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8.5 / 10 24 Ratings
A popular limited perfume by January Scent Project for women and men, released in 2023. The scent is fruity-spicy. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Fruity
Spicy
Floral
Woody
Sweet

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AldehydesAldehydes BergamotBergamot Fruity notesFruity notes LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Red champacaRed champaca Olive absoluteOlive absolute Lily of the valleyLily of the valley MimosaMimosa Painted nettle root White pepperWhite pepper
Base Notes Base Notes
Cambodian oudCambodian oud Thai oudThai oud Vietnamese oudVietnamese oud Costus rootCostus root Orris rootOrris root SpikenardSpikenard BenzoinBenzoin CypriolCypriol MuskMusk Sandalwood absoluteSandalwood absolute Sweet vernal grass absoluteSweet vernal grass absolute VanillaVanilla

Perfumer & Creative Guidance

Ratings
Scent
8.524 Ratings
Longevity
8.521 Ratings
Sillage
7.820 Ratings
Bottle
8.318 Ratings
Value for money
7.910 Ratings
Submitted by Jakobkn, last update on 12/26/2024.
Interesting Facts
75 pieces were made.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions
SUNNYNOSE

19 Reviews
SUNNYNOSE
SUNNYNOSE
2  
Magical
#sotd

Chéngmén by January Scent Project

Oh boy!
Oh boy!
Oh boy!

This is phenomenal stuff right here. Absolutely love love and nothing else. I am glad I got this, was eyeing for one since @johngreenink spoke about it but it was worth the wait. A very talented guy who is very humble too and I appreciate that about him

The fragrance starts with a delicious fruity accord, mouth watering stuff (with prominent Oud in the back) but focus on fruits first. I sprayed for the first time, front of the neck, back of the neck, front of my shirt and usually I stop right there but with Chéngmén I couldn't stop (I was under the spell) and boom 4th spray on right side of my neck and 5th spray on left side of my neck and 6th in my mouth and I just stopped that spray and realized it's not a dessert dude. So I am glad I stopped at 5 and didn't do the 6th spray

Why not? Coz the Oud in the back is becoming loud with each sprays and it was hard for me to handle her like that. I would say, 3-4 sprays of this fragrance is MORE than enough.

It would be a sort after one soon as it's been discontinued and I have a feeling that it would reach the stature of Attaupe, my absolute favorite from the house and a tobacco lavender fragrance in general.

After about 20 minutes or so, I start getting the aroma of Champaca flower, which is of euphoric quality, keep you craving for more. It has a very intoxicating and intense floral aroma which is sweet and mouth watering.

An hour or so later the aroma is taken over by some medicinal attributes of the fragrance such as olive, pepper, costus but the magical of them all is the Oud sourced from Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia which got some vanilla and hay like nuances.

This fragrance could easily be 500 plus by many other brands but JSP, keeps it to very basic $250 to what it got and overall structure of the fragrance. It's just the beginning of 2024 and I wore it for the first time and I would like to believe that this right here is the best creation of the year for me. I doubt anything else would come close to this.

The performance is insanely good with easy 12 hours which offers exceptional projection.

I am totally in LOVE
0 Comments
AlexCipri

2 Reviews
AlexCipri
AlexCipri
3  
Great oud + sweet florals combo
Probably one of my top releases from this brand. It is such a complex and interesting composition, with oud and sticky floral notes perfectly mixed. Yes, oud is skanky but that doesn't dominate even on the initial spray. Still I can see how this could be too much for many people. It does mellow down after half an hour and sweet floral notes start to shine more. Champaca and fruity notes like candy are dominant to my nose. This is so interesting...but definitely not for everyone. If you like oud...then you need to sample this if you can find it.
2 Comments
ElAttarine

88 Reviews
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ElAttarine
ElAttarine
Top Review 31  
Walk Through...!
Biking through the Mekong Delta. Dusty paths, river arms, canals, sugarcane, coconut plantations, lush greenery, palms, and bushes... In the midst of the greenery, a sign reads "Candy Factory" with an invitation to enter. We pass through a gate and follow the narrow path that eventually leads to a building. No other signs or directions anywhere. We cautiously open the door and find ourselves in a large airy wooden building with an open terrace overlooking the river. It smells of candy, dust, and something indefinable and intensely musty, as often found in Vietnam and China. At long tables, women are busy cutting cooked coconut molasses into candy pieces, adding nuts and/or spices according to flavor, and letting them dry further. We are explained the production process, and of course, we buy a few delicious candies. Finally, we are shown shelves filled with medicine on one side of the sales area: bottles of Vietnamese rum, rice liquor, and impressively large bottles containing various animals preserved in rice alcohol, especially large and small river snakes. We are allowed to try everything... From this corner come the scents that I already know from the crowded city pharmacies, where the many Chinese living here sell bags, wooden boxes, and glass containers filled with all sorts of animal and plant body parts, roots, tinctures, and powders. Indefinably bitter-medical, musty, with definitely costus roots and deer musk.
-----
“Chéngmén” is Chinese and means “city gate,” and this fragrance is indeed like a gate that I walk through to arrive at a new place. Or a series of such gates leading to ever new places and scents. After several tests (still ongoing), I have the impression that the fragrance consists of three aspects or layers that overlap and continually reveal something new:
First, there is something musty-animalistic-mysterious like in the traditional city pharmacies in China or Vietnam. This is contributed to by the rather pronounced animalic notes of costus, musk, and some varieties of oud.
Second, a quite strong champaca scent unfolds rather quickly, gum-like-floral, intense and sweet. The homepage mentions “red champaca oil,” which I am not yet familiar with. The floral aspect is enhanced by mimosa and lily of the valley. This aspect prevents the animalic notes from dominating alone.
Third, there is something medicinally strict, probably due to some varieties of oud and olive. This aspect helps me stay alert and not sink into the animalic or champaca sweetness.
All of this is connected by orris root and balsamic-woody-resinous aspects, as well as an earthy base (thankfully, the cypriol is well integrated and does not disturb me here).
-----
John Biebel, the perfumer behind January Scent Project, has done all sorts of things professionally; he is a product design manager for healthcare software, a painter, a freelance writer, a perfumer, and a musician. In addition to the fragrances for January Scent Project, he is also the author of “Black Walnut” for American Perfumer. There is also an art project related to the fragrance “Chéngmén,” in which a music video was created using generative AI. It also revolves around visions of a flourishing city that opens behind the protective old city gate. In his blog, Biebel describes how he had a conversation with doctoral student Baoli Yang from Brown University, who is completing her studies on medieval Chinese literature and cultural exchange between China and the USA. The perfume is meant to remind us that the world has become small today, but mutual understanding is still often difficult.
A friend gifted me a book of texts by classical Zen masters in my youth, and as a dedication, she included an illustration of a painting by Ando Hiroshige featuring a city gate and these words: Walk through! This fragrance reminds me of that after a long time. Even though I wouldn’t wear it often in everyday life, it has many unfamiliar and fascinating facets.

The accompanying AI film and music project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqyhV86UO_k
The blog/”In Conversation with Medieval Chinese Literature Scholar Baoli Yang: Borders, China, and Cultural Exchange“:
https://www.januaryscent.com/blog

29 Comments

Statements

4 short views on the fragrance
1
This is a multifaceted floral and fruity oud with typical Chinatown spices... love wearing this.. one negative point is the short longevity
0 Comments
44
36
Heaven still carries soap streaks
Fruit rolls through the gate
From mulchy woods
Oily champaca flowers
Fur roots grow
In spicy soils
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36 Comments
9
9
Citrus-aldehydic opening
Instantly supported by oud
Flowers shimmer perfectly intertwined
Creamy-vanilla oud-musk base
A little dream
Translated · Show originalShow translation
9 Comments
50
80
The Chéngmén
shows off a thick costus fur
with a rush grass stem in its mouth
peppery gaze
wears fur leather with
damp earth stains
disturbingly good look
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80 Comments

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