September 22nd is Emilia’s birthday from Genshin Impact . At first glance, it seems like a typical birthday for a character, of which there are already dozens in Teyvat. But with Emilia, the developers seem to have decided to play a little perfumer: they’ve combined the seasons, a real-life perfume story, and a few rather subtle references into one.
Why is Emilia’s birthday on September 22?
There’s no official HoYoverse comment on September 22nd. However, in 2024, the autumnal equinox—the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator—occurred on September 22nd. In the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of astronomical autumn. In Emilia’s first holiday letter, sent on September 22nd, 2024, she describes taking a walk after the rain, smelling the scent of flowers, and ultimately gaining inspiration for a new perfume. She then explicitly states that she plans to incorporate floral and fruity notes, characteristic of nature at this time of year.
September 22nd is the day when summer finally begins to give way to autumn, and Emilia perceives the world around her through scents and changes in nature. It’s quite a beautiful symbolism: Emilia was born at a time when nature itself is changing its aromatic profile. Far-fetched? Yeah, I suppose. But the character has other references in store.
Emilia may be named after a real perfume
Fragonard, a French perfume house from Grasse, has a fragrance called Émilie. Fragonard itself traces its history back to 1926, when Parfumerie Fragonard was founded in Grasse. Now let’s remember Émilie: her character is literally built around flowers, aromas, perfume notes, and the collection of natural ingredients.
Moreover, her first celebratory letter is related to the Lily of the Lake, and the Lily of the Lake itself is the plant used as the material for Emilie’s exaltation. And lily of the valley, also known as lily of the valley, is present in the actual Fragonard Émilie perfume.
Emilia’s entire talent system speaks the language of perfumers.
Looking at the names of her constellations makes things even more interesting. Emilia has:
- Lakelight Top Note – top note;
- Lumidouce Heart Note – middle, or heart, note;
- Puredew Aroma – aroma;
- Marcotte Sillage – sillage.
This isn’t a random collection of beautiful words. In perfumery, a scent is traditionally described in terms of top, middle, and base notes, and sillage is the aromatic trail that a person leaves behind. Even Emilia’s card is called “Base Note.”
The darkest Easter egg
Emilia is known in Fontaine as a perfumer, but her real profession is as a forensic cleaner. She cleans crime scenes and accident scenes of biological traces using chemical compounds she makes herself.
And the developers constantly juxtapose the two sides of her profession. Perfumery deals with the scents left behind by something. A court cleaner’s job deals with the physical traces of what’s already happened. For a character who speaks of smells in practically scientific terms, it’s a rather dark joke.