Exclusive with Polynésie 1ère
The interview featured on a French television channel, Polynésie 1ère (Polynesia First), and has been translated from French to English for the purpose of this publication.
How do you measure success and fulfilment today. Julie Troja had it all at the peak of her migration law career, a mother, and is a French beauty herself. She has an extraordinary career in helping families and partners unite and call Australia home.
Being a migrant herself there is a part of her heart that will always remain across the Pacific.
Julie is passionate about her Tahitian roots as she is about Australia. Monoï is a fundamental beauty and remedial regimen of her childhood. Not being able to find quality monoï products in Australia, has inspired her to formulate a range of products to share with an international market and pass down to her daughter a tradition that has been passed down to her for generations.
In anticipation of the launch of Moeāvā, Emere Leitch-Munro sat down with Julie Troja, the founder of Moeāvā, for an exclusive interview in Tahiti.
Thank you, Julie, for joining us. You are here today to talk to us about a cosmetic product that we Polynesians hold dear to our hearts - “The Monoï oil”
How did you come up with the idea to sell Monoï to the international market?
Well, my mother is Tahitian and because of that Monoï has always been a part of my childhood. My mother always used Monoï on me, and I even have memories with both my grandmother and great-grandmother using Monoï to soothe my skin injuries or to brush my hair.
Monoï has always been so important to me because the scent of Monoï triggers that feeling that ties me to my family. I put Monoï on myself every day – in my hair, on my skin. I use it to detangle my daughter’s hair or even when she had diaper rashes. I wanted to introduce this part of my culture to Australia and to the international market.
Your Monoï products are a little different from what would be sold locally. How did you change the Monoï?
We altered our blend of Monoï to be adaptable to different skin and because Monoï naturally solidifies in warmer temperatures we wanted something that would be suitable for cooler temperatures as well.
To do this, we had advice from Korean cosmetic research and developers, and from our lab network to blend other oils and natural ingredients to help with decreasing the solidifying as well as quicker absorption rate without losing the nutritious benefits.
But the oils are formulated here in Tahiti?
Yes, our products are 100% made in Tahiti.
What are some of the benefits from the products you offer?
We have launched with a Hair Oil and Face Oil. Our Hair oil is influenced by the original Monoï recipe used within my family and tweaks my mother had to it.
The Face Oil is uniquely blended with other oils and ingredients to push back early signs of ageing whilst nourishing the skin.
Both oils are actually multi-purpose. The hair oil could be used for the body, the face oil could be used for the body or on helping to nourish any skin damage or healing skin injuries.
The brand is called Moeāvā, does this name have a story?
Yes it does. My Tahitian name is Moea so we got some influence from my name. Moeāvā in Tahitian also means an adventurous woman, a dreamer or one that dreams big.
Moeāvā is a brand made by women and my business partner and I chose this name to represent who we are, where we came from, and how we got here.
Any last message to our viewers?
I am really proud my culture and to be able to share a part of my home.