India Amarteifio For Jo Malone London

‘Authenticity, to me, is very, very important,’ she says, emphatically, when asked why she chose to align with the illustrious British fragrance house. ‘I need to believe in the brand and believe in the people because it's not 
just about the product that is being created – which I love – but also how the brand or the product is helping people. So, when I met the team, the connection was instantaneous.’ Breaking into a smile, she says, ‘I feel 
very grateful that they have also seen that in me.’
 
For Céline Roux, the Global Head Of Fragrance at Jo Malone London, the sentiments laid out by India not only resonate, they are mutual. ‘You know when you have an instinct when you meet someone?’ asks Céline, in response to the choice of the British Ghanaian actress as Jo Malone London’s newest ambassador. ‘She is really switched on. And,’ continues Céline enthusiastically, ‘she has a keen interest in fragrance.’

India’s interest in scent goes way back. ‘At school, I used to be the class monitor. I had to make sure everyone had their bags and their jumpers and their snacks and things. I would smell people's jumpers and then give them back to them – I could tell which jumper belonged to who simply by its scent.’ She also recalls another childhood memory which serendipitously centres around Jo Malone London.  ‘When I was around seven, our family used to know a lady who worked at Duty Free and one Christmas she brought us back tiny samples of all the Jo Malone London scents. I remember, I opened the bag and was like, “Oh my gosh, look at all these scents” and I literally put every single one of them on. All at once,’ she laughs, recalling the experience. Seeing as she is now the ambassador of the brand’s Scent Layering campaign, one could argue her latest role was long in the making.

Born to a Ghanaian father and a German-British mother and raised in south west London with her sister, India describes her childhood as ‘pretty normal’. There were little signs of – or desire for – the stardom that beckoned. Hitting nine, however, proved to be a turning point. ‘I had entered a few small competitions in the area and I think the adrenaline from that kicked in. I wanted to do more and began working professionally in the West End performing in huge shows such as The Lion King and Matilda.’ 
It wasn’t something than ran in the family. It was, says the actress, ‘not 
even an option or a choice. It kind of just happened. But it doesn't feel like 
I would be doing anything else.’

That said, it took years before she really found a blueprint of an acting career that she could be truly inspired by. ‘To be really candid, there were no people who looked like me in the areas that I was going for. There were no roles written for people who were remotely similar to me. Also, I didn't come from this industry. So not having the connections from that age, 
you have to build them.’ While she now cites the likes of Taylor Russell 
and Zendaya as modern day inspirations, she was always clear on wanting to forge her own path. ‘I always just loved what I did and so in many ways, 
I wasn’t trying to fill any shoes. I wasn’t trying to be the next so-and-so. 
I was just doing my own thing, and as I got older, the industry began to change and become enlightened to the fact that there isn’t just one look 
for this industry. That’s when I started to get roles that were not just playing someone’s daughter, or best friend. It was a multilayered, multihyphenated character with a backstory and her own family and her own ambitions and goals outside of her race and her gender…’

These layered roles are something she feels passionate about because: ‘No one is one layer. Everyone is made up of different levels and experiences. So, I just want to play characters that are complex and bring something different.’ Her approach to her work, it turns out, is totally in keeping with the way she doused herself in layers of fragrances as a tween. And her approach to fragrance has remained the same. ‘I layer Pomegranate Noir with Grapefruit. Then sometimes when I want something that feels like a hug, I will wear Myrrh & Tonka and also add Grapefruit which gives an added freshness – I have also have teamed it with English Pear & Freesia… What I love is that it just kind of works. The scents in and of themselves are distinct. However, when you layer them, you create your own unique scent.’

This, explains Céline, has always been part of the brand’s DNA. ‘Nowadays, personalisation is something we hear about a lot – everything from your clothes to your car is customisable. But right from the conception of the brand, there was always a lot of clarity in the scent. And the idea was always to create scents that can be worn on their own, but can also be layered to create what you want for you. That if you have the desire to smell different from others or you want to create a different scent for a different season, you can. It’s about self-expression. It’s about a mood. 
It’s about the seasons. It’s about play. There is a very playful element to Scent Layering. And I think India is exactly the right ambassador to bring this to life.’