The Corsage is an exclusive fragrance retreat that brings together movement, taste and scent to create an immersive brand experience. Rooted in the principles of experiential marketing, the event invites guests into a carefully curated space where a new fragrance is explored not just as a product, but as a memory, feeling, and sensory journey. Designed to evoke the quiet beauty of a tranquil tea garden at dawn, the experience blends guided movement with a meditative tea ceremony, drawing out the layered emotional profile of the fragrance. Guests are encouraged to engage deeply with the scent, reflecting on how it resonates with their own perceptions.

My passion for marketing and events has grown so much over my academic career. The Corsage is both my final-year dissertation project and a culmination of everything I love about creative direction and experience design. From the fragrance itself to the atmosphere, activities, and gifting, every element of this event has been developed and produced independently. It serves as both a personal expression of my passion for this field and an academic exploration into how brands can use experiential marketing to enhance storytelling, build emotional connection, and deepen consumer loyalty.

The Corsage is more than just an event, it is the centerpiece of my final-year dissertation project for the Media and Creative Industries BA (Hons) at the University of Warwick.

The research investigates how experiential marketing can impact brand perception and consumer loyalty, particularly within the luxury fragrance industry, where traditional advertising struggles to convey scent through screens and static images.

By designing a fully immersive event and comparing attendee responses with those who sampled the fragrance in a non-experiential setting, this project aims to explore how storytelling, ritual, and multi-sensory engagement can alter the way consumers emotionally connect with a product.

The featured fragrance is named “Corsage” and it draws inspiration from Tie Guan Yin, a Chinese oolong tea known for its floral undertones and depth. The fragrance opens with a light oolong tea note, deepens with sandalwood, slowly softening into a fresh tea aroma before blooming into a light floral base, reminiscent of a tea garden in the early morning.

Fragrance Notes:

Top: Tie Guan Yin Tea

Heart: Sandalwood

Base: Cedarwood, Jasmine

This perfume has been developed to evoke stillness, presence, and the quiet intimacy of a personal memory, the kind of fragrance that lingers gently in the background, soft yet unforgettable.

(This fragrance is not commercially available and was created only for the event.)

In collaboration with product designer, Matthew Akuamoah-Boateng, a bespoke bottle has been conceptualised and rendered to visually represent the themes of the fragrance. Inspired by the gourd fruit, a traditional symbol of longevity and heritage, the design features celadon tones and sculptural twines that wrap around the form like blooming leaves, transforming the vessel into a subtle art object.

To complement the sensory storytelling of the retreat, the 3D renderings of the bottle was displayed during the event, allowing guests to experience the fragrance as something tangible and fully realised, rather than purely conceptual or imagined. This visual element reinforces the fragrance’s identity and adds a physical anchor to the emotional journey of the retreat.