BORNTOSTANDOUT: a guide to the house and its perfumes
BORNTOSTANDOUT is a Seoul house, launched in 2022, with white porcelain-style bottles, provocative names and perfumes composed by outside perfumers. This guide covers the ten BORNTOSTANDOUT perfumes we list, eight Eau de Parfum and two extraits, with their notes.
BORNTOSTANDOUT launched in Seoul in April 2022. The founder's message on the brand's site tells how he left a career in investment banking to start it, and the motto is as direct as the name: “We rebel against the standards”. The perfume names are meant to provoke; we simply use them as the brand writes them. The ten we list are in the BORNTOSTANDOUT collection.
What the house stands for
The bottles are white with red lettering, a reinterpretation of the white porcelain of the Joseon era: white for Korean tradition, red for rebellion. The brand does not compose in house. Each perfume is written by an outside perfumer from one of the large fragrance houses, credited on its product page, among them Olivier Cresp, Quentin Bisch and Hamid Merati-Kashani. The formulas combine natural absolutes, spices and synthetics. The perfumes are manufactured in Korea.
What the perfumes have in common
There are two lines. The Eau de Parfum line is stated at a fragrance concentration of 30 to 40%, the Extrait Extrême line at 55 to 62%, and the brand says the extraits are aged for three months in Onggi, traditional Korean pottery. Eight of our ten are Eau de Parfum and two, Purple Stain and Black Crème, belong to Extrait Extrême; all are 50 ml bottles. What those terms usually mean is set out in our guide to perfume concentrations. Every perfume has a full pyramid on the brand's site, and milk, caramel and vanilla return in several of them, which reading the pyramid shows quickly. The brand's own pages state no launch year or gender, so neither do we.
The perfumes we list
The sequence below follows Parfumo ratings from a snapshot of early September 2026, most rated first; near the top the numbers lie close together. We have no Fragrantica figures for this house.
Dirty Rice
Olivier Cresp's perfume puts a warm, slightly sweet basmati rice accord at the centre, with peony and milk beside it. Bergamot and almond open it, and sandalwood, vetiver, cedarwood, musk and Cetalox form a woody, musky base that is meant to feel like skin. The brand presents it as a scent about closeness. With 303 ratings it leads our ten on Parfumo.
Fig Porn
Built by Florian Gallo around a ripe, nectar-heavy fig. Pear and bergamot join the fig on top, cedarwood, peony and Turkish rose form the heart, and amber, vanilla, musk and sandalwood make a warm base. The brand's own text talks about the sweetness of fruit about to burst.
Drunk Lovers
Hamid Merati-Kashani's perfume is told as a heated night with spilled brandy on dark wood. Citronella, bergamot, lemon, Juniperus Mexicana, grapefruit and red berries open it, brandy, pepper, ginger, clary sage and cypress follow, and the base runs from amber, Virginian cedarwood, West Indian sandalwood and Vanilla Planifolia to Sumatra benzoin gum resin, patchouli, vetiver, cardamom, cinnamon bark and musk.
Sugar Addict
Anne-Sophie Behaghel's take on sweetness, which the brand pitches as refined and not childish. Sugar and cinnamon essence come at the start, cocoa and coffee extract give a bittersweet heart, and tonka bean, vanilla absolute, rum, labdanum absolute and cashmere wood close it. The brand suggests wearing it alone as a skin scent or layering it over other perfumes.
Purple Stain
One of our two from the Extrait Extrême line, composed by Jordi Fernández. The image is of wine stains spreading across the pages of an old leather journal. Saffron, cinnamon bark, nutmeg, ginger extract, mandarin and bergamot open it, orange blossom, caramel, Peru balsam and vanilla form the heart, and Akigalawood, oud, patchouli, cypriol, Ambrofix and cistus concrete make the base.
Indecent Cherry
Florian Gallo's second perfume on this list. Sweet cherry, almond and saffron open it, Bulgarian rose, sour cherry, strawberry and mimosa turn it tart in the heart, and vanilla, amber, Indonesian patchouli musk and benzoin are the base. Deceptively sweet with a more grown-up edge is how the brand puts it.
Drunk Saffron
Honorine Blanc stages a velvet-dark night: plum and brandy on top, saffron with leather and coffee in the heart, and Indonesian patchouli, vanilla and musk in the base. The brand's theme here is indulgence.
Dirty Heaven
Heaven with a shadow, in the brand's picture, composed by Margaux Le Paih-Guérin. Bergamot opens it, jasmine and neroli are the heart, and the base is long: tonka bean, saffron, Ambroxan, vanilla, white musks, grey amber and modern woods.
Dirty Milk
Gaël Montero takes soft white milk and, as the brand says, pushes it too far. Milk, caramel and black pepper open it, condensed milk, Cashmeran, iris and Akigalawood sit in the heart, and vanilla, musk and tonka bean form the base. Warm, sticky and a little messy are the brand's words.
Black Crème
The second Extrait Extrême, by Quentin Bisch, built on the image of a melting candle. Milk, candle, ambrette and iris open it, oud, leather, vanilla and myrrh darken the heart, and caramel, sandalwood, Georgywood and amber finish it.
Where to start
- Milky and soft: Dirty Rice for basmati rice and milk, Dirty Milk for condensed milk and caramel.
- Fruit: Fig Porn for fig and pear, Indecent Cherry for sweet and sour cherry.
- Sweet and dark: Sugar Addict for cocoa, coffee extract and rum, Drunk Saffron for plum, brandy and leather.
- Spice and warmth: Drunk Lovers, and Dirty Heaven for jasmine and neroli over Ambroxan.
- The two extraits: Purple Stain with saffron and oud, Black Crème with milk, oud and caramel.
The other brands we carry, from Seoul to Paris, are on the brands page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Eau de Parfum and Extrait Extrême at BORNTOSTANDOUT?
The brand states 30 to 40% fragrance concentration for its Eau de Parfum line and 55 to 62% for Extrait Extrême, which it says is aged for three months in Onggi, traditional Korean pottery. Purple Stain and Black Crème are the two extraits we list.
Who makes the BORNTOSTANDOUT perfumes?
Outside perfumers, each credited on the product page. Olivier Cresp composed Dirty Rice, Florian Gallo Fig Porn and Indecent Cherry, Hamid Merati-Kashani Drunk Lovers and Quentin Bisch Black Crème.
Why are the BORNTOSTANDOUT bottles white and red?
The white bottle with red lettering reinterprets the white porcelain of the Joseon era. According to the brand, white stands for Korean tradition and red for rebellion.
