Chinese Calligraphy

Woah! Kind of weird. It smells like ink, milk, and a kind of alcoholic beverage. Then something almost like...purple modeling clay? Conceptually, it partly smells like a classroom. There is some note that I swear a teacher of mine was wearing in the 90s. I think that's just my personal baggage. The only notes that genuinely connect it to "classroom" are the ink and the milk. And man it does smell like ink, truly. That being said, NOT a good scent for a teacher. Not a casual scent either. It's not offensive, but it's not...inoffensive. Overall the perfume really unique and doesn't smell bad at all to me, but I think that not everyone will like it. Don't wear this to work unless you are the CEO or manager. Or unless you work at a tattoo parlor, then it would actually be a perfect scent. I can see a beautiful Chinese of Japanese woman in vintage times who works in an underground tattoo parlor, doing traditional stick and poke full color back tattoos and sleeves, and the parlor smells just like this from her perfume mixing with the inks and the hot sterile needles and people's bodies in the wood and leather chairs. So unless you are somewhere intense, brash, and counter culture, do not wear this perfume to places where people won't have a choice whether they want to be within six feet of you. If I smelled this on someone on a plane or during a standardized test I would throw hands. If I smelled it on my waitress or tattooista I would fall in love. Edit after wearing a few times: It really does not last long!! Like not even 4 hours! Is it just me? It smells extremely strongly when you first apply it, but it's like a surface scent, sadly it goes away. I wish there was a perfume version of make up primer because then I would put that on before using this perfume.

Chinese Calligraphy is my first sampling of d’Annam Chapter 3: Majestic China, a fascinating fragrance with a very literal inspiration in that key notes are ink, black lacquer, paper, coffee, and orchid. It’s fittingly dark and sharp but also feels appropriately midway between natural and manmade elements, the ink and paper paired with the coffee and orchid, conjuring the ink-on-paper writing perhaps in a setting with flowers and coffee, with plenty of darkness via the ink and coffee and a good amount of brightness via the orchid and paper. Over time, the sharpness and brightness fades and gives way to more of the coffee and ink. I’m a big fan of coffee in fragrance in general, and it being juxtaposed with ink especially is quite interesting, not to mention that yields a quite different experience from the sweeter, creamier coffee-rich concoction Vietnamese Coffee, which is part of d’Annam Chapter 1, one of my favorites of that initial group. But in Chinese Calligraphy I find a denser, slightly more provocative, yet still cozy and evocative grouping of ideas that blend together quite superbly, and I’m really impressed. It’s one of my favorites of the entire house that I’ve tried so far. The current pricing for this and most other d’Annam perfumes is $160 for 50ml, sold in the US via the house website as well as great boutiques like Perfumology and Ministry of Scent, most of which also sell the discovery sets for each of the three chapters—Vietnam, Japan, and China. 8 out of 10

Yum!! Chinese Calligraphy is my favorite perfume from the China line. The vibe to me is dusty, cold coffee, face paint from my childhood. Especially the face paint note is prominent to me, maybe those pigments have a certain scent that ink has as well? Do I feel the concept of old leather in the distance? Perhaps a type of paper? Ah, blue ballpoint ink too. Something in the distance is comforting, vaguely grounding, a pinch of warm. I found this note hard to describe, I kept thinking 'floral but not floral', must be the orchid. This fades away after an hour or so. The more it dries down, the more it leans towards a subtle coffee scent. Truly unisex to my nose. So comforting and addictive. It reminds me of Naked Dance by Oddity, they are relatives. My husband and dog like it as well so I will go for a full bottle of this. It layers nicely with White Rice. Edit: I detected the scent on my clothes 24hrs later, still papery delicious

This is awesome, totally unique. It smells like you’re sitting in a university library at a large, polished, wooden desk. The building next to the library is under construction and you walked past it on the way in. That morning, you spilt black coffee on your shirt, but you’re wearing black so it’s ok, no stains and no time to change anyway. There’s still Folgers black silk grounds under your nails. There’s an old book in front of you on the desk, it’s in the foreign language you’re minoring in. You’re struggling through the words and sucking on the back end of a cheap pen. I’ve been searching high and low for a “library” scent and I think I’ve finally found it. Only hesitation on the full bottle is that this a tad faint for my liking, and the bottle looks a little cheap. Longevity is maybe 3-4 hours. I want more “oomph” for the price point. But hey. The juice is exactly what I’ve been searching for.

I absolutely adore this fragrance! It reminds me of opening an old book that has been sitting on a shelf for years. Its a dusty, yet subtly sweet paper scent. I was initially hesitant about this fragrance because of the coffee note , but I was pleasantly surprised. The coffee note really does tie it all together; initially, it's what i'd imagine a coffee scented incense stick would smell like, but as it dries down it gives you more of a brewed coffee. Almost like it was spilled on the pages of a book and dried down a long time ago. Very cozy and wearable, but not a safe blind buy for the average person. If you want to smell like old paper this is absolutely for you.

Bought a sample out of curiosity, among some masc leaning woody/smoky/earthy frags; these aren't notes I would wear... Or so I thought! I don't like coffee-scented stuff, but this is not *that somehow and is fairly pleasant: nothing syrupy nor too earthy. The varnish and ink are noticeable but not overpowering, and the paper is immediately recognizable. These bow out to a pretty floral note with some background coffee after the first hour, but it's so interesting for the entire duration that it becomes wearable for me. It leans feminine but idec, it's very enjoyable and different!

the general smell reminds me of a some sort of an hospital or a dentist smell, synthetic kinda like a serum, ig that's what they went for to make the smell of varnish, ink etc. Fun fact, the smell of an "Hospital" is actually the smell of intense ingredients and vitamins in serums that are in the hospital. An addition to this smell, there's a really prominent coffee smell especially on the drydown, which makes this a bit more wearable. It was fun to experience a scent like this after trying crystal saffron for the first time. 8.6/10

Unique and unisex. Personally I think the paper comes up first and the coffee notes are noticeable throughout the day. Wearing this scent makes me feel very cool. My first d'Annam purchase and I'm so hooked. I'm American and I have very little connection to Asian or Chinese culture, so the smell alone brings to mind a kind of Dark Academia aesthetic. Plaid skirts, knee socks, large thick-framed glasses. Gonna go for a full bottle and it may become my signature scent.

definitely belongs to my favorites from this house with strawberry mochi. ive started to realize that i really like ink notes and this fragrance sealed away any doubts. its such a beautiful combination of coffee, ink and paper! inoffensive but powerful and rare to smell on other people. the longevity is also insane with the longest lasting note being coffee powder

I am obsessed, I cant stop smelling my wrists. Smells like reading an old book in a dark academia-esqe library while your espresso sits on the table next to you. The coffee is there, but the ink on paper hits you first. Its truly unisex which I love. Its unique. I feel more intelligent while wearing this.

Delicate and sooo beautiful. sends me to a picturesque little village so i can write long diary entries. love it so much best gift ever

Trying the 6 fragrances from the Majestic China collection, this one definitely stood out for me. I went into it blindly, only reading the short snippets provided with the discovery set, and my immediate reaction was understanding the intent of trying to get an "ink" scent. There was no mention of coffee, and honestly, just studying it for a few minutes, "coffee" never jumped out at me, so I was surprised to see it as one of the main notes, and of course now that I go back to it, it clicked and now it seems obvious it's a coffee note. With that said, I think that there was no clear intent to make it necessarily smell like coffee, but the perfumer just decided that this specific blend happened to evoke an aroma of ink. Also, I generally don't connect with "coffee" fragrances unless it's used as a very subtle supporting note. Chinese Calligraphy is surely an exception here, as the coffee bean aroma is unlike any I have smelled before. It is very smooth while also being dark and understated. It makes me think a little of the coffee notes used in Montale's fragrances, which in my experience are usually quite heavy, dark, and punchy, and unfortunately quite synthetic and harsh. This has that same kind of darkness but it is much more natural smelling, not harsh (while there is still a little menthol-like sharpness) and doesn't try to overpower anything.

Unique, intriguing, and transportive. The slightly chemical edge of the varnish and ink are strongest on first spray, mellowing out quickly into sweeter, almost incense-y coffee and orchid dominated dry down, with a delicate papery quality throughout. To me this has a distinct autumnal university library vibe. You're deep into research, with your nose in a brand new textbook that still smells like the printshop. A coffeemaker is running in a nearby alcove. Someone at the table next to yours is wearing a perfume that is familiar but unidentifiable. The librarian has a scented candle burning on her desk. You're taking notes with a cheap but juicy ballpoint pen. You can feel a chill coming off the window, but inside it's comfortably warm. With that said, this isn't really something I would get a lot of wear out of, personally. I was expecting a more camphor-y sumi ink type scent with a drier, more present paper note. This is heavier, less clean, and honestly started to give me a headache after a while. That's not to say it's at all a bad fragrance, it's just not my personal preference. If you're looking for a "dark academia" fragrance, this could be right up your alley.

Very interesting fragrance. This house is one of the few houses that can get away with truly unisex scents. Most houses when they list "unisex" usually leans one way or another. It's quite annoying really because it's gaslighting the public, but this house does unisex the right way. So about this fragrance, it's dark coffee (more subtle than Vietnamese coffee), with a slight floral in the background, and what smells almost like a leather note. I do get ink, but more so light ink on paper. It's very unique but not so unique that the fragrance itself is off putting. So far the only fragrance I didn't like from this house is moonlight samurai, most of the fragrances are winners and a few are above ok.

The inky note packs a real punch at first, but blends well with some of the other notes as time goes on. I honestly barely get a coffee note at all, I feel like I really have to search for it. It didn't seem powdery on me until a few hours of wear. It's unique and reminiscent of the calligraphy classes I took in college, which I guess makes the name pretty appropriate. If you are a fountain pen fan and enjoy the smell of your non-scented inks, you would probably like this fragrance. It's interesting and unique, a good conversation starter for the office.

This is definitely my favorite of the new China collection. It's a fascinating and nostalgic scent. It smells like the office my dad worked in in the 90s. The opening is ink and paper, reminiscent of vintage printers. A few moments later the coffee comes forward. Orchid faintly lingers in the background, softening the edges. If you love art or books then I think you'll find something that speaks to you in this fragrance.

Y’all ever fall asleep on a school textbook, the ones with the glossy pages? That’s prob a close description to the synthetic printed paper scent. I weirdly like it? It smells like printer paper, crisp and clean, but has a hint of sweet powder and coffee. There’s something slight synthetic in the drydown (possibly the fountain ink), yet it’s not off-putting bc it’s so mild, it just adds the that crisp.

To me this smells mostly like varnish, ink, and just a hint of coffee. It's very well done. The question is whether you want to smell like ink and varnish. I thought, okay cool concept yeah I want to smell like that. Figured out that actually nope there is no way I can actually wear this...so know yourself, I guess.

I like this! The coffee is very prominent on my skin, and there's an underlayer of ink that pops through that makes this scent very unique. The only thing is that it doesn't last very long.. Wish it had more staying power!

Reminds me more of when you step into some sort of physic shop. But still good, regardless! It gets the message through.

Have you ever gone inside of a Buc-ee's? Have you ever walked through, got a waft of the air, pissed at the bathroom, walked by the truck drivers who leave their hands unwashed, and got that same waft of air afterwards? Chinese Calligraphy by D'annam is an interesting scent. It smells like the faint coffee by the brewers, the semi aromatic mop scent, the faint floral, bath and bodyworks-esque trail from the 45-year-old lady that just mean-mugged you. The smell of the floors, the air conditioning, the uniforms, hell, even the smell of the overhead, semi-depressing lights. It all comes together in an overwhelming experience. The dry-down sticks. And when I say sticks, it STICKS. To the nostrils, to the roof of the mouth, to the brain. It exhausts you, it gets you nauseous, but it hooks you. It draws you in, tires you out, but somehow.. it leaves you both relaxed and anxious. Just sniffed... yeah no it's nauseating and enticing. That's what Chinese Calligraphy smells like... apparently. It's unique I won't lie, I kinda dig it because I love Buc-ee's. Would I wear it someday? Maybe. Would I wear it more than a few days? Not really. I love that beaver but not that much. It's a sexy, gas-station type fragrance. Makes me want Beaver Nuggets and Lysol wipes real bad. 5/10

I will give it to this perfume that it is certainly unique. However, maybe it is misnamed? Not sure how coffee correlates with Chinese calligraphy. The initial spray is overpowering and chemical. Then the coffee note comes out and this middle time period, which sadly lasts only 3-4 hours on my skin, is my favorite experience with this fragrance. The coffee note pulls it all together and the underlying woodiness is very pleasant. BUT this does not last that long; the final drydown smells chemical again when the coffee note wears off. The theme of this perfume is much more caustic; evokes some sort of dark academia aesthetic. This fragrance is moody; it is for the stressed out new englander college student. Chinese calligraphy, in my mind, is associated with nature. Mists and mountain peaks, detached from worldly anxieties when the brush meets the paper; it is flowing and freeing. This scent does not thematically match. 6/10.

lacquered wood, a bold chemical sharpness that subsides slowly, coffee present throughout. a teacher's break room or a uni library, sunlit dust on windowpanes, printer paper, spreadsheets, pen ink; i like some facets of it, especially in the drydown when i get a hint of floral creaminess, but the sharp synthetic opening is a bit much. i might have preferred a more traditional take on the concept of chinese inks, more elevated woodiness and camphor and charcoal sticks. instead, this feels liminal somehow; maybe the worn-in coffee note is what's putting me in mind of airports, malls, school halls, and old office buildings. i can almost smell cigarettes, it feels like the natural progression of the environment created here, which is modern but distinctly pre-indoors smoking ban. i don't hate it, but it might be an acquired taste. we'll see how i end up feeling about it upon re-wearing it.

Another scent that, surprisingly, doesn’t quite feel Asian in character. The opening is intriguing, the ink note genuinely caught me positively off guard, but it fades rather quickly into a very straightforward orchid-forward composition. After that initial moment, it loses complexity for me. There’s a certain indefinable “something” I associate with Chinese fragrances that I struggle to find here, and unfortunately this chapter misses that mark.

The varnish accord definitely stands out, upon opening its super harsh and realistic varnish smelling and not in a good way. Dry down is much nicer. The orchid coffee and ink all stand out. I kind of get a boozy quality in here as well that is shared in moonlight samurai. A cool scent overall but I think I need to test it a bit more

Upon spray it did make me think of the black ink used in eastern calligraphy. It then goes to the coffee note and is somewhat sweet. I am not sure if orchid is supposed to impart sweetness. And I am not sure I get varnish. Interesting scent for sure, but not my preferred profile. Leans masculine.

Similar architecture to LiuShen Florida Water, but trade its minty, camphorous edge for coffee; less medicinal snap, more toasted nuisances.

I definitely get the coffee note first and foremost. There is a slight nuance of ink, but I wouldn't say it's the main accord. I thought of the process of making ink with an ink brick, taking me back to watching my late-Grandfather rubbing an ink block against his mortar stone, reciting poems to me. I will say it does not fully capture the dark richness, and almost animalistic quality, of true Chinese ink. It smells much more artificial - like fountain pen ink. The orchid note adds a nuance of floral freshness in a way, almost giving it some aromaticity. It seems like this fragrance doesn't know what it wants to be yet,,, like an identity crisis of sorts. It smells like coffee, florals, and synthetics all at once... Unfortunately, they don't quite come together. On dry down, it almost reminds me of Hua Lu Shui with a coffee accord lol. I think it's on Fragrantica as Liu Shen Florida Water. (This has since been confirmed by two other fellow Chinese) Edit 2: There is a common consensus among Chinese people that is smells like a more well-rounded HLS haha

Like if I spilled coffee on a printer. Very accurate but lowk unpleasant.

Smells like a dentist. Not in a cheirosa 68 way (and yes that smells like that spicy pink toothpaste to me; absolutely horrific in perfume) but it's that similar vibe except it's not the type of smell I'd go out my way to avoid. Would never consider buying this though due to that dental smell

ts stinks omg it physically turns my stomach over when i catch a whiff

This fragrance is the skin scent of d’Annam’s third collection, and it definitely feels like it could be an easy reach for me. It’s like the focus lo-fi beats YouTube channel of fragrance. A sheet of paper with charts printed with printer ink, recently coffee-stained, but otherwise fresh and crisp. Just a touch powdery. I feel like I should be wearing a proper light blue button-up. Why does it make me want to tackle my emails? One thing I particularly enjoy is that while the dry-down has that “molecular” skin-scent feel, it’s not overdosed with any of the identifiable molecules like iso E. It remains balanced and retains its unique character all the way through.

Chinese Calligraphy is an intense and odd fragrance. You get a few hours of pretty strong presence. It is a perfectly blended fragrance with a prominent sour and earthy smell. It's a green, unroasted coffee scent that is not reminiscent of a classic coffee smell whatsoever. The ink and varnish come in with their own complex sour chemical notes. After the period of solid projection is over, it settles in close to skin. This is a captivating and strange perfume. It does smell good but I can imagine many people disliking this fragrance (unsafe blind buy for sure).

wasn’t sure about this from first spray, the notes felt a bit discordant and jarring...i cant pretend i get any particularly distinctive notes of paper/varnish/ink, but there is a kind of woody savoury note in the open. much preferred the dry down: the coffee note is really gorgeous with a little bit of sweetness from the orchid, which i didn’t expect to like. a coffee scent, but a lovely one!

This fragrance feels very lived in. I smell a working class shopping center that was recently mopped. Synthetic cleaning solutions, faint whiff of low grade coffee. I’m not sure I want to smell this way but it is a very transportive smell. 7.5/10

a heavy bib wearing down on you while getting an x-ray at the dentist's

smells like the teachers room in my middle school