The Art of Scent
Since 2006, when the first niche perfumes arrived in Serbia and appeared on the shelves of Metropolitan perfumeries, educating the public about their specific characteristics has become part of our regular activities. From gatherings where we compared perfumes with other arts, to performances in which perfumes were connected with emotions and memories.
Today, 20 years later, our audience is far better informed about niche perfumery, so we prefer to speak of themed or masterclass workshops rather than education. The space and design of our perfumery in the Bristol Hotel have proven to be an inspiring venue for workshops led by Filip Sovrlić, training manager of Metropolitan Perfumeries, who carefully selects the topics and adapts them to the audience.
Layering — or the layered application of perfumes—was the topic of a workshop that brought together luxury automobiles, wine, and fragrances, while connecting emotions with perfumes was the theme of the recent workshop When Perfume Becomes a Medium.
At the beginning of each workshop, Filip highlights the differences between niche and mainstream perfumes and presents one of the important pioneering creations of the niche movement, such as Escentric Molecules – Molecule 01, L’Artisan Parfumeur – Premier Figuier, or Le Labo – Santal 33 — fragrances that, even decades after their creation, remain bestsellers for their brands as well as for Metropoliten Perfumeries.
Perfumes speak all the languages of the world.
The new workshop at the Bristol Hotel hosted members of the International Women’s Club, a philanthropic non-governmental organization. The club’s members are women from around 40 countries who reside in Belgrade as part of the diplomatic or business community, as well as women from Serbia with experience in similar clubs around the world.
Along with the excitement that always arises in the atmosphere of trying perfumes, the workshop participants also had the opportunity to become closely acquainted with some important aromatic materials involved in the creation of fragrances. This time, the masterclass was devoted to the art of smelling: an olfactory exploration of a raw fragrant ingredient and the perfume that contains it. Eight aromatic ingredients and sixteen perfumes served as the basis for this scented adventure. Among other things, the participants had the chance to engage their scent receptors by experiencing Italian bergamot present in Le Labo Bergamote 22 and Perfumer H Bergamot, Indonesian patchouli—such as in Diptyque Tempo and Penhaligon’s Empressa—and Haitian vetiver, an important component of Byredo Bal d’Afrique and Eight & Bob Nuit de Megève…
At the end of the event, Filip Sovrlić — who has already successfully tried his hand as a perfumer—created a perfume live for the international audience using these eight fragrant ingredients.
