Cat Deeley has been a regular on our television screens over the years – presenting SMTV Live from 1998-2002 (for which she won a BAFTA) and its spin-off chart show CD:UK until 2005; Stars in their Eyes, and the hit U.S. show So You Think You Can Dance? to name but a handful of her achievements.
This week, Cat began presenting THE iconic mainstay of British daytime TV shows – This Morning – with co-host Ben Shepard; but apart from her broadcasting success, we happen to know that Cat is OBSESSED with fragrance (and even has a party trick of scent identification). So, no wonder she teamed up with friend and esteemed makeup artist Amanda Grossman to launch e11even Fragrance Oil!
Meanwhile, let’s delve in to the scent memories and olfactive reveries that mean so much to Cat (and we bet she’ll be cleaving to one of her Five Favourite Smells more than ever, now she’s on This Morning…)
1– ‘The first distinct smell I remember was a drawer in my Grandma’s dresser – it contained all her items in her arsenal, needed for leaving the house. I thought it was the most intriguing, exciting, ‘grown- up’, glamorous Pandora’s box. I used to love going through all her beads and her jewellery, I would adorn myself with every bead and bauble. Yet to learn the classic Coco Chanel art of removal, I would parade in front of the mirror admiring my own maximalist reflection. The dresser smelt of wood, powdery rose from her lipstick, nail varnish, Elnett hairspray and a heady concoction of floral scents from the strings of her beads that were placed around her neck in her signature style.’
2 – ‘I always loved fragrance of any kind, but I never realised it was so important to me till it became my party trick. I could tell what any of my friends or my Mum’s friends were wearing instantly. My sense of smell was incredibly strong and I could instantly tell what fragrance anyone was wearing. It was a ‘useless talent’ that would make my friends laugh.’
3 – ‘I love the smell of Lily Of The Valley. I carried a small bouquet when I got married in Rome, tied with an antique lace handkerchief. The scent is gloriously traditional and each tiny flower so exquisitely beautiful and powerful.’
4 – The first fragrance I was given by my mother was Coco Chanel. I remember feeling grown-up. It was launched in the 80’s and I fell in love with Vanessa Paradis, as the bird in the gilt cage. I loved how the warm, heady fragrance changed on my skin, and I still gravitate to notes of rose, orange blossom, amber and sandalwood today.
5 – ‘I remember saving my pocket money and travelling on the 96 bus to The Body Shop and buying my first bottle of White Musk. It was a rite of passage I revelled in, and probably treated myself to a handful of bath pearls too.’
6 – ‘I wore Paco Rabanne in my early twenties. Then moved on to Clarins Eau Dynamisante for work. It always smells clean and fresh, it could be layered and reapplied. More recently I have been wearing Bais from Dyptique and Rose from Le Labo – Always remaining pretty true to my Coco Chanel roots. But my favourite is of course e11even!’
7 – ‘I love the smell of nighttime in LA…. The stillness and heat, mixed with desert fragrance, jasmine and eucalyptus wood.’
8 – Churches – ‘They are still standing despite the passage of time – They make me feel vaguely reassured, but also a little sad. For happy times gone by and dear friends and family passed, just a little melancholic.’
9 – ‘The scent I love on a man and a woman is e11even. It smells divine on everyone! Our perfume oil somehow managed to be relaxing, grounding, and uplifting. Clean and fresh rose accord, geranium and patchouli with woody undertones, it warms onto the skin and develops into an intoxicating scent that makes the wearer truly memorable.’
10 – ‘Elvis’s neck – I would have definitely been one of those women at the front of the stage in Vegas , waiting impatiently for a kiss or a neck towel!’
11 – ‘Adam Clayton recommended the book Perfume, by Patrick Suskind. He always has the best book recs …. It’s a dark adult fairytale set in Paris, in the 18th century. It’s dark and obsessive, but beautifully illustrates the power of scent and its intoxications in every form.’
Five Favourite Smells:
My Boys – ‘In the morning, when they are still warm from sleep, pleasantly dozy and I can kiss them all over and devour their sweet smell.’
Coffee – ‘Love the smell, love the taste, can’t do without it. The beginning of a new day. Nothing says ‘good morning’ like the smell of freshly brewed coffee!’
Christmas morning – ‘The mixture of pine, rosemary, turkey cooking in the oven, such delicious scents that conjure up childlike excitement.’
Trudon Candle Spiritus Sancti – ‘We got married in a little church in Rome, called Sant Isidoro, we burned these candles. The scent was a perfect accompaniment to our surroundings. Inspired by church alters, aromatic incense, Lily of the Valley and Labdanum. I find the fragrance uplifting and comforting.’
The Beach – ‘The sea air is so good for the soul!’