Photographer Victor Jacques – Talent Victoire De Taillac Founder of Officine Universelle Buly – Interview by Marco Martello
First things first, what’s your earliest scent-related memory?
My first memory is a bad one. It’s a funny story for a French. Since I was a baby, I’ve never liked cheese and can’t even stand the smell, so my nightmare was going with my mother to the cheesemonger. I’d stay out of the store, trying not to breathe, and wait for her. Very far from the cheese drama, there’s my mother’s perfume ‘Habit rouge’ by Guerlain, which was the official scent of our family home.
Over the years, you’ve spent many summers at your family’s castle, located in Gascony in south-west France, and surrounded by gardens. How would you describe your relationship with nature? And would you say the castle’s gardens are where your interest in natural ingredients and their use in the beauty industry comes from?
I was lucky to grow up in front of one of Paris’ gardens, ‘Le champs de Mars’, and all my holidays were spent at my family house in Gascony. As a kid, I was very aware of nature’s seasonal changes, playing outside all day, and enjoying autumn leaves and spring blossoms. My interest in natural ingredients started when we were living in Tangier, shopping for herbs in the traditional market and making beauty experiments.
That being said, what’s the fragrance that’s special to you because of the memories and sensations it manages to evoke?
‘Tubéreuse du Mexique’, the perfume I wore every day during Buly’s first years. I also used to spray Tubéreuse Eau Triple on my skin to show the rue Bonaparte customers how special the water-based formulation was. A happy scent, forever.
You now live in Paris with your partner in business and life, Ramdane Touhami, and your children. What does your home smell of? Going off this, do you agree with me when I say that perfume has the power to affect your mood, and that choosing the right scent for the space you live in shouldn’t be considered any less important than picking the perfect fragrance for yourself?
I agree with you, a home scent is very important. It’ll also enhance the difference between the outside and inside. The choice is very different from that of a perfume that’s going to embody who you are, and your style. A home scent is lively, changing within the day and the rooms. My favourites are flower scents. We live in a house, and on the first and second floor you’re often welcomed by a scented flower bouquet. Depending on the season, it can either be lily, hyacinth, rose, or jasmine. My other favourite is the smell that comes from the kitchen while cooking, the most welcoming scent on earth. We perfume our bathroom with the Alexandrie alabasters from Buly and, in our living room, we’re currently burning a candle from Ramdane’s Swiss hotel Drei Berge, a woody scent he just created.
Speaking of Ramdane, can you tell us the story of how the two of you met? I guess you’ll never forget that handshake…
We met in Paris during a dinner party and really got to know each other when Ramdane started working for my Japanese brother-in-law, but I think we never said hello with a handshake.
You travel frequently for work, visiting various locations around the world. What’s the country that’s inspired you the most, influencing your approach to life and the way you see things?
I’m very curious and open-minded, so I’ll pick either one idea, one tradition, or one proverb in every trip. Japan is very special to me, because of my Japanese family. I went for the first time when I was 16, and this first trip was an aesthetic shock and made a huge impression on me. I travel to Japan twice yearly, so I’m very fond of the culture. Ramdane’s too, of course. That’s the reason why we decided to open a Buly store in Tokyo and live there for a year with the kids. Buly is very French, but with a lot of Japanese inspiration.
Taking a step back, in 2014 you and your husband Ramdane Touhami brought Officine Universelle Buly into the modern day, opening a boutique at 6 Rue Bonaparte in Paris. Do you remember the hopes and fears you had when you first embarked on this journey?
When you start a new project, you jump. You don’t know what the future will be made of and just hope for the best. We were very proud of the store and products, and it was great to see other people being enthusiastic from the first day. It was a day-by-day dedication, with amazing steps like the first store in Seoul, the one in Tokyo, the second store in Paris, and the Louvre perfume project.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, this series of interviews for The Greatest’s website revolves around the concept of a handshake. For you, what’s the perfect handshake like? I heard the way you shake hands is pretty important in French culture…
It’s a running gag in the office because I need to say ‘Bonjour’ when I see someone and when I arrive somewhere. I see a handshake in the same way: when you introduce yourself to someone, you want to pay attention and exchange a smile and a look with your handshake.
Talking about Officine Universelle Buly again, where do you think the secret to the brand’s success lies, considering the saturation of today’s beauty market?
Officine Universelle Buly is very singular in the beauty industry, which tends to be conformist. I think our customers enjoy the legacy, the beautiful tradition and services, the quality, and also the creativity and modernity behind our stores and products.
To end on a personal and light-hearted note, what’ll you do when you’re done answering these questions?
I’ll walk our dog, the giant Tonton. He’s a beautiful and tender bobtail, very famous in our neighborhood!