Three wonderfully autumnal gourmand fragrances are on the agenda today, namely Nanatopia, Happy Nuts and Mad Honey by BORNTOSTANDOUT. I know that these are not the latest launches from Jun Lim’s South Korean label, but I haven’t presented these three to you here yet either, which is why this should be done as soon as possible.
BTSO in the fragrance diary
Here is a quick round-up of all the previous contributions to the fragrance house, which has already spoiled us with many an olfactory treasure. My favorite so far was certainly Sugar Addict, but I’m curious to see if a new favorite fragrance might emerge from today’s creations. But first, as promised, my reviews of BORNTOSTANDOUT plus an interview with founder Jun Lim:
- The collection of BORNTOSTANDOUT – rebellious, colorful, Korean
- Not Vanilla, Naked Neroli and Mud by BORNTOSTANDOUT – Nothingness, Nakedness and Mud.
- Interview with BORNTOSTANDOUT’s Jun Lim – Korean Fragrance Art
- Indecent Cherry, Hinoki Shower and Fig Porn by BORNTOSTANDOUT
- Dirty Rice, Burnt Roses and Zest Z&T by BORNTOSTANDOUT
- Smokin’ Gun, Sex & Cognac and Drunk Saffron by BORNTOSTANDOUT – Finale grande
- Sugar Addict, Dirty Heaven and Sin & Pleasure by BORNTOSTANDOUT
Nanatopia – Banana Wonderland
Our first candidate revolves around a fruit that is rarely found in fragrances. Perfumer Alex Lee combines banana with nutmeg, cinnamon, rum, caramel, tonka bean, nagarmotha and ambroxan. Nanatopia is visually accompanied by absolutely stunning images – when was the last time you saw two bananas with drinks in their hands hugging a perfume bottle? – and the quite fitting statement: “It’s okay to go crazy sometimes. Don’t take life too seriously.” The BORNTOSTANOUT brand remains true to its line of being provocative, unconventional and modern, loud, shrill and also a little chaotic. As far as the fragrance compositions are concerned, however, the label always impresses with well thought-out, harmonious and coherent creations, which in my eyes are absolutely wearable and simply beautiful. I wonder how the banana will do in an eau de parfum … I’m curious.
Lush spices and delicious rum create a tipsy atmosphere in the opening of Nanatopia, which is very dense, rich and profound. I perceive the banana in roasted form. The scent of baked banana combines with the spicy-boozy notes and creamy caramel sweetness to create an extremely delicious melange that is absolutely enticing. Nagarmotha adds earthy, smoky accents to the composition, making the eau de parfum appear even deeper, more mysterious and fascinating. Ambroxan and tonka spice up the soft finish.
Nanatopia is more spicy than fruity, a lusciously powerful, cheerful composition that is underpinned by baked banana sweetness, other spices and creamy-soft, creamy nuances. There’s no need to worry about smelling like a jelly banana incarnate, no, definitely not. As I said, the spices and rum are at the heart of this creation, which for me is perfect for the cooler months of the year. This fragrance is also suitable for everyday wear and the office, has an extremely harmonious composition and is simply really, really great! 🤤
Happy Nuts – Happy nuts
The play on words in Happy Nuts naturally works a little better in English than in German. So “nuts” can be translated not only as “nuts”, but also as “crazy”, which makes the slogan for the eau de parfum immediately coherent: “Life is better when you’re a little crazy.” Flair perfumer Margaux Le Paih-Guérin – who we already know from Dirty Heaven – combined the ingredients pistachio, almond, honey, caramel, rum, vanilla, davana, sesame, guaiac wood, tobacco, ambergris, tonka bean, patchouli and white musk to create the cheerful little nuts fragrance.
A colorful mix of nutty and fruity notes opens Happy Nuts and I immediately think of pickled dried fruit, rum and davana, which combine with roasted almond and greenish pistachio cream. I also clearly perceive the sesame seeds, also in roasted form, whose subtly bitter nuances flash up in the creation. A fine honey sweetness acts benevolently in the background, while creamy woods and spicy tonka bean round off the composition.
Happy Nuts is very harmonious on the one hand, but also quite edgy on the other. I don’t know where it comes from, but I also perceive sweet pineapple accents in the depths of the creation, the origin of which is not clear to me. Possibly a peculiarity of my skin, which would like to bring another olfactory aspect to bear here. Fans of creamy, gourmand compositions with clear nutty facets should really enjoy this eau de parfum.
Mad Honey – Honey madness
“Just one lick and you’ll hallucinate” is the slogan of Mad Honey and of course this is not to be taken literally! The eau de parfum should only be applied externally and naturally contains no hallucinogenic ingredients. Instead, the fragrance consists of the ingredients pink pepper, rum, honey, damask rose, bourbon vanilla, tonka bean, patchouli, benzoin resin and ambroxan, which are completely legal and have no effect on the ability to drive. Even large machines can continue to be operated without any problems. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about ending up like the bottle pictured below. You will not become the target of all kinds of flying creatures. Bee and wasp allergy sufferers will certainly breathe a sigh of relief.
A spicy, zesty rose opens the Mad Honey creation, which is clearly different from the other two compositions due to the floral notes. The rose brings a certain airiness and lightness to the fragrance, is clearly perceptible and thus provides floral accents that are accompanied by dry pepper and the earthy notes of patchouli. The opening almost reminds me of an oud rose. The rum lends the creation peaty facets, which are combined with a golden honey sweetness. However, the focus of Mad Honey is still not on the eponymous sugar juice processed by bees, but on the little rose, which simply does not want to pass on the olfactory baton within the creation. After some time, a handful of spices skilfully rounds off the fragrance.
Mad honey or mad rose, that is the question here. For me, the rose is clearly the focus of this fragrance by BORNTOSTANDOUT, which also contains medicinal-rough and quite tart nuances. The rose is not a carefree, girlish little flower, but a lascivious femme fatale who gives herself over to patchouli as if there were no tomorrow. Less gourmand than the other two compositions, Mad Honey is actually a little crazy for me within this line. A spicy-woody and earthy-dark rose fragrance that, like all the others, is perfectly suitable for everyday and office use.
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