Hear the Eastern Wisdom: Maogeping Beauty's Tripartite Realm Creation, "Fragrantly" Meeting the World
"In my heart, there is no standard for beauty, and it doesn't need to be defined. Everyone has their own unique beauty."
In the documentary "Traces of Fragrance", makeup art master Mao Geping said slowly, explaining his original intention of making perfume to the world.
In his perception, fragrance is a way to reach one's own beauty. What Mao Geping Beauty wants to do is to use fragrance as a medium to accompany everyone in finding their unique self - beauty.
In contemporary society, perfume has long gone beyond a simple olfactory experience and become a concrete expression of emotions, a fragment of memory that can be collected. A special fragrance product can transcend the boundaries of time and space, freezing a moment into eternity.
In recent years, in the Chinese perfume market long dominated by international big brands, domestic brands have also emerged one after another, hoping to better present the taste and artistic conception of the East from the perspective of Eastern culture. The same is true for Mao Geping Beauty, which always adheres to inheriting Chinese culture and constantly explores the contemporary expression of Eastern aesthetics.
In May 2025, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, the Meridian Gate Exhibition Hall launched the "Music in the Forest and Springs - Exhibition of Chinese and Foreign Garden Cultures", and also set up a cultural and creative space inspired by the flower - and - bird paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione.
Walking into the cultural and creative space, where there is a profound and tranquil atmosphere and a beautiful view at every step, the "Smelling the East" fragrance series products of Mao Geping Beauty have become the olfactory footnote of this visual feast, forming a deep aesthetic dialogue with the exhibition. As visitors move from one view to another, they can immerse themselves in the living aesthetics from the Eastern artistic conception.
01. Searching for Chinese Fragrance around the World
"There is a saying that the memory that humans can preserve permanently is the sense of smell. So I'm thinking, if there is anything that can make beauty eternal, fragrance might be one of them. I hope to accompany everyone in creating beautiful feelings and memories together."
As Mao Geping said, fragrance is an intangible and colorless sensory experience that can generate rich - layered imagination.
Among all the fragrance classifications, there is a type called "Oriental fragrance", which comes from the early Western imagination of the mysterious East. In other words, this so - called "Oriental fragrance" is just a stereotype of China and the East by Westerners and cannot represent all the real Eastern aesthetics.
In fact, in traditional Chinese culture, the natural aesthetic perception of fragrance types has long been reflected. Mao Geping believes that Chinese consumers' olfactory aesthetics are open. At the same time, due to their emphasis on the artistic conception of Eastern culture, they present the characteristics of being reserved and preferring light and delicate fragrances. Therefore, Mao Geping searches for higher - quality fragrances around the world to better present the beautiful artistic conception from the East.
"We are rooted in China, understand the olfactory aesthetics of the Eastern people better, and also hope to search for high - quality raw materials and perfume - blending techniques around the world to create fragrances with more Eastern aesthetics together."
Therefore, Mao Geping targeted roses and selected "rose water essence" as the raw material.
Earlier, scientists at LMR Naturals found that the rose water after distillation contains rich odor molecules, but only 1 kilogram of rose water essence can be extracted from 2000 kilograms of rose petals.
The "Dawn Rose" of Mao Geping Beauty uses natural rose water essence as the core ingredient, making the fragrance type purer and the layers of the rose scent more distinct. In addition, the woody base note of "Dawn Rose" also makes the meaning of the fragrance more lingering.
In a certain sense, rose may be a symbolic fragrance type that connects the East and the West, and the past and the present. In more public reports, modern roses are actually a "hybrid" of the East and the West.
In the 18th century, ancient Chinese Chinese roses were introduced to France and cross - bred with local roses to cultivate modern Chinese roses, which still use the name "rose". So, to be precise, the roses with a romantic color that people commonly see today are a continuation of ancient Chinese Chinese roses localized in Europe.
Therefore, "Dawn Rose" may be the "perfect opening" of Mao Geping's "Smelling the East" fragrance series. It is a flowing fragrance positioning that can lead people's thoughts from the East to the West and then back to the East due to its profound history.
"People are strolling in a painting."
Walking in the cultural and creative space at the Meridian Gate of the Palace Museum, immersed in the Eastern artistic conception created by Giuseppe Castiglione, a court painter from Europe, from the spring scenery of the lotus lake with the light and shadow on the lake surface to the secluded path in the small garden with ancient pines and cypresses, one can smell either light and delicate or rich fragrances with every breath. This also makes people think about what kind of fragrance type can represent the Eastern artistic conception and what exactly is the Eastern art of fragrance?
02. Creating an Artistic Conception in the Heart and Feeling the Eastern Charm
It is generally believed in the industry that the Eastern art of fragrance originated in ancient China and then spread to Japan and other places, integrating with the local art of fragrance.
During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, fragrance was mainly used in religious ceremonies, showing the ancients' respect for nature and love for life. In the Han and Tang dynasties, Buddhism was introduced to China and promoted the use of agarwood. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the ancient fragrance recipe "Recipe for Blending Fragrances" appeared. In the Song Dynasty, the art of fragrance among literati flourished. Chen Jing even wrote a special book "Fragrance Manual" to systematically record the methods of making perfume.
In addition to the perfume - making techniques and perfume - blending etiquette, philosophical thinking is the "soul" of the Eastern art of fragrance. Its essence is to achieve "spiritual cultivation" through olfactory aesthetics. The key lies in how to use a meaningful and multi - layered fragrance expression to make the Eastern philosophical thinking, aesthetics, and artistic conception concrete. This is also the product concept of Mao Geping's "Smelling the East" series - entering the artistic conception through fragrance.
"The Eastern art of fragrance was not just an olfactory experience at the beginning, but an expression of inner state of mind."
In Mao Geping's view, wearing perfume is a way of creating an artistic conception for oneself, an expression of Eastern aesthetics.
"Today, the perfume you choose also reflects your state of mind, who you think you are, and what kind of artistic conception you want to create for yourself."
In the "Theory of Artistic Conception" of the master of Chinese learning Wang Guowei, it is proposed that "In the artistic conception with the self, one views things from one's own perspective, so all things are tinged with one's own color; in the artistic conception without the self, one views things objectively, so one doesn't know which is the self and which is the thing."
Mao Geping Beauty translates Wang Guowei's words with fragrance and divides the creation of artistic conception into the natural artistic conception that can express nature, the emotional artistic conception that can express humanities, and the philosophical artistic conception that can express philosophical thinking.
The "Smelling the East" fragrance series launched by Mao Geping Beauty this time has a total of 13 products, which are also divided into three categories according to the "Natural Artistic Conception", "Humanistic Artistic Conception", and "Philosophical Artistic Conception".
Among them, in the Natural Artistic Conception, one can see all things in the emptiness. There are five fragrance - type products, namely "Empty Mountain", "Dawn Rose", "Silent Night Iris", "Flower Festival", and "Cardamom Morning Light"; in the Humanistic Artistic Conception, one can find peace in the hustle and bustle. There are four fragrance - type products, namely "Flower Admiration", "Silent Night", "Startled Swan", and "Unyielding"; in the Philosophical Artistic Conception, all things can be born in the blank space. There are four fragrance - type products, namely "Morning Glow", "Like Water", "Ambergris Incense", and "Supreme Harmony".
It is reported that in order to better express the artistic conception of the Eastern art of fragrance, the flower scents of the "Smelling the East" series are pure and calm, and the overall fragrance types are light and delicate and lingering, which are more in line with the Chinese people's preference for fragrance. And all 13 fragrance products use woody fragrance types as the base note, which is more in line with the Eastern charm.
So, how should we understand the state of mind and Eastern artistic conception that these 13 perfumes want to express?
The essence of Eastern aesthetics is first rooted in the natural artistic conception. For example, when people mention "Empty Mountain", they often think of the fresh and green scenery after a new rain. In Wang Wei's poems, there is also the line "After fresh rain in mountains bare, autumn air permeates evening there". The "Empty Mountain" fragrance type of Mao Geping Beauty is inspired by this. It uses the freshness of neroli and citrus to interweave the top note of ancient trees; uses blackcurrant, oxygen, and green tea to blend the middle note with flowing greenery; and uses sandalwood and musk in the base note to show a free artistic conception.
From nature to humanities, there has never been a lack of exploration of women's self - philosophical thinking in Eastern culture. The "Ballad of Mulan" in the Northern Dynasties folk songs is definitely a representative that can transcend thousands of years and reflect the spirit of Eastern women. The "Unyielding" fragrance type of Mao Geping Beauty is based on Mulan's courage to break through boundaries. It uses citrus as the top note, magnolia, rose, and clove as the middle note, and cashmere wood and musk as the base note, presenting the concept of "being duty - bound and having one's own edge".
If "Empty Mountain" and "Unyielding" have the concrete background of the rain and Mulan, how should a more abstract Eastern artistic conception be presented?
Take the "Startled Swan" fragrance type as an example. In his "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River", Cao Zhi used the words "Graceful as a startled swan, supple as a swimming dragon" to describe the figure of the goddess of the Luo River, laying the foundation for the Eastern aesthetics of instant infatuation and fleeting beauty. Therefore, "Startled Swan" uses orange, guava, and ginger to blend the top note of fleeting brilliance; uses the elegance of jasmine and the richness of tuberose and neroli to unfold the middle note with a moving fragrance; and then uses musk, cypress, and vanilla to form a mysterious base note.
The unique combination of fragrance types vividly presents the dynamic effect of "a moment is eternity".
03. Collaborating with the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products to Bring Eastern Aesthetics into Daily Life
The Chinese people have a unique love for fragrance. The art of fragrance is also endowed with a poetic imagination beyond the mundane and is a carrier of emotions.
Li Qingzhao wrote "A misty cloud hangs o'er the sorrow - filled day; Incense burns in the golden censer all the way". She used the Ruenao incense curling up from the "golden censer" to set off the elegant and refined interest in loneliness. Su Shi discussed fragrance from a Zen perspective and put forward the concept of "contemplating fragrance through the nose", elevating the olfactory experience to a way of understanding the truth.
The "Smelling the East" fragrance series of Mao Geping Beauty, as the sixth - season product of "The Charm of the East", creates an immersive experience scene in the cultural and creative space accompanying the exhibition, allowing visitors to feel the living aesthetics under the Eastern artistic conception. This is also the recognition of the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products for its inheritance and extension of Eastern aesthetics.
In addition, in the "Smelling the East" series products, Mao Geping also has a unique design for the perfume bottle, inspired by the utensils in the Palace Museum and the concept of the sky being round and the earth being square, truly practicing the idea of "utensils carrying the Tao".
From the perspective of cultural inheritance, with the persistence and innovation of the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products and Mao Geping Beauty, some cultural relics buried in history have gained new life, and the high - level art and traditional culture from the East have been integrated into people's daily lives.
As of now, the 13 "Smelling the East" series fragrance products of Mao Geping Beauty have been officially launched online and offline. Consumers can also feel the charm that these products want to express up close at the offline counters.
Beauty is actually a language that can transcend culture. As a beauty brand from China, Mao Geping Beauty always hopes that "the world can see the beauty of the East."
From an industry perspective, the Chinese perfume market also has great potential.
The "2023 Perfume and Fragrance Consumer Insight White Paper" released by CBNData once predicted that the Chinese perfume and fragrance industry is expected to reach a market size of $5.3 billion in 2026.
However, according to more media reports, the penetration rate of the Chinese perfume market has been low in the past six years. Compared with the industry penetration rates of up to 50% in the US market and 42% in the European market, the penetration rate of the Chinese perfume market is only 5%. There are few mature fragrance - type products that can truly represent the Eastern artistic conception in the market.
The launch of the "Smelling the East" series