend. Generally, top notes are about 5-30% of a blend. A middle note can be anything from 50-80% of a blend and base notes usually constitute 5-25%. The base note should be used sparingly so as not to overpower the middle and top notes.
Creative Chemistry Class

After 30 minutes of learning the basics were then let loose with a selection off essential oils allowing our noses to try and put together a blend which reflects our own aspirations. We sat happily sniffing different scents, ooh-ing, aaah-ing and screwing our noses up at some. I must say I have never been a fan of ylang ylang, also known as the poor man's jasmine, and when visiting a rose oil factory in El Kelaa des M’Goun in Morocco, which is famed for its roses, I couldn't bond with that scent either. This was the most fun chemistry class I have had. We added oils one drop at a time into a glass beaker and like a good little science students we noted down our own formula. Stirring, smelling, adding drops, stirring, sniffing coffee granules and smelling again. Finally I came to a combination of oils which reflected the passionate heat of the desert. Coconut oil was added to the essential oils and then poured into rollerball bottle and labelled. What should I call my lovingly made concoction? A name that befits the romance and heated spirit of the desert, and then it hit me. A single image of a beautiful woman in yellow wrapped in the arms of a young handsome man; The Desert Song film (1953) featuring Kathryn Grayson and Gordon MacRae. It was then I realised that my love of the desert had started in my informative years when I could have been no more than 7 years old. And so with pride and a reminiscent smile I named my scent "The Desert Song".

Thank you Nicola and Tanya, I had a brilliant evening and am already very much looking forward to the next one!

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Read: Middle Eastern Cookery Workshop at Petra Kitchen
My Jordan Diary
Things to see and do in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Useful arabic phrases