Wheaton · Glen Ellyn · Winfield · Carol Stream
A Wheaton perfume bar for a party that does not need a bar
We bring a fully staffed perfume bar to Wheaton and Glen Ellyn homes and venues. Every guest blends a custom fragrance and bottles it to take home — and it carries an afternoon without anyone needing a drink in their hand.
What is a Wheaton perfume bar?
A Wheaton 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 Wheaton perfume bar starts at around $500, with no travel fee anywhere in DuPage County. Every fragrance is formulated by trained perfumers in our own Illinois lab.
A great many Wheaton gatherings are hosted without alcohol, and that changes what an activity has to do. When there is no bar to gather around, the room needs something else to give it a centre.
Consequently the usual answer is food, and then the afternoon runs out of shape once everyone has eaten. Meanwhile the guests who would have been standing at the bar end up standing in the kitchen.
A perfume bar solves that directly. It gives people a reason to move, something to do with their hands and something to talk about, and it works exactly the same whether or not anything is being poured.
Therefore it carries a shower, a graduation or a church celebration without the host having to think about a bar at all.
Spring and graduation fill first.
April through June is the busiest stretch in Wheaton, and Wheaton College commencement weekend goes furthest ahead. Therefore send us the date early.
Start here
Why a Wheaton perfume bar works without a bar
An activity that replaces drinking has to do three things: give people somewhere to stand, give strangers something to talk about, and last more than ten minutes.
A station does all three. Because guests come and go rather than being gathered up, the room self-organises around it. Meanwhile the conversation writes itself — everyone is smelling the same materials and comparing.
In addition, it is genuinely all-ages. Consequently a room holding grandparents, teenagers and small children all has something to do, which matters more at a dry event than a wet one.
Finally, everyone leaves with something they made, which replaces the favour budget at the same time.
"At a party without a bar, the thing people gather around has to be worth gathering around."Cheryl Gleason, Owner & Perfumer
Where we set up
Where a Wheaton perfume bar sets up
One table is all we need. Meanwhile, we work to whatever your venue requires.
At home
Wheaton · Glen Ellyn · Winfield · Warrenville · West Chicago
A dining table or kitchen island is enough, and we bring our own table if yours is spoken for by food. Because Wheaton has a mix of older homes and newer builds, tell us which you have and we will plan the setup to suit.
We arrive about an hour early, style the bar completely, and pack out with the table as we found it.
- About 12 x 6 feet, two 6-foot tables and a standard outlet
- No alcohol involved at any point
- Setup and full cleanup always included
At a venue
Downtown Wheaton · Glen Ellyn · Park district rooms · Church halls
Wheaton and Glen Ellyn both have walkable downtowns with private rooms, plus an unusually good park district and a great many church halls that host constantly.
We issue certificates of insurance naming your venue at no charge and work to whatever the rental agreement requires. Therefore the room and the vendor book at the same pace.
- Certificates of insurance provided free
- We work to park district and church hall requirements
- No alcohol and no food service of any kind
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 Wheaton 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
Wheaton 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 dining room at this size gives everyone real time at the bar.
One station, two hosts. The most common Wheaton booking, and the usual size for a shower or a graduation.
Two stations. Because one holds guests while the other moves them, a church or park district hall never queues.
Multi-station, expanded team. Placed across the floor plan with staffing scaled to your run of show.
What should you budget?
Wheaton 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 DuPage County. In addition, there are no service fees and no automatic gratuity.
Areas we serve
Wheaton perfume bar service area
Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and the surrounding DuPage communities, on identical terms.
Wheaton
The whole city, including the college area and downtown. In practice one of our busiest DuPage bookings.
Glen Ellyn
Directly east and covered identically. Meanwhile many hosts book across both downtowns.
Winfield & Warrenville
West and covered on the same terms, all inside the no-travel-fee area.
Carol Stream & West Chicago
North and covered identically. Therefore pricing does not change by town.
Lombard & Villa Park
East toward Elmhurst, same pricing and no surcharge.
Naperville & Lisle
South, covered on the same terms throughout.
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 Wheaton 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
Wheaton perfume bar: common questions
How much is a Wheaton 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 DuPage County.
Does it involve alcohol at any point?
No, none. The perfumer’s alcohol used in blending is a denatured cosmetic base, not a drink, and guests never handle it in that form. Therefore a perfume bar sits comfortably at an alcohol-free event.
Will it carry a party with no bar?
That is exactly what it is good at. It gives people somewhere to stand, something to talk about and something to do with their hands. Consequently the afternoon keeps its shape after the food is finished.
Can you work in a church hall?
Yes, and we do regularly. We issue certificates of insurance naming the hall at no charge and work to whatever the booking requires.
Is it all-ages?
Yes. Adults, teenagers and grandparents all take part. Meanwhile for younger children we run a separate Mini Perfume Bar with its own scent library.
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 completely.
Which towns do you serve nearby?
Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Winfield, Warrenville, Carol Stream, West Chicago, Lombard, Villa Park, Naperville and Lisle, with no travel fee.
How far in advance should we book?
Six to eight weeks for most Saturdays, and further for April through June. In practice commencement weekend fills earliest.
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.
Graduation weekend books furthest ahead
We take a limited number of events per date. In practice April through June is the busiest stretch in Wheaton, and commencement weekend goes earliest of all. Therefore secure the date before you finalize the rest.