“To find a passion in life is the purpose for most of us”
The headline summarises Angela Turovskaya’s thoughts and beliefs. Angela – a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur and a mother of twin girls - is sincerely passionate about lifestyle, beauty and wellness.
After working in the beauty and wellbeing industry for more than a decade and seeing first-hand the impact popular non-clean beauty products have on the skin and its health, Angela Turovskaya founded BALMESSENCE, a luxury platform for ethical beauty products and unique fragrances.
Angela’s successful career has witnessed prolific achievements and milestone projects with renowned companies such as Paris Gallery, Wafi Hospitality, JA Resorts & Hotels, Beiersdorf Middle East in Dubai, UAE amongst others.
Let’s get to know her and her fragrance choices a little better.
How would you describe yourself?
Creative, focused, often a perfectionist, ambitious, persistent, but kind-hearted at the same time.
How would you describe your life in Dubai?
I don’t know if it’s my second home or first home anymore. Many outsiders imagine Dubai as the destination for holidays, luxury and easy life, but if you want to have it all in here, then hard work is very important! For me, Dubai has been a place of transformation in many ways, life is never static here: projects, and responsibilities combined with opportunities to discover and experience new exciting things at the same time. Living here, I’ve also learned how to value true friendship and support with authentic people. Since we’re far away from our families at home, we depend on our friends for the support we usually get from our families and relatives, so it’s important to keep them close. Dubai also teaches patience and understanding in many ways as we have to interact with people from so many different cultures.
What according to you is luxury?
Luxury must be honest. Luxury is not something necessarily to be complicated and super sophisticated, sometimes yes, but sometimes it is very simple, authentic, it is just so good that it is very valuable. For me it is quality, passion, an idea, and/or heritage behind it, that is here to be shared with others. I believe the meaning of “luxury” is changing compared to what luxury was to our grandparents and even parents. Luxury has become a bit less formal, less serious and less unapproachable. This reflects the different values of the recent generation. Now it needs to be also comfortable, exciting, authentic, and even sustainable. I feel that if something reflects my values, style and is authentic it has to have been created with soul and an unquestionable quality that excites me to look at it and wear it – then it is luxury. For me, it is not only about loud brand names. I feel quite confident to wear and use what I really like, I absolutely love to discover new exciting niche brands in fashion, fragrances and beauty that match my requirements and values.
What does ‘living’ mean to you? And how are you currently ‘living’?
For me, living is a balance. The balance of learning, working, contributing, helping, initiating the good change and on the other hand discovering, exploring, creating, enjoying, letting it go when necessary and just doing what we like. Balance creates peace inside of us and gives us the feeling of usefulness but at the same time when we are also able to take care of our own needs and dreams. It sounds attractive but it’s not easy to achieve!
What does a fragrance mean to you?
The fragrance is a reflection of personality. You are not likely to wear a fragrance that bothers you, is either aggressive or too soft for you. You find your match or matches based on the occasions. Fragrance is a creation, it is an artistic product at the end of the day, some of them more, some of them less, but it is something that has been created to make you happy, more confident, or just give you olfactory pleasure. Like pictures, pieces of art, the same can be said for fragrances. You wear them to reflect your persona, your style or you may choose to collect them to enjoy them at particular times, travelling to different imaginary worlds.
How do you connect to a fragrance?
That depends on the mood and the occasion, but sometimes there is an interesting story or creator behind the fragrance, and of course, there can be also favourite notes or combination of them in a fragrance that catches me.
Your favourite fragrance for yourself and describe what the scent makes you feel?
I am a fragrance guru and it is natural that I have a big collection of fragrances. They all resonate with me and reflect my style; however, they are all meant for different occasions. I believe fragrance needs to be right for the venue, you can’t wear an intense, powerfully concentrated fragrance for the office yet a light citrusy fragrance will be too dull and out of place for a night out.
Among my favourites is Black Gold by Ormonde Jayne - mostly for the night but sometimes for special day occasions, Ta’if by Ormonde Jane and Ormonde Woman is great as day fragrances. Ubar by Amouage and Soleil De Jeddah by Stephane Humber Lucas 777 are more intense and charismatic, they are my great companions for Opera nights. Epic Woman by Amouage is a great day to night fragrance but used in moderation. Some of the day fragrances for holidays: Holidays by House of Sillage, Jardin De Giverny by Arte Profumi.
Some final words on perfume
Perfume is a memory, sometimes you will remember a particular person just because you accidentally sniffed a fragrance they were wearing. Choose the fragrance that really reflects you, not just because a particular fragrance is trendy or considered cool. Create true, authentic memories of yourself.
