How can a smelling session help co-create a perfume with customers?

At the end of April, Poécile opened the doors to a truly special moment. An evening designed as a meeting point between perfume creation, conversation and emotion. In Clermont-Ferrand, we hosted our very first smelling session with some of our most loyal customers.

The idea was simple: to give people a glimpse behind the scenes of perfume creation and build Poécile’s future olfactory journeys together.

For a few hours, guests were able to discover raw materials used in existing fragrances, smell early trials of future creations and freely share their impressions. Between memories, mental images and spontaneous emotions, the evening confirmed one essential thing: perfume is experienced just as much as it is smelled.

An immersion into the world of perfume creation

When wearing a perfume, you experience a finished emotion. A signature ready to be sprayed onto the skin. Yet before reaching that final balance, a fragrance goes through dozens of trials, adjustments and refinements.

With this smelling session, we wanted to reveal that invisible part of the creative process.

Guests explored different raw materials used in perfumery: warm woods, luminous flowers, amber notes, sparkling citrus accords and greener, more textured facets. Some scents instantly brought back specific memories. Others took more time before revealing their full richness.

This approach helps people better understand how a perfume is built. A single note can feel raw, subtle or surprising on its own. But when blended with other ingredients, it becomes a true atmosphere.

At Poécile, every fragrance is imagined as a journey inspired by French landscapes. Introducing these raw materials was also a way of showing how that feeling of escape comes to life.

Co-creating a perfume with customers

Today, many people are looking for fragrances that feel more personal, sincere and emotional. This smelling session fully reflected that desire for closeness and authenticity.

The goal was not simply to test perfumes. We wanted to listen.

Participants discovered several early trials of future olfactory journeys still in development. Some felt sunnier, others woodier or more enveloping. Each creation opened the conversation: what does this scent evoke? What season does it remind you of? What emotion does it create?

The discussions were incredibly rich.

Some participants shared childhood memories. Others immediately imagined a landscape, a particular light or a precise atmosphere. Certain notes were almost unanimously loved, while others divided opinions and sparked fascinating conversations around personal tastes and sensitivities.

This co-creation process is invaluable. In perfumery, emotion remains deeply personal. Listening to feedback helps us understand what truly resonates with people and what creates an immediate connection with a fragrance.

The first trials are already receiving wonderful reactions and some compositions sparked genuine enthusiasm. It confirmed that these future perfumes already carry something special.

A warm and convivial scented evening

Beyond the olfactory discovery, this evening was above all about sharing a moment together.

We wanted to create a simple, warm and authentic atmosphere. A space where everyone could take the time to smell, exchange and express their impressions freely.

Unlike a more traditional perfume experience, there was no “right” answer here. Every feeling mattered. The same note could evoke something completely different depending on the person.

That is also what makes perfume so fascinating: it speaks to memory, sensations and imagination.

Very quickly, conversations naturally emerged around scented blotters, favourite accords and unexpected discoveries. Some participants discovered raw materials they had never smelled on their own before. Others learned to recognise certain facets already present in their favourite fragrances.

This closeness is part of Poécile’s DNA. Behind every perfume lies the desire to convey a real emotion and create a sincere sensory experience.

Clermont-Ferrand, the perfect setting for this first smelling session

Hosting this event in Clermont-Ferrand felt completely natural to us.

It is within the landscapes of Auvergne that the house was born and where much of our inspiration takes shape. Between volcanoes, forests, shifting light and raw nature, this environment deeply nourishes our olfactory imagination.

Perfume is often connected to a place. A scent can instantly transport you somewhere else. It can recall a walk through the forest, the freshness of a summer morning or the warmth of an enveloping evening.

This connection between fragrance and landscape is an essential part of the Poécile universe.

Creating this smelling session here also allowed us to offer a more intimate experience, closer to our world and our daily inspirations.

Poécile’s future olfactory journeys are already beginning to reveal themselves

Even though the future fragrances are still in development, this evening already revealed one thing: these new creations are generating real emotion.

Some compositions immediately stood out for their comforting character. Others surprised guests with their luminosity or more daring texture.

Every piece of feedback shared during the evening will help shape the next steps of the creative process.

Creating a perfume takes time. Balances need to be refined, accords reworked and formulas allowed to evolve. But this gathering brought a very special energy to the projects currently in progress.

Watching people react sincerely to still-confidential trials is an incredibly powerful experience for a perfume house.

This first smelling session certainly will not be the last. It opens a new way of experiencing perfume creation: closer, more human and more collaborative.

And judging by the very first reactions, one thing already seems certain: Poécile’s next olfactory journeys promise beautiful emotions ahead.