A Perfume Workshop in Dubai

A perfume workshop in Dubai is a way to get to know the city through your nose. Fragrance runs deep in Emirati culture: the scent of oud drifts through the corridors of malls and souks, and local families pass the perfume tradition down from generation to generation. This page covers two experiences: a perfume-blending workshop with a tour of the historic souks, and a guided perfume tour at Dubai Mall.

The workshop with the souk tour starts with a guided walk through Dubai's historic souks, where the scent of oud, roses, amber, musk, saffron and spices fills the air. A local guide tells you about the place of fragrance in Emirati culture, from hospitality rituals to celebrations and everyday life.

From there, you move on to a traditional perfume shop for an interactive workshop with a fragrance expert. You learn about natural perfume oils and the balance between top, heart and base notes, and try Arabian raw materials. With the expert's help, everyone blends their own perfume, to their personal taste, and fills it into a designed keepsake bottle that's theirs to keep.

The Dubai Mall perfume tour starts with a welcome coffee. Your guide, a fragrance expert, tells you about the history of perfume and its roots in Arab culture. You then walk among niche perfume boutiques inside the mall, smelling the raw materials that have defined the Middle East for centuries: oud, amber, rose and musk. Along the way, you hear about fragrance rituals and how tradition meets today's perfumes.

The Dubai Mall tour ends with a light perfume quiz, with a chance to win a perfume sample. Along the way you also get personal recommendations for scents that suit you. The tour is guided in English, and French or Russian can be requested too. The meeting point is the perfume department of Bloomingdale's, on the ground floor, in the Fashion Avenue area. Bloomingdale's at Dubai Mall was the American department store chain's first branch outside the US, and it spans 3 floors.

Anyone who wants to dive deeper after the workshop can visit the perfume house at Al Shindagha Museum, on the Bur Dubai side of the Creek. It's housed in the former home of Sheikha Sheikha bint Saeed bin Maktoum, who collected perfumes, and it has an interactive blending table and a 1.2-meter oud log.

Both experiences suit perfume lovers, couples, groups of friends and families too, and require no prior knowledge. The workshop with the souk tour also has a child ticket, up to age 17.

Both experiences suit every season. The Dubai Mall tour takes place entirely inside an air-conditioned mall, so it is a good option even on a particularly hot day. The souk tour involves walking outdoors, so it is worth bringing water and a hat. We will confirm the exact times in writing at the time of booking.