LLAMASODA

Greetings everyone, Sam from LLAMASODA here! I’m a… a… I’m nobody who knows nothing at all! I’ve taken it upon myself to learn every single job on Earth so I can become from a nobody to a reliable somebody! I’ve decided to begin my journey by learning the ways of the perfumist… read about my trials and tribulations here!

1. Everything About Perfumists:
   1. Job Description:
   2. Salary & Top Cities
   3. Requirements & Qualifications:
2. Me,Perfumes, & Perfumists:
3. Becoming a Perfumist:
4. Final Thoughts:
5. Giveaway:
6. .NOTE Seongsu Information:

Everything About Perfumists:

Job Description:

What’s a perfumist? A perfumist is someone who is proficient in combining various fragrances that invoke certain moods and senses—a storyteller who tells stories (redundancy over 9000!) through smells!

Salary & Top Cities

At the time of research* (early August 2025), a perfumist could make up to $43 per hour, and up to $90k a year (in the U.S.), which is quite nice! The following cities were also listed as the top five for perfumists in the U.S.:

1. Berkeley, CA
2. Berlin Corners, VT
3. Sitka, AK
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Santa Clara, CA

*I forgot where I got my information from exactly…

Requirements & Qualifications:

According to couple of websites that I looked at*, a degree in Chemistry, Chemical Biology, or Chemical Engineering is required, however since I can’t even name my sources, I urge you to do your own research. Sorry for being useless!

One of the best institutions in the world* to learn more about the art of perfumery would be the ISIPCA in Paris, France, which was established in 1970, on the initiative of Jean-Jacques Guerlain, a renowned French perfumer.

They also recommend gaining experience by starting off with smaller, niche perfume houses and then making your way up, and by doing apprenticeship programs.

*I forgot where I got my information from exactly…

Me,Perfumes, & Perfumists:

As I am both blessed and cursed with the nose of a bloodhound, I tend to avoid using perfumes as much as most people, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy them any less! I like how certain fragrances can add to the vibe that you’re going for, and put you in a good, confident mood!

I also am endlessly fascinated with how we as a society have assigned a few stereotypes towards people who prefer certain perfumes, such as men wearing Dior Sauvage are most likely fuckboys, and Chanel No. 5 enthusiasts are either old or trying too hard to live that “old money aesthetic” kind of lifestyle… I don’t know what stereotypes are associated with Clinique Happy, Tamburins Late Autumn, and Versace Eau Fraiche, so let me know if you do!

Anyway, perfumery is an interesting field to me, as it is a perfect combination of raw, hard, throbbing science and limitless creativity. You have your usual daily wear perfumes that have floral or citrus-y notes, but you also have the more unusual ones where you have scents that are based on bodily fluids and toxic chemicals (these are extreme examples and perfumes that are right in the middle between tame and full-on crazy certainly do exist), and to me, a creative creature, it pleases me greatly. Would I ever seriously consider being a full-time perfumist? No, as I lack passion towards the art…? science…? artful science?

However, I certainly will become a perfumist for a day!!

Becoming a Perfumist:

I was lucky enough to live near the capital city of Seoul, South Korea as it is chock-full (literally CHOCK-FULL) of interesting activities to do, including perfume workshops, so I booked myself a class at .Note in their Seongsu location (they’re also in Gangnam and open-minded Hongdae) via Klook, which also lets you book the aforementioned chock-full of activities to do not only in Seoul but everywhere else too! (NOT SPONSORED! I wouldn’t mind getting a check though…)

There were two reasons as to why I chose .Note:

1. They offer self-paced classes where you receive guidance from an instructional video, and it doesn’t matter if the people around you are ahead or behind you in the perfume-making process; you do you and you do you at your own pace! It’s extremely great for those who want to take things slowly (or quickly!) and for the introverts! I fall somewhere in the middle, where I’m either too ahead of the class or awfully behind and skipping a few steps along the way because I’m deathly afraid to notify the instructor… So this was perfect for me!
2. They had a location in Seongsu, one of the best neighborhoods in Seoul!

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The Seongsu .Note location is right where all the cool shops and cafes are at, and is a few minutes walk away from the Seongsu subway station (Line 2 / Green). It does have a rather small, missable sign and is located upstairs, so it’d be wise to have your navigation on and eyes peeled!

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Even before stepping in, you could feel the tranquility emanating from the workshop, especially with the refreshing decor with plants and pebbles (they’re actually also photo spots for you to take pictures of your finished perfume!). However, I had to quickly enter the workshop not only because we had a perfume to create, but also as the South Korean summer heat was getting RIDICULOUS!

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Inside was very sleek and modern, as if you were in some botanical laboratory in the future. I dug it!

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After checking in with the staff, it was time to take a seat, watch the instructional video (which comes in 13 different languages!) with the provided wireless buds (for my germaphobes: they sanitize it between custmomers so rest assured!), take some notes and begin our perfume-making journey!

[KEEP IN NOTE (BADUM-TSS) THAT .NOTE STRICTLY PROHIBITS RECORDING THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS!! YOU CAN RECORD EVERYTHING OTHER THAN THAT HOWEVER.]

I was pleasantly surprised to see how in-depth the video was; I assumed it’d just give a few basic instructions on handling the equipment and whatnot, but it was not the case! They discuss about the three notes (the top, middle, and base notes), the concept of accord in perfumery, how to *properly* smell to get the most of the fragrance you’re sniffing at, and more, which was very interesting!

As the session progressed, I was to choose the scents that I wanted in my perfume, and it was quite a challenge picking the ones that I liked. I knew I wanted to incorporate citrus-y scents but didn’t really know what else to add in.

Of course I could’ve just made a perfume with a plain citrus scent but we vehemently refuse to do anything plain here at LLAMASODA!

After taking a whiff of almost 30+ scents, I slowly began developing a mental image of the vibe I wanted for the perfume…

At first, I wanted something that reminded me of the ocean and had a very fresh feel to it, while also having a “manly” edge to it. If it were to have an ad, it would have been like the ones where you see men with their tanned Greek god-like bodies laying on a beach or on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea wearing nothing but tighty whities, but after taking another whiff of the other scents, especially those on the spicier and woodier side, the spirit of Marco Polo possessed me and I took a journey from Italy to China.

A flash of inspiration struck me like lighting!

I visualized a panda just laying amongst the green bamboo trees, living life and smoking a fat cigar, so of course the certainly-not-ridiculously-lengthy-name “A Panda Smokes A Cigar Amongst The Bamboo Trees Colored Green” was the best one to explain the concept.

These are the ingredients I used to create APSACATBTCG:

• Orange – 0.60g
• Basil – 0.60g
• Bamboo – 0.75g
• Ginger – 0.75g
• Tobacco – 0.60g
• Oud Wood – 0.60g

Not to toot my own horn (you know what, I will actually), but I think I did pretty great! Not only did APSACATBTCG have a citrus-y aroma that I loved, it also had that almost clove-like spiciness to it that brought a distinct, mature freshness. But again, I can’t be both the teacher and the student, so I’d love to hear what an actual perfumist has to say about APSACATBTCG!

After I was done creating the perfume, I had a lovely surprise waiting for me: a free roll-on! .Note had an ongoing event for foreigners during my time of visit (2 AUG 2025, readers of LLAMASODA know that it takes two and a half eternities for the lazy writer to post something) where leaving a review on either Klook or Google Maps (me being the saint that I am, I did both) can get you a roll-on addition that typically costs extra to your experience for free.

Getting the drops of the scented oils with my jittery and ridiculously clumsy hands was certainly a challenge, but I managed somehow.

After I was done, I took pictures of my stunning new product outside their entrance with the nature-y backdrop with my camera, because of course we were going to give APSACATBTCG the full professional treatment, with an advert and everything!

After getting home the next day, I also began working on creating the poster for the product on Procreate aka the-app-that-I-use-religiously-but-still-don’t-use-it-to-its-full–potential-unlike-99%-of-the-people-who-pull-off-crazy-things-there, and again, not to toot my own horn here (this time I actually won’t because I feel I could’ve done better…) but I think it came out somewhat decent!

Final Thoughts:

First of all, I’d like to thank .Note for such an amazing experience. Relaxing yet engaging, it was a perfect activity to do, even in my lonesome!

Next, let’s talk about how it was like being a perfumist. There is a lot of precision involved, which is understandable as even just a drop more or less can heavily influence the outcome, and not only that, having the droplets come in contact with the rim or the walls of the vial can also affect the overall scent.

You also need to be able to fully smell the scents, which of course, is obvious but I brought it up anyways because you really will have to put your booger factories to WORK. There is a reason why the French call perfumists “nez,” which when translated to English, literally means “nose.”

Aside from that, I believe knowledge in chemistry is a must, as although I just had to pick whatever was prepared for me by the workshop, I’m assuming that in an actual professional setting, one has to procure and replicate scents and also consider the chemical makeup of the individual ingredients.

Another important questions come to mind: what does career progression look like for perfumists? Is it a slow, long way up to the top? And if one does make it to the top, what different roles do they have compared to someone who just started their journey in perfumery?

Hopefully I can find a perfumist to interview and write a What Make A… post to answer our questions! I’d also like you to let me know if you know somebody who’s in the scent scene, I’d appreciate it greatly!

Anywho, I not only created my own perfume (along with a cute, tiny roll-on), but also made some promotional material for it, and learned a little more about the science behind them! I don’t know about you, but I think…

…I Became A Perfumist!

Giveaway:

As thanks for reading all the way through (you didn’t just jump here directly from the Table of Contents, right?…), I’m giving away the roll-on version of my amazing A Panda Smokes A Cigar Amongst The Trees Colored Green perfume along with some South Korean snacks to anyone who wants it! All you need to do is leave a comment or message here, and it’s yours!*

I also am handing away the QR code coupons that offer discounts to your total when making your reservation at .Note, so let me know if you’d like that as well!

*Please confirm that you are able to receive packages from the U.S. or South Korea!

(Visited 02/08/2025, Written 04/08/2025, Completed 16/08/2025)

.NOTE Seongsu Information:

• 📍 Seoul, Seongdong-gu, Yeonmujang-gil, 6 2층
• 🕚 11AM to 10PM Every day
• ☎️ +82 010-2605-5824
• 🌐 Linktree, Instagram, Klook Page (for Seongsu)