Nowadays, traveling in Korea is less about buying trinkets and more about unique experiences. It’s less about how heavy your luggage is when you leave and more about how full your phone is. Of photos and videos that is. And if those experiences result in something you can take home with you? All the better.
Introducing Greedy Scent where they offer a guided session inviting clients to create their own signature scent which they can take home with them when they’re done.
Introduction to Potions Making
Greedy Scent is, without a doubt, pretty to look at. The perfume-making stations have samples of each scent in small glass beakers with ground glass toppers giving everything a vaguely ‘potions master’ vibe.
Even before the class started, we were encouraged to test each scent ranging from vanilla to toffee nut with everything including musk and woods in between. All-in-all, we spent 30 minutes getting an idea of what each scent was like and imagining how they might fit together.
The instructor takes care of the technical aspects of the potions, er… perfume formula. Any questions we had about which scents matched or didn’t match well along with the actual amounts of each ingredient were handily answered and taken care of well before we started mixing the scents together.
Getting to a Final Mix
It is a journey getting to the final combination of scents that are a taste of the final perfume/cologne to come. The instructor hands out cards for note taking but they also come with recommended combinations of scents if you’re feeling a bit less adventurous.
We decided to go by the cuff of our noses and create wholly unique scents. Two standout scents were the Tonka Nut and the Apple. The Tonka Nut felt earthy but also had notes of bitter almond and vanilla. The apple was a concentrated blast of the sweet fruity scent that was hard not to return to when you’re sampling the scents.
The actual mixing of the final perfume is quite technical. We’re given final formulas and weights for each oil which we weighed, measured, and added to a small beaker ourselves. Once the concentrated solution is completed, the instructor dilutes it and returns to you a unique perfume all your own. You can even name your fragrance and have it printed on the label.
The entire experience takes about 70 minutes, which was more than enough time to fully enjoy the experience without feeling rushed. We played with the scents a bit and tried mixing them in different orders to check the scents during the process until we had a general idea of what and how the scents would feel like in their final mix. Not to mention pictures and videos. There’s plenty of time between classes, so we had enough time to take our photos and videos while putting everything together.
Our Personal Scents
Lexi’s final scent, “Sagwahae” (a Korean pun for “apple” and “apologize”), smelled sweet but also earthy like an apple turnover. Mine, “Uyu”, had earthy notes with some sour citrus in the middle. Both turned out really well and both of us are looking forward to putting them to good use.
As an added bonus, leaving a review on Google Maps gets visitors a free sachet. It’s another 5 minute project where you take the contents of your cuvet (your practice scent), combine it with some solid ingredients and then place it in a small bag which you can put in your closets or with your shoes to give everything a pleasant scent.
It was a light and fun couple activity, but it looked like most of their patrons are friend groups. On our way out, a huge group of six came in and we ourselves were in the shop with a group of three friends. It’s important to remember Greedy Scent is by appointment only, so you’ll need to register ahead of time to get a slot. And if today was any indication, those slots fill up early.
Where is Greedy Scent?
There are two locations: Yeonnam-dong and Bukchon. The Bukchon one is newer, but the experience is the same. If anything, you should make the reservation for whichever location is closest to where you’ll be in a given day.
- Yeonnam-dong: 84 2F 390 Yeonnam-dong (Naver Map, Google Maps)
- Bukchon: Samcheong-ro 4-gil, 12 1 1F (Naver Map, Google Maps)
How Much Does Greedy Scent Cost?
Greedy Scent is 50,000 KRW per person.
Does Greedy Scent require a reservation?
Yes and no. If there are extra slots, you’re welcome to join an open session. But if there are no open slots, they’ll direct you to Naver to make a reservation for another time or day. Or you can just register in advance HERE.
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