- What does a perfumer do to fill her days?
- A usual day for me would be opening all the windows possible to get some fresh air in my lab before sitting down next to my perfumer's organ, which is the essential tool for our work! I go through our daily objectives with my assistant perfumer - this usually involves working on new creations for the Hedonist line, or new scents for other brands, or making progress on our projects with my private and VIP clients. I create and write down the formulas, and my assistant perfumer will weigh them out very meticulously on high precision scales, we smell the results together. There are hundreds of trials until we achieve THE scent that corresponds best to my initial idea.
- How important are scents nowadays? What are the trends?
- I think the power of scents - or smells if you like - has a bigger effect on our life than what we perceive consciously, we all know about aromatherapy and how one tiny drop of essential oil can change our moods within just seconds. As for trends, the market, just like any other market these days, is changing every day, and the prevailing trend is rather a mixture of many, rather than just one. On top of that, the most popular scents are very different geographically, in the Far East light and ‘unobtrusive’ scents are more appreciated, while in the Middle East fragrances that are extremely powerful always have the biggest sales.
- What characterises Viktoria Minya perfumes?
- Based on the results of the last few years, I think we can say that they are successful because of their uniqueness in a market where the supply of similar smelling fragrances confuses potential buyers. I so often hear from my clients that everything these days just smells the same. I work on my launches years before actually putting them on the shelves, and I can probably say that clients definitely feel this care that goes into every bottle. Our Hedonist perfume is a real aphrodisiac, but, generally speaking, many buyers come back with the same perception about Viktoria Minya fragrances; that they contain concentrated sunshine.
- What inspired the creation of the Tokaj perfume?
- Eau de Hongrie is one of the most personal creations in our line. I discovered the legend of Eau de la Reine de Hongrie (The Queen of Hungary’s Water) while still in perfumery school, and the idea of its modern version was born instantly. The original Eau de la Reine de Hongrie was the first modern perfume ever referenced. According to the legend, the perfume gave back youth and beauty to the ageing Elisabeth, hence the Polish king fell in love and married her. In the 1300s, the liquid smelled mostly of rosemary tincture, so I needed to choose the essence of the revisited famous scent carefully in order to reflect the modern context. The final scent is inspired by Hungary’s world class wine specialty, Tokaj Ászú, which not only tastes divine but also has proven medical benefits. The perfume contains delicate notes of honey, jasmine and immortelle, which are completed with the suave texture of sandalwood resulting in a rich, gripping scent! A lot of people ask me if I actually put Tokaj into the perfume. Although I liked the idea, the wine becomes unstable in the long run, so I worked with the noble raw materials to give a Tokaj-like effect. I decided to continue the wine theme with the bottle as well; the finely designed perfume bottle is the work of Miklós Kiss and, just like the whole perfume, it is also an ode to the world famous Tokaj wines.
- What do you think of Hungarian wines and Tokaj wines? What is the perception in France about Hungarian wines and Tokaj wine?
- In general, the French are very educated about wine, and they are not only aware of but also like Hungarian wines, mostly from the Tokaj region. I think there is strong market potential for high-quality Hungarian wines in France and, generally speaking, in the entire world! My roots are in the Tokaj region, so I guess I am not very objective on the matter, but I think we have world class wines from Tokaj. I recently discovered the work of the Tokaji Kereskedőház, some of their special wines were literally the best wines I have ever tasted.
- What is your favourite Hungarian wine and why?
- I cannot change who I am, so my favourite wines are the most fragrant ones as well; I especially like the 2013 six puttyonyos Tokaji Ászú from Szarvas from the Tokaji Kereskedőház. It has a beautifully ripe apricot and honey effect, which I find amazing both on the nose and the palate!
Parfums Viktoria Minya
Address: 66 avenue des Champs-Elysées, LOT41, 75008 Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 46 35 96 69
Email: contact@viktoriaminya.com
Web: www.viktoriaminya.com
