Chapter IV · Chapter V
On one side, light; on the other, darkness. Each scent finds what it lacks in the other.
R Parfums editors · from the words of Rei Nguyen
Duality is the story of two scents by Rei Nguyen: 221B is the light, drawn from Sherlock Holmes; Shadow Éclat is the darkness, drawn from James Moriarty. Shadow Éclat first appeared at the exhibition Letters from 221B Baker Street (34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, Ho Chi Minh City, December 2024); in February 2025 the two scents travelled to Hanoi with Light and Shadow.
See the full fragrance pyramid, the key notes and both bottles on the scent pages for 221B and Shadow Éclat →
From 4.860.000 ₫US$195 · Incl. 8% VAT
Chapter IV · Woody Leather
The Reckless Dreamer
Kẻ liều lĩnh mộng mơ
Sherlock Holmes from a side seldom shown: romantic and full of passion. The leather stays clean and refined, mingled with the honeyed sweetness of rose; tobacco threads through osmanthus and deepens the feeling. Ardent. Aloof. Reckless. Dreaming.
For minds that carry love, and hearts that carry reason.
Damascenone, a compound found in rose, runs through 221B: rose-like, with a trace of tobacco that lingers. It balances the leather, making the whole accord rounder and mellower. The birch tar here is neither smoky nor dark; it leaves only a faint haze over the leather and balsam.
Watch the 221B film on the Films pageChapter V · Modern Leather
Radiant Darkness
Bóng đêm rực rỡ
James Moriarty, “the Napoleon of crime”: a flawed and proud character. Shadow Éclat was born of the same story as 221B, but chooses the other side of the coin.
For those who choose to stand in the night mist of London’s streets.
The suede is held back and kept soft, a deep, elegant shade in the dark. Around it lies a smooth herbal ground of geranium, with the honeyed smoke of osmanthus and immortelle.
Perfumer’s memo
“221B is not the scent I believe Sherlock would wear. It is how I understand him in the language of scent. A cool head. A warm heart. Principle and exception. Order and chaos. Rigid yet gentle. Indifferent yet passionate. Above all, Sherlock is a man who loves people — just as he spent his whole life seeking justice for the powerless, helping them find fairness again.”
“Where the moon meets the sun. Where ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ look upon each other. Night, as pure as the day. Where all things may choose their true part, and so be set in their true place. Just as Moriarty chose to stand in the dusty night fog of London. I call this the radiance of darkness.”
Short story · Rei Nguyen, December 2024
“I stood at the perfume organ. Sample 53. I could not go on. A scent too safe, however rounded. Balanced, but too balanced.”
On the night of a supermoon, in an attic far from the city, a black cat in white socks leapt onto the perfume organ, reeled off everything Rei had read and tried that week, then introduced himself as Professor James Moriarty. Soon after, a white cat came into the room through the magnolia branches: Sherlock Holmes. Rei wrote the story for the exhibition Letters from 221B Baker Street (December 2024), where Shadow Éclat first appeared; she later took the story to Light and Shadow in Hanoi (February 2025).
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London’s silver rain and the fog that wraps the city. Fresh at first, then softly floral, warm and veiled at the end.
Gunfire and thick smoke, and somewhere in it Holmes, pensive and aloof. Cold metal first, then spice, then tonka and gun smoke.
Its Vietnamese title borrows the line 221B carries: the heart of the reckless dreamer.
A thank-you letter to Sherlock Holmes, Rei’s hero since childhood. Its notes are the notes of 221B.
Moriarty, “the Napoleon of crime”, arrives bold and proud: pink grapefruit, then rose, then patchouli, incense and leather.
The last battle, when light and darkness meet at the fateful moment: bergamot, then tuberose and hyacinth, then cassia, musk, black pepper and labdanum.
The falls where Holmes and Moriarty meet for the last time. Wet earth and hard rock at the edge, the drop behind; violet leaf and bluebell, light as running water; then moss, sandalwood and ambergris.
Rei’s gift to Moriarty, and to the darkness within. Gentler than you expect; then sweet smoke, a touch of green, warm pepper and immortelle. Its first time in public.
Two lines · 50 ml
Each scent comes in two 50 ml bottles, with the same fragrance inside. Light and darkness, each kept two ways.
Choose a bottle and see the full fragrance pyramid on the scent pages for 221B and Shadow Éclat →
Brown Blue Patina
Both scents wear Brown Blue Patina, like a thin veil of smoke over an old memory. Three brass pieces sit on the glass, each corroded, filed and polished by hand before it is set. At that moment, one keeps its brass colour, one is fully patinated, and the third is caught midway. Each bottle is one of a kind, made for one owner.
Ceramic · clay, glaze and fire
A round ceramic cap fired at 1000°C, its glaze recalling Chu Đậu ware; the colour shifts with the light and from one firing to the next. The glaze follows the scent: speckled for Eau de Hajime and Béton Chaud, white for Pluviophile and Nostalgic March, black for 221B and Shadow Éclat. The tassel comes from the maker’s hand, so each Ceramic bottle comes to you as it was finished. A two-sided ceramic charm (the R logo on one face, the name of its scent on the other) comes with it. When the bottle is empty, the cap and the charm remain.
Currently unavailable · expected back late NovemberSmaller sizes
Prices include 8% VAT. Smell both scents at our three houses in Ho Chi Minh City, open every day: 34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, 42 Nguyễn Huệ and 26 Lý Tự Trọng. We deliver within Vietnam. Pay by VietQR (VND), with your order held for 60 minutes while we wait for your transfer; or by credit card (USD), with the amount in USD shown before you pay.
Questions
The full fragrance pyramid, prices and questions are on the scent pages for 221B and Shadow Éclat →
221B is the light, drawn from Sherlock Holmes: clean leather, rose, tobacco and osmanthus, a woody leather. Shadow Éclat is the darkness, drawn from James Moriarty: suede over geranium, osmanthus and immortelle, a modern leather. Each scent finds what it lacks in the other.
Shadow Éclat first appeared in December 2024, as the eighth story of the exhibition Letters from 221B Baker Street in Ho Chi Minh City (6–15 December 2024). In February 2025, the two scents travelled to Hanoi with the Light and Shadow exhibition.
Light carries its own shadow. Darkness hides a glow.
