No. 27 Janelle Brunton-Rennie
A proud mum of an adorable daughter. Janelle owns a PR company that specializes in clean beauty, health, and well-being. She’s super passionate about all things scent and fragrance. She has different signature fragrances that tell the story of specific aspects of her life.
Janelle, can you introduce yourself to our Perfume Playground Club?
I’m Janelle, I am a proud mum to my daughter Sage who is 5, I run PR Company called Media Jam based in Auckland NZ which specializes in clean beauty, health and wellbeing, and I’ve been super passionate about all things scent and fragrance since I first did Michael Edwards fragrance course 20 years ago.
What inspired you to attend our natural perfume workshop?
It’s been on my list of things I want to do for a few years now, and like anything I kept putting it off until I had more time. One of my intentions I set at the start of 2023 was to get out more, to pursue more of the things that light me up, and fragrance is one of those things, so I booked the course, took a good friend with me and we had an absolutely wonderful evening
Tell us about the essences you choose for your fragrance creation? Did you design for the day or night, or have a different intention?
I love to wear heady, exotic, woody oriental fragrances and I wear them day and night. I don’t differentiate between the two although I do change things up seasonally and tend to wear more powerful fragrances in the winter. I had a go at designing the kind of fragrance that I love to wear. Something show stopping, exotic, erotic, powerful and super sexy.
What did you enjoy most (or what surprised you most) about the experience?
I absolutely LOVED the whole evening! Astrid was absolutely wonderful and the most terrific host! She was a phenomenal sounding board for me throughout the creative process. She gives just enough guidance to make you feel empowered and not too much to lose your own sense of direction.
What scent makes you nostalgic, and where, what or who does it connect you with?
I have different signature fragrances that tell the story of specific aspects of my own life. My first signature fragrance back at university was Christian Dior’s Hypnotic Poison, which I still wear from time to time on an evening out, particularly during the cooler months as I find it’s powerfully evocative. Chanel Mademoiselle was a signature fragrance for me during my late 20’s and always takes me back to a certain place and time when life was seemingly a lot more simple. For the last few years I’ve been wearing either Tom Ford’s Vanille Fatale and The Virtues Narcosis, both of which to me encapsulate a special kind of powerful, sexual, heady and almost intoxicating energy. Ánother favourite of mine that I personally wear is Dior Homme Intense which was the fragrance that I gifted to my late husband on our wedding day – and it feels like a warm hug on the days when I need it the most.
Fragrance aside, what brings you joy?
Espresso, incense, candles, freshly laundered linen sheets, and my daughters squishy soft perfect little face.
Anything else you would like to share with us that might inspire others (you could even tell us your life’s motto!)?
I think one of the things that really ignited my interest in scent and the powerful effect that it has on us was reading Perfume by Patrick Suskind in my early 20’s. Perfume is a novel that explores our sense of smell in the most deeply provocative way, it really highlights the raw emotion that fragrance evokes, on the most primal of levels. For me, every day I am hyper aware of scent and how it makes me feel, the emotions that arise from the most simple and the most wonderful of things.
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