The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends
No GOOD associations have ever come from the words “cheap perfume”.
At best, the phrase conjures memories of your pre-teen devotion to Charlie Red. At worst, the time you briefly switched your allegiance to Charlie Gold. But must the value of a scent always be equal to its cost? And does the quest to smell exactly like a freshly picked rose petal drifting on a warm summer breeze have to come at a high price? Not if you know where to look: you can now buy a Jo Malone fragrance in your local branch of Zara.
Best known for founding the fragrance brand Jo Malone London — now owned by global giant Estée Lauder — as well as her current scent venture Jo Loves, there are few who haven’t coveted Malone’s candles and many who could identify one of her most iconic colognes if it wafted past them on the pavement. Now, the woman behind some of the world’s most-loved scents has lent her nose to the fast-fashion behemoth with a line of eight high-end perfumes which come with a refreshingly affordable high street price point.
Starting at just £5.95 for a 10ml travel spritz and hitting £25.95 for a full 90ml, this creative partnership — which has been over a year in the making and is ongoing —serves as Zara’s bid to create a fragrance wardrobe with as much mainstream appeal as its polka dot dress selection.
So should we expect a diluted version of the Jo Malone we’ve come to know and love? “There were no constraints put on me,” says the perfumer. “I was asked to create as I do at Jo Loves and that’s exactly what I did.” As a result, the debut Zara Emotions collection comes laced with her instantly recognisable signatures. “I have always created fragrances full of integrity,” she adds. “Each fragrance has been crafted using ingredients I have loved for many years.”
She goes on to explain that she “took inspiration from the past, present and future fashion collections that Zara is loved for around the world” to create the line of scents that are as diverse as the trends hanging on its rails.
Her personal favourite is Bohemian Bluebells, left. “I have never, in all my years creating fragrance, made a scent quite like this,” she says of the blend of lavender, sandalwood and musk. “I love all of the fragrances but the complexity of this particular fragrance is truly captivating.”
Other Malone calling cards can be found in Vetiver Pamplemousse, a bright blend featuring one of the perfumer’s prized ingredients grapefruit, with mandarin and vetiver, which she likens to “a crisp white cotton shirt layered with citrus cologne; an everyday accessory for me”. It is not unlike Malone’s personal signature scent, Jo Loves’s citrus-and-fresh-linen-infused Pomelo. The peppercorn and clove-spiked Ebony Wood also bears semblance to Jo Love’s warm and spicy Pink Vetiver, while fans of Malone’s Mandarin can also get a more affordable fix from Zara’s citrusy Amalfi Sunray.
Zara is not the only high street chain hoping to cash in on the fast fragrance rebrand. Last year, Swedish bran H&M introduced a fragrance offering created in collaboration with one of the world’s leading perfume houses, Givaudan, working with renowned nose Olivier Pescheux, who is responsible for creating many of Diptyque’s most popular perfumes including 34 Boulevard Saint Germain, and young rising star Nisrine Grillié.
Fragrance connoisseurs should snap up Makassar Patchouli (£19.99), part of the concentrated Essences range which were created to pay tribute to some of perfumery’s most iconic fine ingredients, or the Sparks Will Fly eau de toilette (£12.99), a favourite of Grillié’s, which she describes as “confidence in a bottle”. The Singles line spans 10 scents based on a single note, such as the indulgent Chocolate or the cotton-fresh T-shirt (£8.99).
Sister brand & Other Stories also boasts a series of chic and sophisticated scents within its well-established beauty offering, among the most popular of which is Fleur de Mimosa, while the newest addition to the H&M group Arket recently introduced two of its most popular single-ingredient scents as purse-sized perfume oils for just £17 a pop. If you like Le Labo’s Rose 31, try soft Geranium, while Oakmoss is deep, earthy and green.
Alternatively, Urban Outfitters’s in-house scent line Gourmand (£14 each) spans three scents offering universal appeal among its millennial customer base — the creamy Pistachio Brûlée, pretty Macaron Rosé or sparkling Citron Glacé.
Smelling cheap has never been so appealing.
