Joy is a state of mind, where everything seems possible and nothing is too daunting. When I met Miranda Kerr in Zurich to interview her at the Dolder Grand hotel for the September issue of L’Officiel Switzerland, I was immediately taken by her effusive positivity and joie de vivre. She was in the Swiss city as the face for ESCADA‘s newest scent Joyful.
Smile at the world, and the world smiles back. Miranda’s outlook on life and blend of natural sophistication, confidence and spontaneity make her the perfect ambassador for the fragrance. She approaches life with positivity, spontaneity and confidence.
Born and raised in Australia (click here for her travel insider about her home country), Miranda studied nutrition and health psychology after her high school graduation. Before her fourteenth birthday, she entered a magazine contest and began modeling for various clothing brands, runways, and print advertisements. The Victoria Secret model who’s famous for her feline eyes and cute dimples relocated to New York City in 2004. She was married to actor Orlando Bloom from 2010- 2013, the father of her three-year-old son Flynn.
I met her in the evening after a long day of shooting on the lake of Zurich. She was still full of energy and answered my questions always with a smile.
Many successful and extremely beautiful women come from Australia. Tell us a little how it was to grow up there?
I had an incredible experience growing up on my grandparent’s farm where I raced motorbikes and rode horses. My grandmother had a very big wippping willow tree, in which we were playing flying fox and constructing houses. My grandpa used to collect gemstones and he placed them around the bottom of this tree. Still today, I have this admiration for cut amethysts and raw stones.
Do you go back often?
Yes, I go back a lot, the next time in three weeks.
You are an inspiring woman, a mother, a business woman and a famous model. How do you manage both parts of your life successfully? What is your secret to success?
I am prioritizing my time and I am having a good team around me which is very important as you would know with your job as well. You need to be surrounded by people who support your ideas and help you along the way, who know for what you stand for, who know your values, and who know if they have to bring something to the table to you or not. But of course you have to have the final sign off.
Regarding my son, it is hard. I make sure that for instance that when I come back home after crazy travels times, I book myself out so that I have five days of ‘one on one’ with him, that I am able to dedicate my time completely to him. During this quality time, I turn off the phone, we have playdates, we paint, we draw, we go to the park or play in the garden in the back of my home.
How would a perfect day for you look like? What would you do?
I would be at the beach with my son, swimming in the ocean, building a sand castle with him and laughing. I love to take my shoes off and enjoy nature and my kid.
You have your own organic skin care line KORA. What is your philosophy behind?
I have been looking for a certified organic skin care line. I have been in the industry for such a long time and I wasn’t able to find one that I liked that would deliver the desired results. So I spoke to a chemist and said this is what I would like to achieve. Can you help me with this? She has a really great lab in Australia. So she started sending me samples. The key ingredients I insisted on including were my favourites. First of all noni, which has over 170 vitamins and minerals. I used to drink it every day so why not putting it in my skin care line. The others ones are green tea extract and rose hip oil.
What are your bestselling products?
Our bestselling products are the Luxurious Rosehip Oil and the Enriched Body Lotion. We have products for different skin types, for example a three-step process for acne, dermatitis or dry skin. We keep it very simple. It is very important to cleanse, tone and moisturize morning and night. And then if people can afford it, there are other products you can add on, like the exfoliator two, three times a week, the eye gel cream which is very soothing as well as the lip balm.
(TO SHOP KORA Organics by Miranda Kerr, PLEASE CLICK HERE.)
What is your secret for your great skin?
Yes, I have a daily beauty routine (cleanse, tone, moisturize) that I always follow, no matter how tired I am. Consistency is the key when it comes to your skin.
How did you get your amazing body back after your pregnancy?
Find what exercise it is you really enjoy doing. For me, it is yoga, pilates, resistance training, things, that I can do easily at home while my son is right there with me. Even a little trampoline rebounder is a great way to get your lymphatic system going. Sometimes I just put the music on and dance around the house. Or I even do plank position and stay for the duration of one song. There are so many great exercises that you can do at home or while travelling. Go for a walk, a stroll through the park.
I don’t go to a studio, but sometimes I have a personal trainer come or watch a DVD. It is good to mix it up. But most of the time, I am exercising by myself.
What do you eat in general? Do you follow a special diet?
I studied nutrition in New York. I am a certified health coach. So learning that knowledge is something that helps me in daily life. I know what to eat to function at your best. I can make healthy choices but I also believe in the fact that it is important not to deprive yourself. So if you have appetite for something, have it. Otherwise it is human nature to end up craving for it. Just have a little bit of it. I believe in 80% healthy and 20% indulgable.
Do you have a favourite dish?
It despends on the day. I love food and to cook. I love to eat yummy delicious organic food but I cannot always. It is difficult when I am travelling. So I try to make the healthiest choices possible but I am not always too hard on me, especially when I having a full work schedule.
Do you remember the first time you connected with a fragrance? Is there a smell that reminds you of your childhood?
My mum had a collection of fragances. She didn’t wear just one. I remember that one of her favourite things to do was putting fragrance on. She taught me to spray her clothes. That way when you walk through the room, it will be like your natural scent. You make it your scent.
You are now the face of the new Escada scent Joyful? Why did you choose to front this fragrance?
Escada approached me and told me that they were coming out with a fragrance called Joyful. They said that the key ingredients were peony, magnolia and sandalwood and I thought that this was crazy because peonies are my favorite flowers. They are so delicate, so beautiful, feminine, they seem so pure. I love sandalwood so I thought it was a great alignement, a great fit. When I smelled it, I felt, it was right.
What does being joyful means to you? When is Miranda joyful?
I like to think that my heart is naturally very joyful and being with my son brings it out more than anything else that I have ever experienced. The simple things like enjoying the sunset, enjoying nature, taking my shoes off and putting my feet in the grass, having a fresh cut bouquet of flowers, lighting a candle and having a bath, having a laugh with friends, those things make me very happy.
On what occasion would you wear Escada Joyful?
It is a very lightweight, happy fragrance, not overpowering, like a fresh bouquet of flowers, very feminine, something that every girl wants. It works for all occasions.
New York and Australia, how do they smell like for you?
Growing up in Australia, I think of the smell of fresh rain, the smell of Christmas, because we have those Christmas beetles and they were really strong in the countryside where I grew up. Christmas was always so special. We went to my grandparents house, had a barbecue with all the family being together and then we went to my uncle’s house to swim in his big pool.
NYC has so many different smells, depending on where you are in the city. I love the smell of Central Park. There is so much energy in NY. It has ist own heartbeat that you even smell, a mixture of so many scents.
But the air here in zurich is unbeatable.
Miranda Kerr in three words.
Fun, content and joyful.
Thank you, Miranda, for this lovely interview!
Inspired by the moment of joy one feels when receiving a beautiful bouquet of fresh-cut flowers, ESCADA JOYFUL reveals a beautiful, fresh pink peony, surrounded by dewy white florals, awakening an inner feminine happiness and is available as Eau de Parfum 30ml (CHF 79.00), 50ml (CHF 112.00) and 75ml (CHF 147.00), Body Lotion 150ml (CHF 50.00) and Shower Gel 150ml (CHF 45.00).
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Escada, Miranda Kerr and © Sandra Bauknecht
