Karen Elson first found the fashion limelight when she was shot by photographer Steven Meisel on her 18th birthday. Now, as she turns 40 this month, the Manchester-born supermodel and singer-songwriter is celebrating a new chapter of her inspiring career. In Elson’s role as a Jo Malone London collaborator she has launched her own collection of luxury keepsake fragrance caps, each featuring one of the 12 birthstones. Here we speak to the mother-of-two about her beauty signatures, how the industry’s narrative has evolved along with her own, and what these new fragrance accessories really represent.
HB: What are the most important messages of ‘beauty’ you’ve learnt in your long career in the fashion industry?
KE: “We’re definitely living in an era where women can finally dress for themselves. The idea of ‘dress to impress’ is passé; we’re finally entering a new phase of the emancipated woman. When I was younger you put something on ‘to look pretty for the boys’ but that’s not part of my vocabulary any more. The only person I’m looking beautiful for is myself. And that’s what I think is good about living in this era now, we’re in a generation where beauty is about what makes you individual, not of trying to impress.”
HB: What, if anything, frustrates you in the fashion and beauty worlds?
KE: “The biggest insult anyone could say to me is ‘you look good for your age’, because it’s like you’re not supposed to look good past a certain age. If you’re 60, 70, or an 18-year-old; a beautiful woman to me is a beautiful woman regardless of her age. I’ve been working for 20 years, if someone’s going to work with me as a model they’re going to work with me, if not that’s fine – I’ll go back home to my children! I don’t concern myself with that or take things personally any more. If someone doesn’t want to shoot me for some reason that’s their prerogative.”
HB: Do you feel there's more concern with inclusion in the industry lately?
KE: “It is a nice time at the moment. I’ve recently worked with Maye Musk [the 70-year-old model and dietitian who is a Covergirl spokesperson] who is amazing and such a gorgeous woman. Being more inclusive of skin colour, body type, age – because that’s what women are. Women are not just a scrawny size zero model who doesn’t look like she has life in her eyes; we want to see beautiful women of every shape and size and it’s a great time to be in the fashion industry now because this is finally not a novelty anymore. This is the new normal. And I’m so excited that it is, because it should be.”
HB: What’s your personal beauty philosophy?
KE: “Take good care of your skin. And, don’t pile on the make-up, you date yourself by loading it on. A more simplistic approach is more modern. While a lot of it is taking good care of yourself, it’s also not being too hard on yourself. There’s days when I fall asleep with my make-up on, and it’s OK. With all things related to beauty, for me, trying too hard is just not my thing.”
HB: How has your approach evolved over time?
KE: “As I’ve grown older it’s become a lot simpler. You think it would be the opposite, but now I have less time to devote to beauty and at the same time I know what I like and what I want. I know which products work and I use them.”
HB: Did it change when you became a mother at all?
KE: “I suddenly had a lot less time. You’re like, ‘have I even washed my face today?!’ but then you become a lot more resourceful, so you need to use a product that’s really going to do something. At the moment what I use is the Eve Lom cleanser, Vintner’s Daughter, Augustinus Bader, Dr Barbara Sturm and Crème de la Mer.”
HB: What are your make-up signatures?
KE: “A red lip is always something I do, and Pat McGrath has made two red lipsticks for me; the Elson and Elson 2 – the latter is more orange-red and the first is a very deep blood red. I love both. I also love a blue eye but I don’t do both at once; I do a lip or an eye.”
HB: Tell us about your iconic hair
KE: “I hate my hair. I hate it. It’s so frizzy. Fluffy frizz. It took an hour of someone de-frizzing it this morning! It’s so hard to tame and it’s so fine and breaks easily. If I have it straight it can look too lank but when it’s big and curly it can turn frizzy – it’s a constant battle! Trust me. For the colour I have discovered this one product that’s kind of changed my life, as far as colouring is concerned. My hairdresser, Cali in Nashville who works as at salon called Parlour and Juke recommended this brand called Gem Lites. The coppery shampoo (and I don’t know what the science is behind it) makes my colour last twice as long. It deposits more colour, but it does it over time. For me that’s a game-changer because if I can process it less then I can slightly halt the breakage. I do also love Terax conditioner and Rahua haircare, because they’re very natural. And sometimes I do a coconut oil mask to tame it overnight, but what usually ends up happening is that my hair is then greasy for a week, but you can’t win!”
HB: How did your debut collection with Jo Malone London come about?
KE: “It started off as a conversation at a dinner party with John Demsey [Estée Lauder's executive group president], I said, ‘You guys should do a horoscopes collection’ and he thought it was a great idea so we brainstormed how it could be possible recognising that Jo Malone London has so many existing fragrances already. To develop another 12 would be quite an endeavour so I thought about how we could modify the idea where it feels really bespoke and chic and original. We decided to do birthstones, and have it be the bottle top, so you can put it on any of the existing fragrances.”
HB: Were they straightforward to create?
KE: “Duffy, the jeweller, handcrafted all of these; he made a die cut and filed them all by hand. If you feel them they’re really heavy – that’s a mini weapon right there! The result just looks really dazzling, Jo Malone London bottles are so beautiful anyway, but to put this on top adds a whole other magic. That’s the thing about fragrance and beauty – when there’s something that’s special and unique it stands out so much more. I’m all about a keepsake. Having something that your daughter will find in 10 years from now and be like ‘what was that from?’. Something you can covet and collect. There’s so much that is mass made now, so something that’s handmade and tailored is really nice.”
HB: What does being a ‘Jo Malone London girl’ mean to you?
KE: “I’ve been a fan of the brand for a very long time. I love the diversity of the fragrances. Being a Jo Malone London girl – there’s not one thing that defines you, there’s so much and so many fragrances that I can draw from for my own life. The Jo Malone family are so welcoming. It’s very different to all the other fragrance brand I’ve been attached to, it’s much more personal. Instead of having a face of a fragrance it’s more about a personality behind a brand.”
HB: What are your favourite perfumes and how do you use scents?
KE: “Wild Bluebell reminds me of being a kid. Nearby to where I grew up in Manchester was this beautiful park and farmland where my sister and I would pick bluebells and it’s the smell exactly of that. And Red Roses is the most literal version of a red rose fragrance I’ve had the pleasure of using. Red roses are so magical, I don’t know one woman who doesn’t swoon at red roses. I use fragrance in my home and I use it on myself. For me it’s about a light spritz. I always apply it to the neck area, when you’re talking to people this is where you get an impression from."
Karen Elson’s Birthstone, by Duffy are available for £250 at Jo Malone London boutiques and at jomalone.co.uk
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