Ask someone which Chinese fragrance house to try first and most Australian shoppers cannot name one. TO SUMMER is the answer we give.
Sourced in person from Shanghai and Beijing, TO SUMMER gives us eight fragrances worth learning by name, from a snowbound cedar to a skin-close cotton musk. Each pulls from a different Chinese botanical or cultural reference, and each wears differently on skin.
This guide walks through all eight: what is actually in the bottle, who each one suits, and which to reach for first if the house is new to you.
What TO SUMMER Actually Is
TO SUMMER works across two lines, Eastern Essence and Eastern Philosophy, built around ingredients and references specific to Chinese fragrance culture: golden osmanthus trees in bloom at Beijing's Yihe Garden, the snow on the Kunlun mountains, a wild climbing rose, brewed tea taken through its green, black and smoky stages. Bottles carry an octagonal cap in a jade-like finish that nods to latticed flower windows in Jiangnan courtyard architecture, and gift boxes are made with paper from England's Lake District.
It sits alongside SoJan's best-selling fragrances roundup as the Shanghai and Beijing half of that edit, next to Seoul's Tamburins and Tokyo's Shiro. All three houses share a fragrance-forward register, but not a sourcing city, so treat each as its own thing rather than as interchangeable. If you would rather choose by the scent family you already wear, our guide to buying perfume you haven't smelled works from the other direction.
Cedarwood, Osmanthus, Triple Tea, Rambler Rose, Nude and Void come in 30ml and 100ml. Magnolia and Pomelo are 30ml only. All eight arrive in a gift-ready box, which makes the range an easy pick when a fragrance-loving friend is the one you are shopping for rather than yourself.
TO SUMMER Cedarwood
Cedarwood 昆仑煮雪 is cool aromatic wood rather than the warm, sweet kind. It began as the house's most classic scent in diffuser form, and perfumer David Huang rebuilt it as a perfume that sits closer to skin. Bergamot brightens juniper seed and cypress, rose and jasmine stay low under Atlas cedarwood, and Chinese cedarwood, amber and guaiac wood close it out.
The Chinese name points to the snow of Kunlun, and the scent keeps to that picture: cold at the start, resinous and warm by the end.
Best for: anyone who wants a woody perfume that starts cool and finishes warm.
TO SUMMER Osmanthus
Osmanthus 桂 is built around golden osmanthus absolute, developed over three years and more than one hundred formulation iterations by perfumer David Huang. Bitter orange and white peach open it, May rose and jasmine carry the heart, and it settles into amber and white musk.
It reads as a fruit-forward floral rather than a heavy one. If Byredo Mojave Ghost Absolu already sits in your rotation, Osmanthus takes a softer, fruitier route towards a similar warmth.
Best for: a first bottle from the house. It is the most approachable entry point and wears well day to day.
TO SUMMER Triple Tea
Triple Tea 茶茶茶 is the house's tea fragrance, from Jérôme Epinette, and it runs through tea's full range rather than settling on one note. Mate and green tea open it, black tea with violet and jasmine carry the heart, and rock tea, dried grass and amber close it out.
There is no fruit, cream or sugar in it anywhere. It is dry, gently smoky by the end, and unisex by design.
Best for: anyone who finds most florals too sweet and wants something closer to a quiet room than a garden.
TO SUMMER Rambler Rose
Rambler Rose 蔷薇 takes its name from the wild, climbing rose rather than a hothouse bloom. Perfumer Jérôme Epinette built it to move rather than sit still: bergamot and passion fruit first, then centifolia rose, jasmine, green tea and pink peony, before crisp amber, skin musk and blond woods settle underneath.
The green tea note keeps it from reading as a straightforward rose. It sits in a lifted, less syrupy register than most rose fragrances, closer to a garden after rain than a bouquet.
Best for: rose wearers who want lift and a green edge rather than density.
TO SUMMER Magnolia
Magnolia 兰 is a clean white floral built on white magnolia essential oil. Jasmine, tuberose and neroli fill the heart, and musk, cedarwood and amber sit underneath. Perfumer David Huang spent three years and 88 versions getting it right.
It opens green and bright, like picking petals through a light mist, then settles clean rather than heavy. Expect around six hours on skin. It comes in 30ml only.
Best for: wearers who want a white floral that stays clean, for warm mornings, the office or a walk under trees in bloom.
TO SUMMER Pomelo
Pomelo 柚 turns a frost-dusted autumn pomelo into a clean, herbal spray. Bergamot, mandarin and grapefruit open it sparkling, mint and thyme turn it green and fruity, and white musk and amber leave a smooth finish. David Huang composed it.
It reads cool and clean in summer heat and turns warmer once the weather does. The house puts wear time at about five hours, and it comes in 30ml only.
Best for: anyone who likes crisp citrus, green herbs and a clean musky finish.
TO SUMMER Nude
Nude 裸 is a skin scent. Cotton accord, bergamot and pear open it pale and damp, magnolia, water lily and violet make a quiet floral heart, and ambergris and amber leave it warm at the edges. It smells like freshly bathed skin rather than anything sweet. Perfumer Jérôme Epinette built it with a light hand.
It belongs to the Eastern Philosophy line and wears from the office to the evening without announcing itself.
Best for: anyone who prefers a scent that stays close to the skin, and an easy gift for someone who likes understated perfume.
TO SUMMER Void
Void 空境研茶 is a green, aromatic tea perfume from the Eastern Philosophy line. Bergamot, sage and green notes open it cool and leafy, maté and Ceylon tea carry the heart with jasmine and Damask rose held quiet, and amber and musk keep the finish clean. David Huang built it around tea absolutes that make up over 30% of the formula, which is where the tea-brown colour of the liquid comes from.
Where Triple Tea is dry and smoky, Void is the greener, more herbal side of tea. The jade-toned cap is hand-polished across 26 facets.
Best for: tea lovers who prefer the leafy, herbal side to the smoky side, at a desk, a long lunch or a quiet evening.
Our TO SUMMER favourites: Cedarwood for cool aromatic wood. Osmanthus for the easy, approachable floral. Triple Tea for something dry and unisex. Rambler Rose for lift and a green edge. Magnolia for a clean white floral. Pomelo for crisp citrus. Nude for skin-close cotton and amber. Void for green, herbal tea.
SoJan tip: Rambler Rose, Triple Tea and Nude share a perfumer, Jérôme Epinette. If one wears well on your skin, the others are worth testing before you look elsewhere in the range.
Which TO SUMMER Perfume Should You Try First?
Taste, not spec sheets, decides this one. Start with whichever line below sounds like your own scent story.
- New to TO SUMMER, want an easy first bottle: start with Osmanthus.
- Want cool, aromatic wood: Cedarwood.
- Already wear rose and want something lighter: Rambler Rose.
- Prefer a clean white floral: Magnolia.
- Tired of sweet florals, want dry and smoky: Triple Tea.
- Want tea that is green and herbal: Void.
- Want crisp, clean citrus: Pomelo.
- Want something that stays close to the skin: Nude.
- Building a fragrance edit across cities: pair TO SUMMER with a scent from Tokyo's Shiro or Seoul's Tamburins, and see the full line-up in our best-selling fragrances roundup.
A Few Practical Questions
What does TO SUMMER actually smell like?
Nothing generic, and no two of the eight read alike. Cedarwood is cool aromatic wood, Osmanthus is fruit and floral, Triple Tea is dry, tea-led and smoky at the end, and Rambler Rose is rose lifted by tea and green notes. Magnolia is clean white flowers, Pomelo is crisp citrus, Nude is skin-close cotton and amber, and Void is green, herbal tea.
Is Triple Tea a unisex fragrance?
Yes. Its tea, floral and woody notes work on anyone who prefers a dry, aromatic scent over a sweet one.
Which size should I start with?
Six of the eight come in both 30ml and 100ml: Cedarwood, Osmanthus, Triple Tea, Rambler Rose, Nude and Void. The 30ml is the lower-commitment way to test whether a scent earns a permanent place in your rotation before moving up to 100ml. Magnolia and Pomelo come in 30ml only.
Sourced in Shanghai and Beijing
Our personal shoppers choose the TO SUMMER range in person, in Shanghai and Beijing, from the house's own stock. Nothing is sourced through a third party. Bottles arrive factory-sealed, in the presentation the house intends.
Stock moves in runs tied to each sourcing trip. When a size or scent sells through, the next trip brings the next allocation, not an immediate restock. If a scent on this page is calling you, do not wait a fortnight on it.
Free delivery available. TO SUMMER ships to Australia and worldwide, with no customs paperwork on your end.
Shop the full TO SUMMER collection →
Not sure which one to start with? Message our Personal Shoppers on Live Chat with what you already wear, and we will point you to the closest match.
