Do You Ever Feel Sorry for Xuân Tóc Đỏ?

Do you ever feel sorry for Xuân Tóc Đỏ?

Red-Haired Xuân is the street-smart antihero of Vũ Trọng Phụng’s 1936 satirical novel “Số Đỏ” (“Dumb Luck”): a ball boy who bluffs his way into 1930s Hà Nội high society by riding its craze for everything “Europeanised”.

What did Xuân really get wrong?

In truth, Xuân’s hunger to climb and prove himself is deeply human. His only mistake was using lies to cover up the emptiness inside. If only he had had something of real value to hold on to, he would never have needed to dress himself up in hollow titles.

So what would happen if Xuân woke up to a new truth and stopped chasing the “Europeanisation” craze?

Số Đỏ, the spin-off: Xuân the Fragrance Stylist

The story goes that, instead of talking big and clinging to the flashy Westernising trend to get ahead, Xuân suddenly saw the light. Fashionable clothes do not make a gentleman, but a truly classy scent does. He dropped his quack remedies, picked up a bottle of Thơmore, and proudly gave himself a new title: exclusive Fragrance Stylist to Hà Nội’s elite.

One refined spritz and old Mr Hồng cried out in delight, twisting his famous catchphrase into “I know, I know, it smells so good!” Mrs Phó Đoan was so smitten she demanded a distribution contract on the spot. Xuân became a fragrance tycoon in his own right, closing sale after sale in a sharp suit, and shook off his scoundrel’s reputation for good to write a brilliant ending of his own.

Behind that satirical, made-up ending is the empathy we feel for Xuân, and the truth Thơmore wants to share. Real class has never come from blindly chasing a foreign veneer. True distinction has to start from refinement within.

We do not make a scent just to smell good. We make it to carry a message: a launchpad that honours real worth, and helps you take charge of your life and proudly decide your own destiny.

Read more: What Does Thơmore’s Số Đỏ Perfume Smell Like? Bold, Woody, Memorable