198. SY TRUONG [SYLHOUETTE] ~ The Man With the Paracresol Tattoo.
Perfume Room
Emma Vernon
4.9 • 618 Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2026
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2018, Sy Truong began studying (and teaching himself) perfumery. Six years later, he's the recipient of an Art & Olfaction Award, the founder and perfumer behind the internationally-celebrated brand Sylhouette Parfums, the perfumer of record for TOOUCH perfumes, and is shaping the emerging landscape of Vietnamese niche perfumery.
Today, we chat about the perfume book that changed his entire life, his quest to embody his art, his self-image and how it shapes his style and aesthetic, and Sy shares the driving force behind all he does (in my words, not his) that we could all do a bit more of in 2026: ~LET UR HATERS BE UR MOTIVATORS!~
SINGLE NEW YORKERS CLICK HERE!
JAN SMELL CLUB TIX: coming v soon!!
FRAGS MENTIONED:
Amouage Jubilation 40 (SOTD), Stora Skuggan Azalai, Sylhouette: Poème Noire, Molotov Cocktail; Mugler Alien, Coco Chanel, Toouch: Smoky Graze, Heritage Nuzzle; Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule, ONE DAY
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the perfume room. My scent of the day today is not a new one. You've heard me talk about it before, but it's been a while. And that is Mouge Jubilation 40 Man, the 2023 version. This perfume is really one of my |
| 0:24.5 | absolute favorite cold weather reaches. It's such a perfect mix of moss and amber and resins and |
| 0:32.6 | fruiness and it just lasts and lasts and lasts all day long. It is a fruity, deeply resinous sheep. |
| 0:40.8 | For me, what really sets it apart is it's divana note, which kind of gives it this sort of like |
| 0:46.7 | high pitch, slightly tart, fruity brightness. And I really just find this scent to smell so chic, |
| 1:50.9 | but also so warm and diffusive. And I know if you are enticed by what I'm talking about and you Google this perfume, you're going to be like, hello, Emma, this is like a $500 perfume. I don't know the exact price, but I feel like it's like, I don't know, it might even be more than that. I feel like it's like $540. Anyway, I was gifted this by the brand because I fell in love with it at the store and I mentioned it to them and they kindly gifted me a bottle. So I know that it is not the most accessible price point. A perfume that I have found, again, this is not me saying this is a dupe at all. It's actually quite different. If you smell them side by side, I get much more saffron and the one that I'm about to say. But if you want something that feels like in a similar vein, in a similar vibe, under $200, I would recommend Stora, Skugan, Azale. I really adore both of these scents. If you can get your nose on jubilation 40, you should. If you can get your nose on Jubilation 40, you should. If you can get your nose on Azale, you should. But I love something that's just equally resinous, dark, and fruity this time of year. Let's get to our guest today. Today we are joined by Vietnamese perfumer |
| 1:57.6 | C. Trong. C is the perfumer and founder of his own brand, one that leans |
| 2:03.3 | heavily into themes of death and dark romanticism and decay, and that is silhouette perfumes. |
| 2:10.3 | And for silhouette perfume, specifically for the fragrance, Molotov Cocktail, he is the recipient |
| 2:15.2 | of a 2024 Art and Alfaction award. He is also the |
| 2:19.5 | perfumer behind upcoming new niche Vietnamese brand Touch. See is incredibly talented and |
| 2:26.2 | primarily self-taught and today will give you a really raw and personal look into |
| 2:31.4 | C's life. What inspires him, his family, his inner struggles, |
| 2:37.4 | how he thinks, and so much more. I know when I first smelled C's perfumes, I was intrigued and |
| 2:43.8 | curious about who the nose and the brains behind these sense were, and you will really get a |
| 2:49.2 | sense of how he thinks and approaches perfumery in this |
| 2:52.1 | conversation. I am so excited for you to hear it. Here is C. Trong. See, welcome to the perfume |
| 2:59.8 | room. How are you doing today? I'm doing really good, actually. It's a bit busy, but, like, yeah, it's good. |
| 3:10.0 | What do you smell like today? What are you wearing? |
| 3:12.3 | At the moment, actually, I'm wearing Poem Noa, one of the sand from my first collection. |
| 3:18.9 | Actually, I wear it a lot lately because to, it's really sad, but like romantic at the same time. |
| 3:30.0 | And actually, I make it for myself at first. |
... |
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