Borntostandout
Founded 2022
Seoul niche house founded by Jun Lim, a former investment banker. It makes bold, unusual scents, and its own site says its white bottles reinterpret Joseon-era white porcelain.
Hours and prices change, so check with the shop before you go.
Seoul perfume in bottles after Joseon white porcelain
Borntostandout is a Korean fragrance house from Seoul, founded by Jun Lim. He left a banking job in 2021 to chase the idea, and the brand launched in April 2022. Refinery29 describes him as a former investment banker and lifelong fragrance fanatic. The house's own brand page sums up its attitude: why fit in when you were born to stand out.
Its white bottles reinterpret Joseon-era white porcelain and are modelled on traditional Korean drink bottles. The house says its perfumes combine natural absolutes, spices and safe synthetics, with synthetics standing in for animal materials and for plants with sustainability or allergen problems. Its eau de parfum line is made at 30 to 40 percent fragrance concentration, and many scents start from food and drink: basmati rice, milk, cola, spiced tea.
To smell the range in Seoul, go to its Hannam flagship store at 1F, 43-1 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, the address on its own contact page. Start with Dirty Rice: it is built on a warm basmati rice accord with milk and peony, the kind of unusual note Refinery29 picked out, so it shows quickly whether the house's style suits you.
- Dirty RiceA warm rice accord of basmati, milk and peony over sandalwood and vetiver, pitched as raw, unfiltered seduction.
- Dirty MilkMilk as something spilled on purpose rather than drunk, with buttery iris melting into spicy akigalawood and vanilla.
- Black KarakA cup of karak tea, creamy and heavy with cardamom and saffron, that the house calls comfort turned into chaos.
- Cola AddictCola's sugar, caffeine and fizz turned into a scent, from cola foam and lime peel to rum, vanilla and caramel.
Where to buy
- Flagship, 1F, 43-1 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu
In our city guides
- Borntostandout flagship (Boutique, Seoul)