My name is James Nguyen (aka Miju) and I never imagined I would be making fragrances every day. It's crazy to think that I use to avoid everything scented. I use to be so terrified of fine fragrances.

Before perfume-making, I have worked as a hair colorist for over 15 years and grew allergies to many chemicals. Anything scented seem to hurt my body, so I avoided fragrances in my skincare and haircare. If I happen to smell it near me, I would get severe migraines and my throat would swell/close up. This made me very concerned and I thought it was due to "synthetic" fragrance, since many natural brands didn't hurt me. It is crazy for me to think that 1 year I would be avoiding ALL scents and the next I am eager to smell everything around me.

My perfume journey started when I was taking a cosmetic chemistry course. When making cosmetics the raw materials did not smell good at all, so I chose to work with naturals when it came to the fragrance portion. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't trigger any negative side effects, so I eventually moved to natural isolates.

I didn't start working with aroma chemicals until one day I had a dream that involved someone important to me and a fragrance. That person passed away, but randomly came to me in a dream and explained a scent to me. It was life changing because I could fully experience and smell it in the dream.

This scent was not like what I had smelled in stores. It was a full story with clear visuals. When I woke up I wrote down everything I could remember about the perfume. I wasn't sure if it is possible to incorporate such detail in a perfume, but I decided to learn perfumery with the goal to recreate that scent.

I will continue to learn, so I can accurately create the perfume in my dream. On the way I will create scent stories of whatever inspires me and I would love to share some of my experiences in the form of olfactive art.