Mermaids of Kowloon Bay - 海

Mermaids of Kowloon Bay is an ode to those who crossed the waters between mainland China and Hong Kong in the mid-20th century—men and women who swam, often under cover of night, propelled by hunger, resolve, and the fragile hope for a better life. While some reached the far shore, unknown numbers did not. Hope, for some, remained suspended in the water itself—unfinished, unresolved.

The fragrance is dedicated to the lives held in that in-between space: to the ones who made it, and to the ones whose journeys never reached a shore. It is a meditation on what it means to move toward possibility when the future is only an idea—when survival itself becomes an act of faith, and hope is sustained without certainty of arrival.

The story is not only of those who left, but also of those who remained. The coastline once left behind has since become one of the most extraordinary modern metropolises, defined by invention, opportunity, and forward momentum. What was once a place of scarcity and uncertainty has become a horizon of modern hope, a testament to how radically the world can change within a single lifetime.

Mermaids of Kowloon Bay is ultimately a tribute to fragile hope—how something so delicate, held onto with enough persistence, becomes powerful enough to change the world.

“Dreamers can never be tamed.”

— Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Top Notes (Departure):

Steamed Rice Vapor, Mantou Steam Accord, White Tea Vapor, Cool Night Air / Ozone

Heart Notes (The Crossing):

Mineral Seawater Accord, Salted Skin Musk, Wet Linen & Cotton, Soft Incense Smoke, Sea Moss, Baijiu Accord

Base Notes (Warmth & Becoming):

Golden Amber Resin, Milk Lactones, Benzoin, Soft Vanilla Bean, Coffee Bean, Cognac, Skin-close Musk

100% IFRA Compliant

Rice Vapor Accord

Rice is more than nourishment in Chinese culture—it is care, continuity, and belonging. The phrase “Did you eat?” is not casual; it is one of the most enduring expressions of love, a way of asking if someone is safe, if they are held, if they have enough.

In Mermaids of Kowloon Bay, rice vapor appears as the intimacy of departure: the last meal before a journey, warmth wrapped in cloth, sustenance carried into uncertainty. Rendered as a breath-like accord rather than a gourmand note, it evokes not indulgence, but the quiet humanity that precedes history’s crossings.

Mantou Accord

Mantou—steamed buns—are synonymous with nourishment in Chinese culture. They carry the softness of home and reflect maternal care: humble sustenance offered without ceremony, an honest food that comforts precisely because it is simple.

In the mid-20th century, during periods of scarcity, mantou often became a unit of measure—an emblem of what could be provided, what could be saved, what might not be enough. In Zhang Yimou’s To Live, steamed buns appear as a recurring symbol of condition and survival, reflecting how deeply food can hold the weight of history.

In Mermaids of Kowloon Bay, the mantou accord is rendered to evoke the intimacy of departure—the last warmth of home carried into uncertainty, a small tenderness held close against the sobering sea.

Baijiu Accord (Maotai)

Baijiu is among the oldest distilled spirits in the world, woven into the language of celebration, reunion, and milestone. Traditionally reserved for weddings, festivals, and honored guests, its aroma carries the richness of what is meant to be shared when life allows.

Here, baijiu lingers not as intoxication, but as something deferred—a future imagined from afar. In the context of mid-20th-century migration, it becomes an emblem of prosperity held just beyond reach: the scent of better days, postponed but not relinquished.

Coffee Bean

Coffee arrived in Hong Kong through colonial trade routes, becoming part of a European modernity that was visible, tangible, and often inaccessible. For generations, coffee carried the atmosphere of offices, cafés, and western leisure—an aroma of privilege across the harbor.

In Mermaids of Kowloon Bay, coffee appears in the dry down, like air drifting from the far shore. It is not a café note, but a historical one: a marker of distance, aspiration, and the world that shimmered beyond reach for locals.

Amber & Milk Lactones

Amber has long been perfumery’s language of warmth—of skin, comfort, and the gravity of something enduring. Paired with milk lactones, it becomes an accord of abundance: softness, fullness, nourishment imagined before it existed.

In this fragrance, ambered milk offers warmth and softness against the sobering night sea. It means arrival—what the body swims toward, what hope promises without certainty. The journey does not resolve for everyone, but hope remains. We hope this fragrance gathers it gently, in a warm embrace that feels like home.

Genderless: Inclusive of everyone.

Vegan & Cruelty-Free: No animal-derived ingredients. Never tested on animals.

Free of BHT, Phthalates, and Synthetic Dyes: We omit common fragrance additives that offer no benefit to your skin—or your senses.

Thoughtfully Composed: Our fragrance is made with 97% plant-derived, organically sourced materials, including botanicals, absolutes, resins, and natural isolates.

Purposeful Innovation: To achieve nuanced scent structure and longevity that cannot be bottled through plants alone, we use less than 1% of carefully selected, bio-identical aromatic molecules—lab-crafted to mirror naturally occurring compounds found in botanicals, but at concentrations that nature alone cannot yield sustainably.

Our Philosophy: There is no universal standard for “green” or “clean” fragrance. At Gentlerist, we believe in formulating with transparency, integrity, and reverence—prioritizing wellness, skin safety, ecological responsibility, and olfactive excellence.

Ingredients: Alcohol Denat.*, Aqua (Water), Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Citronellol, Linalool, Limonene, Citral, Eugenol, Farnesol, Isoeugenol

* Triple-distilled, small-batch, organic grape, organic sugarcane alcohol, and baijiu spirit
^ Derived from 97% Organic Plant Sources

Texture: Eau de Parfum

Suitable for: Genderless

Packaging: 50 ml / 1.7 oz glass bottle with atomizer.

Storage: Keep in a cool, dry area.