The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
Jo Malone’s new scent-sations, plus hangover cures that work
Annabel Jones
The new dream team in town
The last designer high-street collaboration I got excited about was Kate Moss for Topshop 2014 (I still have a canary-yellow cinched-waist dress). Nowadays they are 10 a penny. So why am I so smitten with Jo Malone and Zara’s new fragrance line, Emotions?
For a start, the collection of eight eaux de parfum, curated by the Jo Loves founder exclusively for the Spanish retailer, looks and feels super-chic. Bottles bear a black weighted lid and textured off-white label with minimal type, while the glass is rounded to sit in your hand like a pebble. Even the names are appealing: Waterlily Tea Dress, Amalfi Sunray, Ebony Wood and my favourite, Tubereuse Noir. As for the scents, they all have Malone’s fresh citrus hallmark, yet also the complexity of a gravel-voiced soul singer as they dry down.
Even the ones I didn’t expect to like keep drawing me back in. I don’t know why I’m surprised. This is the woman who took the fussy, French world of perfumery and turned it into a global empire with her eye (and nose) for simplicity. Who hasn’t had a Lime, Basil and Mandarin handwash in their guest loo, or coveted one of her expensively boxed Christmas candles? But if you ask me, this Zara Emotions project is some of her best work yet.
With 11 days until Christmas, if you need a gift for your mate/mum/daughter/sister, I recommend a Zara dash. Each comes in three sizes, from £5.95 for a 10ml rollerball. Below are five other scents on the high street that are well worth a sniff.