Hosted on March 26 at the U-Club was Create your Perfume, an event organized by the French Language and Culture Club. When asked why they decided to hold the event, president of the French Language and Culture Club Axelle Rage, a junior majoring in business, said, “I heard lots of people when I was saying that I am from France, they ask me, ‘Oh do you have some perfume from France?’ ‘Oh, you smell so good, what is your perfume?’ ‘Oh, it’s a French brand.’”
These conversations inspired the event. “I tried to think how we can create perfumes, so I did some research because it’s kinda scientific chemistry- mix a lot of stuff. And after I was looking to see if I can have it be really fast and easy in U.S. fragrances and stuff and on Amazon. I found some fragrances already done for women and men that smell very French…so people can really have a French perfume really cheap. The event is free, and costs not too much for us, cause French perfume itself is $100.”
“The goal is to share the French culture, cause we are well-known for luxury perfume and clothing, so through it, people can get a memory from the French Club, share our culture, otherwise you’re just talking to people about, ‘Oh in France, it looks like this,’ but they can feel really like in France.”
Many people came to the event to explore different perfumes. When asked why he came to the event, Falgun Gadhiya, a graduate student majoring in Physics, said, “I used to make perfume at home and I made a lot of perfume. When I was in my home country, I used to make it a lot, so I decided to attend this event.” Additionally, when asked if he acquired any new information, he said, “The most I learned from here is new smells. I usually mix strong, and this is not as strong, and it has notes of sweet and vanilla.”
Other students came for different reasons. Exchange student and physical education major Carol Malagueta Prestes said, “Actually, I am taking French classes, so this was discussed in the French Club, and I really like perfume.” Prestes learned about the ingredients that frequently go into perfume. “ I thought there was much less alcohol in perfume and now I see that it is much more alcohol.”
Ke Wang, a junior majoring in engineering, shared something similar. “I was interested in the French Club, and I think this is a good chance for me to explore French culture. And I love perfume, and I love all that stuff… I think I did not know very much about perfume before, but this time, I smelled a lot of different scents- Cherry Blossom is my favorite.”