Friday, August 30, 2013

A Wickenden Street Shop Blends Custom Perfumes


I love the sense of renewal that comes with the warm weather – clothing, yes, and skincare, and of course swapping my dark lipsticks for pops of color. When I reached for my summer perfume, though, I realized I didn’t have one. Everything I own is either distinctly winter or spring. I wanted something fresh and light, that didn’t overwhelm the room. Those scents are hard to come by, though. Apparently “fresh, clean and light” are code words for “androgynous, soapy and vaguely frat boy smelling” at the perfume counter.

Then Charna Ethier invited me to blend a custom perfume at Providence Perfume Company, and all of my problems were solved. (Well, my scent problems, anyway. Wait, does that make me sound smelly? Because I’m not, I promise.) Charna has been making a name for herself both locally and nationally with her perfume, which started as a hobby and has become so popular that she opened a permanent retail location last month.

Providence Perfume Company sells all-natural perfumes in 11 scents like Cocoa Tuberose, Hindi Honeysuckle and Ginger as well as skincare and hair products. They’re all quite nice, but there’s nothing like complete control. We sat down at the custom perfume bar and set to work. Charna walked me through the process: we’d choose one or two base notes (the strongest scents, which provide the background for the perfume), two to three mid-notes (which are the most prevalent in the blend) and one to two top notes (which are the first things you smell and the first to dissipate). I immediately eliminated anything sweet or heavy like chocolate, vanilla and patchouli for my bottom notes.

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