Victoria Christian, is a profesh ballerina trained in London’s Covent Garden who performed in musical theatre in London’s West End. In 1999, her father, Clive Christian OBE, resurrected the 127-year-old Victorian-era Crown Perfumery and rebranded it with his own name. Always one for an adventure, Victoria moved to the Big Apple to grow the fragrance with leading retailers stateside, and now travels around the globe to share her passion for Clive Christian perfumes and the British heritage it rests upon. We chatted with Victoria to learn more about her own life, the story of Clive Christian perfumery, and its latest release, Town and Country.
via Instagram @missvictoriachristian
Cosmo ME: Can you tell us about your first career in musical theatre?
VC: I think I would have been involved in the fragrance industry somehow in my life, but my journey to this position came about in a very roundabout way. Growing up, I was fortunate that my parents were very supportive of my passions. When I was 10, I saw a musical theatre production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Cats and I just had to be part of that show. At 19, I went to an open audition for the production that I came across in the papers. I auditioned on my own, without the support of an agent, and I got it. I made it happen.
C: How did you transition to working in the perfume industry?
VC: I transitioned from performing in the West End to perfume because I felt that I had scratched that musical theatre itch. I finished on a great show and was ready for a new challenge. That was twenty-five years ago and I’ve been working for my father ever since.
C: When did Clive Christian originate?
VC: The chap who started the Crown Perfumery was an American named William Sparks Tomson. He lived in London and was the most sought out corset maker of the time. He worked alongside his son and was revolutionary in his front-fastening corsets. In Victorian times, women weren’t supposed to eat in front of men and couldn’t really due to the restrictions of their corsets.
Fainting was commonplace. Back then, women would take a whiff of a super pungent mixture of ammonia-smelling salts after fainting. However, it would cause headaches and nausea and consequently they would need to retire for the rest of the day. It was a miserable life- the struggle for beauty.
via Instagram @missvictoriachristian
Sparks created an alternative to smelling salts with his Triple Extract Absolute English Lavender perfume. It had the same power as the salts but it was natural. It would revive the women without giving them a headache. They were so popular at the time that they were first-class general amenities aboard the Titanic.
C: Why did your father decide to revive the brand?
VC: Since the beginning of its history, celebrities, travelers, adventures, explorers, aristocracy, and nobility all came to Crown Perfumery. However, the landscape of fragrances changed when Coco Chanel began to mass marketed perfumes. The grand slow perfumery of yesteryear was forgotten.
My father acquired the house because he was disappointed by how niche perfumes were no longer in existence. He felt that the only house given the crown by Queen Victoria should still exist.
C: Were you the brand ambassador to Clive Christian from the beginning?
VC: No, not at all. I worked my way up. When my father bought the perfumery, I was 22 and had just left musical theatre. I travelled to London, Paris, the south of France, and South Africa to study perfume.
My first job was at the Clive Christian perfume counter in Fortnum and Mason in London. After, I moved to New York to open our first shelf in Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Drop by drop, I helped build the perfume house. In those days, I learned how perfumes individually work on the skin. I became a history buff in Victorian times.
Today, as the brand ambassador, my job is to tell the story of Clive Christian, introduce the brand to global markets, and shine our light.
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C: Can you tell us about the Clive Christian’s newest release, Town and Country?
VC: Town and County originally created in 1872. It’s part of our Crown Collection meaning the formula has been in our archives. We’re now reintroducing it to today’s market. Town and Country contain over 207 ingredients and each drop has over 150 notes. The perfume’s concentration is 25% which is quite high.
The complexity of the scent combined with its concentration tells the story of life in London, where we spend our week in the city while the weekends are for the country. It’s a spicy woody amber perfume with notes of zesty lemon, juniper, clary sage, cedar wood, patchouli.
C: Can you give us any career tips for those who want to break into the perfume industry?
Network like crazy, be proactive and get your foot in the door. Whether it’s a job in sales, or blogging about your favorite scents, be in and amongst it. Learn how retail works, how customers shop, and get any training you can.
Escape to the English countryside with Town and Country, now available in Dubai. To purchase, click here.