HAVING founded one of Britain's most famous fragrance brands in the Nineties, Jo Malone went on to sell her eponymous company to Estée Lauder before creating a second line - Jo Loves - in 2011. Renowned for pairing unusual ingredients and creating versatile fragrances which can be mixed and blended to create unique scents, Malone's name has become synonymous with luxury and indulgence.
As a child, Jo Malone would make her own perfumes with flowers from the garden and grated Camay soap. The family home was in Bexleyheath, Kent - her mother Eileen was a beautician and her father an artist.
She worked as a florist and gave facials in her kitchen at night. It was when she met her husband Gary at the age of 19 that their business, featuring her handmade scents and products, took off. She gave her Nutmeg and Ginger Bath Oil as a thank you to her clients and the orders began to flood in. The brand's signature cream packaging with black edging remains iconic today.
• Jo Malone opened her first store at 154 Walton Street in London in 1994, and by 1999 had launched her flagship store in London's Sloane Street.
• Also in 1999, her company was purchased by Estée Lauder with Jo still at its UK helm as chairwoman and creative director.
• In 2006, she sold it to Estée Lauder in its entirety. "After much soul-searching, I believe that this is a good time to make this decision as the brand is in a secure position and I have many other dreams and passions I would like to fulfil," she said.
• In 2011 she announced the launch of her new fragrance company - Jo Loves - and launched it in November of the same year. "Fragrance is absolutely what I love so I'm so excited to be back," Malone told us at the time. "This new brand is all about memories - it's where I am and the person I am now."