Fragrance tour in Berlin
Exploring Berlin with the sense of olfaction (=smell) can be an incredibly connective experience. Doing a fragrance tour around many different neighborhoods brings you to various surprises and you may stumble upon a real perfumer.
Here is a collection of fragrance and perfume places in Berlin, including a Google Maps link to join you on the go.
You don’t need to wait for spring to walk down Unter den Linden to smell freshly blossoming linden flowers. And you don’t need to sit on the U8 and soak in all the underground provides, - smelly seating neighbors to the spiff of Döner. Berlin is so much richer than those opposing stereotypes.
Well-curated fragrance shops
Don’t visit Douglas or Sephora. Berlin offers so many incredible perfume shops with a selection out of your imagination.
Breathe
This shop works with independent fragrance brands far outside the mainstream. The space is small and caters to around 3-4 individual consultations at a time. You’ll be guided by the well-trained staff to smell fragrances in and outside the shop.
Website / Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 26-28
The Different Scent Perfumery
The hidden lower floor entrance is located just a stone's throw away from Hackesche Märkte and reveals a boutique far off the trending fragrance houses in Berlin. The Different Scent Perfumery seems like a smorgasbord of fragrances never heard of. The wooden interior and cluttered presentation remind me of a Spanish perfume shop in the 90s and a charismatic fleamarket at the same time. If you want to smell like no other person in town, this is your place to go.
Website / Krausnickstraße 12
Voo Store
Image sourced from Voo Store website
You will have a very different experience when visiting Voo Store in Kreuzberg. The 300 m2 concept store hosts a variety of fragrance brands, besides clothing, magazines, its own café, and footwear. Fragrance plays only a minor role in the curated space. So does the service. Here you’ll need to explore all beautifully showcased fragrances yourself and cannot rely on the professional service of the two stores above. However, you can be sure that no matter which fragrance you choose at the Voo Store, you’ll be up-to-date with the latest semi-niche and niche fragrances currently trending. From Diptyque to Ormaie and the 2022 bloomer Byredo, - if you want your perfume to be a conversation starter on Instagram and among your Neukölln artist friends, then this is the place to go, lol.
Website / Oranienstraße 24
Indie labels based in Berlin
If you want to have a very local and personal experience, visit these stores and talk to the owners, curators, and sometimes even perfumers yourself.
RYOKO
Visit RYOKO in the heart of Neuköllns Reuerkiez for a delicate and calming experience. You can find natural perfumes with the best selected therapeutic essential oils, as well as ritualistic incense, scented candles, and home fragrances. The creator Ryoko Hori pays attention to the quality, the unfolding of each raw material, and brings in her Japanese heritage and philosophy.
We believe luxury, is about time and attention. We consider ourselves rich when we can give ourselves these two gifts. Through mindfully performed rituals we deepen our connection, sharpen and find a better appreciation of our senses. By setting aside time to fully acknowledge being in our body, or simply being, we can find a little more joy and celebration of life in the present moment.
I wish RYOKO could be opening a café or atmospheric space on day. Keep an eye on the opening hours, it’s hard to catch them.
Website / Friedelstraße 11
Atelier Oblique
Located just around the corner to Breathe, you find Atelier Oblique, a Berlin-based luxury perfume house founded by Mario Lombardo in 2016.
Website / Almstadtstraße 5
Urban Scent
Copyright to Urban Scent
Close to KaDeWe and Ku’damm, you will find perfumer Marie Urban Le Febvre and her team mingling around the lab. Visit the Urban Scent space in Charlottenburg not only to experience and smell their own creations but see a perfumer in action. Marie creates many B2B projects here in Berlin, which are then produced in Grasse. The lab hosting hundreds of bottles is right in the back of the retail space.
Website / Bleibtreustraße 32
Hands on: mix your own perfume
Parfümerie Lehmann
Harry Lehmann founded his fragrance house in the 1920s. Located in Charlottenburg’s Kantstraße and hosting a fake flower shop on site, lol, you can mix your own perfume based on their pre-mixed layering compositions. Since making it into various Lonely Planets, the shop is quite popular among tourists to bring a personalized signature from Berlin. The mixtures are not as contemporary as those of other brands, so be aware of the intensity and to put it kindly, their antiquated formulas. But truth to be told, their fragrances by weight are incredibly cheap!
Website / Kantstraße 106
Parfümerie Areej Essence of Berlin
Copyright to Parfümerie Areej Essence Of Berlin
Famous for their entertaining TikTok videos, Areej is a great destination for personalizing eccentric mixes. I myself have not been so I can only tell by their social media appearance: Areej is a place for crazy combinations. From cotton candy to various ouds. From Eu de Berlin to sun down over Berlin - they seem to have it all. Visit their splendid shop when visiting Breathe and Atelier Oblique.
Website / Propststr. 1 (Am Nussbaum)
Experience olfaction in a workshop
Rather than visiting a shop, you can explore smell in an experiential way.
Smell Lab by Klara Ravat
The Smell Lab in Prenzlauer Berg is the cities leading destination when it comes to smell workshops. Founder and creative Klara Ravat works with industry insiders to regularly host exciting formats. From perfume weekend intensives to workshops focussing on leather accords. Join Klara and learn from her yearlong experience in the field.
Website / Winsstraße 42, Note that the smell lab isn’t open like other retail shops.
Aer Scent workshops
Another natural perfume house is AER Scent sadly without any flagship store, you need to visit some of their retailers. Their own creations unfold as unique assembles around a primary raw material and essence. Nevertheless, you are able to participate in one of their monthly scent workshops to create a natural perfume.
Website / Rosenthaler Str. 72A
Scent101 and more by Kim Gerlach
That’s me, the author behind the article. I host workshops similarly structured to a wine tasting, but rather than wine, we have different essences. Check out my schedule and see if the dates align:
Fragrance fun: from essential oils to Middle Eastern fusion
Perfumery Oriental-style
On the buzzing Karl-Marx street you will find a magical space called “Perfumery Oriental-style E. K”. When browsing through their Google photos you’ll quickly understand: This will be a vibrant and messy experience. At this destination of your fragrance exploration, you can find oils, pre-mixed, incense sticks and many more funky products.
Website / Karl-Marx-Straße 126
Nemo’s Ölquelle
If you want to stock up your essential oils, drop by Nemo’s Ölquelle inside Holzmarkt and have a chat with their team. They host various brands, both known and unknown.
No website / Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin
Your Google Maps list
https://goo.gl/maps/8Y9RAU8Fx7NDKdxs6
International perfume houses
There is also more to Berlin. If you want to explore international and well-known fragrances, drop by these shops, also pinned on the Google Maps list:
Le Labo
Diptyque
Jo Melone
You can of course walk along Ku’damm to find all the known brands, like Chanel, Gucci, a couple of Douglas, and have a final pitstop at KaDeWe.
And a last small summary of the important ones:
Let me know in the comments if there are any stops I missed and if you’re able to visit any of these! Thanks for reading thus far, xx Kim
