I’m a sucker for pretty packaging. If the fragrance is wonderful and housed in a special bottle, then to me it’s even better. Hedonist, the first offering from Parfums Viktoria Minya, is housed in a beautiful bottle filled with hundreds of bohemian crystals and comes in a luxurious handmade wooden black box. OK, the visuals alone have my interest piqued. Let’s look at the fragrance itself…
WHAT I SMELL: Hedonist is a perfume that goes on cool to the touch and opens with a honeyed peach accord. Peach can sometimes overwhelm me, but when it’s not too sweet as it is in this case, it really can be lovely. As cool as it goes on, it quickly warms to a mysterious combination orange blossom and jasmine. The light tobacco and vetiver help to hold back the overly sweet side of the floral notes which eventually do come out, but when they do, they do so in a whisper and not with a shout. What you are left with is a sweet and brightly warmed apricot vanilla fragrance that is pretty without being over the top.
Hedonist notes:
Top notes: rum CO2, bergamot, peach
Heart notes: jasmine absolute, orange blossom absolute, osmanthus absolute, tobacco
Base notes: vetyver, cedarwood, vanilla
From the Parfums Viktoria Minya website:
A powerful and provocative perfume for a woman who dares to be true to her desires. Lush notes of jasmine and orange blossom absolute flirt with the dark intensity of rum and the world’s finest woods for a scent that is as captivating as it is unforgettable.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A summer breeze which catches the light smell of burgeoning flowers.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE HEDONIST: sunny, warm, peaceful
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HEDONIST: Kafkaesque, smellythoughts, Eiderdown Press
BOTTOM LINE: I was expecting with a name like Hedonist that this fragrance would be over the top opulence. Instead, I found it to be well crafted, pretty and delightful. I believe that Viktoria Minya has made a wonderfully fresh and beautifully created first offering and I look forward to her next creation.
- Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Woody Chypre
- Nose: Viktoria Minya
- Classification: Feminine
- Expense: $130 Euros, 45ml EdP
Disclosure: Sample provided by Parfums Viktoria Minya.
The Scented Hound 
April 14, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Great review mr. Hound! And glad to see this new post at your place.
I was supposed to try Hedonist some time ago. Viktoria Minya contacted me personally by email and offered me a sample. This one was sent right after Easter and still it didn’t arrive, I’m concerned what happened.
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April 14, 2013 at 5:03 pm
Thanks Lucas – I just seem to be behind on everything these days and can’t get my act together. I probably would have reviewed this earlier, but the first sample sent to me was crushed in the mail and I just received this one last week. I’m sure yours will get to you soon. Enjoy!
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April 14, 2013 at 1:54 pm
First, thank you for the referral link, Mr. Hound. 🙂 Second, I’m really glad you enjoyed this one. I was a little concerned that you wouldn’t, given your issues with orange blossom and given how the perfume is supposed to be very heavy with that note (which it wasn’t on me). But, clearly, it wasn’t very orange-blossom-y on you, either. I seem to have had much, much more honey than you but we both had the exact same emotional impression of the perfume: sunny, summery, peaceful, and relaxing. I have to say, I completely lust after that bottle with the 500 crystals! LOL. Lovely review as always, Mr. Hound. xoxox
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April 14, 2013 at 5:07 pm
K – This wasn’t too orange blossom for me in the least and I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. But I have to shame you for getting me hooked on old school perfumes as I am sitting here loving the vintage Lanvin Arpege perfume that I got on eBay. And I just purchased a small bottle of Givenchy III perfume today on eBay as well. It should get here this coming week. I hope I love this blind buy…I’m sure you’re familiar…any thoughts?
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April 14, 2013 at 9:21 pm
HA, welcome to the world of loving vintage! I’m so glad I lured you astray. 😉
As for the Givenchy III, well, we’re all different but I wasn’t a fan. For one thing, I’m not gaga about green perfumes. For another, I don’t like aldehydes and soap. It’s been a while since I tried it, so perhaps my memories are off, but what I do recall was something very green and soapy. Sharp, bitter galbanum and soapy aldehydes= not my thing. At ALL. BUT, again, those are my issues, so perhaps you won’t share them. I will say this, if you thought Chanel’s 1932 was bathtastic, I’m not so confident you’ll be happy with this one since it has serious aldehydes as I remember it. Then again, Arpege has aldehydes too (though it’s a much better fragrance, in my opinion, and much more of a well-rounded floral than the primarily green Givenchy III). And you seem to love the Arpege, so you may end up liking the other one as well. You have to promise to let me know what you think when you get it. I’m going to be SO curious!
Totally OT, since you do like chypres, did you like the Montana vintage that I sent you, or was it too sharp? And did your love of the vintage Lagerfeld continue?
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April 17, 2013 at 3:17 pm
Sorry to say that I am not a big fan of the Montana. It’s a bit too big of a bite for me. FYI, I just received the Givenchy III and love it. It is green and lemony, but there is this wonderful oakmoss and amber at the base that warms and grounds it. Now, I have only had it on for 10 minutes, if it goes south I’ll let you know, but so far no soap!
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April 17, 2013 at 3:59 pm
I’m glad you’re enjoying your Givenchy III! And no worries about the Montana. 🙂 It’s definitely an acquired taste and a chypre with a serious bite. LOL. Let me know how the Givenchy III progresses on you. I’m very curious. xoxoox
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April 14, 2013 at 2:21 pm
I want this just for the bottle with the crystals. Perfume with bling. I’m hopeful that I might like it based on the fact that you think the peach isn’t big and bold. I like the rest of the notes.
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April 14, 2013 at 5:08 pm
It’s not peachy and it’s no Mitsouko. I think you’ll like it. It’s a bit girly but not too much. Happy Sunday Poodle!
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April 14, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Thanks for the review! I am thinking about getting a bottle for our anniversary with my wife but I wanted to check what the ‘experts’ are saying about it. Your opinion actually makes me relaxed about buying it blindly, as it seems to be something easily wearable! My wife keeps on giving me hints that this bottle with the crystals would be great in her collection… 🙂
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April 14, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Adrien – she’ll like the bling and she’ll like the perfume if she likes her fragrances a little sweet but not too much. What a lucky gal she is!
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April 14, 2013 at 4:06 pm
That packaging is just so lovely it is literally making my mouth water. Your description and Kafka’s make the juice sound delightful too.
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April 14, 2013 at 5:09 pm
The packaging is primo for sure and the juice is just as good Nancy. I hope you get a chance to try this.
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April 14, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Myself and vanessa had a good chat about this one recently – we pretty much agree the drydown is baddddddd on our skin. I’m amazed with your 4 out of 5 review, it seems a lot of people that are liking it are picking up mainly on a nice peach/honey accord with a vanilla drydown… whereas the haters are finding sharp metallic notes and bitterness. Definitely not a blind buy fragrance, but glad it works so well on your skin. I wanted to love it – but it has a got a great honey accord.
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April 14, 2013 at 5:02 pm
I am surprised that you found sharp metallic notes. It must be because I’m so sweet because on me it really ended on a very pretty note. 🙂
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April 14, 2013 at 8:48 pm
HA HA HA!! You are hilarious! You are so sweet, and funny Steve.
Portia xx
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April 15, 2013 at 8:51 am
The bottle is gorgeous and the juice seems too. Only the finances hold me back from insane purchases. I’m weak when beautiful things are at stake. Especially perfume bottles.
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April 15, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Thank you for the link, Steve. I love Hedonist so much, I keep fantasizing about buying a bottle. I can’t imagine how Freddie and Vanessa found a sharp metallic note …. this is soooo smooth and pretty to my nose, from start to finish.
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April 16, 2013 at 9:22 pm
I’m with you Suzanne. I thought it was very pretty and smooth. I didn’t find any metallic jagged edges at all.
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April 16, 2013 at 11:16 pm
Hedonist is definitely not loveat first sniff for me though the second and third time I wore it I thought it was nicer than my initial reaction. I’ll try wearing it one day to see how it feels. I think it’s a little too sweet for me but I might get used to it.
I don’t smell anything metallic or otherwise unpleasant.
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April 19, 2013 at 2:23 am
I haven’t tried this one, but it sounds counterintuitively good. Maybe Viktoria Minya is trying to make us think about the definition of hedonism: I guess it can be counted as any pleasant activity, not just flashy ones.
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April 19, 2013 at 5:43 am
Howdy Joan – it’s pretty but I’m not sure the name matches the scent. I think of Hedonist as being dirty and skanky… I would call this more “Lux” or something on that order. It does beg to ask the question, how does one come up with creating a name for a perfume. Naming and marketing it correctly can no doubt add to the sellability (is that a word?) 🙂
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April 22, 2013 at 1:55 pm
I found it fascinating how differently we all smell this! On fragrantica they talk about sex in the bottle, while some reviewers find it rather summery fresh. For me it’s VERY SEXY. I’m Easter European as well, like Victoria, so I wonder if I have similer taste like her? In all cases,from what I understood from her interview in fragrantica, the concept of hedonism is more in connection with the fact that the perfume offers a multi-sensorial effect with the crystals inside.
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April 22, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Well I’ll admit, the crystals in the bottle are very sexy, but to me this is too pretty for sexy. When I think of sexy I think of something more mysterious and a bit bolder. But in any case, it’s lovely! Thanks for stopping by.
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April 29, 2013 at 1:16 pm
🙂 thanks to you too, for your fun blog!
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