Entry No. 42 — the Nashville file — filed under: perfume
Tijon
You put on a lab coat and work a wall of 300+ raw fragrance oils, testing and layering combinations with an instructor until you land on a scent that doesn't exist anywhere else — then bottle, label, and name it yourself.
The story
You didn't come to The Gulch to wait in line for a mural photo, even if everyone else did. Tucked along 12th Avenue South, Tijon operates less like a boutique store and more like a clandestine perfume laboratory. Co-owner Ellen Rickenbaker took the typical department store fragrance counter—where you're spritzed with mass-market synthetic blends—and replaced it with a lab coat, glass pipettes, and raw ingredients.
The room centers around an intimidating wall holding more than 300 raw fragrance oils, organized into base, middle, and top notes. Under the watchful eye of an instructor, you pull individual oils, pipette drop ratios into test vials, and sniff blotter strips until you dial in a blend that literally exists nowhere else. Once you lock in your formula, you mix the full vial, seal it, and print a custom label with whatever cryptic or ridiculous name you decide to call it.
What it's like
You'll pull on a white lab coat as soon as you settle into the bright, modern lab space. The session is deliberate and quiet: your instructor guides you through scent layering before turning you loose on the 300-bottle wall of oils. Expect olfactory fatigue to hit quickly—you'll use coffee beans between test strips to reset your nose before making final adjustments to your formula. Because bench space at the mixing counters is limited, showing up without an advance online reservation isn't an option.
The move: Book the Mix & Match session, each build a competing formula, blind-test them on each other, then bottle and name the winner as your shared signature scent.
- 📍 The Gulch, Nashville
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 311 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Bar Sovereign — Pair your custom scent creation with an off-menu hot chicken plate and tropical cocktails in SoBro, just six blocks away.
- Old Glory — After bottling your custom scent, walk down into the raw concrete and exposed coal hoppers of a converted 1920s dry-cleaning boiler room for drinks.
- Four Walls — Follow up your bespoke perfume creation with another custom experience behind the unmarked elevators of a nearby hidden hotel speakeasy.
Good to know
Do I need to book a session ahead of time?
Yes, reservations must be booked online in advance through their website as seating at the lab benches is strictly capped.
What do you walk away with at the end of the workshop?
You leave with a full bottle of custom perfume or cologne that you formulated, named, and hand-labeled, while your exact recipe is saved in their system for reorders.
Where is Tijon located in Nashville?
It sits at 311 12th Avenue South in The Gulch neighborhood.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
last checked: 2026-07-20