Evanston · Northwestern · Wilmette · Skokie
An Evanston perfume bar that knows the university calendar
We bring a fully staffed perfume bar to Evanston homes, chapter houses and venues. Every guest blends a custom fragrance and bottles it to take home — and we plan around graduation weekend rather than into it.
What is an Evanston perfume bar?
An Evanston perfume bar is a hosted fragrance station brought to your home or venue, where each guest blends a custom eau de parfum from a scent library and bottles it to take home. It runs one to two hours as an open station, so guests take part when they want rather than sitting down together.
Glitters & Grace brings everything — the scent library, equipment, styling and hosts. An Evanston perfume bar starts at around $500, with no travel fee anywhere in Evanston or the North Shore. Every fragrance is formulated by trained perfumers in our own Illinois lab.
Evanston runs on two calendars at once, and most vendors only know one of them. There is the town’s year — showers, milestone birthdays, holiday parties — and then there is Northwestern’s, which reorders everything around it.
Consequently mid-June is the single hardest weekend of the year to book anything here. Graduation fills every hotel room north of Howard, and families plan the surrounding days months out.
Meanwhile the Greek calendar has its own rhythm: philanthropy events in the autumn, formals in spring, and senior send-offs in May. Because those book through a chapter rather than a household, the lead times are different again.
We work both calendars. Therefore send us a date and we will tell you honestly whether it is realistic before you build a plan around it.
Graduation weekend books furthest ahead.
Mid-June is effectively spoken for by March in Evanston. However, the weeks either side are usually wide open.
Start here
Why an Evanston perfume bar suits a university town
Evanston gatherings often mix people who have never met — families in from out of state, roommates, faculty, neighbours. That is a hard room, and it is exactly the room a station solves.
Because guests drift over rather than being gathered up, nobody is put on the spot. Meanwhile it gives strangers something to stand next to each other and talk about, which is the actual job at a graduation party.
In addition, everyone leaves with something they made. For families who have flown in, that beats another photograph, and it fits in hand luggage.
Therefore it works as well for a chapter house of sixty as for a condo of twelve.
"In Evanston we ask what weekend in June before we ask anything else."Cheryl Gleason, Owner & Perfumer
Where we set up
Where an Evanston perfume bar sets up
One table is all we need. Meanwhile, we work to whatever your venue requires.
At home
Evanston · Northwestern campus area · Wilmette · Skokie border
A dining table or kitchen island is enough, and we bring our own table if yours is spoken for. Because much of central Evanston is condo and apartment stock, tell us if there is a lift, a loading door or a service entrance when you book.
We arrive about an hour early, style the bar completely, and pack out with the space as we found it.
- About 12 x 6 feet, two 6-foot tables and a standard outlet
- Building access and lift bookings arranged in advance
- Setup and full cleanup always included
At a venue
Downtown Evanston venues · Hotels · Chapter houses · Private rooms
Downtown Evanston has hotels, private dining rooms and event space within a few blocks of campus, and the chapter houses along the north end host constantly through term.
We issue certificates of insurance naming your venue or chapter at no charge. Therefore approval moves at the same pace as the room booking.
- Certificates of insurance provided free
- We work directly with chapter and house managers
- No food service, so no F&B minimum applies
Booked a venue already?
Send us the address and any vendor requirements. Then we will confirm the load-in and send an itemized quote.
How it runs
How an Evanston perfume bar works
Four stages, about ninety minutes end to end. Nothing needs preparing in advance.
We set up
First, we arrive about an hour before you want to start and style the bar completely. Nobody has to be ready when we get there.
Choose a base
Then each guest picks a base style to build on. Signage suggests combinations, so nobody stares at a blank page.
Blend and test
Next, layer from the scent library, testing on paper and adjusting. Two to four minutes each, and guests can return.
Bottle it
Finally, fill and cap your own bottle and take it home the same day. Afterward we pack out completely.
Every perfume made is an eau de parfum at 50–60% fragrance material to perfumer's alcohol. In other words, it is a genuine concentration rather than a scented water, which is why it is still with you at the end of the evening.
Match it to your room
Evanston perfume bar sizing, by guest count
Headcount changes the right answer more than budget does. So here is how we would scope it.
One station, one host. A condo or private dining room at this size gives everyone real time at the bar.
One station, two hosts. The most common Evanston booking, and the usual size for a graduation party.
Two stations. Because one holds guests while the other moves them, a chapter house never queues at a single table.
Multi-station, expanded team. Placed across the floor plan with staffing scaled to your run of show.
What should you budget?
Evanston perfume bar bookings start at around $500. From there, pricing scales with guest count, station count, staffing and time on site. Meanwhile custom labels and additional branding are itemized separately, so nothing appears as a surprise on the invoice.
There is no travel fee anywhere in Evanston or the North Shore. In addition, there are no service fees and no automatic gratuity.
Areas we serve
Evanston perfume bar service area
Evanston and the neighbouring North Shore suburbs, on identical terms throughout.
Central & downtown Evanston
Condos, hotels and private rooms. In practice most of our bookings here, and the ones needing lift access.
Northwestern & the north end
Chapter houses and faculty homes. Therefore the term calendar governs availability more than the season does.
South Evanston & Main Street
Historic homes and two-flats. Because these are older, we plan the load-in around a stoop or a narrow hall.
Wilmette & Kenilworth
Directly north and covered identically. Meanwhile many hosts book across both.
Skokie & Lincolnwood
West and covered on the same terms, all inside the no-travel-fee area.
Rogers Park & Edgewater
South into the city, same pricing and no surcharge.
Why Glitters & Grace
A trained perfumer, not a rented table
Cheryl Gleason has been building perfume bars and formulating fragrance for over a decade. She is a trained perfumer and a cosmetic and skincare formulator. Furthermore, every accord and formula we bring to Evanston was composed in her own lab in New Lenox, Illinois.
That matters for practical reasons. For example, a guest will ask what is in the bottle, and our hosts can answer. Someone will mention a sensitivity, and we have full disclosures ready. Finally, the host will ask what happens if everyone arrives at once — and we have already staffed for it.
We work with absolutes, CO2 extracts and essential oils rather than the pre-blended fragrance oils sold for candles and soap. As a result, what your guests make actually wears like a fragrance.
Before you ask
Evanston perfume bar: common questions
How much is an Evanston perfume bar?
From around $500. Pricing scales with guest count, station count, staffing and time on site. Materials, take-home bottles, hosts, styling, setup and cleanup are included, with no travel fee in Evanston or the North Shore.
Can you book graduation weekend?
Sometimes, but ask very early. Mid-June is effectively spoken for by March here. However, the weekends either side are usually available with normal notice.
Do you work with sororities and fraternities?
Yes, and regularly. We work directly with chapter or house managers, issue certificates of insurance naming the chapter, and scale to a full house. Therefore the booking does not have to run through a household.
We are in a condo building with a service lift. Is that a problem?
No, provided you tell us in advance. We book the lift or loading door with the building before the day rather than arriving and asking.
How much space do you need?
About 12 x 6 feet, two 6-foot tables and a standard outlet. Several stations run without power. Furthermore, we bring our own tables if yours are spoken for.
Is it messy?
No — it is the tidiest thing we do. Dry, contained, on a covered surface, and we pack out with the space exactly as we found it.
Which areas do you serve nearby?
All of Evanston, plus Wilmette, Kenilworth, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Rogers Park and Edgewater, with no travel fee and identical pricing.
Do you provide a certificate of insurance?
Yes, naming your venue, building or chapter, at no charge. Most Evanston buildings and all campus-adjacent venues ask for one.
How far in advance should we book?
Six to eight weeks for most Saturdays, and considerably further for June. In practice term-time weekday evenings are the easiest dates to get.
What is actually in the perfume?
Absolutes, CO2 extracts and essential oils — the materials of fine fragrance, composed in our own lab. Full ingredient and allergen information is available in advance.
June is spoken for by March
We take a limited number of events per date. In practice graduation weekend is the earliest-booking date anywhere we work, and the Evanston hotel calendar tells you why. Therefore secure the date before you finalize anything else.