Patina · brass · one of a kind
Eau de Hajime · Patina 50 ml
Eau de Parfum. Three pieces of brass in Verde Patina: one keeps the colour of brass, one is covered in patina, one is caught midway.
Watch the craft film4.536.000 ₫US$180 Incl. 8% VAT
Chapter I · Chypre Floral · Eau de Parfum
Eau de Hajime The first time
Như lần đầu tiên thương mến
Like a first affection
This is the story of Eau de Hajime, the first scent Rei Nguyen made. In Japanese, “hajime” means “the first time”. In a 2023 piece on how Hajime came to be, Rei returned to a memory of Kyoto: lantern light trailing down the street, the powdery scent of a kimono gliding past.
Full notes, prices and questions on the Eau de Hajime page →Patina 50 ml 4.536.000 ₫US$180 Ceramic 50 ml 3.855.600 ₫US$155Currently unavailable · expected back late November Incl. 8% VAT
Some moments nobody photographs, and still you remember them.
Eyes meet, and both hesitate. A sudden smile in a silent room.
Sunlight slanting through the leaves, falling on the hem of a skirt as it stirs.
The first time you set foot somewhere you want to stay.
What the eye cannot see
One part in a thousand
Pear makes up only about a thousandth of the formula, yet Hajime’s young, green freshness depends on it. You meet it the moment you spray, in the top notes.
And a flower that cannot bear steam
Rose can be distilled; narcissus cannot. The flowers are steeped in a solvent to draw out their scent, then filtered and reduced to a fragrant wax (the concrete), from which the absolute is separated. In Hajime, narcissus absolute sits in the middle notes, beside sambac jasmine and rose.
“Narcissus in Eau de Hajime – From Flower to Niche Perfumery” (3 April 2025), in the Journal →Narcissus and skin
Three or four weeks for one flower
Trim the narcissus bulb, set it in clean water, and then there is only the waiting. Hajime opens on the skin just as unhurriedly. Choose a stage.
Top notes
Petitgrain · Pear · Bergamot
Clear and bright, like a first smile in slanting sunlight.
The bulb, freshly trimmed, sits still in clean water. Nothing to see yet.
Perfumer’s memo
“‘Hajime’ means ‘the first time’ in Japanese. This was the first fragrance I ever created — a beginning held in scent. There was tenderness, clarity, curiosity, and above all, a quiet joy: the joy of finally finding where I belonged.”
Where it began · Kyoto
“Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I still remember the points of light from the lanterns in Kyoto. Long ribbons of light drifting down the street, swaying in the wind, and the powdery scent of a kimono brushing past.”
In July 2022, R Parfums opened at 34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu with five scents, Eau de Hajime among them: Archive · Open House & Showcasing · The Eau de Hajime film, shot in November 2022
The Patina line
Verde Patina, a light green-blue
Hajime wears Verde Patina, as do Pluviophile and Nostalgic March. As the pieces are set on the bottle, one keeps the colour of bare brass, one is fully covered in patina, and one is caught midway.
The idea came from relics in Huế; twelve months of research and development went into the Patina line.
Each bottle is one of a kind, made for a single owner.
How a plate is madeCeramic · fire and glaze
Clay, through fire
The same scent, under a round ceramic cap fired at 1000°C, its glaze recalling Chu Đậu pottery.
The kiln decides the glaze and the maker’s hand the tassel, so each Ceramic bottle comes to you as it was finished. The charm is ceramic too, engraved with an R.
How a Ceramic cap is made
Choose a bottle · Eau de Hajime
Keep the first time
One scent, in two 50 ml bottles. The first time, held in brass or in fire. See the full pyramid and choose a bottle on the Eau de Hajime page →
Ceramic · fire · glaze
Eau de Hajime · Ceramic 50 ml
Eau de Parfum. A ceramic cap fired in the kiln, its glaze recalling Chu Đậu ware; glaze by the kiln, tassel by hand. A ceramic charm engraved with an R.
Watch the craft film3.855.600 ₫US$155Currently unavailable · expected back late November Incl. 8% VAT
Currently unavailable · expected back late NovemberSmaller sizes: 12 ml bottle 1.177.200 ₫US$45 · 2 ml sample 210.600 ₫US$8 · Discovery Set, five 2 ml vials including Hajime, 918.000 ₫US$35 · incl. 8% VAT · See smaller sizes →
- Smell it firstThree houses in Ho Chi Minh City, open daily, with all six scents to try on skin. Addresses and hours
- DeliveryWe currently deliver within Vietnam only. Visiting from abroad? Collect your order at any of our three houses. Delivery and returns
- PaymentVietQR (VND): your order is held for 60 minutes while the transfer arrives · Credit Card (USD): the amount in USD is shown before you pay. How to pay
Hajime keeps no pictures. It keeps a feeling.