Today’s location is not the original space. In 2004, the Brackstone family acquired the Bermuda Perfumery and moved its operations to historic Stewart Hall in St. George’s in the heart of UNESCO’s World Heritage
Site. However, the methods of making the perfume are still the same and are under the guidance of the perfumer who has been there for 43 years. What was amazing to me is how hand-made the process really is.
The “factory” was surprisingly a small, cool room filled with these large glass bottles where the various eau de colognes and perfumes were distilling. Each bottle is dedicated to a single scent. It’s used brand new and never washed between uses, as washing or detergents could adulterate the purity of each cologne. The bottles are hand blown in Italy and when a scent is discontinued, so is the bottle. The cloudy liquid in the bottle mid-row far right contains a citrus essential oil, which they say starts out cloudy and then clears up before bottling. I just loved all the colors – which look like the ocean.
These smaller dark amber bottles are distilling perfumes, which are much more condensed than eau de cologne or eau de toilette.
Some perfume making items…
A wild rosemary bush – the scent was amazing.
I brought home the Lily Bermuda Library of Scents – it was so hard to select just one! Their scent Pink (Pink Mimosa, Grapefruit & Peonies) is quickly becoming a favorite, however.
