I went to the exhibition at Somerset House, "A Sensory Journey through Contemporary Scent". It started off with a display of perfumes from the early 1900s to the modern day, one for each decade. I was slightly disappointed with this in that there were only two testers, but that was because the organisers didn't want to spoil our noses before the delights to come! We were then given cards and a pencil to note down our impressions of the next part of the exhibition, ten rooms each presenting a perfume. There are no explanations to read, no text or display boards, just a minimal decor/furniture to match the perfume and different ways of testing it. I loved it - it was all about the experience and we could take as long as we wanted in each room. Halfway through, and again at the end, display boards gave an explanation of the perfumes and their designers. Then we went through to a little laboratory where a couple of perfumers were making perfume and were on hand to answer questions. Finally, an unexpected bonus was the exhibition's gift shop where lots of niche perfumes were available to be tested, using special laboratory jars with crystals imbued with the perfume . The sales assistants left us alone to sniff to our hearts' content. There were also dozens of different perfume books to browse through and buy.
I would like to tell you about the perfumes that were exhibited, but of course I don't want to spoil the surprises for anyone who is thinking of going. Suffice to say, there were perfumes that I had never smelled before, but had heard of and thought I would like, but actually didn't! And vice versa, there was a perfume there that I had dismissed, judging by the notes, but really liked when it came to testing without knowing what it was. There were some very interesting, unusual ones, one which took me straight back to a childhood memory and another where I completely failed to recognise the main ingredient!
Highly recommended!