Past Event - Regency Fragrance Workshop

On March 7, the Regency Society of Virginia held a 19th-Century Fragrance Workshop with Rebecca of Perrin Cottage Perfumery.  It was incredibly fascinating and fun, and we each got to take home our very own custom fragrance! 

Rebecca taught us how perfumes were made.

We listened very attentively.

Full disclosure:  I took very few pictures at this event, so most of these photos are from the RSV Facebook page.

Most participants did not dress in Regency attire for the workshop, but I rarely miss an excuse to do so!

We learned about this history of perfumes and colognes, and interesting tidbits about which scents were traditionally male vs. female.

Rebecca passed around each vial of essential oils and we all smelled them and made note of our favorites:

My favorites were Jasmine and Rose.

Each participant's perfume-making kit included a two-ounce glass jar with cork stopper, which we sterilized with rubbing alcohol before starting.

We filled our bottles halfway with distilled water:

Then added an equal amount of perfumer's grade alcohol - which has no scent.

Then we each got two drops of fragrance.  We could choose either two drops of one essential oil or one drop each of two different oils.

I was intrigued by the way the different oils behaved.  One sank to the bottom (I think it was the Rose) and the other (Jasmine) broke apart into smaller drops balls that floated on top. 

We had to let the mixed perfumes sit for two weeks in order for the alcohol to break down the oil droplets so they could permeate the solution.  Rebecca showed us how to seal the corks with hot wax:

And we each made labels for our unique scents:

I named mine Feliicity.

The whole class posed with our perfumes for the traditional group shot:

Oh, and since the workshop was held tantalizingly close to Colonial Williamsburg, a few of us went for a stroll about the town:

I had made a very quick new (fake) fur muff the night before, and as it was a rather chilly day I also added a lovely wool shawl (thrift store find) to my ensemble.

We had some silly fun:

And made friends with a horse!

We would have liked a ride in the carriage, but you have to buy tickets in advance as they book up quickly.  We contented ourselves with posing next to it: