From Wild Winds to Fragrant Notes: Finding Magic at the Burren Perfumery

Co. Clare has always had a special place in my heart and whether you visit in winter or summer, it’s equally beautiful. The landscape is stunning from the coastline and small stone walls to trees and bushes that are bent over by the weight of the wind. If you do go to Clare, then the Burren Perfumery is a must visit.

(Some of the original perfume bottles) Created over 35 years it was taken over by Sadie Chowen in 2001. It is a little slice of Irish paradise that feels like a French perfumery. Not that I have visited a French perfumery (yet). They make perfumes inspired by the unusual landscape, which draws its name from the Irish boíreann, or rocky place.

I recently managed to convince my husband to attend the Burren Perfumery to learn how to make perfume and the experience was top class. We started the day meeting other willing learners and chatted over fresh scones with whipped cream and jam and pots of coffee and tea. Our teacher then took us on a guided tour of the perfumery before we decamped to a private room and where we began to develop our sense of smell. Our expert teacher whose passion for the subject shone through talked us through the five scent families that the Burren Perfumery has created. She encouraged us to become more evocative in our descriptions rather than cognitive. We asked ourselves questions like what did the scent remind you of? We were also helped along in our understanding of what a scent does, for example, she described Bergamot as being like ‘adding champagne to a cocktail, that it’s like a good friend that lights up the room’. We learned about how perfumes are formulated, the top notes, that are what people initially smell, the heart notes and the base notes, that which lasts for hours. With all this knowledge in our heads and scents wafting through the air, it was time to choose the scent family we would then create our individual perfume from. I chose Atlantic Coast, a salty mixture that evokes the wild Atlantic way and all those years I’ve been travelling to Co. Clare. 

We then took our lunch break in the café where we were treated to an array of fresh salads grown in the gardens, pea and mint soup, local cheese boards finished with pots of tea and cake. My favourite was the pistachio and rose water which I enjoyed with a mound of cream while trying not to think of my cholesterol. 

Once satiated, we headed back to our training room and spent the afternoon tinkering with our individual perfumes under the careful supervision of our expert perfumer. Everyone got to take home their perfumes, and we were even gifted some samples to take home.

No experience was necessary though everyone who attended had an interest in perfume. I loved this day out and can’t recommend it highly enough. I now see that they are doing a candle making course which is firmly on my autumn to do list!

The day cost €140 including a tour, teas coffees, lunch, your individual perfume and a goodie bag. Excellent value and it would make a gorgeous gift! 

More information on their courses is available on this link