James Nguyen

James "Miju" Nguyen is a Vietnamese American perfumer who spent over 15 years working in hair color before chemical allergies from that industry left him fearing fragrance altogether. Finding relief in natural products, he grew curious about scent and taught himself cosmetic chemistry, eventually founding LV1 / LEVEL 1 STUDIO with Kael Jeong. His brand d.grayi creates olfactive art rooted in Vietnamese and Korean heritage, reimagined through a queer, contemporary lens, with a body of over 50 fragrances.