ILONA Beauty Celebrates 50 Years of Skin Care with the Return of the Budapest Cocktail
NEW YORK
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November 17, 2021 08:03 AM Eastern Standard Time
Ilona's story is truly fascinating. One of the original vanguards of skincare, Ilona, a young girl, escaped Communist Hungary in 1956. She landed in a refugee camp in New Jersey with 33 cents to her name and no understanding of the English language. Originally working in a handbag factory, she decided a job as a waitress was a better way for her to learn the language. That same year, she met and married George Meszaros, her lifelong business partner.
Taking all of the precious and effective techniques Ilona had learned and perfected in Hungary, together in 1971 they began to build their multi-million dollar empire, opening Skin Care Institutes in New York, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Palm Springs and Costa Mesa. Ilona personally trained each and every esthetician in her own method and techniques. In 1982, the Park Avenue Institute in New York opened to much fanfare. As word spread, of Ilona’s arrival the appointment book overflowed, and a long wait list ensued. Celebrities, socialites, and notables from around the globe clamored to have Ilona tend to their skin.
National expansion, product development and mail-order fulfillment soon followed to service clients across the US and internationally. Throughout the decades, Ilona has been guided by her 7 touch points of skincare - performance, efficacy, texture, touch, luxury, aroma and quality. She understood early that beauty is intangible and fluid. It changes with each generation.
Today, 50 years later, the company has evolved from its original focus on treatments and services and is strictly devoted to formulating the most advanced skincare products for at home use. Ilona herself is involved in every formulation. She is known to say, “any product that has touched your skin has first touched mine.” Still family owned, she and her son Robert, CEO, together run the business. Ilona of Hungary has since evolved into ILONA Beauty, as it is known today.
Digging into the company archives from its early decades, one of the most popular add-on treatments at the Institute was known as the Budapest Cocktail. It was custom blended by Ilona, refrigerated and dispensed via a CO2 whipped cream-like dispenser. It was a cocktail of royal jelly, propolis, hyaluronic acid, various herbs, calendula, ginseng, coveted serum ampoules and imported mineral water from Hungary. It was applied at the end of the treatment and left clients with Ilona’s signature glowing complexion.
In honor of the brands' 50th Anniversary, ILONA is relaunching the Budapest Cocktail as a modern conduction foil sheet mask for in-home use. The unique 3 layer, 2-part sheet mask uses foil conduction technology to help cocoon and warm the skin, coaxing the absorption of all the vital elements. Developed with a prestigious laboratory, Budapest Cocktail contains many of the original, beloved ingredients.
Contact Details
Spotlight Beauty PR
Dianne Vavra
+1 917-331-4869
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