Strawberry Cat Shortcake

A strawberry shortcake with an untamed edge—sweet indulgence meets unexpected boldness.

Catnip and pricky ash berries sit right next to bright yuzu, so the opening feels like sparkling strawberry soda poured over herbs and wood, with a hint of tropical greenness instead of a simple candy blast.

As it settles, the fruit moves into a warmer place: biscuit, cream, and sugar give you a soft, cakey heart that reads like real shortcake—crumb, dairy, and whipped sweetness—rather than frosting overload.

In the drydown, a civet accord and amber wrap around the sugar and fruit, adding a slightly animalic warmth that darkens the strawberry and makes the whole thing feel more grown-up, like a cat guarding the dessert table.

If you love gourmands but still want a bit of spice, herb, and mischief, this is an easy pick for days when you want to smell cute, creamy, and just a little strange in the best way.

• James Nguyen

d.grayi is the work of James Nguyen, known also as Miju, a perfumer who came to scent as an adversary rather than a calling. A career spent around hair color and its chemicals left James allergic. Fragrance meant headaches and a throat swelling shut, and anything scented was avoided outright. Cosmetic chemistry, taken up as a hobby, brought the first turn: cosmetic raw materials that smelled unpleasant, and natural ingredients found to soften them.

Then came a dream, in which someone deeply important who had passed away returned and described a fragrance. It was not a scent so much as a complete story, vivid and pictured, and James woke and wrote down every detail. The quest to recreate it became the studio. Isolated aroma molecules, tried later, provoked nothing; the allergy had been to composition, not to any one material. James now builds olfactive stories unrestricted.