BRIDGING PAST AND PRESENT
Although ESTORAS Founder Paul-Anton never met his grandfather Prince Antal Esterházy, fascination never ceased for his stories: "From childhood on I collected every little story I could about my grandfather who was somewhat of a Great Gatsby of 1920s Austria-Hungary. Especially tales of the exploits with his brother-in-law Count László Almasy - whose captivating character was at the heart of Michael Ondaatje's novel and Oscar winning Movie adaption - “The English Patient”, brought him to life for me. I wanted to create an homage to these extraordinary lives but I needed a worthy vessel to tell it."
"Theirs seemed such a beautiful and effortlessly elegant world to engage with and to bring into the present to inspire strong characters, yearning adventurers chasing impossible horizons today. Here the idea sprung, to start a fragrance brand around this uniquely liberated zest for life of the roaring 1920s, by opening a modern portal with the power of scent... And the key to this portal I held in my hand: my Grandfathers travel perfume bottle.”
Our Perfumers
Marie Urban Le Febvre is a French perfumer, professor at the Perfume Institute of the University of Versailles (ISIPCA), and author.
After studying chemistry, she graduated from ISIPCA in 2000 and worked for Symrise and Takasago, two international perfume houses. In 2014, she became an independent perfumer in Berlin, collaborating with brands and scientific research projects. She has also contributed to the reconstruction of historical perfumes in partnership with museums, archaeologists, and academic institutions.
In 2023, she relocated her fragrance lab from Berlin to Trieste, Italy, where she continues to lead Urban Scents.
Zsolt Zólyomi is Hungary’s only perfumer, known for reviving and redefining the country’s fragrance traditions. After studying plant biology, he graduated from the ISIPCA Fragrance Academy in Versailles as the first and only Hungarian in decades to complete ISIPCA’s Master Course in Perfumery.
In 2009, he founded Le Parfum in Budapest to promote niche and artistic fragrances. His work includes collaborations with international brands, bespoke creations for celebrities and private clients. He has also collaborated with fine beverage producers and completed the Pálinka Master Course at Corvinus University. Dedicated to education and cultural preservation, he plans to establish Hungary’s first Perfumery School and Perfume Museum.
Our Creative Ethos
We set out to create a brand that is respectful of its rich heritage but crucially translates into contemporary aesthetics and values. The design and story telling go hand-in-hand taking you on a journey to discovery of the brand, its values and history by the time you reach the bottle. With a reminiscent nod to the bold, angular, and geometric shapes and the use of luxurious, heavy materials and craftsmanship of the infamous Viennese secessionist, art deco design movements of the 1920s, the ESTORAS BOTTLE is a minimalist reinterpretation manifested in sleek, contemporary forms. In this Spirit, the ESTORAS LOGO is a union of the 1920s Wiener Werkstätte design collective, the former Steyr Automotive logo and the Esterházy family crest.
In homage to Viennese hand-craft heritage, the ESTORAS CAPS are forged in aged metal — a material choice that recalls the resilience of the 1926 Sahara-crossing automobile while also echoing the brass tones so deeply woven into the Art Deco era. With their noble patina, they carry both the romance of adventure and the timeless elegance of design, bridging the brand’s pioneering past with its contemporary spirit. The bottle prints are hand stamped in a small workshop at the foot of the Alps and the fragrances finally bottled in a mountain village in the shade of rocky alpine peaks, with perfume oil from the french olfactory capital Grasse — where the mastery of perfumery meets the spirit of exploration
