The Sacred Roots of Scent in Vietnamese Cosmology
Animist Beginnings: Smoke as Divine Bridge
Before Marco Polo’s trade routes brought Middle Eastern perfumes to Asia, Vietnamese shamans burned trầm hương (aquilaria resin) in ceremonies because they thought the blue smoke from it could carry prayers to the dead. The Đông Sơn drums (500 BCE) show ceremonial censers, and the Nguyễn Dynasty records talk about royal “hương án” altars where sandalwood-amber blends were used to celebrate the souls of kings and queens who had died. In contrast to European perfumery, which focused on beautifying the body, Vietnamese custom saw scent as a way to exchange spiritual value within a community. This is still done today in Huế with monthly offerings of incense at the tombs of the emperors.
The Four Pillars of Traditional Vietnamese Aromatics
Agarwood’s metamorphosis—when aquilaria trees react to fungal invasions by secreting resinous, fragrant dark wood—mirrored Confucian ideals of resilience through suffering.
The pomelo’s citrus-floral notes symbolized lunar purity, distilled into hair rinses for Tết celebrations.
Revered as “the flower of dawn,” its petals yielded enfleurage oils for Buddhist temples. Modern GC-MS analysis reveals 78 volatile compounds in Nelumbo nucifera, including rare cis-3-hexenal boosting its aquatic freshness.
Used in both phở broth and medicinal oils, its trans-anethole richness connected culinary and healing arts.
Colonial Inflections: French Perfumery Meets Indigenous Botanicals
The Eau de Cologne Invasion (1858-1945)
In 1859, when French troops took over Saigon, officers carried Guerlain’s Eau de Cologne Impériale, a citrus-herbal splash that was made for Napoleon III. By 1887, Hanoi’s Paul Doumer Street had three perfume shops that brought in Coty and Rigaud. But Vietnamese versions of the scents came about. For example, in 1932, Đông Dương Magazine promoted “Eau de Cologne Annamite,” which mixed bergamot and rau răm (Vietnamese coriander). In 1941, Nguyễn Văn Huyên’s thesis described 47 herbal-based toilet waters that Tonkin’s upper class people used. This creolized style reached its peak.
The Birth of Vietnamese Perfumery as National Industry
Standardizing local production, the Democratic Republic’s Hương Liệu state business followed post-1954. Their modified steam distillation produced Đại Hương, a vetiver-cinnamon cologne for export to Eastern Bloc countries. Recently unearthed in Hanoi’s National Archives, formulas from this era exhibit creative substitutions: synthetic musks made from coal tar, patchouli replaced with ngải cứu (wormwood).
Đổi Mới and the Luxury Fragrance Boom
Market Liberalization’s Olfactory Impact
The 1986 economic reforms unleashed a fragrance gold rush. By 1995, 72% of Saigon’s perfume shops sold counterfeit Chanel No.5, while Hanoi’s Đồng Xuân Market traded Soviet-era aromachemicals. However, 1998’s “Oriental Essence” exhibition marked a turning point—curators juxtaposed L’Artisan Parfumeur’s amber attars with Huế’s antique trầm burners, sparking renewed pride in indigenous materials.
The Rise of Craft Perfumery
Ho Chi Minh City’s Scent Library (est. 2012) pioneered Vietnam’s niche movement. Their bestseller, Sài Gòn Mưa (Saigon Rain), uses headspace technology to capture petrichor from Lê Văn Tám Parthe monsoon-soaked earth of Lê Văn Tám Parkk’s monsoon-soaked earth. Meanwhile, Hanoi’s Essence du Tonkin employs CO2 extraction for lotus absolutes, yielding 0.01% concentration—each bottle contains 8,000 hand-plucked petals
NOTE - The Scent Lab: Democratizing Perfume Making
Emerging as one of Vietnam’s first experiential perfumery workshop, NOTE – The Scent Lab (with branches in Hanoi’s Tay Ho district and Saigon’s Thao Dien) transforms fragrance creation into personal and signature scent. The 50ml Perfume Making Workshop (1,550,000 VND) employs a curated palette of 20-30 sourced essences, including rare absolutes and Vietnamese signature scent Sen (lotus).
A 2024 survey revealed 68% of NOTE’s clients gift their creations rather than keep them, reviving the Vietnamese tradition and fun in workshop making. The 10ml Workshop (550,000 VND) particularly attracts Gen Z customers, with 43% blending unconventional note like Sen (Lotus) essence.
Contemporary Scenes: Hanoi’s Minimalism vs. Saigon’s Opulence
Architectural Olfaction in Capital City
Hanoi’s perfumers mirror the city’s restrained elegance. At Hidden Gem Studio, Ngọc Lan crafts bamboo-wood scents using fractional distillation to isolate Hòa Bình province’s oud nuances. Her Gió Lạnh (Cold Wind) eau de parfum layers frozen kumquat with air accord (Norlimbanol, Geosmin)—a tribute to winter’s chills in tropical climates. The trend toward transparency reflects global “clean beauty” movements but roots itself in Confucian ideals of subtlety.
Saigon’s Maximalist Olfactory Theatre
Contrastingly, Saigon’s Scent Symphony Lounge offers bespoke perfumery as performance art. Clients select notes via AR-enabled scent bottles while mixologists shake cocktails matching their aroma profile. Their viral Chế độ Sài Gòn (Saigon Mode) combines durian, jasmine tea, and gunpowder—an audacious metaphor for the city’s wartime past and capitalist present.
The New Alchemists: Science Meets Ancestral Knowledge
Biotechnology Revolution
Vietnam’s Institute of Natural Products Chemistry now engineers yeast strains to biosynthesize santalol—protecting endangered sandalwood forests. Collaborating with perfumers, they’ve created SynthScent VN-01, a GMO-free sandalwood alternative praised in Nez’s 2024 Green Fragrance Awards.
Biotechnology Revolution
Startup AromaCode’s app scans users’ microbiomes to recommend compatible scents. Their Saigon lab’s latest invention, NeuroScent, uses EEG headbands to map emotional responses to đàn hương (sandalwood) versus synthetic ambNeuroScent, their newest invention from the Saigon lab, uses EEG headbands to map emotional responses to đàn hương (sandalwood) versus synthetic ambroxan. The results show that Vietnamese people are 23% more nostalgic for natural materials.Roxan—revealing Vietnamese subjects’ 23% stronger nostalgia for natural materials.
Cultural Preservation Through Scent
Perfume as Intangible Heritage
In 2023, UNESCO recognized Huế’s Royal Incense Making as a cultural treasure. Artisans like Lê Thị Mai still prepare the Ngự Hương blend: agarwood, clove, and honey harvested from the former emperor’s pheasant-fed beehives. Meanwhile, Hội An’s Reaching Out Tea House incorporates ancient Cham techniques, steeping jasmine in sesame oil under moonlight.
Scent-Based Tourism
Luxury resorts now curate olfactory experiences. The InterContinental Danang’s “Journey of the Senses” trail has guests blindfolded while smelling carved agarwood chips, recreating Emperor Khải Định’s 1922 sensory meditations.
The Breath of Dualities
Vietnam’s fragrance story lives on contradiction—ancient/modern, local/global, spiritual/commercial. Through olfaction, Hanoi’s labs pioneers sustainable aromachemicals and Saigon’s artists bottle urban vitality, so redefining national identity. Particularly in preserving aquilaria forests, the difficulty is juggling technical progress with environmental preservation. Future studies should look at ethnobotanical relationships with ethnic minorities, whose untested herbal knowledge might start the next scent revolution.
In the end, Vietnam’s smell culture reminds us that perfume is the breath of history, the vapor of dreams, and the invisible thread spinning generations—more than just cosmetics. “Hương thơm không biên giới, nhưng nguồn cội thì mãi trường tồn,” the Nguyễn Dynasty maxim says—that is, that fragrance knows no boundaries but its roots endure eternally.
Modern Crafting Perfumery in Vietnam
The perfume-making workshop by NOTE – The Scent Lab is a must-add to your itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Capital. It offers a unique and immersive experience that allows participants to create their own signature scent while learning about fragrance families, notes, and accords. The workshop is perfect for couples, friends, or solo travelers who are looking for a memorable and unique experience in Ho Chi Minh City and Capital—Ha Noi. So, make sure to add this workshop to your itinerary and experience the ultimate fragrance experience in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Capital.
Once participants have learned about the basics of fragrance, they will begin the process of creating their own signature scent. They will start by selecting their preferred fragrance family and then choose the notes that they want to include in their perfume. The professional perfumer will guide participants in choosing the right combination of notes to create a balanced and unique fragrance.
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References
- https://www.elle.vn/xu-huong-lam-dep/scent-talk-nghe-thuat-cua-mui-huong/
- https://orchard.vn/blog/nuoc-hoa-toan-tap-phan-1-nguon-goc-lich-su-nuoc-hoa/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRMvd-0OxnQ
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaROym4QtXg
- https://somethingcurated.com/2022/05/04/a-history-of-perfume-making/
