Fragrant Journeys
Many look to photographs for memories of our travels, but Paul Harnn — founder of the lifestyle brand, Harnn — relies on his nose.
In June 2012, Paul was a tourist exploring the lively streets of Taipei, when the heavens opened: To escape the summer downpour, he took refuge in a cozy tearoom, where he asked the hostess for her tea recommendations. Her choice? A petite porcelain pot brimming with oolong, a favorite brew amongst tea connoisseurs in South East Asia. Paul accepted her suggestion and, shaking raindrops from his shoulders, waited for his oolong tea to arrive.
Minutes later, still damp but warming up, the Thai entrepreneur lifted the lid of the teapot set before him, unfurling the Taiwanese oolong’s delicate aroma. And in he breathed. Paul would always associate oolong with how he felt tucked inside a tearoom on a rainy day in Taipei. “Every time I drink oolong tea, I’m transported back,” he says.
It was a moment that he would later preserve forever — as a fragrance.
THE SCENT OF A CITY
Paul often recalls his international adventures through scents. A businessman born in Bangkok but raised in Hong Kong and America, Paul is the founder of natural skincare brand, Harnn, which is known for its exquisite products based on essential oils. Frequent business trips are what encouraged Paul to launch Vuudh — a selection of home fragrances that bottle the enticing aromas he chanced upon while exploring the customs, foods, plants and flowers of several Asian destinations.
The Singapore scent, for example, was inspired by a visit to the Lion City during Chinese New Year, where sandalwood wafting from a traditional medicine shop danced with the sweet smell of orange blossom trees. The idea for the Mumbai fragrance — Rose and Clove — was born after a young girl selling roses approached Paul in the bustling Indian city.
Holy basil arising from a fiery wok was his muse for the herbal aroma of the Samui scent; and a brush past stalks of lemongrass sparked the conception for the Phuket fragrance, which marries a top note of tangy lemongrass with the relaxing floral scent of lavender.
The Taipei aroma evokes oolong of course — the redolent tea that enlivened Paul when caught in a rainstorm one June afternoon.
With Vuudh, Paul reworks cultural hallmarks into blends of essential oils, creating signature fragrances for the cities stamped in his passport and in his memories — and he invites you to join him.
CHOOSING A HOME FRAGRANCE
Each travel-inspired scent offers not only a perfumed passage through the Orient but aromatherapy treatment as well. So, when choosing your home fragrance, you’ll need to consider more than just your dream destinations: “When you smell a scent,” Paul says, “it’s a personal experience.”
You’ll find, for example, that crisp lemon — a key ingredient in Hong Kong — is known to be energizing. If you’re craving a calming influence, lavender notes may lure you. And if you’re fatigued, the rosemary found in Kobe may appeal the most.
You don’t need to commit to just one scent, either. In fact, according to Paul, variety is key: “You have multiple options to use the fragrances depending on your environment. But the important thing is diversity.” As you sample each scent, pay attention “to what your body is telling it needs at that specific time, under that mental condition,” he says.
By reflecting on your needs for optimal functioning in certain environments, you can create a menu of bouquets to carry you through the day. For instance, try lighting a candle that emits a comforting scent in your living room. You could spritz your pillow with the romantic Mumbai rose fragrance but diffuse energizing oils in the office.
More than just a line of contemporary fragrances, Vuudh offers you journeys from Bangkok to Beijing and beyond — and always inward, toward your emotional wants and needs, which is, perhaps, the most important journey of all.
