A first scent

A first scent, chosen over a day.

Perhaps you once loved a perfume at the counter, took it home, and left it on the shelf because it was different on your skin. A scent shows itself slowly, and only properly on skin: the first minutes are the loudest, and the evening shows what stays. So choose over a day, not a minute. And instead of a list of notes, start with a story that feels close to you: an afternoon of rain, a childhood summer, a city you miss.

Start with the Discovery Set Visit a house

Paper blotters printed with R PARFUMS, on a wooden tray

Paper first, then skin

A paper strip shows you how a scent opens. Your skin shows the rest.

Apply to the inner wrist or the side of the neck, then leave it alone. Do not rub.
The first minutes are the loudest, and the least like the scent you would live with.
Wear a single scent from morning to night. Two on the same day blur together, and you learn neither.
Decide in the evening, by what is still there. Smell your wrist before you sleep, and write one word down.

Why a scent changes through the day

Every scent is read from the top down.

Top notes: what you meet first, right after you apply.
Middle notes: what arrives once the opening settles.
Base notes: what carries the scent through the day.

Pluviophile shows it well. On the skin it keeps the order of a shower: the rain first, the flowers next, the shelter last.

Six families, in plain words

A family is the broad shape of a scent. Each of our six belongs to a different one.

Green · Pluviophile: scents built on leaves and stems rather than on flowers or woods. Here the green is wet.
Chypre floral · Eau de Hajime: a chypre is an old structure in perfume, with bergamot at the top and oakmoss and labdanum underneath. A chypre floral sets flowers inside that frame. Hajime keeps the frame and lightens it.
Floral fruity · Nostalgic March: flowers carry the scent and fruit lifts it. Here the flowers are pomelo blossom, magnolia and lily of the valley; the fruit is raspberry.
Woody leather · 221B: a family built on the smell of tanned leather, laid over tree resins and woods. In 221B that ground is birch tar, from birch bark, and Peru balsam, a resin.
Modern leather · Shadow Éclat: worked hide at the centre, but here it is suede, softer than polished leather, set among flowers, honeyed osmanthus and black pepper.
Spicy amber · Béton Chaud: an amber is a warm accord of resins and vanilla; a spicy amber sets kitchen spices over it. Here the resin is frankincense, and the spices are cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise.

If you already know what you like

Each of our scents has neighbours among the other five.

Liked the pear and petitgrain at the top of Eau de Hajime? Pluviophile opens on green leaves, rain and rhubarb.
If white flowers are what stay with you, Nostalgic March has pomelo blossom at the top, magnolia and lily of the valley at its heart.
If you like rose over something darker, 221B sets rose and osmanthus over leather and birch tar.
From 221B, the leather turned darker, as suede with iris and black pepper, is Shadow Éclat. The rose with jasmine and oakmoss in place of leather is Eau de Hajime. The warmth of the base, turned to cumin, cinnamon and vanilla around a Damask rose, is Béton Chaud.
From Nostalgic March, flowers and musk under rain lead to Pluviophile, and magnolia and iris taken darker lead to Shadow Éclat.
From Béton Chaud, anise and clove under rain instead of sun lead to Pluviophile, and warmth with rose, leather and tobacco leads to 221B.

Or begin with a story

Each scent starts from a place or a story, and some people choose that way first: an afternoon of rain at Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo; the first fragrance Rei Nguyen made; an old Hanoi custom of sugarcane laid among pomelo blossoms; Sherlock Holmes; James Moriarty; children watching kites from inside concrete pipes. Each story is told in full in its chapter, linked from every scent page.

“221B is not the scent I think Sherlock would wear. It is how I understand him, in the language of scent.”
Rei Nguyen, writing in 2023. Translated from the Vietnamese.

Five days with the Discovery Set

The Discovery Set holds five vials of 2 ml, laid out in chapter order: Eau de Hajime (I), Pluviophile (II), Nostalgic March (III), 221B (IV) and Béton Chaud (VI). Chapter V, Shadow Éclat, has no vial in the set yet, so its place is left open; it comes as a single 2 ml sample.

Wear them in any order, or follow the chapter numbers. When the set has narrowed your choice, a single 2 ml vial gives you one more day with one scent.

Then the bottle

Each scent comes in two 50 ml bottles, and the scent is the same in both. Patina on Brass carries three pieces of brass, worked by hand: one left bright, one fully patinated, one caught midway. Ceramic has a glazed cap, fired at 1000°C, with a tassel and a two-sided ceramic charm. The 12 ml is the size for a handbag or a trip; see the smaller sizes.

Ceramic: Currently unavailable · expected back late November.

Where to try them

All six scents stand open on the counter at each of our three houses in Ho Chi Minh City, every day, from Eau de Hajime to Béton Chaud. Try them on paper first. Then choose one for your wrist, and see how it has changed by evening. Addresses and opening hours: The houses.

Nguyễn Duy Hiệu34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, An Khánh Ward, Ho Chi Minh CityOpen daily · 8:00–18:00
Nguyễn Huệ42 Nguyễn Huệ, Level 2, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh CityNOTE – The Scent Lab, Level 2Open daily · 9:00–22:00
Lý Tự Trọng26 Lý Tự Trọng, Level 3, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh CitySaigon Scent Lab, Level 3Open daily · 10:00–21:30

Questions

Which R Parfums scent should I start with?

There is no single answer. Start with the family you already wear, or with the story that speaks to you. If you are not sure, start with the Discovery Set.

How long should I wear a sample before deciding?

A whole day. Decide in the evening, by what is still on your skin.

Should I test perfume on paper or on skin?

Both. Paper shows the opening; skin shows the rest.

Is Shadow Éclat in the Discovery Set?

Not yet. It comes as a single 2 ml sample.