.
.
.
use Unicode::String;

my $utf_string = [some string which is UTF8];
my $encased_string = Unicode::String->new($utf_string);
my $data_for_database = $encased_string->hex();

# For better space savings...
$data_for_database =~ s/U\+//g;

##</code><code>##

my $encoded_string = [string data from db saved from previous step];
my $encased_string = Unicode::String->new();
$encased_string->hex($encoded_string);
my $utf8_string = Encode::decode_utf8($encased_string->utf8());