Of the five common senses, smell is the one most linked to emotion and memory.
We aren’t just highly attuned to nostalgic scents, like when a stranger’s cologne that sends you straight back to the high school crush you once swooned over. We seek out pleasant olfactory experiences to surround ourselves with. The power of scent to make us feel cozy and safe is no small thing.
A class led by Jess Mennella at Alila Napa Valley(Courtesy of @flwrnapavalley)
That power might explain why immersive sensory experiences are becoming more common—but this “trend” is nothing new for Mandy Aftel. Her Aftelier Perfumes and Aftel Archive of Curious Scents museum (1518 Walnut St.) in Berkeley are kind of like the Chez Panisse of Bay Area perfumeries, and her influence and name have had a vast ripple effect. Aftel has trained legions of followers through her books and Slow Scent Natural Perfumery method, and many of those she’s mentored have gone off to conduct their own projects.
Sniff them out—and find your signature scent—at these classes and workshops from Silicon Valley to Wine Country.
FLWR Napa Valley
The experience here, led by perfumer Jess Mennella, is as immersive as it gets. The whole premise is showcasing the Alila property and the surrounding Napa Valley with nine natural scents: the lavender that grows all around the rooms and is infused in chef Mark Schoemaker’s housemade vermouth, the violets that nod to the restaurant he helms, Violetto.
Mennella (who is married to winemaker Dan Petroski of Massican) was trained under Mandy Aftel as well as the Flower Essence Society, and sells the FLWR line of perfumes, mists, oils, and sprays in the spa boutique on-site. She also does pop-ups and workshops around Napa and broader Wine Country—classes that start with deep breathing to center yourself for the olfactory exploration to come—and is involved in the new Appellation Hotels. // Alila Napa Valley, 1915 Main St. (St. Helena), flwrnapavalley.com
Perfume Camp at Libby Patterson Organics in Pescadero(Courtesy of @libbypattersonorganics)
Libby Patterson Organics
Anyone into scent has to be into botanicals, and Libby Patterson has made it her life’s work to create an entire garden of close to 40 rows of raised organic herb and flower beds at her namesake shop in Pescadero. An advocate of the Blue Mind Movement, she captures the Slow Coast mentality in her scents as well as in her approach to her Perfume Camps and private, onsite perfume classes. Patterson leads participants in creating personalized “parfums” and beauty routines, encouraging connection through memory and the layering of serums, flower waters, and soliflore parfums, while sipping home-grown herbal tisanes. // LPO & Perfume Camp, 251 Stage Rd. (Pescadero), libbypatterson.com
Carmen Rose at Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection
Carmen Rose, another Aftel protégé, conducts immersive workshops at Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection in Napa. The aptly named Rose is an olfactory artist who finds scent to be a medium for deeper meanings. She works with a palette of pure botanical ingredients, from flowers, bark, and roots to seeds and minerals. Sessions here begin with an in-depth consultation to discover your aromatic preferences from Rose’s extensive library of scents, some quite rare. You’ll explore the layers that call to you most, creating a personalized formula of base, middle, and top notes. // Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection, 200 Stanly Crossroad (Napa), aubergeresorts.com/stanlyranch
Swirl Works at Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park(Courtesy of Swirl Works)
Swirl Works
Founded by French-trained perfumer and Atherton local Kori Shaw, the wellness-driven fragrance brand Swirl Works of Menlo Park recently opened its first boutique at Rosewood Sand Hill. Shaw creates custom fragrances as well as her own line of scented products, all with the mind of a woman who was once a mechanical engineer—but also as someone who is drawn to sensory experience.
In the pocket-sized, mirror-lined boutique that feels like being inside a beautiful disco ball, Shaw offers a variety of experiences, from personalized fragrance consultations to perfume and cologne date night sessions (with champagne, of course) to hands-on blending workshops. She even offers kid and teen workshops, with scents tailored for their generally different palates (maybe a bit fruitier). In all of these experiences, you create your own signature scent and walk away with a 15-30 ml bottle. Your “recipe” is also documented on beautiful cards that Shaw keeps on file in case you want to order more down the line. // Swirl Works, 75 Arbor Rd. (Menlo Park) and Rosewood Sand Hill, 2825 Sand Hill Rd. (Menlo Park), swirlworks.com
Florra Scent Bar
In Downtown Campbell you’ll find Florra, a boutique and scent bar that was born out of owner, transpersonal psychologist, and certified aromatherapist Thuy Ha’s own healing journey. The mission for her brand and business is rooted in the mind-body connection, and she hopes to impart that in the Scent Experience at Florra’s Scent Bar.
It’s a four-part lesson, beginning with a scent personality quiz (take it at home). The next step is an introduction to blending and some background on the scent library, which includes only plant-derived essential oils and absolutes that have passed the Credo Clean Standard™, an assessment ensuring fragrances are free of chemicals and toxins. Then you’ll move into playing around with scent strips, finding the combinations that most resonate with you. Finally, you’ll land on your very own custom formula and walk out of the shop with a beautiful, labeled bottle (recorded for reorders) all your own. Ha also offers special classes, workshops, and community wellness mixers at the Campbell boutique. // 350 E. Campbell Ave. (Campbell), shopflorra.com
Studying fragrance at Florra Scent Bar in Campbell(Courtesy of @shopflorra)
International Bonus Workshop: Profumoir
While scent experiences may feel like a trend here in the Bay, there’s deep historic context for the art of perfumory and olfactory exploration. For some ultimate schooling, head across the Atlantic to Florence, Italy. Florence has been a pulse point for fragrance ever since Catherine de’ Medici first brought it over from France, spreading the use of lovely perfume to mask yucky medieval city smells, and you’ll discover multitudes of perfume shops in the city. As a guest at the gorgeous emerald-green-bedazzled Hotel La Gemma, right off of Piazza della Repubblica, you can take part in an exclusive Perfumory Workshop at Profumoir, owned by Daniele Cavalli, son of fashion pioneer Roberto Cavalli.
The workshop is similar to the others, leading you through scent exploration to find your own blend. You’ll study their library of scents, guided by a specialist to structure your creation into the three fragrance layers they refer to as head, heart, and base notes. But what sets this version apart is the shop’s massive Olfactory Organ and the ornate, historic space filled with restored frescoes. Return to the hotel for a continued journey through the senses at the Michelin-starred Luca’s Restaurant, where chef Paolo Airaudo offers meticulous cuisine in a space straight out of a coffee-table design book, all green velvet and deco gold. // Via di S. Niccolò, 72R (Florence, Italy), profumoir.com
