What perfume to buy in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has a hands-on perfume scene built around small guided workshops and open lab sessions. Visitors can blend their own scents from raw materials or fragrance oils in relaxed group classes.

Make your own perfume, from US$55

Guide last checked 22 Oct 2026. Every fact links to its source.

February shot of downtown Los Angeles sunset with Mount Baldy in the background after a large snow storm

Or make your own

3 Los Angeles workshops, compared

Blend your own scent with an expert and take the bottle home. Check the booking page for the current price. How prices compare in other cities.

A line engraving of a black pepper plant, a fruiting stem with its leaves and berries — Black pepper. Line engraving

Altadena (LA County, north of Pasadena)

Bodi Botanica: Custom Perfume-Making Workshop

A small guided class where you smell a library of aromatic materials, learn how a perfume is built and blend your own from scratch. Monthly Sunday sessions; suits beginners who want a relaxed group class outside the city centre.

Length: 2 hours
Take home: A bottle of your own custom perfume (size not stated; a full 50 ml bottle is a $100 upgrade at booking)
Where: 2054 N Madison Ave, Altadena, CA 91001

Price$180.00 general admission for the 15 Nov 2026 class (public workshops from $145 per person)

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Checked 22 Oct 2026

Sources (5)

An engraving from 1881: an ancient cedar of Lebanon, its huge limbs spreading — Cedar of Lebanon. Engraving, 1881

Chinatown

Institute for Art and Olfaction: Open Session

An evening session at the nonprofit Institute for Art and Olfaction, where you write your own perfume formulas from the lab's perfumer's organ. Small groups of up to 12; suits curious beginners who want real raw materials rather than ready blends.

Length: 2.5 hours, starting with a one hour introduction to the materials
Take home: A small spray vial of your favourite formula, plus six 5/8 dram vials of aromatic materials
Where: 932 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hours: Most Wednesdays, 17:00 to 19:30 (some weeks skipped; reservation required)

Price$55.00 lab fee, materials included (extra material vials $4.00 to $8.00 on site)

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Checked 22 Oct 2026

Sources (2)

An engraving from the 1600s: a lady in a wide hat smells a flower beside a vase of blossoms — Odoratus. Engraving, 1600s

Mar Vista / West Culver City

These Hands Makers Collective: Perfume Making Essentials

A dated class at a Westside craft studio, taught by Camp Disco, where you blend your own perfume from fragrance oils and bottle it as a spray and a rollerball. Adults 18 and over, all levels; suits a relaxed, social first try.

Length: 2 hours
Take home: 15 ml fragrance spray and a 10 ml rollerball (Standard), or a 30 ml fragrance in a vintage bottle plus the 10 ml rollerball, with your written formula
Where: 13347 W. Washington Blvd., Unit A, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Hours: Studio open Thu and Fri 14:00 to 21:00, Sat and Sun 10:00 to 18:00; this class Sun 29 Nov 2026, 10:00 to 12:00

Price$95 per guest (Standard), $120 per guest with the Vintage Bottle Upgrade

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Checked 22 Oct 2026

Sources (3)

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