Thoughts On One Day Perfume

I recently discovered a perfume store in Australia that carries the Hong Kong-based fragrance house, One Day Perfume. The store is called Sweetfern (https://sweetfern.com.au/) and is located in regional Victoria, in Ballarat, of all places. I’d been keen to try the brand for a while. Indeed, I think it was Nose Prose that first introduced us to the house a couple of years ago, in this post: https://noseprose.com/2024/08/11/food-as-a-landmark-taipei-by-one-day/. Their tea scents have been their most popular, delivering significant traction for the house. But unfortunately, they were all sold out at Sweetfern, as was Taipei. Instead, I settled for decants of Salm, Thai Soda, and Jeju. The store kindly included free samples of Berlin and Amsterdam. Here are my brief thoughts on the perfumes.

Amsterdam

Notes: mint, bergamot, fig, lily of the valley, lavender, cedar, musk, patchouli.

For obvious reasons, I was expecting a cannabis note in Amsterdam. Mercifully, the brand didn’t go down that route. Still, it comes across as green and herbal, largely thanks to the chewy mint top note, which combines with lavender. A fruity fig note adds a hint of sweetness. Eventually, it settles into a gentle, cedary, musky base. As I wore it, I couldn’t help but think of a mojito cocktail. However, I must admit that this is my least favorite of the five scents I tried.

Berlin

Notes: vetiver, cedar, birch, rose, guaiac, musk.

Berlin came as a nice surprise. The brand’s ad copy for the scent describes a gloomy day spent walking through the streets of Berlin. The fragrance opens with a woody vetiver top note, which transitions into a rosy middle note that contrasts beautifully with a smoky birch tar accord. The birch brings in its leathery nuances. The colours here are muted and grey. I think its dark character does a good job of capturing the gritty, vibrant streets of Berlin, fulfilling the intended brief.

Jeju 

Notes: grapefruit, yuzu, green tea, tomato leaf, green notes, orange blossom, cedar, musk, moss.

Tomato leaf isn’t used anywhere near enough in perfumery, and Jeju has it at the forefront. Its bitter green scent profile always brings me back to my grandparents’ greenhouse, where they grew tomato plants. I’ve got some in my backyard and love running my fingers over the leaves to release the fragrance. Although it’s not a fashionable note these days, Jeju manages to feel modern and lively, perhaps because it doesn’t become too cluttered. Before the tomato leaf comes through, there’s a grapefruit/yuzu citrus accord up top that adds sharpness, bite, and acidity, and it’s grounded on a calming base of musk, green tea, and moss. Simple. Lovely stuff.

Thai Soda

Notes: bergamot, lemon, orange, petitgrain, lavender, neroli, patchouli.

I am familiar with Thai Soda, specifically Khieo, and if the brand was trying to replicate that here, they failed. I don’t particularly get the lime note or the fizz mentioned in the marketing. But it doesn’t matter; I’m thankful it’s not syrupy and sweet. There is a wide variety of Thai sodas, so perhaps I’m missing something. Lemon and lavender are the straws that stir the drink in Thai Soda, the perfume. It brings to mind classic masculine scents such as Eau Sauvage and Pour Monsieur. Indeed, a long-lost grandson to those perfume matriarchs. Although there’s no mention of rosemary in the note pyramid, there is certainly something green and herbal beneath the top notes, possibly rosemary, which adds a touch of sophistication and suavity to the mix.

Salm

Notes: ginseng, pine, ginger, cypress, incense, patchouli, cedar, Peru balsam, vetiver, sandalwood.

My word, Salm, is a unique piece of work. I find it the most interesting of the samples. It feels like a complex, layered perfume led by a woody ginseng note. I picture forest floors, leaves, and greenery. At first, I smell something nutty and spicy. There’s a real natural rawness in its initial impression. I get the sense of digging up topsoil. Maybe the patchouli note brings forth that earthy quality.

Salm becomes like a herbal remedy, with ginger adding a touch of sweetness and freshness. Although the fragrance is inspired by Korean culture, with woody notes of cypress and pine linking with the light smokiness of incense, I can’t help but imagine myself in the serene surroundings of a peaceful Japanese garden, complete with a wooden teahouse. However, it could just as easily represent a Korean garden. Peru Balsam brings down the curtain, and Salm becomes dusty and resinous as it fades into the skin.

Final Verdict

I’m rather impressed by the house. I’d like to explore their tea collection and some others from their “City” line. Salm is the best of the lot, but I doubt I would call it a daily driver kind of fragrance. You would have to be in the right frame of mind to want to wear that fragrance. I would turn to Thai Soda and Jeju for their ease of wear and versatility more often, I believe. Michael Wong, the brand owner and perfumer, has done a great job with these scents.

Have you sampled the brand?

Note: Bottle image from the brand, all other images are my own.