Learn about the art of custom perfume making at an elegant boutique within the historic heart of the famous renaissance city.
Strolling along a quiet, unassuming cobblestone street leading away from the ethereal church of Santa Croce and the bustling crowds of tourists, you can uncover an inviting door (or I should say doors – there’s a pair of twins, one labeled ‘decor‘ and the other labeled ‘flor‘) that serves as a passage to an even more enchanting boutique, Aquaflor.
While it’s not exactly a secret (to local florentines at least) that Aquaflor offers perfumes and home scents with an exquisite level of intention & attention to detail, surprisingly, not many people are aware they offer private classes where you can actually make your very own perfume, too!
Meet Zizis, the head perfumer of Aquaflor, and your guide on your journey navigating through the unfurling atmospheric world of scents. He’s always had a natural gift for them, but felt discouraged from pursuing his passion for the longest time (because he’s greek and not french, who he described as being considered the masters of this realm for the longest time).
Serendipitously, when he came to Florence and stumbled upon Aquaflor for himself he was so struck with inspiration he finally set out to become a perfumer. After graduating (the best in his class no less💅🏻), his story came full circle: he was hired to be the perfumer at Aquaflor.
Scents can be so nostalgic… to Zizis scents are about creating an experience and telling a story.
To begin, he asks you what scents you’re drawn to. I have very little knowledge/experience in this area (other than the cheap ones you often find at American malls) and simply told him NOT florals or citruses. He then makes a selection, and together you explore and rate them. Of course, I humorously ended up selecting mostly florals and citruses. 😂
He then proceeds to guide you in narrowing down your selection, adjusting the quantities, until… you’ve created your perfect story. I was surprised at how mine turned out…
Mine ended up having top notes of jasmine, rose, and lilly of the valley, with bottom notes of vanilla, bergamot, and raspberry…
I had unintentionally gravitated to scents that conjured memories of my mother’s garden throughout my childhood in Minnesota, and intertwined them with classic Italian ones. I had serendipitously crafted a perfume that was a perfect constellation of my past and present, intersecting in the most divine way.
I couldn’t stop smiling as I caught whiffs of it as I hurried to my afternoon painting class. When I arrived, some of the students eyes widened when they smelled it asking what I was wearing and I told them the story you are reading now.
So tell me… what story would you want to tell? 🧡🌸💜
