BEFORE CCJ PARFUM, THERE WAS FRAGRANCE

The First Pull

Who founded CCJ Parfum? Conrad Catimbang Jr. created the independent fragrance house in Bangkok, Thailand, after years of collecting, discovering, and studying scents around the world. Before CCJ Parfum had a name, there was fragrance.

As a teenager, I was drawn to scents most people around me had never heard of. Bond No. 9. Creed. Acqua di Parma. Santa Maria Novella. I loved the way a fragrance could change the feeling in a room. How it could say something about you before you spoke.

I did not have the language for it then. I only knew I was paying attention.

Learning to Notice

That curiosity followed me into my work with international brands and into the cities I visited. In Paris, I found small shops carrying emerging perfume houses from across Europe. That was where I first came across Byredo, long before it became a name everyone knew. I liked the feeling of discovering something with a point of view before the world caught up.

Travel taught me to notice fragrance beyond the bottle. Marrakesh gave me earth, leather, and the warmth of materials worked by hand. Florence brought me closer to botanicals. Lisbon stayed with me through old stone, food, wine, and an unhurried rhythm that felt completely lived in.

Barcelona gave me another kind of lesson. I was inspired by the food and by the city's unique take on architecture, the way both could make something familiar feel unexpected and entirely its own. Berlin showed me that history and new ideas can exist together. Hong Kong held grit and glamour in the same breath. Bali moved more slowly, with nature and culture woven into everyday life.

What Stayed With Me

In Taipei, I remember the clean green scent of tea fields at dawn. In Japan, I saw how much beauty can come from making every detail intentional. In the Philippines, I was reminded that fragrance has to work on real skin, in real heat, in the life of the person wearing it. Thailand became home, and I found people creating remarkable things with local materials and quiet care.

Every place left something behind. A texture. A colour. A way of seeing. Over time, those impressions became part of how I think about fragrance. Not as decoration, but as memory, atmosphere, and a form of personal expression.

CCJ Parfum came later. First, there was the noticing.

Wear your story. An independent perfume brand, crafted in Bangkok, Thailand.