Florence: Perfume Masterclass & Create Your Own Fragrance

4.67

(246 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the quiet, almost church-like hush inside Antica Erboristeria San Simone. You could smell old wood, something herbal, and a faint powdery sweetness that clung to my sleeves. Our guide—Francesca, she insisted we call her by her first name—welcomed us with this warm grin and a little wave of her hand, like she’d been waiting for us all morning. There were shelves of glass bottles everywhere, some labeled in careful handwriting from decades ago. I tried not to look too much like a kid in a candy store but honestly, it was hard.

We started with stories—how Catherine de Medici brought French flair to Florentine scents (I had no idea), how this workshop’s been mixing potions since the 1700s. Francesca passed around tiny vials for us to sniff. Some made me wrinkle my nose (one smelled exactly like crushed tomato leaves after rain), but others were so delicate I kept going back for another whiff. She showed us how to build a perfume layer by layer—top notes, heart notes, base—and when I hesitated over jasmine or bergamot, she just smiled and said “Trust your nose.” So I did. Sort of.

There was a coffee break halfway through—espresso for most of us, tea for me because my hands were already shaking from excitement. We chatted about Florence’s weather (humid that day), and Francesca told us how locals used to believe certain flowers could ward off bad luck. The whole place felt like it belonged to another time; even the light coming through the window seemed softer somehow. When it came time to bottle our creations, I felt oddly proud—like I’d bottled up an afternoon in Florence itself.

I still have my little bottle on my desk at home. Sometimes I open it just to remember that mix of old wood and laughter echoing off stone walls—and Francesca’s voice saying “You’ll always remember your first perfume.” She was right, you know?