At the end of spring, Kaunas sparkled with silver and smelled of Arabic aromas – famous people were invited to the perfume festival, where they shared their fragrance stories.
“The suggestion of smell is stronger than words, sights, feelings and will. It is impossible to resist the suggestion of a smell, it enters us like air into the lungs, it floods us, it simply floods and no one can defend itself from it”, – the text spoken four decades ago by the writer Patrick Suskind, who was extremely interested and discussed the mysterious world of aromas in his books, became a kind of motto of the silver evening, to which the guests were invited by Viktorija Gaidytė, a connoisseur of Arab perfumes.
Silver festival of perfumery in Kaunas / photo by Erlend Bartulis.
Silver festival of perfumery in Kaunas / photo by Erlend Bartulis.
The collection is only from abroad
All the guests of the celebration confirmed that scents have incredible power.
“There are perfumers’ creations that become a part of you, your “clothing” and identity. After all, it is not for nothing that there are people who say that they feel as if they are naked without spraying their favorite perfume, – holiday planner Inga Budrienė reminded with a smile the saying popular in society, – I have a lot of perfumes at home, but the shelf is not only not empty – it is still filling up”.
Although the interviewee assured that she is not attached to things – if a certain aroma no longer suits her, she is happy to share it with a friend who appreciates it. She often gives perfumes to her relatives and colleagues.
Silver festival of perfumery in Kaunas / photo by Erlend Bartulis.
More than one perfume bottle is also in the house of Kaunas Master of Ceremonies Kęstutis Ignatavičius. The collection he once had was truly incredible.
“There were as many as 40 different bottles in a special cabinet. And none from the countries of the Soviet Union. All of them were brought by friends or colleagues from abroad,” says a well-known man.
At that time, K. Ignatavičius, who was happy with the unique archive of scents, joked that his friends stopped by not only to chat, but also to take a breath. He himself liked to spray the lapels of his jacket with different aromas – the right one with one scent, and the left one with another.
Silver festival of perfumery in Kaunas / photo by Erlend Bartulis.
“When I ran out of perfume, my wife of bright memory advised me not to take up space with bottles anymore. I had to say goodbye to them. But then I made a list of aromas that I kept until now”, said the master of ceremonies of Kaunas.
Grandfather’s love for perfumes is also known to his granddaughter Indrė Ignatavičiūtė. She assured him – a new, strong aroma is the best gift for him.
“We have another passion in common. It’s love for music,” added the owner of an exceptional voice, who formed and performed with a group in Great Britain for several years, and who currently returns to live in Lithuania.
I. Ignatavičiūtė also gave several songs to the guests of the Silver Festival in the Old Town of Kaunas.
Forbidden aromas were transported by camels
The host Gintaras Vidmantas also delighted the audience with his talent, who helped V. Gaidyta, a connoisseur of Arabic perfumes, to convey many legends related to the Far East in an interesting way and explained why silver became the symbol of the evening – “Parfum Arabia” presented a new collection of scents of this color and achieved a solid following on social networks number of followers.
“Myths and truest stories of Eastern countries were always abundant in our house, because my parents brought back the first aromas, which at that time were still unusual and unexpected for Lithuanians, more than twenty-five years ago. I listened to their stories, smelled the perfumers’ creations, and even then I knew that I would continue what they started,” says the interviewer.
According to V.Gaidytė, there are many legends in Eastern countries about how perfumes enriched with aphrodisiacs were brought to the palaces of princesses who were strictly protected from prying eyes by camels that could find their way without a guide. Animals that were already disappearing in nature then became great keepers of noble secrets. The three greatest values still remain in the Arab countries: the Arabian horse, the hunting falcon and the racing camel.
Photo gallery:
Silver festival of perfumery in Kaunas (97 photo)
Tags: Kaunas silver evening celebrity fragrance stories collections forbidden fruits
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