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EVNNE's Park Hanbin is all for nostalgia. Every moment — from his early days as a K-pop trainee to rising as one of the industry’s must-watch talents — is marked with a particular scent, or at least, he tries. “Perfumes can be used as a tool for nostalgia,” the singer tells Teen Vogue over Zoom. “I’m trying to build a habit of connecting my memories with scents to make them even more special.”
But the memories Hanbin talks about aren't all glamorous — some are mundane, like the sweet scents of street food filling the streets of Seoul, and others are moments of hardships, which he often spent at Han River. Eventually, he would overcome those challenges and join Jellyfish Entertainment’s boy group EVNNE (an acronym for EVENing’s Newest Etoiles) after appearing on the hit survival show Boys Planet. Despite not making the final lineup for the show’s group ZEROBASEONE, Hanbin — alongside bandmates Keita, Lee Jeonghyeon, Yoo Seungeon, Ji Yunseo, Mun Junghyun, and Park Jihoo — would go on to debut with “Trouble” and “Ugly” in 2023 and very quickly, garner acclaim as one of K-pop’s must-watch artists.
Through a flood of gifts over the years and a curiosity to discover his signature scent — one that didn’t smell typically “manly” or caked in artificialness — Hanbin is officially the group’s fragrance aficionado, and he knows a thing or two about finding what works. Now, with their fourth mini album HOT MESS, Hanbin welcomes a new era that may or may not smell a lot like a dessert shop. No matter the vibe, “putting on perfume is for self-satisfaction,” he says.
Ahead of the release of HOT MESS on February 10, EVNNE’s Park Hanbin sat down with Teen Vogue to chat about fragrances, tips and tricks, and more.
Park Hanbin: I wasn’t too interested in perfumes or scents because I thought many of them smelled artificial to me. Then, I was given some perfumes one day — Jo Malone’s Blackberry and Wood Sage — and shared them with my bandmate Lee Jeonghyeon. Since that moment, it sparked my interest in fragrances.
PH: I personally don’t layer perfumes because I also use body lotion. They’re usually scented ones such as lemon, tangerine, and anything that’s very citrusy and fruity.
But I actually watched a video of Ariana Grande introducing her perfume, and she shared how she puts it on. She actually puts it on her neck so she can smell her perfume better. That inspired me to do the same: I usually spray around my neck area so I can smell myself better.
PH: So far, I have about 20 fragrances in my collection, some of them are gifts and others I bought myself. I’ve been using Diptyque’s Fleur de Peau a lot lately, and it has a very approachable, fig-slash-natural skin scent. Most of my scents are also from the brand Acqua di Parma. I actually have most of their fragrances.
PH: I used to prefer more fruity scents. But when I turned 22 years old [international age], I wanted to have a more masculine image. I tried typical “manly” fragrances from different lotions and toners, but honestly, it wasn’t for me. These days, I’m experimenting with woody notes and fig scents.
PH: I don’t change perfumes on a day-to-day basis. Instead, when I like a scent, I tend to stick to it for a while. If I really want to change my vibe, then I will switch it up — like whenever I’m out for work. Something that I also enjoy is using bath bombs or bath salts from Lush. I love soap-y scents because it makes me feel very relaxed. I also recently bought a diffuser and I’m loving it at the moment.
PH: I felt very nervous performing after we debuted, so I brought perfumes that I love from home and sprayed them to calm me down. It gave me peace of mind before going up on stage.
Sometimes, still to this day, whenever I’m recording for the next album and I’m facing challenges during the process, I bring my favorite cologne to make me feel more comfortable and like I’m back at home. I hope to one day make my own perfume with all of my favorite scents together and then keep it for myself or maybe gift it to people I love so that they can also have scents that remind me of them. I think it’d be fun.
PH: Usually, our company assigns us concepts and images per member, depending on what direction we’re going for each album. But, for HOT MESS, they relied on our opinions and ideas. They allowed us to think freely outside of the box for this album.
We had more freedom for sure while working on this album, but the con side of that is that when you have too much freedom, sometimes you need rules in place to make the product because without that, it can be difficult. Thankfully, we had some time to work on this album, and we put a lot of care and thought into the details.
PH: We had a lot of fun working on [HOT MESS]. One of my favorite moments was when we were filming a music video for the title track because the whole theme of this album is about having fun and finding joy in the middle of a mess. In any messy situation, you can find joy in it.
When we filmed the “Hot Mess” music video, everything was vibrant, and we had so much fun. It didn’t feel like work. We were just partying and having fun together, and it shines through the whole video.
PH: This album is very bubbly and colorful. One of the main keywords that we talk about in this album is cake. Think anything sweet — desserts and snacks, maybe like caramel or red velvet cake. I think these sweet scents best fit the album.
PH: I have a great passion for dancing. When I dance, I have to make sure I have the perfect angle, facial expressions, and movements. I have to be calculated in everything before I actually move my body.
But for this album, I thought that if I were too calculated, it could lessen the flavor of the “hot mess” vibes. So, I thought I should have a little more fun. I should dance however I want to and make whatever facial expressions I’m drawn to at the moment. I was more inclined to trust myself this time.
PH: When I was a trainee — and whenever I faced hardships, or felt my results weren’t as good as I expected, or whenever I felt sad — I would go to Han River. I remember tearing up [while] looking at the water there. It reminds me of when it rained and how the mixed grass and dirt smelled like there.
There's actually a scent that’s very similar to that. It’s from TAMBURINS, the name is 000, and I’m actually using the scented hand cream because whenever I apply and smell that scent, it reminds me of those moments. It motivates me to work even harder to make sure that I’m staying grounded and giving it my all.
PH: This might be a little bit of a spoiler for the upcoming music video — sorry in advance, Jellyfish — but every time I film anything, I try to make good memories from it. One of them is when we were filming a scene that involved us throwing cakes at each other, almost like we were having a snow fight with cakes. There were sweet scents all around us because of the desserts we were throwing.
H: Jeonghyeon. I’ve been living with the members for almost four years now. We would be gifted perfumes around the same time, or we would buy different perfumes that come from the same brand. Sometimes, when I smell his perfumes, I’m like, “Oh, this is the scent I used to like,” or “Oh, this is the scent I will like in the future.” He and I have very similar yet very different tastes. So, I would love to take over his collection.
PH: Jihoo. He just turned 18 [international age], so he doesn’t have a lot of knowledge of perfumes just yet. He still uses basic lotion and face creams, so he smells like a baby. I would love to introduce more fragrances to him, actually.
PH: You can take other people’s recommendations on perfumes, but don’t rely too heavily on that. I always depend on going into stores to actually smell the perfume and test it on myself before making a purchase. I don’t usually recommend buying any perfume online because I think you should know exactly what scent you’re going to get.
I also don’t think you should strive to have the same perfume as people around you. It’s better not to go with the trendiest scent of the moment. For example, I heard that many people were using Diptyque’s Fleur de Peau, but I looked more into it and realized that wasn’t the case. Since then, I [have] started using it as a daily perfume, and I haven’t met anyone in person using that same one yet.
PH: Use your imagination and ask yourself, “How can I express myself through scent?” I think that this helps a lot when selecting your signature scent. Keep thinking about what you like, what kind of scents you enjoy, and what scent you would want to represent you.
As for how to apply perfume, I once heard that Coco Chanel said that you should spray your perfume on places where you want to be kissed. Find those spots and then spritz your perfume there.
This interview has been condensed for clarity and translated from Korean to English by an interpreter and the writer.
