In Korea, “Coming-of-Age Day” is celebrated every year on the third Monday of May. On this day, teenagers officially celebrate their 20th birthday, and begin their transition into adulthood. Did you receive a gift on Coming-of-Age Day?

Usually, on Coming-of-Age Day in Korea, perfume is given to young people to celebrate becoming an adult. In Korea, a perfume gift is used to signify being a good adult, who gives off his or her own scent of love to others.

I also received perfume as a present on this day. When I went on a trip abroad that year, I took the perfume. The scent that I shared throughout the trip always lifted me up. To this day, that scent is still wonderfully evocative of memories from that trip.

How to Make Your Own Fragrance

Before you start making your own fragrance, you will be asked to write down your favorite scent or feeling. The perfumer will analyze what you wrote and chose a few scents that match it. If you feel like you are lacking something here, the perfumer guides you by introducing you to different kinds of scents.

However, smelling various scents can be dizzying and disorienting. If you feel dizzy, please smell some coffee beans! The scent of coffee beans relieves the fatigue of the nose and helps you can detect the scent more accurately. After relieving the fatigue of the nose, adjust the proportion of the fragrance and mix it with ethanol.

Next, write the name and description of the perfume on the product development chart. When the label comes out and you put a sticker on the perfume bottle, you will finally have a personalized and unique perfume - a one of a kind scent!

Eun-ji: I didn’t have much experience using perfume, so I had a diffi cult time choosing fragrances to put in my bottle. Compared to other people, I didn’t know which fragrances I liked and which fragrances I didn’t like. When I picked charming fragrances, there was another problem. All the fragrances I chose were too light! The fragrance I had made after many twists and turns was overly sweet, so I added two drops of marine incense to weaken the sweetness. It was amazing that only two drops could change the fragrance so much. There were trials and errors, but eventually I got a satisfying fragrance that I could wear proudly. I couldn’t wait to sprinkle my own perfume.

Da-youn: I have used several flagship perfumes made by fashion brands; I selected them after short trips to department stores. Even with my lack of knowledge in fragrances, my likes and dislikes were clear when picking the scents. I had to adjust the amount of each scent and Fragrance, but putting the perfect fragrance together did not take long. Also, making my own perfume solved my frustration with fashion brand perfumes; they either smelled too strong or contained unfavorable scents. Through this experience, I could combine all of the fragrances that I like into one bottle.

Hee-jeong: I really like the fragrance itself, but I didn't know the words that express it. There are so many words used to express scent, such as musk, citrus, bergamot, etc. I used to buy perfume at department stores where knowledge of fragrance expressions was not essential. Buying perfumes also became increasingly difficult due to COVID-19 and mask-regulations. Coincidentally, I made my own perfume in the workshop and learned the words to express the scent at the time. From now on, I will be able to purchase perfume, even if I don't try it at the department store, by referring to the perfume description online!

In order to satisfy our curiosity about perfume, we asked several questions to Son Kwon-chan, the perfumer at VELAB STUDIO. The following is further knowledge about perfume based on his answers.

How to Test Perfume

There are two ways to test perfume. First, you can test a perfume by spraying it on a piece of odorless paper. By doing this, you will be able to recognize its original fragrance. The other way is to test a perfume by sprinkling it on your own skin. Because everyone has a different body scent and temperature, the same perfume can smell differently on two different people.

‘Shake and smell’ is a good way to feel the fragrance of the perfume. Ethanol carries the fragrance, so it will smell of ethanol at first. However, if you shake it, the scent of ethanol will quickly fade away. If you keep shaking and smelling or smelling for 5 to 10 minutes, you will notice the fragrance constantly changing.

Caution!

1. Every perfume brand has a different fragrance. Even the same musk does not smell the same, depending on the manufacturer. To reduce disappointment, we recommend testing several brands before buying them.

2. It is incorrect to test perfume by tapping it on your wrists or by dabbing it under your ear. Perfume is not a compound, but a mixture. It is a mixture of various incenses, similar to sugar water. If you rub it, the fragrance might break down and change.

By Kim Eun-ji, Chin Da-youn & Han Hee-jeong Reporters