Have you every been in the perfume department or duty free shop and wished that there was a perfume tailor made for you? Perhaps you’ve dreamed of the lingering scent of jasmine, orange or vanilla but still can’t find the right one? Well if you’re holidaying on the Côte D’Azur this year, your dream perfume, made just for you, could come true! Our Luxurious Holiday lets in Nice are a short drive away from the famous perfumeries in Grasse.

Medieval town of Grasse

The medieval town of Grasse, situated 45kms from Nice, is the world-renowned centre for perfume. Amongst its old cobbled streets, you’ll find famous perfumeries such as Fragonard, Molinard, Galimard etc. Each company has a long history of perfume making in the town. The microclimate in this part of the French Riviera makes it an ideal location for growing the flowers needed to produce some of the oldest perfume recipes in the world.

You can attend your very own workshop!

On the outskirts of this beautiful town, the famous perfumeries run workshops at which you can make your very own bottle of scent. Some of our team headed to the Galimard workshop to see for ourselves why so many of our guests have enjoyed this activity during their stays.

Using an old-age method, your tutor will guide you through the 2 hour workshop, imparting many years of knowledge, to ensure your perfume is just how you want it.

So, how do you make your ideal perfume? You’ll work through the numerous individual scents, picking your base notes, your heart notes and your head notes to find the perfect perfume for you. Once chosen, you mix the scents to make a 100ml bottle of Eau de Perfum which you can take home.

At the Galimard workshop, your recipe will be retained so that you can order more if you would like to.

Some of the famous perfumes houses also offer free factory tours where you will learn about the history of perfume making in Grasse. We learnt that the perfumer (le nez or the nose) who developed Chanel No.5 for Coco Chanel, made 10 different scents, each in bottles carefully labelled from No. 1 to No. 10 and Mme Chanel preferred the one in the bottle No. 5!

The workshop is a great activity for couples, friends or family groups with children aged 8 and over.

Check out the workshop link here – https://www.galimard.com/en

Toiletries in ‘Your Nice Apartment’

In every Stay YNA apartment and villa you’ll find toiletries from the famous Grasse based Fragonard company to use during your stay. You can also visit their shop in Nice on the Cours Saleya.

You can drive to Grasse in just under 50 minutes from central Nice or via train from Nice Ville and then bus or a taxi/Uber to the workshop studios.

Check out their website here – https://www-uk.fragonard.com/en/

Written by Claire Phillips