BORNTOSTANDOUT: Rebellion Within Order

“Rebel against ‘normal’ and unleash your desires. You are born to stand out. Especially where we come from, in East Asia, individuality is not accepted. Society forces you to confine yourself.”

— Jun Lim, Founder

Essential Information

Established: Company founded in 2020; brand formally launched in April 2022
Founder: Jun Lim
Headquarters: Hannam, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea
Operating company: House by Lim
Official website: https://en.borntostandout.com

The Founder and the Brand’s Origins

The Origins of BORNTOSTANDOUT

Founder Jun Lim describes himself as a born “bohemian,” a free spirit. Yet the career he pursued was far removed from that image. He spent many years in a conventional world as an investment banker covering investments in cosmetics and retail at Goldman Sachs and Nomura Securities. Within banking, an “embodiment of convention,” he says colleagues continually called him a “misfit,” a “weirdo,” and an “eccentric.” Even so, he continued working while keeping his individuality locked away.

Alongside that career, however, Lim was living another life: one devoted to perfume.

His first bottle was Versace Blue Jeans, bought in ninth grade, equivalent to the third year of Japanese junior high school, at a discount perfume shop in downtown Toronto, Canada. He said in an interview, “The fresh scent of bergamot made me feel as though I had the world in my hands. I still can’t let it go; it’s the scent of my life.” From then on, he continued buying a bottle a week with his pocket money, becoming ever more deeply absorbed in niche perfumery. According to interviews, his personal collection eventually reached around 2,000 bottles.

“I’ve been a hardcore fragrance geek since my teens. I’ve always loved the transformative power of perfume, the magic of how it changes people. That’s why I kept collecting it for 20 years.”

— Jun Lim, from an interview with Marie Claire UK

Being Fired as a Turning Point

In 2020, Lim lost his job. He recalled the event matter-of-factly in a later interview: “Fortunately, investment banking paid well. I had years of savings, and my former employer fired me and paid me a decent severance package.” He put all those personal funds into bringing his envisioned perfume brand to life. Accounts also say that he raised money by selling paintings he had not expected to sell. A passion for perfume and knowledge of finance: these two elements became the foundation of BORNTOSTANDOUT.

Realising the dream was not easy, however. South Korea had almost no perfume-manufacturing infrastructure, and R&D and production costs were extremely high. Lim first approached the world’s leading fragrance manufacturers. The initial response was harsh. “They quoted substantial contract fees and strict penalty clauses. They even told me they wouldn’t disclose the perfumers’ names. But you can’t create honestly without briefing the perfumer directly,” Lim says. After persistent negotiations, he secured a collaboration with Firmenich, a 128-year-old firm and one of the world’s largest fragrance manufacturers, now dsm-firmenich, and finally reached the starting line.

The Brand’s Birth: Two Years from Incorporation to Formal Launch

Although the company was founded in 2020, the brand’s formal launch was delayed until April 2022. Lim says it took “years” to complete the fragrance formulas. At launch, he also opened a flagship store in Seoul’s Hannam neighbourhood, accomplishing overnight what most brands take years to do.

“BORNTOSTANDOUT was born when passion, affection, and my personality came together. I believe wearing the right perfume every day has the power to change how people feel. I’ve experienced that myself.”

— Jun Lim, from an interview with Duft-Tagebuch

The brand name distils Lim’s philosophy. It is a direct declaration of rebellion against East Asia’s Confucian social norms, a culture that treats being “normal” as a virtue and suppresses individuality. His own sense of alienation as a “social outsider,” and the desire to break free of it, are inscribed in every element of the brand.

“At the heart of BORNTOSTANDOUT is rebellion. The slogan is ‘Who F***ing Cares?’ Growing up in a very conservative culture, I became exhausted by constantly trying to fit fixed social expectations. I wanted to create a brand that rebelled against exactly that.”

— Jun Lim, from comments for Cult Beauty

What Defines the Brand

A Philosophy of Fragrance Creation: “Perfume as Art”

The defining feature of BORNTOSTANDOUT’s fragrance-making is its uncompromising refusal to aim for “crowd-pleasers.” Lim says, “What I always tell perfumers when we work together is, ‘I’m not interested in making ordinary perfumes. Originality is at the core of my philosophy.’”

“Perfume is art, and art is a form of self-expression.”

— Jun Lim, from an interview with Marie Claire UK

Every creative process begins with Lim’s personal journeys, passions, and inspirations. Rather than looking to industry trends, he draws directly from his life, love, hobbies, and tastes. He sets no budget limits for perfumers, giving them the greatest possible artistic freedom and sparing no investment in the scents this makes possible.

The fragrance style sits between soft orientals and gourmands, sweet, appetite-stirring scents, and aims to be “like the scent of your own skin, amplified in your most intimate moments.” The brand actively uses ingredients and combinations uncommon in Western perfumery, seeking scents without a sense of déjà vu. According to its official FAQ, although labelled eau de parfum, the fragrances have a concentration of 30–40%, far higher than conventional eaux de parfum. It explains, “We say it is lower than an extrait, but that is to underpromise and overdeliver.”

All products are vegan and cruelty-free, using no animal-derived ingredients, plant ingredients that raise sustainability concerns, or essential oils containing toxic allergens. The alcohol base is derived from sweet corn, and recycled-glass bottles and recycled-paper packaging also reflect a commitment to sustainable luxury.

Bottle Design: A Reinterpretation of Korean White Porcelain

The bottle design is a contemporary reinterpretation of white porcelain from the Joseon dynasty, which began in 1392: the rounded, elegant white vessels commonly known as “moon jars.”

“In Korea, white is the colour of Confucianism, the fundamental principles by which we live and which we follow. Koreans also associate red with taboo. In fact, writing someone’s name in red is even said to be a curse.”

— Jun Lim, from an interview with Marie Claire UK

By combining these two opposing colours, white and red, on a single bottle, the design visualises the brand’s essence: “rebellion within order.” Sensual curves inhabit the pure-white bottle, while the crimson-red lettering layered over it asserts a provocative individuality. Containing the contradictory claims of “Korean” and “un-Korean,” “old values” and “new values,” within a single bottle, the design embodies the brand’s concept itself.

The Perfumers

BORNTOSTANDOUT brings its fragrances to life in collaboration with some of the world’s leading perfumers. The principal identifiable names include:

• Olivier Cresp: Creator of Dirty Rice and other fragrances. A pioneer of gourmand perfumery, born into a fragrance family in Grasse.
• Frank Voelkl
• Daphne Bugey
• Honorine Blanc
• Nathalie Lorson
• Hamid Merati-Kashani
• Anne-Sophie Behaghel
• Quentin Bisch, Florian Gallo, Dora Baghriche-Arnaut, and many others

Visuals and Communication

The brand maintains a stance of using no human faces in its visuals. “We think using faces dilutes the essence of the brand. Influencers have nothing to do with it either. We’re not interested in what everyone else is doing. We are original.” Presenting and selling art also forms part of the brand’s identity, and the flagship store regularly exhibits and sells collaborations with contemporary Korean artists, including handmade contemporary porcelain art, prints, and drawings.

The Fragrance Lineup

BORNTOSTANDOUT’s official website presents its fragrances in three lines: Eau de Parfum, Eau Intimité, and Extrait Extrême. Here, the Eau de Parfum creations are grouped into two themes, “Dirty & Sticky” and “Dark & Drunk,” followed by the Eau Intimité and Extrait Extrême collections.

Dirty & Sticky

Within the brand’s core eau de parfum range, these creations embody the concept of “dirty, sticky, decadent skin scents.” The founder names Dirty Rice as his “most-loved fragrance.” Composed of bergamot, almond, basmati rice, milk, peony, sandalwood, vetiver, and other notes, it is said to evoke “the memory of fresh steamed rice my mother cooked every day, but with a sensual, avant-garde twist.” Its development was the most difficult of all the fragrances, with particular effort devoted to adding a “kick” to a combination of materials naturally weak in sillage, or scent projection.

Other representative creations include Fig Porn, Indecent Cherry, Nanatopia, Sugar Addict, Sugar Addict (NSFW), and Happy Nuts.

Dark & Drunk

A darker, more sensual group within the eau de parfum range, themed around the world of night. They are described as “reflecting the essence of the night through a blend of deep woods, warm spices, and intoxicating florals.”

Positioned as a hero fragrance for the brand, Drunk Lovers is woody-spicy, with top notes of cognac and red berries. Its biggest seller in the United States is Drunk Saffron, in which plum, cognac, saffron, leather, coffee, patchouli, vanilla, and musk intertwine intricately. The selection also includes DGAF, short for “Don’t Give A F***,” Drunk Maple, Mad Honey, Mary Jane, Smokin’ Gun, and Sin & Pleasure.

Eau Intimité Collection (2025)

This five-fragrance collection, introduced in 2025, pursues an inward-facing sensuality “like a second skin,” a marked departure from the earlier range. The brand calls it its “most wearable and approachable collection” and recommends it as an introduction to BORNTOSTANDOUT. The five scents are Candy Dust, Cuvée Skin, Gold Juice, Warm Air, and Musc X. They are available exclusively through Sephora in the United States and Harrods in the United Kingdom.

Extrait Extrême Collection (2025)

Announced in 2025, this collection offers an unprecedented ultrahigh fragrance concentration of 50–60%. Its defining feature is a production method involving three months of ageing in traditional Korean onggi, the earthenware vessels used to ferment kimchi and soy sauce. All the fragrances are hand-blended, filled, and packed in South Korea. The bottles use a deep berry colour rather than the usual white and red. The four fragrances are Black Guava, by Suzy Le Helley; Black Mango, by Violaine Collas; Oud Candy, by Margaux Le Paih Guérin; and Purple Stain, by Jordi Fernández.

Global Expansion and Investment

BORNTOSTANDOUT expanded into 60 countries in around two years from its founding, and in February 2025 completed a Series A funding round led by L’Oréal’s corporate venture-capital fund BOLD, Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development, and US venture-capital firm Touch Capital. The amount raised was not disclosed. The investment is intended to accelerate the brand’s physical expansion in Europe and the United States.

“BORNTOSTANDOUT has a unique voice in luxury fragrance because of an unwavering belief in a different path, one that prioritises creativity over convention. Support from such distinguished investors means more than an injection of capital. It is a powerful affirmation that fragrances infused with originality are among life’s greatest luxuries.”

— Jun Lim, from comments accompanying the Series A announcement

The brand began selling online through Sephora in the United States in February 2026, with rollout to physical stores beginning that March. “I don’t want to be the bestselling brand in Sephora. I want to be the craziest,” Lim told Glossy. Sales for the year are reportedly expected to reach around $10 million. The brand has already entered major luxury retailers including Selfridges, Galeries Lafayette, and Mecca.

Incidentally…

• Part of the brand’s initial funding came from selling his own paintings. He reportedly still keeps a roomful of perfumes at home, an estimated collection of between 250 and 2,000 bottles.
• The flagship store is also known as the “House of Crimson” and is designed as an art-gallery-like space. Located in Seoul’s Itaewon district, it is open daily from 11:00 to 20:00 with free admission.
• The name of the operating company, House by Lim, incorporates his surname and his philosophy of dwelling and home.
• Lim’s motto is “Never Perfect. Always Genuine.”