The countdown has started:
Esxence Boutique opens its doors to the world of artistic perfumery
on occasion of Milan Beauty Week

19-20 September 2026 Palazzo Bovara
Corso Venezia 51, Milan

There are just a few days to go until the opening of Esxence Boutique, set to take place on September 19 and 20. The event that will bring some of the brands already featured at Esxence – The Art Perfumery Event to Palazzo Bovara, in the heart of Milan, ready to engage with the public and share the stories, inspirations and artisanal heritage that drive artistic perfumery.

Every fragrance holds a story woven from raw materials, places, memories, emotions and creative visions. However, to be truly discovered, this story needs someone who knows how to share it, interpret it and transform it into an experience.

At Esxence Boutique, olfactory culture brings this story to life through a programme of activities designed to introduce the public to the world of artistic perfumery in a fascinating, engaging and accessible way.

Perfume noses, experts, creatives and talented individuals from across the industry become exceptional storytellers, leading visitors on a journey to discover the different shades of fragrance: from raw materials to creation techniques, from the connection with memory and the senses to the relationship with art, culture and lifestyle.

A programme of experiences, workshops and in-depth sessions entitled Scent Stories – powered by Esxence & the Italian Perfumery Institute will reveal the secrets hidden behind every fragrance, allowing visitors to experience them personally.

Esxence Boutique will also host Sogni di Natura, an initiative organised by Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, Musei Civici d’Arte Antica and Italian Perfumery Institute. A sensory journey that blends art, nature and fragrance, conceived for Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2026, when the Sala Boschereccia at the Collezioni Comunali d’Arte in Bologna was transformed into a setting to be explored through fragrances. The same atmosphere, suspended between greenery and poetry, now comes to Milan to be experienced by the public at Milano Beauty Week.

Esxence Boutique is an event organised in partnership with Milano Beauty Week. To access Esxence Boutique, visitors need to download the Milano Beauty Week app, register, search for the Esxence Boutique event and book both entry to Esxence Boutique and the Scent Stories experience they are interested in.

Scent Stories Agenda

Saturday – 10.30 to 11.30 am
Le immagini del Profumo
Discovering the connection between literature and scent, between pages and perfumed notes.

Perfumery tells stories and paints atmospheres. “Le immagini del profumo” by Matteo Fumagalli guides readers to discover the evocative power of fragrances. A journey through eight ideal worlds for a new, different approach to perfume. To take part in the book signing, please bring your own copy.
Hosted by Matteo Fumagalli, author and content creator, and Marco Martello, managing editor & beauty director of The Greatest

Saturday – 11.00am to 12.00pm
Scent Match with Pietro Lattao
Smell. Choose. Find your match.
Smell and rate a few raw materials. Only afterwards discover what they are and find your scent matches among the perfumes of the brands present at Esxence Boutique.
Hosted by Pietro Lattao, Perfumes Content Creator and lecturer at the Italian Perfumery Institute

Saturday – 12.00pm –1.00pm
Your NOSE knows!
How much of taste do we really perceive with the tongue, and how much actually depends on our sense of smell?
Roberta Deiana reveals the deep and often underrated connection between smell and taste, together with an exceptional pastry chef. A sensory exploration between smell and taste that shows just how much our palate actually depends on our nose.
Hosted by Roberta Deiana, author and communicator of olfactory and gastronomic culture, and Marcello Rapisardi, Milanese pastry chef

Saturday – 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Note by Note.
How is a perfume built and what does a perfumer do?
Edda Salvadori opens the doors to her craft as a perfumer, revealing the secrets behind the creation of a fragrance: from raw materials to composition, through to the finished perfume.
Hosted by Edda Salvadori, perfumer.

Saturday – 4pm – 5pm
The raw materials that tell the story of Asia
What scent does Asia have? And which raw materials embody its identity?

Alexia and Edda take us on a journey to discover the raw materials most representative of the East and their role in contemporary perfumery. An experience to smell, recognise and be carried away by the notes of the East, uncovering the stories hidden behind each ingredient and the fragrances of the Esxence Boutique brands that have transformed them into olfactory creations.
Hosted by Alexia – known as Varyaren – content creator and enthusiast of Asian culture, together with Edda Salvadori, young perfumer.

Saturday – 5.15pm – 6pm
When an Idea Becomes Perfume
How does an image translate into a scent? How do you give shape to something that, by nature, has none?

The masterclass explores creative direction applied to perfumery and the process through which an intuition is built, translated and finally turned into a product. From concept to olfactory brief, from discussions with the perfumer to the evaluation of trials; at the same time, the same idea takes shape through colour, material, bottle, packaging and visual language. Through an approach borrowed from fashion creative direction, the fragrance is viewed not as an isolated element, but as part of an aesthetic and sensory system in which image, object and scent develop together.
Hosted by Miriam Patrese, founder of Myntea Studio and lecturer at the Italian Perfumery Institute

Sunday from 10.30am to 11.00am + from 11.15am to 11.45am
Carte à Parfum: Shape Your Scent
A creative workshop by FEDRIGONI
A creative workshop where paper, form and fragrance come together. Guided by Paper Artist Margherita Dallaiti, participants will discover Carte à Parfum, Fedrigoni papers dedicated to the world of fine fragrance, transforming them into scented paper flowers to to keep as a memento of the experience.

A sensory and creative experience that gives shape to scent.
Hosted by Margherita Dallaiti, Paper Artist

Sunday – 12.00pm – 1pm
Skin scents and rare raw materials with Markus Villani
Markus takes us into the world of skin scents, exploring the rare raw materials that make them unique. A journey among ingredients that are rarely encountered so closely.
Hosted by Markus Villani, Perfumes Content Creator and lecturer at the Italian Perfumery Institute

Sunday – 2.30pm – 3.30pm
The essence of the journey
Sometimes, to travel outside and within ourselves, all it takes is to simply stop and listen to our senses.

This journey is an invitation to rediscover essentials, slow down, listen to your own senses and let yourself be guided by a silent language. Through the sense of smell you will connect with the essence of things, stripping away the superfluous. An experience of discovery and awareness in which perception is transformed into a connection with yourself and with the world.
Hosted by Luisella Ghezzi, Fragrance Evaluator and lecturer at the Italian Perfumery Institute

Sunday – 4pm – 5pm
From Waste to Wonder. Upcycling in the world of perfume
Ermano guides us in discovering upcycling applied to perfumery: recovered raw materials, waste transformed into precious ingredients, for a more sustainable approach to olfactory creation.
Hosted by Ermano Picco, Perfume Consultant and writer.

Sunday – 4.30pm -5.30pm
Fall in Parfumes. Discover the niche perfumes perfect for autumn
Let yourself be taken on a journey to discover the perfect perfumes for autumn, exploring the notes, accords and atmospheres of the new season. An olfactory tour among the brands present at Esxence Boutique to find the fragrance most in tune with your autumn mood.
Hosted by Martina Blotto, Perfumes Content Creator

About
Esxence – The Art Perfumery Event
Esxence – The Art Perfumery Event, which celebrated its sixteenth edition in June 2026, is the world’s leading event dedicated to artistic perfumery. Organized by Equipe Exibit and a strategic asset of BolognaFiere Cosmoprof, it is a hub of innovation and new trends, representing a unique opportunity for industry professionals and enthusiasts alike to discover the key players in the fascinating world of olfactory culture, where history and tradition meet innovation and research. The event aims to highlight the industry’s excellence to an audience of buyers, retailers, distributors, professionals and fragrance lovers who gather in Milan every year in the name of the most authentic and sophisticated olfactory culture, thereby contributing to the mission Esxence has pursued since its very first edition.