Antalya: Perfume Making Workshop with 90+ Scents & Tea

4.96

(28 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing that hit me was the smell—sort of sweet and sharp at the same time, like someone had just peeled an orange near a rose bush. The workshop in Antalya looked more like an old apothecary than anything I’d expected. Rows of tiny bottles lined up, each with its own mysterious label (I tried reading a few but gave up after “bergamot” and “oud”). Our guide, Ece, had this way of talking about perfume that made it feel less like chemistry and more like storytelling. She handed me a strip to test—jasmine, I think—and said something about how every scent has its own memory. I hadn’t thought of it that way before.

I got completely lost sniffing through the 90-something ingredients. There was one that reminded me of my grandmother’s kitchen—clove maybe?—and another that smelled almost cold, if that makes sense. We laughed when I tried to pronounce “çay” (tea) properly; Ece smiled and poured us some anyway, hot and strong in those little glasses you see everywhere in Türkiye. The whole place felt relaxed, not rushed at all, so I took my time mixing drops and making mistakes. My first attempt was honestly kind of weird (too much patchouli), but Ece helped me balance it out until it actually smelled…well, like something I’d wear.

By the end, I had this small glass bottle with my name on it—a real perfume, not just a souvenir from Antalya. It’s supposed to last for two days (I tested it later and yeah, it really does stick around). Walking back out into the street with my new scent on my wrist felt oddly personal—like carrying a secret only I knew about. Every now and then when I catch a whiff of it back home, I remember that day: the clink of tea glasses, Ece’s gentle corrections, the slightly sticky counter under my elbow. Funny how a smell can do that.