Perfume Making Experience at Ammar’s Fragrances

This was a special discovery for me, given perfume making is something I have heard of, been intrigued by, however never done myself, so when I recently had the opportunity to visit family run business Ammar’s Fragrances located on busy Clumber Street, Nottingham, I could not contain my excitement…

A unique experience that can be enjoyed solo or shared and this time, I opted to share the fun with a friend of my Sherylyn, who I knew would appreciate it just as much as I would.

From the moment you arrive at Ammar’s Fragrances you are greeted with opulence, think gold gilt interior, chaise longues and brightly lit mirrored shelves, displaying beautiful bottles of fragrances, the shop itself is impressive and has the immediate wow factor.  At the same time, you are hit with the incredible medley of aroma’s; a heady melange of everything from woody, tobacco notes, to their famous oud bases, floral, fruity notes and everything in between, it really is a gift for the senses and immediately draws you into their world of fragrance.

Thankfully, we were there to stay a while, as the lovely and exceptionally knowledgeable Donna took us through the different scents, all categorised by colour.  Sherylyn knew instantly what notes she preferred and went for a traditionally based oud mix, where as it took me a little longer to land on what I actually liked.  Fragrance is so personal and whilst I have worn it for most of my adult life, I don’t necessarily have a fixed favourite, so after smelling a few on paper strips, I came to decide on a sandalwood, jasmine, citrus concoction with an oud base.  It’s worth mentioning that after a while of smelling so many, they all start to smell the same, so we were offered a quaint pot of coffee beans to sniff in between as a nose palette cleanser, which worked a treat.

Once we had selected our blends, we took our seat at the mixing counter on the chaise longue and observed Donna as she expertly mixed the blends using a clever piece of equipment that stirred at a fast rate in a glass beaker- all very scientific and took me back to science class at school momentarily.  Once mixed sufficiently, then came the task of pouring the bespoke made fragrance into our perfume bottle, using a funnel- a tricky job, but one done well by Donna.  Following this, a large wooden mallet was used to secure the atomiser and it was then our turn to select our lid.   This was most definitely a highlight for us, as I heard a squeal from the both of us as Donna produced from behind the counter a tray of gold and sparkly gem-stone lids in sapphire blue, ruby, diamond and peridot green.  Sherylyn went for the classic diamond, me the peridot which is my birth stone for August.  

Once finished, a spritz of each on a feather allowed us to small our newly created bespoke fragrances for the first time- a resounding success!  Next step was to box in a colour of our choice (white) and gift wrap in luxury paper gift bags, tied with ribbon, feather included- think that scene with Rowan Atkinson from the film Love Actually and you wouldn’t be too far away (if you know you know).

We also took away a body mist for every day use with us, as they also smelt divine and subsequently left with beaming smiles.  We can’t thank Donna enough for looking after us and for making this experience so wonderful, I would highly recommend it to any perfume lovers out there (all fragrances are unisex), or to anyone looking to purchase a unique gift for a loved one.

The Sleepy Vegetarian aka Fiona Duncan-Steer

More information can be found: https://ammarsfragrances.com/