Scenting Your Home for Spring with Jo Malone
Today is the first day that I can honestly say that it feels like Spring is in the air! Finally, we have a sunny (and almost warm when out of the wind) day and it is a lovely feeling. I don't know what it is about this winter that has felt so long and hard, but it really has and I'm sure that you, like me, are super excited to welcome the new season.
To celebrate I have joined forces with Jo Malone London to find out about scenting your home for Spring. From fragrancing a room to adding a fresh scent to your table for entertaining, there are so many ways you can bring beautiful fragrance into your day-to-day life. I caught up with Emma South, Jo Malone London's Fragrance & Lifestyle Expert and here are her tips to make the most of spring scents in your home.
What scents would you recommend for spring?
Take inspiration from the changing natural world; nothing says spring like freshly cut lawns. The Jo Malone London Basil & Neroli Home Candle is redolent of this. It is leafy and verdant and brings a burst of new life into the home. All Jo Malone London scents are designed to be layered, each scent is constructed with relatively few ingredients, and that has always been an integral part of their composition. It enables you to create a personalised combination for you or your home by wearing two completely different scents together or burning different candles simultaneously.
Because of their simplicity, there really are no rules on what works together, it is all about personal preference, beautiful harmonies or arresting contrasts. My favourite candle to layer with this is Jo Malone London Iris & Lady Moore Charity Candle. This brings a powdery, elegant poise to the lively Basil & Neroli and the glass, decorated with stunning illustrations of Iris, brings the perfect pop of colour for spring. I also find the Jo Malone London English Pear & Freesia Scent Surround™ Diffuser makes a cool, mellow backdrop for this time of year, particularly in bedrooms, breathing the graceful sweetness of freesias and Mai rose into the air, effortlessly and continuously.
How can I incorporate scent into the table?
I love tables flooded with candlelight to really set the scene, in this respect more is more, and clustering candles of different heights looks so elegant. When it comes to the scent, citrus accompanies food really well, so definitely weave Jo Malone London Basil & Neroli into this; it will neutralise the air after cooking and awaken the palate, building anticipation for your culinary creations!
To bring different levels of light layer Jo Malone London Basil & Neroli Home Candles with Jo Malone London Lime Basil & Mandarin Travel Candles. I also love to fill finished Jo Malone London candle jars with tea lights for further luminosity.
If you are laying table linens mist them with the zesty and effervescent Jo Malone London Aqua di Limone Linen Spray, another fantastic palate cleanser.
Marry dessert with the golden, succulent scent of a Jo Malone London Nectarine Blossom & Honey Home Candle for a scrumptious drizzle of acacia honey and a flourish of spring blooms.
Top tips for scented entertaining in spring
Create a sense of abundance by grouping armfuls of wildflowers in an eclectic mix of glassware. If you really want to go all out, branches of cherry blossom in tall vases look striking silhouette against the candlelight and bring dramatic height to a table. Floral bundles at each place setting are a thoughtful touch. Tie them with pastel, velvet ribbons that echo the colours of the blooms; either adhere to a themed palette or keep wild and free giving each place setting an individual identity. This is particularly charming on a Mother’s Day table, and, if you want to surprise further, add a Jo Malone London Red Roses or English Pear & Freesia soap as a table gift. Wrapped in a unique design created by renowned British artist Michael Angove, it is the perfect gift in spring colours and scents.
To ensure sure your candles make the optimum impact, light at least 15 minutes before your guests arrive.
Should the scent I wear match the theme or be different
This is a personal choice, and both options have their benefits. Some people love to have a signature scent that will always remind others of them, and they carry this throughout the home, this will also give the illusion to your guests that you are omnipresent! Alternatively, you could create a contrast with your personal scent and offset yourself against the home. I find that this way you appreciate the overall effect as you do not become too accustomed to one scent. Our unique concept of Fragrance Combining™ allows you to both match the theme and be different. For example, in this instance, I would apply the Jo Malone London Nectarine Blossom and Honey Body Crème and then I would mist over this with the mesmerising scent of Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell Cologne. Since launching in 2011 it has been my favourite springtime scent to wear, sapphire carpeted woodlands, dewy and enchanting.
Credits: Photography: Patrick Butler-Madden, Flowers: Pod & Pip, Scent: Jo Malone London.