Aroma Therapy: Talking All Things Fragrance with Jo Malone’s Fragrance Expert, Emma South
Emma South knows a thing or two about fragrance. After graduating with a Masters in Literature and Philosophy from the University of York, Emma worked as a Stylist at the Jo Malone London flagship Sloane Street boutique. She’s now the Fragrance & Lifestyle Expert at Jo Malone London, hosting regular events, acting as an ambassador on behalf of the brand and helping to bring each individual fragrance story to life.
Here, she shares her experience in choosing and buying fragrance, helping you to discover your perfect signature scent…
Fragrance evokes powerful, personal memories. A person may be drawn to a particular scent because it triggers a memory of a certain moment, person or place. Our scent memory bank is full of personal memories from different stages in our lives, starting from early childhood.
At Jo Malone, each fragrance is crafted around moments and experiences. For example, Orange Blossom is reminiscent of the subtle aroma of clementine leaves surrounding a hotel in Beverly Hills California. Pomegranate Noir was inspired by a rich, vintage red silk dress worn by a woman to a dinner party in London.
Fragrance gives you the power to bottle memories. Whenever you are starting a new chapter, marriage, a new home, job or adventure, choose a new scent. It is the most powerful time capsule you can make.
How to choose a wedding fragrance…
When choosing your wedding scent keep these three main points in mind: your day, your fragrance tastes and how you want to feel. Depending on your day, the setting, season, flowers, colours etc. you might find you are drawn to scents that capture these details.
For example, with spiced ruby fruits and lingering woods, Pomegranate Noir is perfect for a winter wedding.
Peony and Blush Suede is such a sweeping, romantic scent with armfuls of ruffled blooms and is a great choice for a summer wedding, particularly if you are having peonies in your bouquet. This is also our most popular scent with Brides.
I personally love the elegant, refined character of Earl Grey and Cucumber and, inspired by afternoon tea at the Ritz, it is the one for chic city weddings!
Historically Orange Blossom has been a symbol of eternal love and often placed in the bridal bouquets across Italy, Spain and France. The Jo Malone London Orange Blossom Cologne is inspired by a shimmering garden oasis and is mesmerising lit as candles at a wedding.
Creating a sanctuary with home fragrances…
Currently our homes may have taken on a great deal of additional purposes, functioning as offices, classrooms, work out spaces, all whilst remaining the same size and at a time when we need our homes to be a sanctuary of calm more than ever.
Scent has such a close relationship to memory that it influences our mood and perception in a profound yet often unconscious way. The art of home scenting is about channelling this to add to the spatial dimensions of a property, creating and delineating new spaces within an open plan area and also helping to structure the day, creating scented signals that direct us from work to leisure, day to night.
Jo Malone London’s Lime Basil & Mandarin bestows a focused energy on all situations, making it the perfect home scent. Vibrant and zesty with a host of citrus notes and lively basil, then mellowed, for more thoughtful concentration, with aromatic thyme and amberwood. It is simply scrumptious of spring nights at home.
How to choose a fragrance as a gift…
When choosing a fragrance for someone else you need to consider the effect they would like to create with their fragrance. If they prefer scents that are refreshing, energising and enlivening they will enjoy a more citrusy fragrance. Alternatively, if you know they are drawn to warmer, intense notes, they are most likely to be suited to fruity and woody fragrances.
Remember fragrance should really match a person’s lifestyle. When choosing a fragrance for yourself you imagine the occasions and moments that you will wear it; this should be the same when choosing a scent for someone else.
