To be sniffed at! The first Barnes Fragrance Fair
Are you a perfume-lover? We certainly are. But there are very few opportunities to delve deeper into the world of fragrance, building your knowledge and even boosting your sense of smell.
Cue drumroll, then, for the first-ever Barnes Fragrance Fair, taking place in this leafy area of south-west London on Saturday 20th May 2023. It has been organised by Amanda Carr, award-winning blogger (she’s half of the team at wewearperfume.com), who has enlisted some fab speakers and some great independent fragrance brands, to take part. Basically, all for the love of perfume…
The link to the website with all the events is here, but some stand-out sessions include…
• The Fragrance Fair, at Barnes Green Centre from 10am-5pm, FREE to enter. In many cases you’ll get to meet the founders of many niche brands, who will include Nancy Meiland, To The Fairest, Gallivant, Olfactive O, Boujee Boujies, Maya Nije and more.
• The Mood-Busting Power of Scent, a session that includes ‘On The Scent’ podcast presenters Nicola Bonn and Suzy Nightingale (Suzy is also Jo’s colleague at The Scented Letter, the magazine she edits for The Perfume Society), with perfumer Pia Long. A fascinating exploration of something we know instinctively: that the right scent can really change how we’re feeling. (Session priced £12; book here.)
• How to Pick the Perfect Fragrance, with a panel of experts – (click here to book for the session, priced £12)
• Making Sustainable Scents (two workshops, at 11am-1pm and 2-4pm; each session priced £50). 4160 Tuesdays founder Sarah McCartney will help you create your own fragrance from upcycled natural essential oils, traditionally produced attars and - the greenest of them all - newly developed molecules made using white biotechnology. Book here.
It will be a day of sniffing and spritzing and learning. A perfume-lover’s dream, in other words.