The West Coast's first international consumer fragrance festival runs June 26–28 at Gateway Pavilion, with 110-plus niche houses and a rare US appearance by the Versailles-based Osmothèque and its historic formula collection.

A fragrance convention isn't something Fort Mason has hosted before, and neither has the West Coast. ScentFest SF opens Friday at Gateway Pavilion, Fort Mason Center (2 Marina Boulevard), running June 26–28, noon to 6 p.m. daily. General admission is $49 per day or $139 for the full three-day pass.

The event brings 110-plus independent and niche fragrance houses — Xerjoff, Imaginary Authors, Zoologist Perfumes, Juniper Ridge, and dozens more — out from the world of online forums and specialty shops and into a waterfront warehouse where you can actually smell them. It's built explicitly for consumers, not trade buyers: no wholesale orders, no industry lanyard required. Founded by Sebastian Jara, who runs The Perfume Guy YouTube channel, ScentFest landed in SF for its inaugural West Coast edition right after the industry-only World Perfumery Congress wrapped in Monterey.

The draw hardest to replicate anywhere else: the Osmothèque, the Versailles-based fragrance archive, is making its first appearance at a US consumer event. Their curator Thomas Fontaine will lead live smelling sessions from a collection of 25 historic fragrances spanning roughly 4,000 years — including Chanel No. 5 as it was blended in 1921, from a formula the public almost never encounters. That's a legitimately rare thing to walk into on a Saturday afternoon in a pier warehouse.

Speaker sessions (sponsored by Amouage) include creative director Renaud Salmon and Kayali founder Mona Kattan on Saturday. If you want a custom scent blended on the spot, EveryHuman's AI perfumery station charges $25 for a 5ml bottle.

One tip: The Osmothèque sessions will go first — arrive at noon on whichever day you come. Don't drive to Fort Mason on Pride weekend; the lot off Marina Boulevard will be gone before you find a spot. The 28 Muni bus stops at Marina and Laguna, a short walk from Gateway Pavilion.

If you've got two hours: skip the speaker stage and work the floor. A hundred perfumers, most of them glad to let you smell everything they make, is the whole point.