Confidential · VENUMENT × IFF

Round 1 Debrief
DIM · Miroslav Petkov

A focused debrief on your Round 1 submission of DIM (was SLEEP 2), with the renamed-scent context, the current sample, and direction for the next round. A standing invitation for a free interpretation of the brief sits at the end of the debrief.

VENUMENT POUR 50ml Eau de Parfum packaging simulation — bottle, carton, and open box
Packaging · Perfume 50ml · Design simulation VENUMENT × OUTLIERS & CO · 2026
Read first · Name change context
Two scent names have changed since the briefs went out. Please apply the new names to everything from this point forward.

The final Phase 1 lineup is now fixed as follows:

POUR AIR FOLD READ DIM

The renaming is meaningful: the storytelling each scent is built around has shifted with the name. This is why we are flagging it at the top of the document, before the per-submission notes. Olfactive feedback on each Round 1 sample will appear in the DEBRIEF section under each card. The briefs the perfumers should now be working against are the renamed ones.

DRY→ AIR
From textural to volumetric. DRY described the surface of cloth after air-drying. AIR describes the medium that surrounds the cloth: the room itself, breath, the air through an open window. The next interpretation should move outward from the surface to the volume of air the surface sits in.
SLEEP→ DIM
From interior state to atmospheric light. SLEEP described rest, the interior of going to sleep. DIM describes the light of an hour: dusk, golden hour, the moment before the lamps are switched on. The next interpretation should move from the state of the person to the quality of the light around them.
SLEEP 2
Now under · DIM
Perfumer · Miroslav Petkov
Brand concept

A warm, dimly lit fabric space — skin, linen, and a soft floral presence resting in still air. A floral that feels closer to skin than bloom, capturing the quiet flow of unconscious time. (Now under DIM: the light of dusk and golden hour, the threshold before the lamps are switched on.)

Perfumer interpretation

“A subdued floral presence resting in still air, where cool transparency and quiet warmth meet — skin wrapped in linen under fading light.”

Submitted formulation
Top Pink pepper, ozonic, violet leaf
Heart Gardenia, aquatic, galbanum
Base Musk, cedarwood, tonka bean
  • LMR
  • VIOLET LEAF ABS EGYPT LMR
  • BRAN ABS LMR
  • PEPPER PINK CO2 LMR CSM
  • GALBANUM AFGHAN RESOID LMR
  • PATCHOULI OIL INDONESIA FOR LIFE LMR
Brand reference imagery
VENUMENT brand reference image VENUMENT brand reference image VENUMENT brand reference image VENUMENT brand reference image VENUMENT brand reference image VENUMENT brand reference image
Debrief · 18 June 2026 · To: Miroslav Petkov

Thank you for the sample. The refined opening and the depth of the rich natural palette came through, and we tried it with real interest. To bring the original intention of the fragrance into sharper focus, we would like to ask for a few specific adjustments.

The mood we are aiming at is a quietly sustained one, woven from a refined, soft leather/suede nuance in the register of Frassai's Ajedrez, the dense woody sweetness of tonka bean, and the velvety softness of gardenia. In the current sample, the refinement specific to tonka bean is somewhat buried, and through the opening and the middle a strong, sharp, fruit-leaning impression — closer to cassis or blackcurrant — sits at the front. We would like to lift that impression away and recover the original transparent, delicate texture. Please consider the following carefully.

  1. Remove the cassis/blackcurrant-leaning fruit impression, and dial back the gardenia. We would like to remove the strong, sharp, fruit-leaning impression at the front — the read is close to cassis or blackcurrant. We suspect this comes from materials in the top and heart meeting the gardenia in the base and amplifying past the intended level. Please tone down the diffusion and the dosage of those notes so that the bite on the nose and the sour edge can be lifted away.
  2. Restore the refinement specific to tonka bean in the base. Rather than the surface-level sweetness tonka bean often evokes, we would like its deeper, woody sweetness to come through. Please clean up the top so that as the fragrance progresses, the natural character of tonka bean rises with volume in the residual trail.
  3. Bring forward a delicate suede/leather texture. Please weave the dry texture of bran absolute and cedarwood organically with the weight of tonka bean, so that the skin-like quality of a soft suede reads clearly in the overall balance.
An open invitation

Alongside this directed feedback, we would also be very glad to receive a second interpretation of DIM from you under complete creative freedom. Your own reading of the brief, unconstrained by the notes above. We would treat it as an additional, parallel submission rather than a replacement for the reformulation. If your schedule allows, we would be delighted to see where you take it.

Thank you, as always, for the care and sensibility in your work. We are looking forward to the next sample.

Thanks for the work to date. What we have seen sits close to what we are looking for, and the gap to the next round should be a narrow one rather than a wide one. Looking forward to the DEBRIEF notes landing with your team.

Best,
Kelvin

Seonjoon Lee · Cofounder & CEO
VENUMENT × OUTLIERS & CO
kelvin@venu-ment.com · +82.(0)10.8808.1172