First Impressions – BORNTOSTANDOUT Part 2

So now, for part 2 of my overview of the new Korean brand BORNTOSTANDOUT (BTSO). Unfortunately, the second set of six falls into the same category as the first – largely forgettable compositions that don’t rise to any great heights.

Smokin’ Gun is BTSO’s answer to Tobacco Vanille, albeit with less emphasis on tobacco. Piney juniper and forest notes bring a fresher aspect. Not a bad effort, but the forest notes disappear too fast, leaving behind a sweet trail. Shades of Amouage Boundless in its woody/tobacco vibes. But both the Amouage and Tom Ford are better than this offering. Sex and Cognac is unpleasant, mixing animalic leathers / with sweet syrupy boozy elements in the opening. The dry down becomes more palatable with drier, woodier notes coming through. Certainly, not my type of leather fragrance. 

Indecent Cherry surprisingly doesn’t smell like Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry. Instead, it recalls fruity chapstick mixed with bubblegum – an indecent assault on my nose. Dirty Rice is steamy and milky but ultimately too subtle to make a lasting impression. Diptyque’s latest Leau Papier explores similar themes and is ultimately superior. 

According to the promo material, Mud is meant to evoke wet grass and dirt:

“The pouring rain cools off the ground. Water fiercely falls from the edge of the roof, raindrops splashes between the grass, and the ground turns to mud.“

“The subtle scent of the water, the wet grass, and the muddy ground. The mixed scent of the air reminisced me of a break-up with her.”

It doesn’t. Rather it’s milky mud cake. Notes of chocolate, almond, milk, and vanilla send us so far from the inspiration it’s confusing. The combined effects of these gourmand notes with ambery woods in the base create a weirdly synthetic plastic-like impact. There’s an empty, unsatisfying hollowness to it all. Not Vanilla is a vanilla-centric perfume blended with spices and fresh juniper. It reminds me a little of Gentle Fluidity Gold from MFK. But again, the base notes smell unnatural and contrived. 

I wanted to give the brand a chance for a couple of reasons. Firstly the perfumers behind the brand all, for the most part, have excellent records. Here’s a rundown:

1. Burnt Roses – Florian Gallo.
2. Dirty Rice – Olivier Cresp.
3. Drunk Saffron – Honorine Blanc.
4. Fig Porn – Florian Gallo.
5. Hinoki Shower – Frank Voelkl.
6. Indecent Cherry – Florian Gallo.
7. Mud – Nathalie Lorson.
8. Not Vanilla – Florian Gallo & Frank Voelkl.
9. NSFW – Florian Gallo.
10. Sex & Cognac – Hamid Merati-Kashani.
11. Smokin’ Gun – Florian Gallo.
12. Unholy Oud – Dora Baghriche.

Secondly, the brand’s stockist in Australia is Mensbiz. And they usually do a good job of vetting fragrance houses before bringing them into their store. For example, they stock houses such as Heeley, Tauer, and Santa Maria Novella. BTSO seems a contradictory selection against such quality houses. Bloom is one of their stockists in the UK, and Luckyscent holds their perfumes in the United States.

So overall pretty disappointing. Born to Stand Out now have 16 perfumes in its portfolio (the ones I haven’t tried are DGAF, Drunk Lovers, Naked Neroli, and Zest Z&T), and they’ve only been around since 2022 – talk about trying to cover all the bases and tick all the boxes. I honestly didn’t find one that I’d consider full bottle worthy. But then again, I’m probably not their target demographic. My picks are Hinoki Shower and Unholy Oud. To conclude, I guess I’d have to borrow a term from the TikTok generation and call their offerings decidedly…..mid.

If you’ve tried any of these, let me know. What’s the most disappointing brand you’ve tried recently?

I’ll sign off here with a few more rose photos and one of my petunia flowers. Indecent Cherry is pink like these flowers but nowhere near as pleasant smelling.