Crafting the perfect scent

FROM a young age, Aysha Hansen’s memories have been intertwined with smells, reminding her of different moments in her life.

After years of being fascinated with fragrance in all its forms, Hansen made the decision that it was no longer a cute hobby, and it was time to put in the education and make it her career.

Hundreds of bottles of perfume later and she has opened her own studio, Aysha Hansen Parfum Atelier, running workshops while working on her own collection and collaborations.

 

Her education stems from abroad, travelling around Europe and taking classes in London, Paris and the home of perfume – Grasse.

During this time, she realised instead of collecting perfumes she needed to start collecting raw ingredients; those of the highest quality.

“I’ve got a library at home of maybe five or 600 now [raw ingredients] and then I started composing my own fragrances and dabbling in that and then one thing led to another, I just took to it like a duck to water,” Hansen said.

“I’ve got a really clear idea about what I like and what I don’t and then it led down the path of deciding to make our own fragrance range.

 

“It’s a very full circle journey for me, it feels like it’s exactly the right thing for me to be doing in this time in my life, I couldn’t have done it any earlier.”

It was Hansen’s husband who pushed her to take the step and start her own business, backing her to have the confidence and pursue her passion.

Previously working out of the Fyansford Paper Mills, Hansen has found her new home in the Boom Creative Spaces.

The studio is decorated with bright green, panelled walls, while a sweet scent welcomes visitors into the calm and relaxing space.

 

Since starting the workshops, Hansen has watched as people come together, switching off from day-to-day life and working towards creating their own scent.

“There’s this storytelling element that happens, I’ve seen mothers and daughters, they’re communicating in a different way with each other than they normally do,” she said.

“When they’re at that table and they’re sitting together and they’re switching their brain into trying and working their way through 70 bottles of fragrances and their brain’s cataloguing them, and we’re talking about what they are, everything kind of drops.

“They’re dropping their problems at the door, they’re switching focus, they’re walking out having learned something and really proud of what they’ve created.

 

“And every time they spray that, it’s sitting around that table, sharing stories with the other people, collaborating with people next to them, smelling each other’s perfume, asking opinions, sharing stories.”

In July, the perfumist will release her own range, the Aysha Hansen Fine Fragrance collection, featuring three scents.

Some of the concepts for the collection have been years in the making, with Aysha saying she’s excited for the release, which is very personal to her.

“Each of these fragrances is either a memory, a daydream, or an experience of mine,” she said.

“If people enjoy the fragrances and it connects with them in some way or form on some level, I’m happy, that’s winning.

“If it is a positive experience that brings in any level of enjoyment or pleasure, that’s the best you can hope for.”

When it comes to crafting her fragrances, it’s the idea about the type of scent that comes first, followed by what goes into making it.

“As I learned about all the different ingredients, all of a sudden I had a building block to put with another building block.”

“I kind of sit with that idea for a little while, until it’s clear in my mind what ingredients I need to put in it, and I’ll create a concept.

“I found the process really easy, but I’m discovering new things and new ingredients all the time, there’s thousands of them to work with.”

As Hansen looks towards the future, she hopes her own perfume collection will be enjoyed by people all over Australia.

“The feedback I’ve received so far has been fabulous and for people to actually enjoy my fragrances as much as I’ve enjoyed wearing other peoples over the years,” she said.

For more information, head to ayshahansen.com or follow @ayshahansenfinefragrances on Instagram.