Jo Loves: Jo Malone’s Second Chapter, Capturing Memories in Fragrance

“I’ve learned over the last few years that fragrance is not a business or a career. To me, it’s my best friend and the thing I love doing most in the whole world.”
(“What I have learned in recent years is that fragrance is neither a business nor a career. To me, it is my best friend and the thing I love most in the world.”)
— Jo Malone CBE, on the Glossy Beauty Podcast

Essential Information

Brand name: Jo Loves
Founded: 2011 (brand launch). Its first flagship store opened in 2013.
Founder: Jo Malone CBE, born Joanne Lesley Malone
CEO: Gary Willcox, Jo’s husband
Ownership: 100% privately owned by Jo and Gary, with no outside investment.
Official website: joloves.com
Flagship store: 42 Elizabeth Street, London, SW1W 9NZ

The brand’s name is pronounced “Jo Loves.” It means “the things Jo loves,” reflecting the fact that each fragrance is inspired by memories and experiences from her life.

The Founder and the Brand’s Origins

Who Is Jo Malone?

Jo Malone’s early life is covered in detail in our previously published article on Jo Malone London (in Japanese), so only a brief outline is given here. Born in 1963 on a council estate in southeast London, she entered the world of fragrance as a self-taught creator, relying on an extraordinary sense of smell despite severe dyslexia, a reading and writing difficulty. She founded Jo Malone London in 1990 and built it into a global cult brand before selling it to The Estée Lauder Companies in 1999. She remained as creative director, but was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 and endured the ordeal of temporarily losing her sense of smell through chemotherapy. In 2006, she decided to leave the brand.

A Five-Year Hiatus

After leaving Jo Malone London, owned by Estée Lauder, Jo was bound by a five-year non-compete clause in the sale agreement. Day after day, she was unable to work in either fragrance or skincare. Ironically, about eight weeks after she left the brand, her lost sense of smell suddenly returned.

“Two weeks after leaving [Jo Malone London], I woke up one morning, and suddenly I could smell everything.”
(“One morning, two weeks after leaving Jo Malone London, I woke up and could suddenly smell everything.”)
— Jo Malone

Her sense of smell had returned. But could she really do it again? That question weighed heavily on Jo throughout those five years.

“Five years after leaving my first global brand, I found myself in what felt like limbo. I hadn’t been able to create fragrance, something that has always been at the core of who I was. The question loomed: Could I do it again?”
(“Five years after leaving my first global brand, I was in limbo. I had not been able to make fragrance, something that had always been at my core. The question weighed on me: could I do it again?”)
— Jo Malone, from the official Jo Loves website

The Stingray Miracle: The Birth of Pomelo

The turning point came during a holiday on Parrot Cay in the Caribbean’s Turks and Caicos Islands. Each morning, Jo walked the beach with a sense of anxiety and impatience. Leaving her shoes and hat on a sunbed, she simply walked barefoot along the sand.

One morning, a small stingray appeared at the water’s edge and glided through the water as if keeping pace with her steps.

“On a quiet day in Parrot Cay, a stingray glided beside me along the shore, mirroring my steps. In that serene moment, I felt the spark again. That was the day Pomelo was born—not just a fragrance but a reconnection to creativity, joy, and purpose.”
(“On a quiet day on Parrot Cay, a stingray glided beside me along the shore. In that tranquil moment, I felt the spark again. That was the day Pomelo was born, not simply as a fragrance, but as a reconnection with creativity, joy and purpose.”)
— Jo Malone

Sparkling seawater, rolled white beach towels, the smell of lemongrass broth at lunch: all of these merged, and a fragrance called Pomelo began to take shape in Jo’s mind. With refreshing grapefruit-like citrus layered with rose, vetiver, patchouli and suede, this fragrance remains an enduring bestseller to this day, the “matriarch” of Jo Loves.

A Suggestion from Her Son: Naming the Brand

When deciding what to call the new brand, Jo, Gary and their son Josh discussed it over dinner around the kitchen table at home. It was Josh who proposed “Jo Loves.”

“This new brand is about memories – it’s where I am and the person I am now.”
(“This new brand is about memories: where I am today and the person I am now.”)
— Jo Malone, at the brand’s launch in 2011

42 Elizabeth Street: Where Life Came Full Circle

In 2013, Jo opened her first and only flagship store at 42 Elizabeth Street in London’s Belgravia. The location was not chosen by chance. It was the very same street where she had worked in a flower shop in her first part-time job at sixteen.

“As a sixteen year old, I had my first job as a florist in Elizabeth Street. Still to this day, I remember the subtle scent of tuberose and lilies, freesia and roses, alongside crushed green stems on the floor and the smell of twine and brown paper. Thirty years later, life has unexpectedly taken me full circle.”
(“At sixteen, I had my first job in a flower shop on Elizabeth Street. I still remember the subtle scents of tuberose and lilies, freesias and roses, the smell of crushed green stems scattered on the floor, and the smell of twine and brown paper. Thirty years later, life unexpectedly brought me full circle and back here.”)
— Jo Malone

The fragrance that captures this memory is No. 42 The Flower Shop. It recreates the symphony of green notes and blossoms that greets you when you open a flower shop’s door early in the morning.

Moving to Dubai and Expanding Worldwide

Around 2021, Jo and Gary moved their base from London to Dubai. Having obtained a ten-year visa, Jo has accelerated the brand’s full-scale expansion into the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As of 2023, it had retail partners in South Korea, South Africa, Oman, Kuwait, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia, among other markets, and was rapidly expanding its presence. It has also formed hospitality partnerships with Shangri-La The Shard in London and the Park Lane Hotel in New York.

“Jo Loves is growing rapidly, we have momentum now and once you have that in a business you have to go with it.”
(“Jo Loves is growing rapidly. We have momentum now, and when a business gains momentum, you have to go with it.”)
— Jo Malone, in an interview with AE World

The Brand’s Distinctive Commitments

A Philosophy of Turning Memories into Fragrance

Where Jo Malone London was rooted in British heritage, the heart of Jo Loves is memory. A beach on Parrot Cay in Pomelo, a Thai dining table in Mango Thai Lime, horseback riding in Montana in Smoked Plum & Leather, a drive along the Amalfi Coast in With Love From Positano: each scent captures a scene from Jo’s own life.

“Jo Loves is my fragrance library and each box is full of moments and memories, where imagination and creativity meet.”
(“Jo Loves is my fragrance library. Every box is filled with moments and memories, a place where imagination and creativity meet.”)
— Jo Malone

The Red Dot: A Creative Signature Born of Dyslexia

The small red dot that always appears on Jo Loves packaging is Jo’s creative signature, a mark that every product was created by her own hand.

Its origins lie in Jo’s dyslexia. Because writing an approval signature was difficult, she would make a red dot instead of writing words to approve a finished fragrance. This personal habit became the brand’s identity.

“Having lived with an initial launch livery of red bags and boxes, Jo aspired to a much more subtle and sophisticated expression. The result is a calming palette of white textures complemented by striking hints of red including the single red dot – Jo’s creative signature.”
(“The initial design used red bags and red boxes, but Jo wanted something more understated and sophisticated. The result is a calming, predominantly white palette with a striking red accent in the form of the red dot.”)
— Pearlfisher, the design consultancy responsible for the rebrand

Fragrance as an Experience

Jo Loves’ greatest point of difference lies in redefining scent as something not only to wear, but to experience. Each of the innovations below was unprecedented in the fragrance industry.

Fragrance Tapas™ is an in-store experience introduced in 2013. Inspired by Spanish tapas bars, it stages a “theater of scent” that appeals to all the senses: Bath Cologne is warmed in a tagine to release fragrant steam, shower gel is shaken over ice and poured into a glass, and lotion is whipped before being painted onto the skin with a brush.

“I love things that have that quirkiness, that storytelling element to it. Everyone remembers their first kiss and so for our brand, the tapas experience is our first kiss.”
(“I love things with quirkiness and an element of storytelling. Everyone remembers their first kiss. For our brand, the tapas experience is that first kiss.”)
— Jo Malone

A Timeline of Innovation

Looking at Jo Loves’ innovations chronologically reveals the consistency of Jo’s rule-breaking spirit.

Year	Innovation	Overview
2011	Brand launch	The first fragrance, Pomelo, launched online.
2012	Layered Candle	A candle made with three layers of different scents. Its fragrance changes as it burns, an industry-first construction.
2013	Bath Cologne	A new category with a fragrance concentration of 10%, between eau de toilette and eau de parfum. Two years in development.
2013	Fragrance Tapas™	An in-store experience at Elizabeth Street, inviting visitors to enjoy scent as though “tasting” it.
2015	Shot Candle™	A bespoke candle fusing two scents, a Base and a Shot. Inspired by a customizable Pop-Tart experience in New York.
2017	Fragrance Paintbrush™	A new fragrance experience in which gel cologne is “painted” onto the skin with a brush. Three years in development, with a waiting list of 3,000 at launch.
2021	Refillable Paintbrush	Introduced an environmentally conscious refill-cartridge system.

The Fragrance Collection

Each Jo Loves fragrance is tied to a scene from Jo’s memories. Rather than attempt to cover every creation, the following introduces representative fragrances and their stories.

Pomelo: Where It All Began

This fragrance captures the moment Jo’s creative spark was rekindled on the shore of Parrot Cay. Sparkling, grapefruit-like citrus forms its center, with rose, vetiver, clove, patchouli and suede providing depth. Jo still wears it every day, describing it as “the fragrance that makes strangers stop me in the street to ask what I’m wearing.” In 2025, Pomelo Oud also appeared, inspired by her life in Dubai.

Mango Thai Lime: From a Thai Dining Table

During a family holiday in Thailand, the villa’s cook brought a plate of sliced golden mango on lime leaves every day. That was the fragrance’s starting point. Top notes of mango and black pepper, a heart of mint and freesia, and a base of white thyme and vetiver create an explosive meeting of sweetness, sharpness and spice.

“I love breaking the rules of fragrance and this mouth-watering combination is a celebration of Thailand’s most vibrant culinary flavours.”
(“I love breaking the rules of fragrance. This mouthwatering combination celebrates the most vibrant flavors of Thai cuisine.”)
— Jo Malone

No. 42 The Flower Shop: A Memory of Being Sixteen

It recreates the scent Jo encountered as a teenager when she opened the door of Justin de Blank’s flower shop on Elizabeth Street early in the morning. Top notes of green notes, peony and mandarin unfold into a heart of muguet, or lily of the valley, narcissus and white flowers, followed by a base of iris, white musk, moss and patchouli. The “42” in its name is both the address of the present store and a place from her teenage memories.

Jo by Jo Loves: A Self-Portrait in a Red Bottle

Introduced in 2018, this was the first fragrance Jo created for herself. In a bold red bottle, it opens with grapefruit, bitter orange, lime and spearmint, moves through a heart of black pepper, and settles into a base of guaiac wood, vetiver and cedarwood.

“Over the years I have created fragrances for all kinds of reasons, but this one I created for myself. Grapefruit has always been my calling card and a source of inspiration.”
(“Over the years I have created fragrances for all sorts of reasons, but this one was for myself. Grapefruit has always been my calling card and a source of inspiration.”)
— Jo Malone

Smoked Plum & Leather: A Cowgirl in Montana

Every summer, the family visits Montana to live a “cowboy life” for one week. Jo always rides the same mare, Josie. Saddling up in the morning, the smell of leather warmed by the summer sun, wild sage in the fields, a wood fire and plum liqueur at the end of the day: all are captured in this fragrance. Plum and cinnamon form the top notes, leather the heart, and aged cognac and smoky woods the base.

The With Love From Series: Limited Editions Inspired by Travel

This travel-inspired limited-edition series began in 2024. Its first fragrance, With Love From Positano, draws on a family holiday on the Amalfi Coast, conjuring a Mediterranean sunset through orange oil and bergamot intertwined with the warmth of star anise. The second, With Love From Como, was inspired by a stay at Villa d’Este on Lake Como and evokes a lakeside afternoon through mandarin, grapefruit, basil and cedarwood.

Incidentally…

The Fragrance Paintbrush is a dedication to her father: Jo’s father Andy was a painter. The idea of painting with scent is also an homage to the sight of her father facing his canvas with a paintbrush.
A waiting list of 3,000: When the Paintbrush launched in 2017, more than 3,000 people were on the waiting list, and two fragrances, Pomelo and Red Truffle 21, sold out within twenty-four hours.
Pop-Tarts inspired the Shot Candle: Seeing a long queue outside a New York shop where customers could customize the flavors of their Pop-Tart pastries, Jo had a flash of inspiration: she wanted to do the same with candles.
Rose Petal 25: Released in 2019, this fragrance commemorated Jo’s twenty-five years of contribution to the industry as a “shopkeeper.” It is a lavish celebration of roses, featuring bergamot, saffron, lychee, rosewater, Turkish rose and Bulgarian rose.
Aiming for 101 fragrances: Jo has publicly stated her ambition to create 101 fragrances in her lifetime.
A Gen Z favorite: With experiential, social-media-friendly products such as the Paintbrush and the tapas experience, Jo Loves is gaining support among Gen Z fragrance enthusiasts.
The company was incorporated in 2009: JO LOVES LIMITED was incorporated on September 3, 2009. This means Jo and Gary were quietly preparing before the five-year non-compete period had ended.