Your nose gets a serious workout.

This Groningen workshop with Ananias Potamitis turns perfume into something you can understand and make, not just wear. In about 2.5 hours, you start with a quick history, then move into hands-on smelling of professional perfumery ingredients straight from the host’s lab desk.

I especially love two parts: the ingredient exploration section where you train your reactions by smelling lots of materials, and the final team creation where you and the group agree on an olfactory direction and leave with a bottled blend to remember it. The vibe is calm and well organized, and it feels more like craft class than a sales pitch.

One thing to plan for: you must arrive fragrance-free. If you’ve used perfume, scented lotion, or strongly scented hair products that day, you’ll blunt your ability to detect subtle notes.

Key things to know before you go

• Small group (max 5): lots of time for questions and hands-on smelling, not a crowd shuffle
• Fragrance-free arrival: a strict rule so the sensory training actually works
• Lab-desk ingredient time (60 mins): you spend real minutes with professional raw materials
• Accords practice (rose, jasmine, strawberry, fougère): you learn the structure behind scents
• 10ml take-home bottle: you leave with the team’s blended formula, not just memories

Why this Groningen perfumery workshop feels different

If you’ve ever smelled a perfume and thought, I like it, but I can’t say why, this is built for you. The workshop doesn’t treat perfume as magic dust. It treats scent like a language—learnable, repeatable, and fun to play with.

What makes this session especially satisfying is the mix of story + technique + your own choices. You get context first, then you do the smelling work, then you build toward a final blend together. And because the group is capped at 5 travelers, the experience stays personal.

I also like that the session doesn’t come with that pushy retail energy. One review notes there was absolutely no commercial sales talk, and even the host’s own handmade perfume isn’t being sold yet. That matters, because it keeps your attention on the craft.

Your biggest prep step: arriving fragrance-free

This workshop has one clear rule: arrive fragrance-free. That includes perfume, and it likely means anything that leaves a strong scent trail, like heavily scented lotion or hair products. You’re going to be smelling lots of ingredients, so your natural starting point matters.

Think of it like tasting wine. If you show up already wearing a strong aroma, your nose is biased from the start. The good news is that this is easy to control—plan your morning like a mini reset.

If you’re commuting, consider leaving extra time. Fresh air and a quick walk help you feel neutral before you start.

History first, but kept short and useful (10 minutes)

The session begins with a brief introduction to perfume history. It’s not a long lecture, and that’s a big plus. You’re given just enough background to understand why perfumery developed into what it is today.

From the way the history portion is described, you may get a quick timeline that travels from ancient Egypt to later eras like the Paris Belle Époque. Even if you only catch a few key ideas, it helps your brain file perfume under culture and craftsmanship—not only fashion.

This first segment sets the tone: calm, organized, and designed to get your attention before you start smelling.

The perfumer’s lab desk: tools and materials up close (10 minutes)

Next you’re shown how a perfumer works and what tools and materials matter. The workshop focuses on what’s directly on the host’s desk, which makes it more tactile than museum-style.

This is where you start seeing perfume production as a process with steps, not just a finished bottle. Even if you’ve never mixed anything in your life, you’ll leave this part understanding that perfumery relies on specific materials and careful blending.

You’ll also be primed for the big sensory moment coming next: the ingredient tasting.

Ingredient exploration: the 60-minute session that trains your nose

This is the heart of the workshop for most people. You spend about 60 minutes smelling a diverse range of professional perfumery ingredients and learning how to interpret their profiles.

A few reviews highlight that the ingredient testing and classification is the favorite activity. You’re not just sniffing and smiling—you’re actively comparing. It can feel challenging at first, because smell recognition isn’t like identifying colors. Your brain has to translate aroma into memory and language.

To make it easier, the session includes structured learning, and some descriptions mention a game-like element for guessing aromas. That’s smart: when scent recognition is stressful, turning it into a game reduces pressure and gets you noticing details faster.

Practical tip: take your time during the smelling section. If you try to rush, everything can start to feel similar. The workshop pacing gives you the chance to slow down and sort.

Building accords: learning how scents are structured (30 minutes)

After you’ve explored ingredients, you shift into building accords. This part introduces the fundamentals of creating perfume blends—like learning how the notes “stick together” into a recognizable style.

You’ll work with examples such as rose, jasmine, strawberry, and fougère accords. Even if you don’t remember all the details afterward, this segment gives you a framework for thinking about perfume. You start to understand why a scent can feel floral, fruity, or classic-herbal even when it’s made from many components.

You also get a brief glimpse into the structure of real perfume formulas. That’s one of those small moments that changes your perspective. Instead of thinking, someone just invented this, you see that the formula has logic: proportions, balance, and a direction.

And because this part happens after the smelling practice, you’re not learning in the abstract. You’ve already trained your nose on the raw materials, so the “why it works” lands better.

Team creation: choosing a direction and making one shared perfume (30–40 minutes)

Then comes the fun part: team perfume creation. You collaborate to decide on the olfactory direction for the blend, and you agree on a single formula for the session’s creation. Everyone then receives a 10ml bottle of the team’s perfume to take home.

This is where the workshop becomes more than educational. It becomes creative decision-making with others. You’ll likely be comparing preferences and negotiating what the final blend should feel like—fresh, romantic, fruity, or something with that classic fougère-style backbone.

Reviews describe the experience as interactive and inspiring, with the host guiding while still letting participants do a lot themselves. That balance is important. You get support, but you’re not reduced to watching.

What you should expect to take away here is a better feel for your own taste. Several comments mention realizing which notes suit them best during the smell-and-build process. Even if your final blend is a group decision, you’ll still get personal insight from the choices you helped make.

The setting and pacing: calm, elegant, and not rushed

A lot of the praise centers on atmosphere. One review describes it as calm and elegant, where the setting makes you slow down and pay attention. Another points out the explanations are clear and never overwhelming, with time to ask questions and experiment.

The schedule is also tightly paced. You get a short intro, then lab-desk tools, then a long tasting block, then structured accord-building, then the final mixing and bottle handoff. With about 2 hours 30 minutes total, it feels complete without dragging.

Also, the tour ends back at the meeting point, so you’re not stuck figuring out transit at the end of the activity with a scented brain and tired feet.

Price and value: what $72.09 buys you in practice

At $72.09 per person for roughly 2.5 hours, the real question is: what do you actually get, beyond learning words about perfume?

You get three big value drivers:

• Time with professional perfumery ingredients (not just one or two smells)
• Guided structure for understanding accords and formula logic
• A take-home 10ml bottle made by your team, so you can replay the experience later

That last part is underrated. A workshop where you smell and learn but leave with nothing tangible is easy to forget. Here, you leave with a product you helped create. And since you agreed on the olfactory direction, it’s tied to your own choices.

There’s also a group discount mentioned, plus the session is small (max 5), which supports the idea that the price is paying for quality attention, not mass processing.

Finally, it’s typically booked about 14 days in advance on average. If you’re traveling in a busy season, I’d treat it as a “plan ahead” activity rather than a walk-in.

Who this workshop is best for (and who might not love it)

This is ideal if you want something creative and hands-on while still learning real technique. You don’t need to be a fragrance expert. Reviews include first-timers who hadn’t worn perfume in a while and still got a lot out of it.

It’s also a good pick for friends because you’re sharing the build decisions together. The session can generate lively discussion—what you like, what you didn’t expect, and which aromas felt strongest for you.

If you’re the kind of person who hates anything sensory, where you might feel overwhelmed by sniffing lots of ingredients, you might find it too intense. But if you can handle smell-based activities (even if you’re slow to name notes), you’ll likely enjoy the structure and guidance.

Should you book this perfumery workshop in Groningen?

I think you should book it if you want a practical scent experience that teaches you how perfume is built, not just how it smells. The ingredient exploration and accord practice do the heavy lifting, and the shared 10ml bottle turns it into something you can keep.

You should also book it if you like small-group learning and you appreciate a calm, non-salesy vibe. The best version of this experience is when you show up neutral, pay attention, and let the process steer you toward what you actually enjoy.

If you know you’ll struggle to arrive fragrance-free, then consider that your biggest friction point before you commit.

FAQ

How long is the perfumery exploration workshop in Groningen?

It lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes.

What time does the workshop start, and where is the meeting point?

It starts at 12:00 pm. The meeting point is Gedempte Kattendiep 11, 9711 PL Groningen, Netherlands.

What should I do before the workshop starts?

When you book, you should arrive fragrance-free. This is stated as crucial for the best sensory experience during the workshop.

How big is the group?

The workshop has a maximum of 5 travelers.

What do I take home?

You’ll take home a 10ml bottle of the perfume created together as a team.

Is free cancellation available?

Yes. Free cancellation is available, and you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.