Fashion Profile

Interview with Ozlem Unal – Owner of Fragrance House, Palermo, in Harbour Town.

Migrating from Turkey to Melbourne in 2001, Ozlem has expanded her husband’s family’s European-based perfume business, Palermo, with four shops in Melbourne. Palermo, which began 20 years ago, is a company that imports French oils and blends them together to create perfumes inspired by famous brands, at a fraction of the price. With over 450 fragrances on offer, Palermo has something for everyone.

What is the most popular men’s and women’s fragrance at the store?

We have a few popular fragrances and it really depends on the person’s age, what suits them and what they like. For men, our top sellers from 2009-2010 are the inspired fragrances of Armani Black Code by Giorgio Armani,1 Million by Paco Rabanne and Allure Sport by Chanel. For women it’s Flower Bomb by Victor & Rolf, Miss Cherrie by Christian Dior and Daisy by Marc Jacobs.

What is your favourite perfume?

My two favourites are Golden Dust by Palermo, which is one of our signature perfumes and the other is our Hot Couture by Givenchy-inspired fragrance.

Are there different scents for different seasons?

Yes, you need to apply different scents in different weather then it will last all day. A good winter perfume is Flower Bomb (2005), with its crispy and musky notes while good summer perfumes have fresh, citrus or fruity notes such as Sunset Heat by Escada.

How important do you think it is to choose the right perfume for yourself?

Choosing your perfume is very important as people in general expect to smell beautiful all day. Try to choose perfumes that suit you, not your friends or family. Test a perfume in a store and then walk around for a minimum of 10 minutes as skin and body chemistry affect how a perfume will smell on each individual.  Some perfumes take more like half an hour or hour to truly develop.