An idea from Shen Li's published interview
In SPUR's August 2024 China culture report, co-founder Shen Li describes scent as a carrier of cultural and personal memory. She links the team's early motivation to difficulty finding a fragrance that expressed Chinese tea as they imagined it.
The interview describes research with tea-growing communities in Yunnan, journeys to seek ingredients and collaboration with perfumers. It also connects restored historic settings with the desire to make people curious about the places around them. SPUR's original interview and photography are linked below.
Let the name suggest a question
A fragrance name can give you an image before you have smelled anything. Let it suggest a question, then see what you perceive for yourself. Do you notice something green, dry, floral, woody or unfamiliar? Your own vocabulary is enough to begin.
Ask a member of staff which aspect of the scent connects with its story and which notes you might notice as it develops. Keep your experience separate from a promise in the copy. A description can be evocative without predicting the same response in every wearer.
A skin fragrance and a room fragrance do different jobs
Before testing, establish what the product is designed for: wearing, scenting a room or another use. Follow the product's instructions. Start with a blotter where appropriate, and ask before applying a skin fragrance if you want to try it on yourself.
Choose a small number to compare, record the exact names and leave time between the first impression and a decision. If you are selecting a gift, explain how and where the recipient would use it. A beautiful bottle does not resolve those practical differences.
Visit with attention to the setting too
The interview offers a useful lens for a Shanghai visit: observe how a brand connects product, interior and local context. What is specifically tied to this setting, and what belongs to its broader identity? You can ask those questions without treating the room as a historical reconstruction.
Use To Summer's official channels to choose a store and check opening arrangements. Ask about the exact product you want to try, its intended use and any restrictions on taking it home by air.