Monday 28 August 2017

STEPHAN'S SIX - VICTOR WONG


The links between a former video game artist and the world of niche perfumery are not very obvious, but that is exactly what happened with Victor Wong. In 2013 he formed Toronto based Zoologist Perfumes with the notion to capture the “idiosyncrasies of the animal kingdom and transform them into scents.” With nine fragrances now in the range I thought that it was time to find out about his own “idiosyncrasies” as I ask him “Stephan’s Six”.

What is the first smell that you can remember?
When I was a kid I slept with my parents and my dad was a smoker. I liked to read books and play with toys in the bed, and my father would smoke and read the newspaper by his desk. Later I developed asthma but my parents never thought it was because of second-hand smoking. My father developed lung cancer and quit smoking, and my asthma was subsequently gone, but cigarette smoke was probably the first smell that I remember.

What was the first perfume you remember your mum or dad wearing?
I really don’t recall my family members wearing any perfumes (I have eight siblings), but I do remember my father liked to use pomade to style his hair. It had a classic fougere smell that was great.

What was the perfume of your twenties?
I only really caught the perfume bug about five years ago (I’m going on forty-five now) and before that I think I owned about four or five perfumes. I guess I bought my first perfume when I was in university and it was Azzaro Chrome. I think Tom Cruise was their poster boy!

What was your biggest perfume mistake?
I used to wear my perfume prototypes to work to see how it would develop on my skin throughout the day, and one day I wore one that I had just received in the mail. Unfortunately the perfumer had accidentally overdosed one of the aroma chemicals and the whole office could smell me. I was asked to see my manager and given a warning.

You can only choose one perfume?
I would choose Amouage Gold Pour Homme because it is opulent, grand, classic, vintage, animalic, floral and powdery. I love drama.

What perfume should I try?
I would suggest Zoologist Bat because it really pushes the boundary of perfumery, whether you like it or not. It won the Art and Olfaction Award in 2016 and it’s something to be experienced.

For more information about the Zoologist range you can visit the website at zoologistperfumes.com

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