Sentosa is going through a major revamp. But once all the construction work is done, this tourist-friendly island will turn into another exciting attraction and destination for all. This place is already ‘soaking’ up with beautiful scents of orchids. Hidden within Sentosa Nature Discovery is a place where you can shop for Singapore-inspired scents and even attend a perfume workshop to create your own perfume using orchid-infused fragrance oils.
Scent-OSA(Scent Orchids of Singapore Adventure) : A one-of-a-kind perfume workshop
Scent-OSA is the latest perfume workshop organised by Jetaime Group at Sentosa. They are the ones who created a unique collection of Singapore heritage perfumes called Singapore Memories. You may have seen some of their iconic scents retailed at local souvenir shops.
If you would like to find out more about how each scent is handcrafted, you should attend their perfume-making session at Sentosa. You will be able to create your very own signature scent using orchid-inspired scents.
An Immersive Digital Show
Scent-OSA is no ordinary perfume workshop as it incorporates the use of hi-tech video projection to guide participants to create their customised scents. It is more like a digital show where the process of making perfume is guided by a digital e-perfumer. Nonetheless, if you needed help, their staff are on stand by to provide you with useful tips and assistance.
The Scent-OSA Perfume Workshop Experience
They have chosen a perfect spot in Sentosa to conduct this unique perfume-making workshop. Their perfume boutique-cum-studio is located right among the lush greenery of Sentosa, within Sentosa Nature Discovery. You are surrounded by so much greenery that you will feel more relaxed the moment you step into this place.
What to expect during this perfume workshop?
1. Watch and learn
We watched the video projection on your ‘personal screen’. It gave us a brief introduction of perfumes in general.
2. Do the personality quiz
Next up, we were given some time to do a personality quiz to find out which type of scents we would gravitate towards. It turns out that I have more of a ‘woody’ personality type.
There are two different personality quiz – each customised for each gender. The set of questions found in the quiz for females is different from the ones found in the quiz for males.
3. Count your answers to discover your perfume notes that reflect your personality
Their staff shared that Floral and Fresh notes tend to be more popular among Singaporeans while Caucasians tend to prefer citrus notes. That was why she was rather surprised to find out that I have a ‘woody’ -type of personality. True enough, I actually do appreciate woody scents as I mature in age. I use to love sweet floral scents but now, I no longer enjoy those scents as I find that such floral scents don’t last.
4. Do the math and start creating your first perfume sample using orchid-infused fragrance oils
The perfume mixing formula is derived from our personality test results. Using their simple formula, we have to add the calculated number of drops into the small glass vial to create our perfume samples.
There are about 7 to 10 different scents for each type of perfume note. Each scent is stored in a small coloured bottle, labelled with a number e.g Floral 2, Woody 7 and etc. You simply have to sniff everyone of them and determine which type of scent you like. There are two different sets of scents for males and females. Thus, citrus 1 for females is a totally different scent from citrus 1 for males.
Each scent bottle contains fragrance oils that have native orchids infused in it. All of the orchids used, like Dendrobium Singaporense, are native to Singapore.
Did you know what orchids have many therapeutic benefits? It not only looks nice but smells lovely too. Dendrobium Singaporense, for instance, emits a scent that resembles chrysanthemum tea.
You really need to concentrate on the task of filling up with vial with the scented oil droplets. An extra or a missing drop can actually change the composition and scent of the perfume. You get to assume the role of a perfumer and be as accurate as you can.
5. Fill the perfume vial with some alcohol
After creating the first perfume sample, we added alcohol to dilute it and took a whiff.
The plastic wash bottles made it easier for participants to transfer the alcohol to the small glass vial.
6. Create your second perfume sample with some twists
With the second perfume sample, you can just make some minor adjustments to our first perfume formula. Otherwise, you can go bold and change the perfume formula altogether. For us, we decided to alter our perfume composition and experimented with a different perfume formula. I created a scent which has more floral notes in it.
7. Decide which perfume sample you like
Compare the two perfume samples to find out which perfume sample you prefer. For me, I went with my first sample as I prefer a stronger scent.
At this point, you may be experiencing olfactory fatigue after sniffing so many different types of scent. Thankfully, there is a can of coffee beans at hand which you can take a whiff to reset your sense of smell. Or you may even want to step out of the studio and take in some fresh air, then continue with the perfume-making process.
8. Craft your prefered scent in this 100-ml perfume bottle
I have to say that it’s a rather big perfume bottle! The perfume bottle has a personalised touch to it. Each bottle has our name emblazoned on it as we provided our names to them before the workshop.
The staff have already filled each perfume bottle with alcohol. Thus, you will just need to add in the scented oils using your prefered perfume formula.
Done! Ta-dah!
Overall, it is an enjoyable and pleasant experience especially if you are into perfumes. I would say that the whole process is quite idiot-proof as the instructions provided by the digital e-perfumer is very clear. All you need to do is to be creative, be yourself and go wild. Take the risk and try out something new.
Special thanks to Jetaime Group for this exquisite and fun experience.
