Lake Forest · Lake Bluff · Mettawa · Libertyville
A Lake Forest perfume bar that books around the school year
We bring a fully staffed perfume bar to Lake Forest homes and clubs. Every guest blends a custom fragrance and bottles it to take home — and we know that July here is quieter than February.
What is a Lake Forest perfume bar?
A Lake Forest 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. A Lake Forest perfume bar starts at around $500, with no travel fee anywhere in Lake County or the North Shore. Every fragrance is formulated by trained perfumers in our own Illinois lab.
In practice Lake Forest has the most seasonal calendar of anywhere we work, and it does not follow the weather. It follows the school year.
Consequently May and early June are the busiest weeks of the year — graduations, end-of-year events and everything families defer until term finishes. Then July empties out almost entirely as households leave, and September fills again the moment they return.
Most vendors price and plan as though summer is peak. Here it genuinely is not. Therefore a July date is often available on a few weeks’ notice while the same request in May needs three months.
The activity itself is simple: one table, ninety minutes, and every guest leaves with a fragrance they blended.
May books three months out. July often does not.
If your date is flexible, the quiet weeks are genuinely quiet. Therefore tell us the range rather than a single Saturday and we will find the easiest one.
Start here
Why a Lake Forest perfume bar suits a long entertaining season
In short, Lake Forest homes are built for hosting. Dining rooms with room to circulate, and often a service entrance that makes a vendor arrival invisible to guests.
Because of that, the practical questions here are usually about timing rather than space. We confirm the arrival window, the vehicle and the pack-out in writing before the day.
Meanwhile the club calendar runs alongside the household one, and member events are typically set a season ahead. Therefore the room tends to book before the vendor does.
In addition, we bring our own tables, linens and coverings, so nothing of the house is used unless you prefer it.
"Lake Forest follows the school year, not the seasons. July is the easiest month to book here."Cheryl Gleason, Owner & Perfumer
Where we set up
Where a Lake Forest perfume bar sets up
One table is all we need. Meanwhile, we work to whatever your venue requires.
At home
Lake Forest · Lake Bluff · Mettawa · Knollwood
A dining room is usually more than enough, and we bring our own tables. Because many Lake Forest properties have a long drive and a separate service entrance, tell us how you would prefer us to arrive and we will follow it exactly.
We arrive about an hour early, style the bar completely, and pack out with the room as we found it.
- About 12 x 6 feet and a standard outlet
- We bring our own tables, linens and coverings
- Arrival and pack-out windows confirmed in writing
At a venue
Private clubs · Market Square venues · Lake Bluff properties
Lake Forest and Lake Bluff have a well-established club calendar plus a handful of private rooms around Market Square that suit a shower or a milestone birthday.
We issue certificates of insurance naming the club or venue at no charge and coordinate load-in with their events team. Therefore approval rarely delays a date.
- Certificates of insurance provided free
- No food service, so no F&B minimum applies
- We coordinate directly with club events staff
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 a Lake Forest 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
Lake Forest 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. An intimate gathering at home, with real time at the bar for every guest.
One station, two hosts. The most common Lake Forest booking, and the usual size for a graduation party.
Two stations. Because one holds guests while the other moves them, a club room 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?
Lake Forest 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 Lake County or the North Shore. In addition, there are no service fees and no automatic gratuity.
Areas we serve
Lake Forest perfume bar service area
Lake Forest and the surrounding Lake County communities, on identical terms.
Lake Forest
East and west of the tracks, plus the club calendar. In practice our busiest Lake County community.
Lake Bluff
Directly north and covered identically. Meanwhile many hosts book across both.
Mettawa & Knollwood
Larger properties with long drives. Therefore we confirm the approach when you book.
Libertyville & Green Oaks
West and covered on the same terms, all inside the no-travel-fee area.
Highland Park & Highwood
South along the lake, identical pricing and no surcharge.
Vernon Hills & Deerfield
Further west and south, covered on the same terms.
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 Lake Forest 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
Lake Forest perfume bar: common questions
How much is a Lake Forest 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 Lake County.
When is the easiest time of year to book?
July, and it is not close. Because Lake Forest empties in midsummer as households travel, so a July date is often available on a few weeks’ notice. Meanwhile May needs about three months.
Do you provide a certificate of insurance for our club?
Yes, naming the club, at no charge and on their timeline. We also coordinate load-in directly with their events team.
Do you need to use our tables?
No. We bring our own, with linens and coverings. Therefore nothing of the house is used unless you prefer it.
We have a long drive and a service entrance. How should you arrive?
Whichever way you tell us. First we confirm the arrival window, the vehicle and the route in writing before the day, and we follow it exactly.
Will this affect our club food and beverage minimum?
No — we serve no food or drink. Consequently a perfume bar sits outside the F&B minimum entirely.
How much space do you need?
About 12 x 6 feet and a standard outlet. Furthermore, several stations run without power at all.
Which areas do you serve nearby?
Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Mettawa, Knollwood, Libertyville, Green Oaks, Highland Park, Highwood, Vernon Hills and Deerfield, with no travel fee.
How far in advance should we book?
Three months for May and early June, six to eight weeks for most of the year, and often just a few weeks for July.
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.
May fills first, July fills last
We take a limited number of events per date. In practice the Lake Forest calendar peaks hard in May and empties in July, which is the opposite of most markets. Therefore if your date can move, ask us which weeks are open.