Having expensive taste while being on a budget is extremely heartbreaking. Trust me, I’ve combed through many aisles in stores, spritzing on luxurious perfumes, holding testers in my hands, and then ever so slowly putting them back down on the shelf because they were way too costly. Well, luckily for us many high-end brands are now bringing out collections that are more widely affordable.
If you’re a fragrance enthusiast then you’ve come to the right place because POPxo spoke to Jo Malone, the genius behind two brands Jo Loves and Jo Malone in an exclusive interview to talk about all things perfumes, notes, and scents.
Jo Loves
What are some of the new and popular ingredients being used in perfumes this year?
Well, I can only talk about myself and my work. To be honest, I’ve never worked so hard in all my life than over lockdown. We’ve had two major collections for Zara, the one called Emotions is going to be taking over at the moment. As for ingredients, I think a lot of clean citrus notes will be seen along with a lot of white blossoms. I think people are looking for life again so there will be many blue sky fragrances– with people looking up and dreaming. Fragrances evoke memories so for me personally, I want to just close my eyes and smell a beach, or smell a salty sea and I think that’s the storytelling I want to do to remind people that vibrancy and life as we know it is not far away.
What’s your creative process when it comes to creating fragrances?
The storytelling part of any collection is what comes naturally to me. It’s like falling in love with someone for the first time and when you look at them you can just feel it. That’s exactly my relationship with creating fragrances- I fall in love with a concept and then I feel myself letting go. As though I’m floating in a beautiful swimming pool and I allow myself to be drowned in my imagination. Then the collection tells me- this is who I am, this is who I want to be and this is my voice.
Which fragrance is your personal favourite?
From my Zara Emotions collection, there are two that I love. One is Vetiver Pamplemousse, she’s a fragrance that trots through the day with you, doesn’t want to dominate or take over, and is happy in just being your friend. I spray it onto my bedsheets as well because it gives such a clean feeling. The other one is Ebony Wood which reminds me of my sportsman son who is 19 years old. So it makes me think of hope for a young generation.
How does one correctly understand these notes and undertones while picking a fragrance?
Well, I’m telling stories. I feel like picking a fragrance is like looking at art. Do you have to understand every brushstroke on a canvas? No, you just enjoy the creation the artist has put before you. For example, the fragrance Bohemian Bluebells is all about the eccentric musician who is very eclectic in her thinking. The Waterlily Teadress fragrance all about going to a party, sharing anecdotes, and being with people. It started with one note, a blade of grass and I kept building upon it. That’s what I’m known for- starting out with a single note and creating opera around it. Once I went to an Indian wedding, which was ten days long and there was a moment when we were all in gorgeous, colourful sarees and I knew that this was one of the most beautiful moments in life. So, it’s taking moments like these and turning them into fragrances is what I love doing.
Recently, Jo Loves and the extremely popular high street brand, Zara collaborated on a new collection called ZARA Emotions. This is now available in the market and you can shop for it here.
So, tell us which is going to be your go-to perfume this year?