A couple of weekends ago, we were wandering around the area near Harvard University and spotted these paper ads taped to various street posts. I’m guessing the headline “MISSING PERSON” was meant to be a perfume pun, a wink to those who would also recognize the illustrated bottles of Le Labo Santal 33, Diptyque Tam Dao, Acqua di Parma, and Maison Margiela Replica. The cut strips at the bottom appeared to have been eagerly torn by people—students, perhaps?—wanting a chance to “Snag a shot at winning a free nose-venture!” (as I later found out the blue text read).
Anything perfume focused out in the wild gets my attention, so I took a picture.
This weekend, we happened to be in Allston for something else, and I took the opportunity to check out this mysterious new perfume studio. Located in a basement, EXPECTATIONS (with the word crossed out) opened about a month ago and runs perfume-blending workshops and ring-carving workshops, in addition to selling ready-made perfumes… that resemble best-selling brand name fragrances.
It smelled very nice when I opened the door, as a workshop had just finished, and I started perusing the impressive wall of ingredients. Each is showcased by stones saturated in essential oil, allowing the headspace to scent the cap of the glass flask. While the studio uses synthetic aromachemicals as well for notes that cannot be obtained by natural extraction (such as watermelon or lychee), these are not included on the wall.
The name of each essence is provided in English and simplified Chinese and labeled as a top, middle, or base note. In addition, the “magical energy” and “spiritual effects” are described.
In a blending workshop, clients can choose any number of top, middle, or base note ingredients to create a personal fragrance. Other options include stone diffusers, reed diffusers, and candles. A large selection of dried plants can be added to the soy wax candles if desired.
For those who prefer ready-made fragrances, a series of numbered bottles are matched to the names and descriptions of very popular scents without their brand names, across a range of styles. When I asked (in a manner of stating the obvious) if they were meant to smell like well-known perfumes, I was told that they were “about 70%” similar, because the same materials could be sourced from different places and they did not know the exact proportions of ingredients in the originals.
I picked up the numbered bottle corresponding to Terre d’Hermès and sprayed it on a blotter. Without being able to do a side-by-side comparison, I thought it was quite an accurate reproduction, even the next day.
To be clear, I’m not a fan of dupes as I value originality of creations, but I also think this can be an effective way of bringing people newer to perfume in the door, by leading with famous perfumes and making the connection with the principles of how perfume is made.
What do you think works best for introducing perfume making to the general public?
Nose Prose 
Cool poster. I’m conflicted 😊 about the whole dupe thing. It’s always existed in certain ways, but seems to have gone through the roof in recent years. And yet you make a great point about it being a way to bring people into the perfume world.
LikeLike
That’s how I feel as well—at least, in a best-case scenario, people might be more interested in the demystifying of perfumery rather than just in buying a cheaper imitation of a popular fragrance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the workshop & wall ideas. I’m not sure how these offers would survive in the market without the dupes. Which is a shame.
I recently bought a couple of dupe tester of two discontinued fragrances. They were both good if my fragrant memory served me well.
The samples were dupes of Envy & Boudoir.
LikeLike
It gets to be a gray area with all of these considerations. Discontinued fragrances seem to be fair game.
LikeLike
Something resembling d/ced scents you crave & mourn is better than it not existing. As long as it is really good
LikeLike
Yes, like you I’m no fan of dupes. But, this does seem to be an interesting stepping stone to introduce new people to perfume. I’m sure if I was a newbie and completed and enjoyed something like this workshop I’d want to go into a department store, and eventually a niche boutique to discover more perfumes.
LikeLike
Hopefully it starts a path for a generation of newbies!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not a fan of dupes either, Nose Prose. While the concept of Expectations seems interesting, I wouldn’t say it was original. Perhaps this venue is better suited for the perfume novice. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
Perhaps not original, but there aren’t others like it around here. I imagine I would have been thrilled to find them when I was just starting out. They do seem to cast a wide net, appealing to those who like perfume or crystals or jewelry.
LikeLiked by 1 person