Zhufu (竹浮) is a Chinese perfume house active since 2022. Its name sounds almost like 祝福, "blessing", and its range draws on Chinese stories: a poet, an old herbalist, a Buddhist temple in Shanghai. The perfumes come in 15 ml bottles.
This article covers the house, its history and the logic of its collection. To compare the gourmand perfumes with one another, our guide Which Zhufu gourmand perfume should you choose? goes further on that point.
Bamboo and blessing
The house name is written 竹浮. 竹 (zhú) is bamboo, 浮 (fú) means to float. Said out loud, zhú fú comes very close to zhù fú, 祝福, the word for a wish or a blessing. The tones are different, but the ear makes the connection, and that is intentional: the brand presents each of its perfumes as a wish addressed to the person wearing it.
Bamboo is the central motif. In China it is associated with longevity, integrity and the ability to bend without breaking. The bottle takes up its shape, and the character 福, "good fortune", is engraved under its base. On the scent side, one clarification is needed: there is no bamboo essential oil used in perfumery. The bamboo notes you find in Nana or Above The Clouds are reconstructions, green and slightly watery, as with every house that uses them.
The house also takes care over its packaging. It says it uses FSC-certified papers, paper inserts in place of EVA foam and plastic, and recycled metal parts. Most of its products carry a Braille inscription, and the leaflet detaches to serve as a scented card or a postcard.
Who is behind Zhufu
The Parfumo database dates the start of the house to 2022 and lists it among Chinese brands. Zhufu says very little about its founders. One name circulates online, but we have not found a source reliable enough to confirm it, and we prefer not to print it here.
On the composition side, Parfumo lists two perfumers, Meng Gu and Jinyu Ju. For the gourmands, our product pages name the nose of four perfumes: Meng Gu for Caffè Roma and Triple Matcha, Jinyu Ju for Mango Ambrosia and Tianle Feng for Cocoa Toffee. For the original line, credits for individual perfumes vary between databases and retailers. Until the house confirms them, we will not detail them.
Several creations refer to Shanghai. Donglin Temple is presented as a collaboration with Donglin Temple in Shanghai's Jinshan district. Above The Clouds is inspired by the Jin Mao Tower, one of the skyscrapers of Pudong, and places white magnolia, the city's emblem flower, at its heart.
The olfactive style
The brand highlights its use of natural essential oils. As is almost always the case in perfumery, its formulas combine these natural materials with synthetic molecules: accords of bamboo, milk or white tea cannot be made any other way. What sets Zhufu apart is mainly its choice of themes and a few Chinese materials: pu-erh tea, borneol, Chinese cedar, lotus, camphor, persimmon.
The original line stays within green, woody and spicy registers, with bases of vetiver, cedar, sandalwood, oakmoss or oud. The compositions remain easy to read: two to six notes per layer, rarely more. Our product pages list all thirteen perfumes, Donglin Temple included, as extrait de parfum at 25%. The brand's own documentation presents most of the perfumes at "parfum" concentration, and Donglin Temple as an eau de parfum. The house claims longevity of about eight hours, which of course depends on your skin.
The 15 ml size deserves a word. It is a small bottle, which lets you finish a perfume before you tire of it and build a fragrance wardrobe without spending as much as on three 50 ml bottles. The price per milliliter is still that of a niche perfume.
The collection: two families
The collection reads in two parts. The original line has eight perfumes. Fragrantica dates Poet, Nana, Aged Pu-Er Tea, Above The Clouds and Master to 2024; Raw, Throne and Donglin Temple belong to the same family. Each one tells a scene, often tied to Chinese history or culture.
The second family is gourmand and more recent: Triple Matcha, Mango Ambrosia, Cocoa Toffee, Caffè Roma and Pistachio Muse. Parfumo dates Triple Matcha and Mango Ambrosia to 2026. These perfumes start from a food rather than a story. Milk and vanilla lead in Triple Matcha and Pistachio Muse; Cocoa Toffee rests on cocoa, toffee and incense, Caffè Roma on espresso and black tea, Mango Ambrosia on mango, white flowers and coconut. At Passion Parfum, the collection counts thirteen perfumes in all.
Zhufu perfumes available at Passion Parfum
The perfumes that tell a story
Poet is inspired by Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang dynasty, and by a gathering of scholars in a bamboo grove crossed by a stream. Bergamot, citrus and pink pepper in the top, a heart of black pepper, patchouli and rose, then amber, musk, oakmoss and vetiver. A spicy woody scent, fairly classic in its structure, dry and clean.
Master starts from the memory of an old Chinese herbalist surrounded by camphor wood drawers and pots of decoction. Lemon, mandarin, citrus and basil, a heart of blackberry and red fruits, then oud, musk and oakmoss. The contrast between the dark fruits and the moss gives a fruity perfume that does not slide into sweetness.
Throne evokes Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, and the bitterness of a reign won at great cost. Bitter orange, grapefruit, lime and mint, a heart of black pepper and pink pepper, then cashmere wood, cedar and vetiver. It is the freshest and sharpest scent in the original line.
Nana is named after a grandmother who ripened persimmons in a woven basket. Bamboo, bergamot and persimmon in the opening, iris and rose in the heart, then musk, patchouli and sandalwood. The persimmon gives a soft, fruity roundness that the iris turns powdery.
Tea, temple and greenery
Aged Pu-Er Tea tells of a summer night in a wooden cabin, where an old man pours hot water over aged pu-erh leaves. Pu-erh tea, bergamot and aquatic notes in the top, cedar and vetiver in the heart, then sandalwood and vetiver. The tea here is earthy and woody, far from fresh green teas.
Donglin Temple uses the plants of the temple garden: fir, camphor tree, pine needles. Citrus, bergamot and ginger, a heart of lotus, cypress, fir and camphor, then rosewood, cedar, agarwood and musk. A calm, resinous woody scent, where camphor brings an almost medicinal freshness.
Above The Clouds is the airiest perfume. Bergamot, citrus and green cardamom, a heart of bamboo leaf, borneol, lily of the valley, iris, white magnolia and white tea, then ambergris, ambrette, Chinese cedar, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver. Borneol, a camphoraceous resin used in China in incense and traditional medicine, gives an impression of clear freshness.
Raw evokes a forest after rain. Bergamot, coriander and grass, a heart of jasmine, lotus and violet, then amber, cedar, incense and musk. It moves from green to floral and then to woody, with coriander clearly present at the start.
The gourmands
The five gourmands are softer and more enveloping than the original line. Triple Matcha brings together three matchas, Yabukita, Samidori and Okumidori, with bergamot, milk and vanilla seeds. Mango Ambrosia pairs mango with citrus, tuberose, vanilla and white musk. Cocoa Toffee revolves around cocoa, toffee and incense, over a base of coffee and guaiac wood. Caffè Roma puts espresso up front, with vanilla, sandalwood and amber. Pistachio Muse is built on pistachio, almond and a vanilla cream. The full notes are on each product page, and our guide to Zhufu gourmands compares them two by two.
Where to start
To discover the house as it was built, Aged Pu-Er Tea is a good starting point: a woody tea, easy to understand and easy to wear. If you prefer fresh, spicy scents, Throne or Poet show the other side of the original line. For gourmand lovers, Triple Matcha is the most original of the five, because it pairs tea with sweetness instead of relying on sugar alone.
With 15 ml bottles, the gap between sample and bottle is smaller than with other houses. The 2 ml sample is still the best way to test a perfume over a full day, especially the gourmands, which change a lot between the opening and the base. Availability for each size is shown on the product page.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy Zhufu perfumes?
Passion Parfum offers thirteen Zhufu perfumes in 15 ml bottles and, depending on stock, as 2 ml samples, shipped from France to the United States and across Europe.
Is Zhufu a Chinese brand?
Yes. Parfumo lists it among Chinese brands, active since 2022, and several of its perfumes refer to Shanghai, including Donglin Temple, created with a temple in the Jinshan district.
What does Zhufu mean?
竹浮 combines bamboo (竹) and the idea of floating (浮). The name sounds almost like 祝福, "blessing" or "wish", a play on words the house openly claims.
Why are Zhufu bottles 15 ml?
It is the house's choice. A small size lets you rotate perfumes and actually finish a bottle. The price per milliliter remains comparable to a full-size niche perfume.
How long do Zhufu perfumes last?
The house claims about eight hours. Woody scents like Aged Pu-Er Tea or Donglin Temple generally last longer than citrus scents like Throne. Skin and season matter as much as the formula.
Browse every perfume from the house in the Zhufu collection, and the other independent houses we carry on the Houses and Creators page.