Creating your very own, one-of-a-kind perfume

By Chloe Huang
Translated by Anna Yang

Compared to skincare and makeup, many people may not consider perfume an absolute necessity. Yet, a countless variety of new perfumes are released annually. This means that seeking out that specific, special perfume that suits you best is a real challenge, leaving most buyers to simply opt for a famous brand name. The good news is that there's a Taichung shop offering customized scents selected by you to create your own unique DIY perfume.

LFP (Laboratory of Fragrance & Perfume), located on the second floor of the Fantasy Story-Green Ray shop cluster, provides exclusive aromas made with displayed perfume ingredients, allowing customers the enjoyment of synthesizing their very own perfume with some simple steps.

Most perfume fragrances consist of three "notes"--top, middle and base, as well as an aroma compound. As you walk in this cozy shop, shelves display tiny bottles with colored labels representing about 50 kinds of aroma compounds. Mixing these is like mixing colors, as different aromas and combinations offer various characteristics.
The shop provides Fragrance Ingredient Card catalogs featuring floral notes, oriental notes, various woods, and fresh notes to define different scents. The staff introduces the characteristics of each aroma provided in the shop and lets customers apply and choose two favorite fragrances for each of the top, middle and base notes, for a total of six compounds to create a desired fragrance.

The cost to create a perfume is NT$100 and a bottle of perfume is NT$1,500/100ml and takes 10 working days to produce. To get started on some DIY perfumery, sign up for individual sessions at the shop or via its website.

LPF (Laboratory of Fragrance & Perfume)
8, ZhongXing 1st Lane, 2F, Suite K, West Dist (Fantasy Story-Green Ray); (04) 2301-5682
12-8 pm
http://labfnp.com/lab