October Brings the First Cool Winds: Bánh Trôi Nước

October comes with its cool, gentle winds, and suddenly the heart craves a little warm sweetness to lean on.

What does Bánh Trôi Nước smell like?

Inspired by a humble Vietnamese treat, Thơmore’s Bánh Trôi Nước (“Floating Sweet Dumplings”) opens as softly as a calm autumn morning. On the skin you first feel the cool, peaceful freshness of young pomelo pulp, woven with the juicy, delicate sweetness of fresh raspberry, as gentle as the smile of a young girl.

Then the scent slowly shifts into the soft, silky feel of ripe lychee, before settling into the pure, tender kindness of jasmine flowers. It is sweet and fresh, without a trace of fragility or melancholy.

The poem behind the scent

The name comes from “Bánh trôi nước”, a short poem by Hồ Xuân Hương. Looking at a pure white floating dumpling, people often think of life’s ups and downs, of sinking and floating, of muddy water and clear. But what remains in the end is a steadfast beauty: “however the hands that shape me knead me, hard or soft”, deep inside there is still, intact, “a loyal red heart”.

With 20 October, Vietnamese Women’s Day, just around the corner, amid all the rush of everyday life this might be a thoughtful gift: a gentle but steady wish for yourself, or a message full of appreciation for a woman you love, hoping that through every change, her kind heart and the steadiness of her spirit stay whole.

Read more: What Does Bánh Trôi Nước Perfume Smell Like? Cool, Clear and True