What to Expect at a Perfume Masterclass in Florence

Booking a perfume class is one of the most rewarding things you can do in Florence, but if you have never blended a fragrance before it helps to know exactly how the session unfolds. The short answer: no experience is needed, the whole thing runs about 1.5 hours, and you walk out with a 30 ml bottle of a scent that exists nowhere else. This guide walks through every stage so you arrive relaxed and ready to enjoy it. When you are ready, you can check availability on the homepage.

The setting: a historic apothecary

The featured masterclass takes place in an atmospheric apothecary in central Florence, near Via Ghibellina — a short walk from the main sights. The room itself is part of the experience: shelves lined with antique jars of botanicals and centuries-old distillation tools, the kind of space where Florentine perfumery has been practised for generations. Arrive a few minutes early so you have time to take it in before the session starts.

Classes are deliberately kept small — typically a handful of guests — so there is real time at the blending bench and individual attention from the perfumer. That intimacy is why couples, friends travelling together and people marking a birthday or anniversary tend to book it.

Stage one: meeting your perfumer and the essences

A master perfumer opens the class with a short, hands-on introduction to how fragrance actually works. You are shown a kit of natural essences grouped into the families a perfumer composes with:

• Top notes — bright, volatile scents like citrus and bergamot that you smell first and that fade fastest.
• Heart (middle) notes — the floral, fruity or spicy core that emerges as the top notes settle; perfumers call this the “main character” of a scent.
• Base notes — warm, heavy woods, resins and musks that linger longest on the skin and hold the whole composition together.

You will smell each family from the jars and on blotters (the French call them mouillettes — slim paper strips, around 10 cm long, that let you assess a scent without putting it on your skin). This is where most people have their first “aha” moment: a perfume is not one smell, it is a sequence that unfolds over time.

Stage two: blending your own scent

Now it gets genuinely hands-on. Guided by the perfumer, you start combining essences on blotters, smelling as you go, adjusting the balance between top, heart and base until the blend captures what you want. There is no wrong answer — the perfumer’s job is to steer you away from clashes and toward a composition that is balanced and wearable.

Because the class runs about 1.5 hours in total, the pace is unhurried — you are not rushed through the part that matters most.

Stage three: bottling and taking it home

Once your blend is right, you pour the finished fragrance into a 30 ml bottle to take home. You also leave with a certificate recording the experience, and many guests note down their formula so the scent can, in principle, be recreated. Everything you need is included in the price — there is nothing extra to buy to complete your fragrance, and complimentary refreshments (coffee, tea or water) are part of the session.

What’s included — and what to know before you go

• Included: master-perfumer guidance, the full essence kit and blending session, your 30 ml bottle, a certificate, and refreshments.
• Price: from $80 per person for the featured masterclass.
• Rating: 4.7 out of 5 from more than 576 guests.
• Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before, so plans can flex.
• No experience required: the class is designed for complete beginners. If you have never thought about top, heart and base notes before, you are exactly who it is built for — see our note on whether you need any experience for more.

A practical tip: go easy on wearing a strong fragrance to the class, since you will be relying on your nose throughout. Otherwise, simply turn up curious.

Ready to Book?

A Florence perfume masterclass is a calm, sensory, genuinely creative way to spend an afternoon in the city that helped invent European perfumery — and the bottle you leave with is the most personal souvenir Florence can offer. Check availability and book the masterclass on the homepage.