By Jerry Ding, Founder & Literature Curator of Scented Pages Workshop

At Scented Pages Workshop, I’ve always believed that literature is not confined to the pages of a book - it lives in the spaces between our breaths, in our memories, and even in the scent of a moment that lingers long after the story is over.

As a literature lover, and someone fascinated by how we experience emotion, memory, and art, I founded this project to explore a simple but powerful idea: What if we could wear our favorite stories? What if scent could become a new way of reading?

This is the heart of our literary fragrance collection—a series of natural perfumes inspired by eight timeless novels, reimagined not only through character and plot, but through emotional atmosphere and sensory texture. Each scent is crafted from pure essential oils and designed to translate literary themes into olfactory form.

Below, I’d love to take you through these eight perfumes. They are not summaries of stories, but translations of their souls.

Darcy

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (1813)

The fragrance of pride, wit, and unexpected affection.

Darcy was our starting point—the scent that asked: how can we represent character transformation through fragrance? It opens with bitter orange, bergamot, and grapefruit: crisp, refined, and slightly aloof, like Mr. Darcy himself at the story’s beginning. As the scent evolves, so does he. Middle notes of clary sage and lavender speak of clarity and vulnerability. The base—ginger, patchouli, sandalwood—offers a grounding warmth that wasn’t there before.

Darcy is about love that surprises you, and growth that humbles you. It is a perfume for those who admire character over charm.

Grace & Gaze

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (1813)

The scent of feminine strength and the meeting of minds.

Where Darcy reflects pride softened, Grace & Gaze is Elizabeth Bennet’s scent—intelligent, elegant, and unafraid. The opening—neroli, bergamot, pink pepper—is bright and self-assured. The floral heart (rose, jasmine, blue lotus) reveals her depth, vulnerability, and moral courage. The base of vetiver, patchouli, and cypress is quietly powerful.

This fragrance reminds us that grace is not passivity, and a gaze can change everything. It’s for those who live with both sharpness and softness.

Morbility

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde (1890)

The fragrance of beauty untouched and a soul unraveling.

This scent explores the seduction—and destruction—of eternal youth. Opening notes like grapefruit and neroli shimmer with innocence, like Dorian Gray at the start. But the story, and the perfume, quickly descend into something darker. Ylang ylang, rose geranium, and rosemary twist the heart with lush beauty and unease. The base of patchouli, benzoin, and vetiver is magnetic, almost sinister.

Morbility captures what Wilde knew too well: that beauty without conscience becomes its own kind of curse.

Van Glitz

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

The illusion of light, the scent of a dream deferred.

Inspired by Gatsby’s dazzling yet tragic world, Van Glitz begins with citrus and Fragonia - lively, expensive, and slightly unreal. The middle notes (ylang ylang, jasmine, eucalyptus) echo the intoxication of desire, and the instability beneath it. Finally, myrrh, benzoin, and cypress settle in like the closing of a curtain - soft, sad, inevitable.

This scent isn’t about parties; it’s about the emptiness they hide. It’s about believing in dreams, even when they vanish with the dawn.

Hestia

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (1960)

The quiet fire of justice and the fragrance of moral courage.

Named after the goddess of the hearth, Hestia is a scent that burns softly but deeply. It opens with peppermint and bergamot—clean, honest, and clear. Chamomile, rosemary, and lavender form the emotional core: protective, questioning, strong. The base— cedarwood, black spruce, sandalwood—is where integrity lives.

For me, this perfume represents not just Atticus Finch, but Scout—the child learning that right and wrong are often found in silence, not speeches.

Fermina

Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez (1985)

The scent of time, memory, and an unfinished love.

Fermina is the scent of love that survives distance, age, and silence. Its citrus opening (Fragonia, lime leaf, neroli) is light but not carefree—there’s already a shadow of longing. The heart, filled with rose and chamomile, is where time sits heavily. The base (guaiacwood, benzoin, sandalwood) is warm, resinous, and quietly emotional.

It’s for those who’ve loved across years, and for anyone who knows that love is rarely convenient, but always worth remembering.

Luna Serena

Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez (1985)

A still moon over restless hearts.

While Fermina is longing held in motion, Luna Serena is longing at peace. Orange bitter and lime open this scent with clarity, like a letter finally read. Palmarosa and eucalyptus express dignity and quiet hope. The base of vetiver and sandalwood gives this fragrance a nocturnal, steady rhythm.

This is not a scent of passion—but of presence. Of love that comes not in a rush, but with a quiet knock after decades.

Mist

Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami (1987)

The scent of memory, melancholy, and the spaces between.

Of all the perfumes in the collection, Mist is the most ephemeral. It opens with peppermint and grapefruit—cool, distant, like a walk through fog. The heart (gardenia, blue lotus, marjoram) is soft and ambiguous. The base - oakmoss, myrrh, frankincense - lingers like a story half-told, a name half-remembered.

This is a scent for those who live with loss not as tragedy, but as a texture of life-like background music that never truly fades.

Reading with Your Nose

When I began Scented Pages Workshop, I didn’t expect fragrance to become a second language for literature, but that’s exactly what happened. These perfumes are more than products. They’re emotional mirrors of the stories we keep closest to us.

For fellow young readers—students, creatives, or quiet souls—this collection is meant to be worn the way one wears a favorite passage: personally, meaningfully, and sometimes secretly.

Fragrance, like story, is invisible yet unforgettable. It can change how we carry ourselves. It can remind us who we’ve been and who we want to be.

Thank you for reading, and for letting me share this project with you. Whether you wear one of our perfumes or simply reflect on the story behind them, I hope they bring literature a little closer to your skin—and your heart.

Sincerely,

Jerry Ding

Founder & Literature Curator, Scented Pages Workshop