Perfume Making Workshop at Ho Chi Minh Cafe Apartment

Blend 30+ raw materials into a scent that's entirely yours, not a pre-made kit.

A perfume-making workshop in Ho Chi Minh's Cafe Apartment on Nguyen Hue Walking Street where you blend a signature scent from over 30 premium raw materials using real perfumery structure (top, heart, and base notes) guided in English by a professional perfumer. You take home your bottle with your formula stored so you can reorder the same scent later. The workshop runs 90 minutes and includes a customized label, bottle, bag, and a guide to wearing perfume.

The experience

You walk into the workshop on Saigon's most crowded street and step away from it entirely. The space is small and unhurried, designed so you can actually think while you're working. A professional perfumer walks you through the fundamentals: how scents layer, how to build intention into a blend, the techniques that separate a real fragrance from a souvenir kit. No experience needed. The instruction meets you where you are.

The materials in front of you are the real thing: over 30 premium raw materials, each one chosen for its character. You're not mixing pre-made blends. Instead, you learn to construct a fragrance the way perfumers do: starting with top notes that hit first, moving through the heart that carries the story, and anchoring it all with base notes that linger. The workshop guides you toward a Vietnamese-inspired scent, drawing on the country's aromatic heritage: lotus (the national flower), pomelo blossom (used in ancestral hair rituals), and other notes tied to the place you're in. But the blend is yours to shape. You follow your nose, adjust as you go, and end up with something that smells like no one else's perfume.

At the end of 90 minutes, you have a bottle you made entirely yourself, tuned entirely to your taste. It comes with a customized label, a bag to carry it, and a professional guide to wearing it. The workshop stores your formula, so if you fall in love with the scent, you can reorder the exact same perfume months or years later: a genuinely personal souvenir, and one you'll actually keep wearing instead of tucking away.

What’s included

• Your blended perfume in a bottle with a customized label.
• a carrying bag.
• a professional guide to wearing perfume.
• English-language instruction from a professional perfumer.
• storage of your formula for future reorders.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day9 departure times: the first at 09:00, the last at 19:00

Book up to3h before

AgesAdult (18 to 60 years) · Senior (61 to 80 years) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (8 to 12 years) · Under 8: can't be booked

GroupUp to 8

Live guideEnglish and Vietnamese

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by NOTE - THE SCENT LAB

Is this one for you?The workshop is 90 minutes of focused, hands-on work at a single table: no walking, no standing for long stretches, and no physical demands beyond the ability to sit comfortably and follow instruction. It suits anyone who wants to make something with their own hands and take home a result that's genuinely theirs, whether you're traveling solo, with a partner, or with a group of friends.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Vietnamese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (8 to 12 years). Children under 8 can't be included in the booking.

What does the 90-minute workshop actually teach me about making perfume?

The workshop covers fragrance blending fundamentals, including how to layer scents with intention and the techniques professional perfumers use to build structure. You learn to work with top, heart, and base notes (the three layers that make a real fragrance), and apply those techniques to blend your own signature scent from the 30+ raw materials available.

Can I make a Vietnamese-inspired scent, or do I have to follow a set formula?

The workshop guides you toward Vietnamese-inspired notes (lotus, pomelo blossom, and other materials tied to the country's aromatic heritage), but the blend itself is yours to shape. You follow your nose and adjust as you work, so your finished perfume reflects your own taste.

What happens to my formula after I leave? Can I order the same perfume again later?

The workshop stores your formula, so you can reorder your Saigon scent anytime. You'll get the exact same blend you created, making it a genuinely personal souvenir you can wear long after the trip.

Where exactly is the workshop located in Ho Chi Minh City?

The workshop is in Ho Chi Minh's Cafe Apartment, located right on Nguyen Hue Walking Street: Saigon's heart and its busiest pedestrian thoroughfare. Public transportation options are available nearby.

What do I take home with me?

You take home the bottle of perfume you blended, along with a customized label, a bag, and a professional guideline on how to wear perfume. The workshop also keeps your formula on file so you can reorder the same scent in the future.