Your fragrance personality should be BornToStandOut

Garage gets up close with Jun Lim on the obsession, attitude, and scents behind BornToStandOut’s Manila debut

BornToStandOut has never been interested in smelling like everyone else. The Korean fragrance house, known for its bold compositions, provocative names, and high-impact scents, has officially opened at Glorietta, bringing its particular brand of olfactory chaos to Manila.

The brand was born from founder Jun Lim’s lifelong obsession with perfume. In 2020, after being fired from his investment banking job, Jun finally lost the excuse not to pursue the idea he had been carrying for years. His love affair with fragrance started at just 10 years old with Versace Blue Jeans, eventually turning into nearly 24 years of collecting before BornToStandOut came to life.

Its unofficial manifesto? “The perfumery for odd souls.” For him, “odd” means people with personality, a distinct point of view, and the confidence to be themselves regardless of what everyone else thinks.

And if he had to bottle his current mood, it would be Dirty Heaven, his personal go-to. With bergamot up top, jasmine and neroli at the heart, and a warm base of tonka bean, saffron, ambroxan, vanilla, white musks, grey amber, and modern woods, it balances luminous florals with a subtly darker, addictive finish.

Our BornToStandOut picks

Musc X
For something intimate and skin-like, Musc X is warm, musky, and seriously sensual. It opens with olibanum, moves into ciste and cotton candy, then settles into ambroxan, amber, musk, benzoin, and ambrette. Think the lingering scent of someone you probably shouldn’t be thinking about this much.

Gold Juice
This one does not believe in playing it safe. Rhubarb, durian, and mango make up the opening, followed by osmanthus, white flowers, and solar notes before drying down to caramel, almond, and gaiac wood. Tropical, funky, sweet, and slightly unhinged in the best way.

Fig P*rn
Juicy fig and pear meet bergamot in the opening, followed by cedarwood, peony, and Turkish rose. The dry-down brings amber, vanilla, musk, and sandalwood for a creamy, sensual finish. Basically, fig after dark.

Smokin’ Gun
This is the smoky night-out option. Campari, rum, bigarade orange, and juniper lead into incense, leather, cinnamon, oak, peated whisky, and pine, with cedar, tobacco, vanilla absolute, and sandalwood underneath. It smells like a very expensive bad decision.

Mary Jane
Green and rebellious, Mary Jane opens with hemp essence, cannabis, frozen mint, rhubarb, and grapefruit, then moves into sage, passion fruit, and elemi. Caramel, pine, electric woods, and cashmere wood give it a sweet, woody finish. Definitely not your standard floral bouquet.

If your fragrance collection has been behaving a little too well, BornToStandOut at Glorietta is your invitation to cause some olfactory trouble.

BornToStandOut is located on the ground level of Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City