What makes a very successful, let’s face it, very rich, beauty entrepreneur start from scratch and create a new brand? I had to ask Jo Malone this when I met her because I have a theory that truly iconic business men and women are never driven by money but by the desire to create, to build and to succeed. And after two years of hard work, Jo is set to do all three again with the launch of Jo Loves.
On Monday the 7th of November the first Jo Loves fragrance launches online and in a pop up shop in Selfridges. I have known quite a lot about the four new scents since interviewing Jo Malone for a Fragrance Foundation event back in October, but was sworn to secrecy. So what can I tell you now?
There are four fragrances in the first collection that will roll out through the month of November. Jo has been working on them and the candles that are to follow for two years pouring her heart and creativity into the project. But what made her want to create again after selling her company to Estee Lauder nearly five years ago? ‘I was making my TV show and I was in a shed with one of my contestants advising them on their business and I suddenly had this overwhelming desire to create again. Not just a scent but a truly British brand. It was as if my passion had come alive again.’
The four scents are very typically Jo Malone, deceptively simple, easy to like and very wearable. They are all set to make the red and black box just as covetable as the iconic cream and black ones, but this time Jo is building a digital global village; selling online, through an Iphone App, in her Selfridges pop up store and, eventually, through a standalone store in central London. ‘Things have changed since I first created a brand,’ she told me. ‘Now I can put a picture online and send it to millions of people within seconds.’ And yes Jo really does her own tweeting and interacts on Facebook.
What’s more what you will experience in store via one of her scent pods will take you on a sensorial journey, voiced by Jo in her own words, explaining her inspiration for each scent. Think of it as a 3D IMAX, scratch and sniff film about scent but in a far more sophisticated and seductive art house cinema kind of way.
The first four scent are to be Pomelo, Green Orange and Coriander, Orange Tuille and Gardenia and are limited edition. When they sell out they sell out and will not go on sale again until Jo opens her flagship store sometime midway through 2012. So be warned, the wait list will be long and the elbows sharp in Selfridges in the coming weeks.
· Pomelo is clean and crisp and smells, wel,l of Pomelo; a citrusy hybrid between a grapefruit and an orange and it is truly mouth watering. This is the smell of a summer holiday on The Med.
· Green Orange and Coriander is also citrusy but also more soulful and crisp. This is one for the boys and girls and has a sexy dry down.
· Orange Tuille is very flirty and feminine and was, Jo told me, inspired by the movement of a ballet dancer’s skirt. If this sounds strange, it isn’t, as this scent undulates between fresh and fun and flirty and floral.
· Gardenia is simply that; a full on white floral scent that will win over any soft petal fragrance lover. This is a beautiful, rich and timeless scent.
Visit
JoLoves and follow Jo on twitter @MeJoMalone
