Galimard Pittsburgh allows customers to create their own perfume

Create a scentAt Galimard Pittsburgh, clients can create different scents. They can formulate one for day and another for night as well as one for each of the four seasons. Each unique formula will be recorded for re-order. The two-hour workshop includes complimentary espresso or Perrier, a certified nose — a person who is a certified perfumer — the equipment, history of perfumery, olfactory testing and guided instruction.There are different categories of scents starting with eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum and parfum.Parfum is the strongest. Owner of Galimard Pittsburgh, Michael "B" Beckadic, said one way to think of those categories is like milk starting with skim milk then whole milk then half and half and finally heavy whipping cream. For example, eau du cologne, which is the least powerful, has between 2%-4% oils in it. This is equivalent to skim milk.Guests will leave the workshop with a 100ml bottle personalized with their name and the name they've chosen for their creation. Cost is $200 a person.Galimard Pittsburgh is located at 2906 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont.Details: 412-207-7891 or house ofhandsome.com/galimard

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Grace Keibler was handed a bottle of perfume with the name on the label reading “Will you marry me?”

She turned around to find her boyfriend, Rob Gainor, down on one knee.

She smiled and said “Yes.”

The fragrance was created specifically by Keibler at Galimard Pittsburgh in Dormont, a perfumery where people can custom-make a fragrance and choose a name for their scent.

Gainor, 30, named the scent his fiancée made as a surprise wedding proposal.

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Without knowing about the proposal, Keibler, 24, of East Liberty, who is originally from Murrysville, named his fragrance “Mon Coeur,” in French, which means “My Heart” in English.

“I wanted an original idea,” said Gainor of Cranberry, who grew up in New Kensington. “I wanted to make it special.”

The moment was captured by a photographer and videographer brought in by Galimard Pittsburgh owner Michael “B” Beckadic. Galimard Pittsburgh is located inside Beckadic’s other business — House of Handsome Barber Shop & Boutique.

France’s Parfumerie Galimard was formed in 1747 to supply perfumes and colognes to the court of King Louis XV. Pittsburgh is Galimard’s only location in the U.S.

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The nose knows

Beckadic came up with the idea to create a perfumery after a visit to Grasse, France. While vacationing there, he attended a workshop on perfume. He shared with the person hosting the workshop for Galimard, one of the most prominent perfume houses in the world, that it would be great to have something like it in Pittsburgh.

“I was so blown away by the process,” said Beckadic, of his time at Galimard in France. “I told the ‘nose’ I was working with about my shop in Dormont.”

The president of Galimard, who is from Cleveland, researched House of Handsome and traveled to Pittsburgh for a visit. They decided to partner. Beckadic went back to France to become a certified “nose,” also known as a perfumer.

At House of Handsome, stylists greet clients by name. There is soothing music playing in the background in the chic decorated space. All the furniture is custom made, and the black and gold decor creates an upscale vibe.

A walk through the lounge and cutting area leads to a back room that’s equally as aesthetic looking. There are rows of scents, a couch to relax on and seats to sit in during the fragrance-making process, which takes two hours.

Beckadic, who lives on Mt. Washington and grew up in Oakmont, guides people through the process. He is certified in knowing thousands of scents and is able to analyze the fragrance of a product. A “nose” memorizes the basic raw materials that go into perfume composition and provides a history of perfumery and explains the architecture of a good perfume or cologne to create a good formula.

The “nose” also explains how to combine the notes harmoniously to create a well-rounded formula.

During the experience, guests select five base, heart and peak notes. Beckadic helps with the quantities. They get combined in a tall glass vessel and then transferred back and forth from a wider glass container.

The piece of furniture that holds the bottles of notes is called a perfume organ.

“Combining them all together is what creates a harmonious perfume or cologne,” Beckadic said. “The base has to be strong enough to hold and carry the rest of the notes. The heart is the body and soul of the scent The top or peak is the scent’s first impression.”

When you first spray the scent, you smell the peak notes. Beckadic said to never buy perfume or cologne right away. It is best to wait 45 minutes because there are oils that break down on a person’s skin. He said it is best to spray a fragrance after a shower on pressure points — each side of the neck under the jawline, the wrists, inside the elbow and the center of the chest. Don’t rub wrists together after applying, Beckadic said. And don’t spray the scent in the air and walk through it.

“A scent should be a whisper and not a shout,” Beckadic said. “It’s an intimate experience when you have a couple. They can smell each other’s scent. It’s very interactive.”

Beckadic personalizes each scent with a label that has the quantity, type of scent, the date it was made, the person who created it and the name. He places it in a black velvet bag with the Galimard name and logo and pulls the top ties to close the bag.

The scent takes a minimum of two weeks to macerate, which means allowing the perfume to age.

The formula is saved so that a client can have access to additional bottles.

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

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Galimard Pittsburgh allows customers to create their own perfume