Sandra‘s Closet

Jo Malone, the famous fragrance designer and founder of JO LOVES, is based in London. Being inspired by her hopes and creative thoughts, the ingredients in life that she loves, it is pretty much obvious that her favorite place is the Big Apple.

Your favourite city?
Without a doubt my favourite city is NEW YORK CITY. I lived there for a year and it still feels like my second home. Whenever I’m there I feel totally relaxed and so inspired. I love every second of being in such a fun city.

Your favourite hotel?
I always stay in the same room at THE FOUR SEASONS. The service is outstanding and the staff are simply incredible. I also adore the white décor in the rooms because it reminds me of my home in London. I’ve got many happy memories attached to the hotel.
The Four Seasons, 99 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022. +1 212-754-9494

Your favourite restaurant?
Whenever I arrive, I head straight to SERAFINA on Madison Avenue. It serves the best pizza made in huge wood fired ovens. Their SEARED SALMON OVER LENTILS is absolutely delicious and just thinking about it makes my toes curl!
Serafina, 1022 Madison Ave, Manhattan, +1 212-734-2676

Your favourite bar or nightclub?
I have two favourite bars. One is the BEMELMANS BAR AT THE CARLYLE which feels like a part of history gone by. It’s so glamorous and reminds me of that Gatsby Art Deco era. I love to come here with my husband, order a glass of chilled white wine, and listen to the jazz pianist.
The Carlyle, 35 East 76th St, New York, New York 10021 +1 212.744.1600

My other favourite spot is the COCKTAIL BAR within THE FOUR SEASONS. It’s such a great place to meet friends or sit alone and people watch. It was the inspiration for my Mango fragrance collection.
The Four Seasons, 99 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022. +1 212-754-9494

Your favourite sightseeing spot?
Even though I’ve been there countless times, ELLIS ISLAND is still such a special place for me. I love the stories of the immigrants who came over in their millions and the strong sense of beginning and hope in the air. It was the start of so many peoples freedom and really represents the American dream.

Your favourite park?
I love the boating lake within CENTRAL PARK; simply beautiful. It’s such a great space that embraces you during every season and at each part of the day. In the summer I love to go for brunch at the LOEB BOATHOUSE and in the winter we’ve spent the day as a family sledging and drinking hot chocolates.
The Loeb Boathouse, E 72nd New York, NY 10028. +1 212-517-2233

Your favourite shop?
I’m a huge fan of J.CREW and never leave empty handed. I’m love the boutique store down on Madison and buy almost anything that sparkles!
J.Crew Collection, 769 Madison Ave New York NY 10065. +1 212 824 2500

I can’t ever leave the city without a visit to CRATE & BARREL which has every single kitchen gadget you could dream of from cherry pipers and sweet corn strippers to maples syrup pourers. You name it they have it. I always spend hours in this store and have bought countless storm lanterns which are all over my house.
Crate & Barrel, 650 Madison Avenue, New York +1 212 308 001 1650

Your must-have accessory?
I don’t go anywhere without fragrance and spritz my JO LOVES Pomelo at least three or four times throughout the day. I also love my SMYTHSON notepad and MUJI pen for jotting down my thought and inspirations as I wander around the city.

The best soundtrack for this destination?
ELTON JOHN “I’m Still Standing”. I cried so many tears in this city whilst fighting breast cancer but have had many more times of fun and laughter here. This song completely describes how I feel about this great place.

The best book to read while being on vacation there?
This has to be ‘The Hundred Foot Journey” by RICHARD C. MORAIS. It’s the story of a man who needs to return to his to his roots to find true fulfilment in his talent of cooking. It’s where I am in life and in business right now, returning back to my roots and rediscovering my passion for fragrance again.

Thank you, Jo, for sharing your insider scoop on New York City with us!

LoL, Sandra

Jo Malone extends the Cologne Intense range with a new scent, SAFFRON. Spiced with pink pepper and the heat of incense, the golden saffron is striking against the creamy warmth of pale woods. A vivid statement that is quite different from the Jo Malone scents we know. I like it a lot and love to pair it with Blackberry & Bay.

Top note: Incense
Middle note: Saffron
Base note: Pale woods

Available starting this month for CHF 165.00 (100ml) at Jelmoli Zurich and Globus Geneva.

LoL, Sandra

Photo: Courtesy of Jo Malone

Jo Malone created one of the world’s most sought after luxury fragrance brands eponymous with her name. In 1999, Jo sold her beauty business to Estée Lauder Companies and remained Creative Director until her departure in 2006. Now, five years on, Jo is once again designing scent and November 2011 marks the launch of her new global brand JO LOVES, that is not a subsidiary company or an associated business of Jo Malone Ltd.

Jo’s passion for fragrance never ceases and it was falling in love with cooking that inspired her to play with food, flavours and colours that she had never used before. Jo soon realised that her instincts were prompting her to create fragrance for a second time and she found herself asking ‘could I do it again?’

JO LOVES captures the things in Jo’s life that inspire her, from ingredients and people to moments in time nestled within bold red packaging; the heartbeat of the brand.

“When I start out with a fragrance I don’t always know where it will lead. It’s a creative process that often surprises me and I like that. JO LOVES will be full of excitement and anticipation and I want to discover things that I’ve only ever dreamed about. Everyday I’m struck by different smells which evoke emotions or memories that inspire me to be creative. The scent of my husband’s cologne, freshly washed linens, hot Moroccan mint tea, the smell of a horse’s saddle and New York in the rain are a few of my favourites but the list continues to go on and on”.

The range includes some beautiful scents with yummy names: POMELO, GREEN ORANGE & CORIANDER, ORANGE TULLE, GARDENIA, ORANGE TULLE, PINK VETIVER, MANGO NECTAR, A SHOT OF THAI LIME OVER MANGO and A SHOT OF OUD OVER MANGO.

You can shop JO LOVES online here. Jo has done it again… Jo Loves, we do, too!
Stay tuned for Jo Malone’s travel insider in which she gives us some amazing tips regarding her favourite city…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Loves

The Jo Malone™ Townhouse is in full bloom. Over 10,000 peonies and swathes of the softest blush suede have transformed the global headquarters for the launch of the Peony & Blush Suede Collection. The new fruity floral fragrance for women, developed by perfumer Christine Nagel, features red apple, peony, rose, honey and suede. Available in September 2013.

Peonies are my favourite flowers and I can literally smell them looking at the beautiful photos…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Malone

I feel very honoured to have a three page story in Profil Magazine and to be the first one featured in their new category “In Bed with…”. The magazine is available now and the text is written in French. Enjoy!

LoL, Sandra

My Jo Malone fragrance collection.

My beloved Diorette ring.

Some of my favourite pieces for S/S 2013. 
Text and snapshots by Olivier Rohrbach

Next month, Jo Malone is launching a new limited edition fragrance that is just perfect for summer: OSMANTHUS BLOSSOM Cologne.

Delicately exotic. This white flower captures the duality of apricot counterpoised with supple leather. Luminous petitgrain and luscious peach and orange flower ripple over voluptuous cashmere wood. Packed in a beautiful decorated bottle.

FLORAL FRUITY

Top note: Petitgrain
Middle note: Osmanthus blossom
Base note: Cashmere wood

Available in May 2013 as Cologne for CHF 68.00 (30ml) and CHF 130.00 (100ml). 
In Switzerland exclusively at Jelmoli Zurich and Globus Geneva.

Combine it with Jo Malone‘s Blackberry & Bay to add a tart verdant depth, or with Nectarine Blossom & Honey to amplify with a sophisticated sweetness.

For romantic summer feelings with a touch of exotics. I love!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Malone

First of all, I am addicted to Jo Malone products so please excuse my excitement for the newest addition. Finally I can surround myself with one of my favorite colognes, English Pear & Freesia, at home. The scent is inspired by a walk in an orchard and captures the luscious scent of just-ripe pears, cooled by the autumn air, ready to twist free from the tree. I love the surprising, sensuous freshness of sweet pears, wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias, on a subtle background of scrambling wild roses and skin-warming amber, patchouli and woods, perfect to enlighten every room.

THE ENGLISH PEAR & FREESIA HOME COLLECTION

Scent Surround™ Diffuser 165ml – CHF 86.00

Scent Surround™ Room Spray 175ml – CHF 62.00

Available in Switzerland exclusively at Jelmoli in Zurich and Globus in Geneva from April 2013.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Malone

SUGAR & SPICE by Jo Malone

A limited edition collection of five fragrances created for moments of guilt-free delicious pleasure. Inspired by delectable ingredients. Decadently tempting. Impossible to choose. Delicious to wear. Succumb to divine indulgence. Believe me, you cannot get enough of it!

Lemon Tart
The mouth-watering tang of lemon tart. Sparkling with citrus fruits and verbena, contrasted with swirls of meringue and lemon thyme. Refreshing.

Redcurrant & Cream
A summer pudding. Sharp-scarlet juices of redcurrants, lush strawberries and raspberries, rippling through creamy musk. Vivacious and enticing.

Elderflower & Gooseberry
A voluptuous gooseberry fool. Crushed, summer-green gooseberries, juicy with lychee, enfolded into the soft delicacy of elderflower. Tender and feminine.

Ginger Biscuit
Just-baked biscuit. Spiced with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, melting into caramel. Butter-crumbly with roasted hazelnuts. Warmed by tonka bean and vanilla. Irresistible.

Bitter Orange & Chocolate
The bite of bitter orange, layered with dark chocolate. Orange peel counterpoised with warm, powdery cocoa, milky coconut and coumarin. Sumptuous and addictive.

Isn’t the packaging itself just to-die-for? The beautiful collection for fragrance aficionados will be available in Switzerland from March 2013 for CHF 68.- (30ml) each bottle.
In Zurich at Jelmoli and in Geneva at Globus.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Malone and © Sandra Bauknecht

Great news for all Jo Malone aficionados. The gorgeous Earl Grey & Cucumber scent that was first launched as part of a limited edition collection in spring 2011 is now part of the line.

This beautifully crafted fragrance is inspired by the thoroughly British tradition of “High Tea” – the mid-afternoon ritual that’s such a sought after experience in London’s most prestigious hotels. Where Earl Grey tea is accompanied by petite, wafer-fine cucumber sandwiches. In this inventive and unconventional cologne, the top notes burst with bergamot – the same ingredient that gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive, fruity aroma. Its then that you discover the crunchy, counterpoised with the sweet base of beeswax, vanilla and musk. Ravishingly reviving.

Available now as Cologne 30ml (CHF 68.00) and 100ml (CHF 130.00).
In Switzerland exclusively at Jelmoli Zurich and Globus Geneva.

To create your bespoke scent, spritz and layer with Grapefruit for instant freshness or with Nutmeg & Ginger for warmth with a spicy vibrancy.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Jo Malone

Finally, Christmas Eve is here and the tree has been revealed. Each season, I love to surprise my family with another colour scheme. This year, I went for white, black, silver and gold with a hint of glittering brown.

I had the idea of a “Christmas tree forest” and pulled up two, one for my daughter with lots of teddybears in gold and silver and a matching taller one for the adults, which obviously is a very girly one, with shoes and bags. (I couldn’t resist the French Christmas at Globus.)
Christmas ornaments are such a sweet surprise for a beloved friend, a lovely gift to be remembered once a year.

As you see, the trees are fake but with the white snow, I think they look pretty. Somehow, I have always felt sad for all those trees being cut down for just a few days… and such a fake one is actually pretty practical as no fir needles are coming down and it looks the same from beginning to end.

A personal tip to take your fake tree to the next level: Spritz it with Jo Malone‘s Pine & Eucalyptus Scent Surround™ Room Spray that instantly fills your home with a breath of fresh air from the woods and feel the tree come alive.

I am wishing you all a Merry X-Mas with lots of laughter, love and of course awesome presents!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht