CEREMONIAL RICE (Lotus, Rice & Mungbean Cake)

OLFACTIVE NOTES:
Top : Rice Wine, Betel Leaf, Betel Nut, Jasmine Rice
Heart : Lotus Tea, Orchid, Tuberose, Sticky Rice
Base : Agarwood Incense, Silken Musk, Tapioca Mungbean Cake

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT ?

Our friend Minhy got married, and we wanted to craft a scent to celebrate the occasion. Something she could gift to her loved ones as a memory of the day.

The fragrance combines the scent profile she loves with traditional elements of a Vietnamese wedding ceremony, while also drawing inspiration from the Nhật Bình dress she wore. Its royal blues and reds, alongside the multicolored stripes representing the elements, inspired a composition built around the contrast of cool translucence and glowing warmth.

It begins with a tincture of lotus flowers and tea leaves, creating an earthy nuttiness softened by delicate sweetness and the haze of burning agarwood incense. This juxtaposition became the foundation of the fragrance, shaping the notes layered around it.

Vietnamese oud, tuberose, and orchid evoke the atmosphere surrounding the family altar during the tea ceremony, while rice wine, betel, sticky rice, and Bánh Xu Xê, the traditional “husband and wife” cake made from tapioca and mung bean, pay tribute to the celebratory gifts shared in honor of the union.

Lotus tea and steamed jasmine rice intertwine with the spiced bitterness of betel nut, softened by silken musk. Threads of dried tea leaves, warm woods, creamy florals, and gentle starch-like sweetness linger throughout the fragrance, allowing it to shift between aqueous serenity and candlelit warmth. The interplay of these materials mirrors the vibrant stripes of the Nhật Bình itself, comforting, radiant, and auspicious, like the celebration it was created to honor.

Concentration: 26.6% Perfume + 22.75% Tinctures

Naturals: Jasmine Rice Thailand, Lotus Flower Vietnam, Pandan, Puer Tea, Timothy Hay,  Rice Absolute France, Jasmine Sambac Vietnam, Benzoin Vietnam, Pine,  Labdanum, Oakmoss, Hinoki, Coconut,Vanilla Madagascar Amyris Dominican Republic, Patchouli Indonesia, Betel Vine Thailand, Rose Damascena, Tuberose Vietnam, Pomelo Blossom Vietnam, Calendula, Marigold, Mate Absolute, Cedarwood Virginia, Vietnamese Agarwood, Clove, Catechu, Osmanthus Vietnam,