reviewing the internet's buzziest perfume discovery set

from white rice to pho breakfast, d'annam's vietnamese-inspired scents represent a shift in the eurocentric world of fragrance

My first memory of Vietnamese iced coffee was trying a sip of my mom’s drink at a pho restaurant in Chinatown that no longer exists. I was a kid, so caffeine wasn’t “good for me” but a sip was ok. I remember thinking it tasted SO yummy and eggy, thanks to the drizzle of Longevity Brand condensed milk. As a caffeine-sensitive adult, I still occasionally order a Vietnamese iced latte on a hot day because the jittery crash is worth the roasty creamy custardy flavor. I close my eyes and feel the cold air from the restaurant oscillating fan running over my sweaty sriracha-flushed face as I slurp beef broth from the green soup spoon.

Vietnamese Coffee is my favorite smell from the d’annam Enchanting Vietnam discovery set. Very few gourmand smells can capture the Asian palate for a sweet that’s “not too sweet.” Due to its buzz on TikTok, the set is unfortunately sold out right now. I also learned about d’annam through TikTok: seeing a perfume named “pho breakfast” absolutely stopped me in my tracks. I’d just never encountered a set of fragrances that were so specific in their celebration of Asian flavors and scents.

The fragrance industry is steeped in Eurocentrism. Eau de parfum. Eau de toilette. When you think of perfume you think of France. I think there’s an exciting shift happening in fragrance though, where online creators are highlighting scents they have an intimate connection with—including cultural connection. In the past few years there’s been growing interest in indie fragrance houses and “weird" smells. It feels analogous to the three “waves” of coffee culture (Folgers > Peets > Local Cafe with Single Origin Beans and Oat Milk):

• First wave perfume: Chanel No. 5, Drakkar Noir, big famous designer-y branding

• Second wave perfume: Glossier You, Le Labo Santal 33, Instagram-y brands

• Third wave perfume: Marissa Zappas, Liis, small niche brands with devoted fans

This framework helps me make sense of why the d’annam discovery set went TikTok viral and why now…

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I also think the evolution of online fragrance fan culture from old school Fragrantica to #perfumetok is tied to the covid pandemic. My hypotheses:

(1) Scent is inherently intangible and during the pandemic, we were all subject to quarantine and lost the ability to safely make tactile contact with one another/with objects. Because scent enthusiasts already have a strong working vocabulary of how to communicate intangible concepts, they were uniquely skilled to rise to the top of the pandemic era content creator wave.

(2) People developed anosmia en masse (check out

Raquel

‘s recent piece) and smell was no longer taken for granted anymore…on an unprecedented scale. We were more aware of loss of smell and how it impacted a person’s experience.

Scent for thought.

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Ok. The discovery set. So I said Vietnamese Coffee was my #1 scent from the discovery set. It’s a 10/10 scent for me personally. I try not to look at the notes description when writing about these, so I can rely on my raw impressions.

Here’s my review and rating of the other eight scents:

White Rice (9/10)

Very comforting. Starts off kind of sweet and pandan...you don’t get the rice smell until it settles. Milky and mild. Reminds of me soaking a cup of jasmine rice in water and then rinsing it, watching the cloudy water go down the drain.

Monsoon Tea (4/10)

It’s a pretty scent. Wet tea leaves, herby and damp. It doesn’t really stand out to me or evoke a powerful memory though. Pleasant and subtle.

In The Garden (6/10)

I usually don’t love floral powdery perfumes, but this one feels like a grandma in a serene peaceful way. Lush and spring-y. Jasmine flowers with lots of fuzzy-bum bees and ladybugs and critters.

Harvest Season (7/10)

Citrus-y. Juicy tropical oranges and tangy. I didn’t register any of the straw/hay notes. It smelled like the giant display of cara cara oranges they have at the farmer’s market.

Phu Quoc (8/10)

So aquatic and soothing. Blue and clean. If you like marine scents you’ll like this. Not the most unique or outstanding, but doesn’t need to be? It’s just nice.

Da Lat (1/10)

Because I don’t like any kind of rose perfume! So I give rose scents an automatic one.

Pho Breakfast (3/10)

Guys, I wanted to like this one so much. They do say that it’s not meant to be a literal interpretation of pho, more the concept of a “medley” of spices and herbs. But it just didn’t land for me. Maybe because I picked up the ginger note, and I don’t like ginger smells?

Through The Forest (7/10)

This one smells a LOT like an Aesop scent. Very bold and woody and masculine. Spicy and musky. Very deep. Winter-y. Reminds me of cinnamon porridge and men’s aftershave.

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Whats your favorite niche/”weird” scent??