With Halloween just around the corner, we sat down with Audrey Gruss to talk about Hope Fragrances, autumn in NY, and all the goings-on in the city including the upcoming Hope For Depression Research Luncheon.
1. What are your 3 favorite things to do in the Fall that show your love for the Arts?
For me, the first event that signals Fall in New York is the FIT Couture Council luncheon. This year the event honored French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and was held at the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The event is like a kick-off to Fashion Week in New York and is a wonderful way to see many friends and say hello after the summer and at the beginning of fall. I also look forward to a visit to the Metropolitan Museum as a member of the Chairman’s Council. Their special events are extraordinary. The curator takes us around on of the featured exhibition, and then we have dinner in one of the beautiful spaces with the décor based on the theme of the exhibition. What a lovely way to catch up with like-minded art patrons. The Winter Antique Show held at the Park Avenue Armory is also a favorite event to attend. The show has been going on for 70 years, and shows wonderful collections in art, antiques and design.
2. What is your favorite way to spend time with your grandchildren?
Although I am a step-grandmother to my husband’s eight grandchildren, it is one of the great pleasures in life to spend time with the grandkids. And then turn them over to their parents! There is a wonderful children’s museum downtown that children of all ages enjoy visiting. Most of the museums have children’s tours or exhibitions geared to them. One of our favorite places to go is the Museum of Natural History.
The 2023 Hope Award for Depression Advocacy recipient Dakota Johnson (left) and Audrey Gruss (right)
3. Can you tell us about the upcoming Hope For Depression Research Foundation Luncheon and give some hints about the award recipient? Our 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar this year will be held on November 12 in the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Every year we honor a celebrity who has been very open about depression and its related mood disorders. For every celebrity that speaks about their experience with depression, there are thousands who are influenced to seek help. This is a wonderful way to raise awareness that depression is a medical illness and there is help if you ask for it.
This year the HOPE Award recipient is Mariska Hargitay. Known for her lead performance in Law & Order: SVU, she is an actor, activist and Founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation. Our neuroscientists at Hope for Depression Research Foundation are studying childhood trauma and the effects it has on triggering depression. I am so pleased to be giving the award to Mariska and look forward to hearing her acceptance speech. The more the media covers mental health, the more the lingering stigma is reduced by those who begin to understand the facts about good mental health.
4. What is the top trends you are implementing in your home décor this season?
Although the large furniture pieces involved in home décor do not change very frequently for most people, there is a trend in utilizing plants and accessories to freshen up décor, and sometimes for each of the seasons. I like to bring in fresh plants, flowers and flowering branches to symbolize each season. For example, there is nothing more beautiful than fall foliage, and if you are in an area of the country where you don’t have it in your backyard, it is a big treat to put a few branches of fall-colored leaves in a tall clear glass container. It will give an entirely new look to a room. I’ll compliment that with a bowl of apples in their various fall colors. For each season, I like to bring in different plants, accessories such as pillows, and fragrance candles.
5. What’s new with Hope Fragrances?
Our Hope Night fragrance candle (pictured) is actually being considered by the Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) award, a distinguished organization of women in cosmetics and design. Hope Night fragrance is an absolutely delicious and beautiful fragrance, which I had the pleasure of helping to design with the Firmenich Fragrance Company, one of the leaders in the fragrance industry. It has notes of amber, patchouli, plum, vanilla and vetiver, along with two white flowers (Lily-of-the-Valley and Gardenia), which are the DNA signatures of Hope Fragrance. The packaging for the Hope Night candle is so elegant and can fit into any room décor or environment.  The fragrance is romantic and memorable, and I try to wear it every evening as I go out to dinner or entertain at home.
6. What are you wearing this season?
The flavors of Hope Night fragrance are beautiful in the fall/winter, as well as all year round. It is so multi-layered and sophisticated that it is intriguing and works in any season. It definitely is the accessory you want to wear every evening in the fall and winter. Spray it on pulse points—behind the ears, around the throat, on your inner wrist, behind your knees. The fragrance will envelop you and float around you.
I guarantee that you will get a positive reaction from those around you when you wear it.
7. What are your favorite places that evoke a memory through scent?
Certain scents create a very special reaction, feeling or memory when you wear them. Pass any bakery and you’ll see what I mean. The scent of vanilla that you most often smell is so comforting. It invokes memories of home, family and a comfortable, relaxing environment. In the fall as we cook with various spices, their fragrances are so recognizable and create a warm and festive atmosphere, evoking memories of good times/memories. In the winter I think of the fragrance of pine needles and fir trees in a place like mountains, where we take the family during the holiday time for skiing. Every restaurant and hotel seem to have these delicious aromas that are so pleasant and welcoming. And immediately bring back memories of fun and good times.
8. Is there something special you like to make or cook for your loved ones during this time of the year?
One of my favorite things is making our apple sauce with our homegrown Matsu apples from our own orchard in the Hamptons. We place them in decorative glass jars and it becomes personal and gifs. We also grow pears, and make apple and pear tarts and applesauce from our fall harvest that are delicious and are eaten very quickly. We make our very own applesauce and place it in decorative jars; it becomes a wonderful Christmas gift that is very personal and meaningful. The flavors and fragrances while all this cooking is going on absolutely fills the senses.
