Cinojad

Cinojad (上官玉哲, Shangguan Yuzhe) is an independent Chinese perfume house. It was founded by the perfumer Jaden with his mother, May, and reinterprets the scholarly aesthetic of Chinese jade with the means of today's perfumery. Its "Echoes of the Silk Road" collection includes five eaux de parfum, all dated 2025, which we offer in a 35 ml bottle and a 2 ml sample.

The story of Cinojad

Cinojad is a family affair. Jaden composes the fragrances, and he created the house with his mother, May. Two generations pool their knowledge of Chinese culture. The house's Chinese name, 上官玉哲, is read Shangguan Yuzhe, and jade is its central reference: in the scholarly tradition, this stone stands for a discreet elegance that does not seek to shine.

The house works under the motto "Fragrance · Sound · Image". It does not design perfume on its own, but crosses it with other arts and seeks to bring East and West into dialogue. This explains the place of storytelling in its creations: each fragrance carries a four-character Chinese name, a specific place and a scene.

Cinojad is a young house and still little documented in Europe. We therefore prefer to stick to what it says about itself and to what its fragrances show.

A signature: places, peoples and materials with character

Jaden works with natural raw materials of character and even extracts some of his essences himself. You can read this in the pyramids, where you come across notes that are rare in perfumery: houttuynia, a green, peppery herb, wild calamus, borneol from Xishuangbanna, sophora flower, coral ginger or sphagnum moss.

The other trait of the house is accords that tell the story of a place. There is a Sulima rice wine accord, the drink of the Mosuo, a desert grape wine, a Yanqi meadow accord. The notes are often tied to a place: Turpan blackberry, Lugu Lake fir, Ili marjoram.

On the skin, this gives fragrances that do not resemble the usual families. A fruity ends on dark cacao and papyrus, a rose rests on a fermented accord, a white floral is crossed by a camphoraceous freshness. These are legible fragrances, but ones that are best tried on the skin before choosing.

How the collection is organized

The "Echoes of the Silk Road" collection (丝路回响) follows the ancient route like a cultural thread, from migrations to encounters. Its first chapter, "The Meeting of the Five Peoples" (五族初汇篇), draws on the daily life of five peoples, from the northwest to the southeast of China: the Kazakh meadows of Yanqi, the vineyards of Turpan, the Mosuo's Lugu Lake, the tropical forests of the Dai and the Jiangnan of the scholars. The house associates a strength with each fragrance: freedom, joy, frankness, resilience, introspection.

The range is simple. All five fragrances are unisex eaux de parfum, offered in the same two sizes.

• The 35 ml bottle, at about €155.
• The 2 ml sample, around €13, to try the fragrance on the skin.

Cinojad fragrances available at Passion Parfum

Fresh and green

Yan Qi Dian Xia (焉耆甸夏, "Summer in the Meadows of Yanqi") is the freshest of the five. Corsican pomelo, bitter orange and wild calamus in the top notes, houttuynia, pomelo blossom and Yanqi meadow accord in the heart, Ili marjoram, sphagnum moss and green vetiver in the base. It starts like a citrus fragrance and quickly turns to wet grass, with no sugar. It is a daytime fragrance, for spring and summer.

Florals

Mo Suo Gu Niang (摩梭古酿, "The Old Brew of the Mosuo") is a woody musky floral. Red-fruit ginseng, rhubarb and coral ginger in the top notes, wild raspberry, Mosuo rose and Sulima rice wine accord in the heart, Lugu Lake fir, henna musk and Siam wood in the base. It is a fruity, tangy rose with a slightly fermented softness at its heart, worn by day or by night, from spring to autumn.

Mu Ye Cang Xia (暮野苍霞, "Evening Clouds over the Plain") is the fruitiest and most gourmand. Silk Road passion fruit, pink berries and May rose in the top notes, papyrus, desert grape wine and dark cacao in the heart, Turpan blackberry, tuberose and amyris wood in the base. The fruit is ripe, but the dark cacao and papyrus keep it from turning into candy. We recommend it rather for the evening.

Hua Qiang Ye Meng (花蔷夜梦, "Night Dream of the Wild Roses") is a woody camphoraceous floral. Camphor tree flower, jasmine grandiflorum and wild rose in the top notes, banana leaf, frangipani and borneol from Xishuangbanna in the heart, elemi resin, Burmese rosewood and benzoin in the base. The camphoraceous note runs through the fragrance and gives the flowers definition. It evokes the tropical forest of the Dai and is worn mostly in the evening, in autumn and winter.

Woody and spicy

Yue Tan Li Yuan (越檀梨苑, "The Sandalwood and Pear Garden of the Land of Yue") starts from a rainy afternoon in Hangzhou. Chinese pear, apricot kernel and wild sophora flower in the top notes, allspice, ambergris and oriental lemongrass in the heart, white sandalwood, cashmeran and Tarakan agarwood in the base. It is a soft woody scent, with fruit in the opening and measured spice. It is also the one of the five with the strongest sillage.

Where to start with Cinojad

If you like fresh, green fragrances, start with Yan Qi Dian Xia. If you are looking for a rose that is easy to wear every day, go for Mo Suo Gu Niang.

For a soft woody scent, with sandalwood and pear, Yue Tan Li Yuan is the safest choice. For the evening, Mu Ye Cang Xia will suit those who like fruity scents with body, and Hua Qiang Ye Meng those who like white flowers with a camphoraceous freshness.

These fragrances use unusual notes, which everyone perceives differently. We recommend starting with the 2 ml sample, offered for all five fragrances, and wearing it for a few days before choosing a bottle. The sizes are also gathered on the samples page.

Frequently asked questions

Who is behind Cinojad?

Cinojad (上官玉哲, Shangguan Yuzhe) is the house of Jaden, an independent Chinese perfumer, who founded it with his mother, May. Jaden signs the five fragrances of the "Echoes of the Silk Road" collection.

Where can I buy Cinojad fragrances in France?

We offer the collection's five eaux de parfum at Passion Parfum, in a 35 ml bottle and a 2 ml sample. Orders are shipped from our own stock.

Is Cinojad a niche brand?

Yes. It is an independent house, run by its perfumer and its co-founder, with a short range and a strong cultural stance.

Do Cinojad fragrances last long?

They are eaux de parfum. Our product pages indicate a longevity of more than eight hours for all five, with moderate sillage, except for Yue Tan Li Yuan, whose sillage is stronger.

What do the names of the Cinojad fragrances mean?

Each name is the transcription of four Chinese characters describing a place or a scene. Yan Qi Dian Xia, for example, translates as "Summer in the Meadows of Yanqi", an oasis in Xinjiang on the ancient Silk Road.