Poppy Delevingne: We chat fragrance with the London girl
The English model and actress spills on spritzes, bath rituals, and developing her second range for Jo Malone
'When I first met my husband, when I was 21, he was wearing Amber & Lavender Cologne. He still wears it to this day. Red Roses was the first fragrance I ever wore at 18, and I like to go back to it from time to time, it holds some wonderful memories for me – it’s like my oldest friend. While Peony & Blush Suede is a new firm favourite. I love it because there’s something very feminine about it, but it also has a bit of an edge. Besides being my favourite threesome and that they look so pretty all together, I love that they are the smaller 30ml size. They are perfect to take away with you or have in your handbag to top up during the day. You could start the day with Red Roses and then add Amber & Lavender for a delicious night time fragrance.'
Tell us about the process of creating the 'Queen of Pop' range for Jo Malone
'I wanted to do something that capitalised on the creative momentum of Poptastic, my first collaboration with Jo Malone London while keeping that sense of fun. It’s taken about 18 months of meetings and playtime to come up with the full collection, and I am obsessed with the results. I wanted to spotlight my favourite thing in the entire world which is bath time. So we created bubble baths, in some of my favourite fragrances and, to celebrate Jo Malone London’s art of Fragrance CombiningTM, incorporated candles and colognes for the perfect bath time package.'
What was your inspiration for the aesthetic?
'We were inspired by 60’s prints and pop art. We wanted to make the packaging super fun, and playful which I think is perfectly captured with the polka dots, graphic black stripes and plenty of pink and gold!'
What's your recipe for the perfect bath?
'It has to be night-time. I always prefer to bathe in the evening. Firstly I light an abundance of candles so as soon as I walk into the bathroom, it smells amazing and is all twinkly. Plenty of bubbles are a must and then when my skin is all warm and soft, and smelling glorious following my bath, I add a generous spritz of cologne so my scent lingers right into the evening. I draw a long hot bath, use lashings of Queen of Pop bubble bath play a little bit of Fleetwood Mac in the background, and have a candle burning (maybe three) and a rubber ducky. Preferably the Queen of Pop rubber ducky with black polka dots to keep me company. (Or [of course] my husband, James.)
Perfection.'
Tell us about the candles from the range?
'They add an amazing layer of fragrance and atmosphere to bath time! But the designs are so striking they would equally look beautiful on any mantelpiece or bedside table. I chose to work with Basil & Neroli as it seems very British; a real London scent that somehow reminds me of wet pavements. Blackberry & Bay is again very British but also very sumptuous. And then the Grapefruit cuts through anything to add zingy freshness.'
What scents do you love mixing together?
'All Jo Malone London fragrances are designed to be worn alone or combined with other scents – that is the foundation of the art of Fragrance CombiningTM. So anything from Queen of Pop works beautifully alone or with existing products. My recommendation would be to hop into a Queen of Pop bath using Velvet Rose & Oud Bubble Bath and then use Tuberose Angelica Body Crème, then I would jump straight to Red Roses Cologne. All the roses – an English rose with all the roses, what a dream!'