The Glowdown: Jo Malone Shares the Beauty Secrets We All Want to Know

Welcome to The Glowdown, the series where we dive into the beauty secrets of our favourite celebrities as they get real about their routines and non-negotiables exclusively with us. Join them as they sit in our beauty hot seat and we fire off a round of quick questions, giving you never-before-shared insight into the products they can't live without, their secrets to getting red carpet–ready, beauty pet peeves, and the genius tips they've picked up along the way. This is no-holds-barred beauty at its finest.

This month, we sat down with Jo Malone CBE, the industry icon who founded the eponymous fragrance brand Jo Malone in 1990 and has since started her latest creative venture, Jo Loves. The British perfumer knows a thing or two about perfume, so we sat down with her and quizzed her about her fragrance tips and tricks, which notes she can't stand and the beauty products she simply can't live without.

1. Which makeup product gives you the biggest mood boost?
Chanel's Rouge Coco lip gloss.

2. If you could steal someone else’s makeup bag, whose would it be?
My friend Bobbi Brown's, as I know she has all the new Jones Road products, which are fantastic.

3. You’ve got a spot. Are you team pop it or team leave it alone?
I would leave it and cover it up.

4. You only have one product to use for the rest of your life—what is it?
It has to be fragrance! Jo by Jo Loves is my all-time favourite.

5. What’s the best beauty advice you have ever received?
Facial massages are the key to glowing and beautiful skin.

6. It’s a bad hair day. What do you do?
I either call my hairstylist and have a blow-dry or I wear a baseball cap.

7. What's your signature fragrance?
Jo by Jo Loves.

8. Strong lip or a strong eye?
Definitely strong eyes and just lip gloss.

9. How can we make our perfume last longer?
To make your fragrance last longer, try layering a scented body crème [under your] perfume of choice and [top it up] with your favourite Jo Loves Fragrance Paintbrush whilst on the go. Also, never rub your wrists together when putting on fragrance as this can sometimes break down the molecules and dull the scent.

10. Are there any fragrance notes that you can't stand?
I don’t like sticky, sweet smells, and vanilla is one of those notes for me. However, I do like black vanilla seeds as they can bring a huge tenacity to a fragrance. I don’t like the smell of sweet freesia [either].

11. Do you think there will be any standout fragrance trends this summer and autumn?
At Jo Loves we don’t tend to follow trends, instead we concentrate on setting them and introducing new ways to wear and be creative with fragrance. In doing this, we aim to create a product for everyone—some people may prefer to use a Fragrance Paintbrush as opposed to traditional fragrances, whilst others like to combine the products to customise and enhance their scent. I think in the future, fragrance will be about customising so people can become their own perfumers.

12. Are there any perfume notes you think smell "cheap", and which do you think smell most expensive?
I think some of the "cheapest" notes can smell amazing, like citrus [for example]. You must balance the cheap with the expensive. If you use notes from the orange blossom—for example, the neroli note—then balance it with everything else from the rest of the tree. Together, these notes are very beautiful. Notes are like music; you have to balance them. You must find the fragrance's rhythm.

13. You’re having your nails done. What’s your go-to colour?
A deep-red nail varnish.

14. What is your beauty philosophy in a sentence?
Bring the best of yourself to life every day, for yourself.

15. What is your favourite lipstick colour?
I love the Merit [Signataure Lip Lightweight Lipstick] in Baby with a gloss over the top.

16. What’s your biggest beauty no-no?
I don’t like alpha hydroxy acids as they strip the skin and make it very dry. I also don’t like anything with papaya as it breaks me out in rashes.

17. Candles, reed diffusers or nothing at all?
I love both but candles are my favourite.

18. If you could share one piece of beauty advice, what would it be?
Immerse your face in ice-cold water twice a day. It really shrinks [the appearance of] your pores and makes your skin texture much smoother. It also improves your circulation.

19. What beauty product do you recommend to everyone?
Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream.

20. Name one beauty product that is always in your handbag
The By Terry Baume de Rose Lip Balm. I love it.

21. Are you team dewy or matte?
I love fresh, dewy makeup.

22. The greatest drugstore product for under £10?
The Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer.

23. Do you do anything to your brows?
[I use the Brow This Way Fill & Sculpt] Eyebrow Definer by Rimmel.

24. Your worst hairstyle (or hair moment) ever…
After I finished chemotherapy, my hair came back as curly as a poodle!

25. You have to either wear your hair crimped or blue eyeshadow for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
Neither really, but if I had to choose I would go for blue eyeliner.

26. Makeup primer: Love it or hate it?
Hate it.

27. Confession time: How often do you clean your makeup brushes?
Every Sunday morning. It’s a part of my routine.

28. What beauty rule do you always break?
Wearing four to five scents at the same time.

29. Would you rather have ultra-skinny brows or bleached brows?
I can’t choose. Neither!

30. Which celebrity’s hair would you love to steal?
I love all of Meg Ryan’s hairstyles, but my favourite is her hairstyle in You’ve Got Mail. I would love to steal that look.

31. Which era of beauty inspires you most?
Right now! It’s probably one of the most exciting times in beauty with new talent and loads of innovation.

32. Eyelash curlers: Do you bother?
[I] love them. For extra lift, make sure to heat them slightly with your hair dryer before you use them.

33. Best beauty hack?
I would say that paintbrushes are the best way to scent your skin. I spritz a paintbrush with a fragrance and paint it on my skin, but you can also use the Jo Loves Fragrance Paintbrushes.

Shop Jo Malone's Favourite Beauty Products: