The day began in almost a classroom setting, with four empty blue bottles and a folder of notes sitting in front of each of the 20 of us taking part.
But aromatherapist and perfumer Debbie Mulkern took us every step of the way through the theory and history of perfumery while smelling individual scents.
By lunchtime, we had smelled more than 20 different olfactive notes and were beginning to understand aromacology - the art and science to using fragrance to affect both mood and senses.
By the time we returned from variously wandering around Covent Garden, we were all ready to begin the formulation process.
My fragrance began with top notes of Grapefruit, Bergamot and Neroli, with middle notes of Litsea, Cypress and Geranium. Once these were balanced, with a couple of extra drops here and there, I created base notes of Frankincense, Vetiver and Patchouli. Throughout the creation process, I found myself taking lots of notes about the various qualities I was aiming for - and the maths was tricky at times.
Eventually, the three parts of the perfume were combined with organic grain alcohol and deionised water and the final product was complete. I called it Rally - the verb, not the noun. It represents the process of recovery I've been through since my various illnesses and operations.
The finished result is a personal fragrance and I'm proud of it. I'll wear it with pride - for how it smells and for what it represents.
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