Man In The Mirror

My guest on the show this week is James Read, founder of sunless tanning range ‘Self Glow by James Read.’ James started his career in retail, then went on to become one of the UK’s top tanning artists, working with celebrities, models and customers who wanted a healthy glow, applied using the best products. This lead to James creating his own brand using all the experience he amassed during his ca...

My guest on the show this week is Forat Al Haider, who is Creative Director of Ghawali, a fragrance brand from the UAE. Ghawali combines the art of Middle Eastern perfumery with a modern, niche touch, crafting unique, long-lasting fragrances that evoke a sense of elegance and sophistication. It is part of the Chalhoub Group, which is a family owned luxury goods retailer and distributor and is the...

This week my guest is one of UK’s top hairdressers, Adam Reed. Adam has been nominated for Hairdresser of the Year multiple times, he has worked with superstars such as Madonna and One Direction as well as the great and good in fashion and editorial over the last 30 + years. He is also a brand ambassador for ghd and L’Oréal Professional.  Adam has just launched 4 perfumes for hair & skin...

This week my guest is Jun Lim, Creative Director and Founder of South Korean fragrance brand BORN TO STAND OUT. I met Jun a couple of months ago at Jovoy in London. He was introducing the brand to some of the UK media and I was struck by his singular vision and his mission to do things differently. It’s fair to say that South Korea is well known for skincare, but less so for niche fragrance brands...

Thanks for joining me for the third episode in the new series (8.) This week I'm building on a wonderful conversation I had over lunch at a Creed launch last month with model and content creator Ben James. We happened to be seated next to each other and I found him to be so engaging and illuminating I thought I had to ask him to come on the podcast!  Ben is a ‘plus size’/‘big & tall’ mode...

Hi and thanks for checking out episode 2 of the new series. This one is a very freewheeling conversation that took place on a narrow boat (the ‘Disco Volante’) near King’s Cross, London.  The Disco Volante is a floating lab and the spiritual home of new fragrance brand Vallense. I sat down with founder Will Borrell and discussed the brand, the debut collection, Will’s background, why he...

It’s the first episode of season 8, so ‘welcome back’ if you’re a regular listener and ‘hello’ if this is your first time! I recorded this episode in late August at Harrods, the world famous department store in London. I had the opportunity to host an event there with one of my favourite brands, Jusbox and to introduce their new fragrance ’54’ to press and to customers. The creative team who worke...

It’s the final episode of season 7 and I’m ending with a guest I’ve wanted to get on the podcast for a long while. Adam Hurly is an American journalist (now based in Portugal) who writes about grooming, fragrance and lifestyle. As a grooming writer you will have seen Adan’s bylines in GQ, Robb Report, Forbes, to name but a few. He’s about to embark on his own brand new project called ‘Blue Print’,...

My guest this week is Nick Buckley, the Co-founder and Commercial Director at fragrance & beauty distribution company, Phoenix Beauty. Sales & distribution is a key part of the industry and a company like Phoenix Beauty acts as the bridge between the brands, the retailers and us as the end-consumers. Much of the work goes on behind the scenes, but it was fascinating to spend some time with...

Thanks for joining me for the ‘Man in the Mirror’ podcast. My guest this week Arnaud Poulain, the Founder and Artistic Director of French fragrance brand Les Eaux Primordiales. I recently spent the morning with Arnaud, firstly listening to him being interviewed by my journalist friend Suzy Nightingale at Harrods and then the two of us got to spend some time recording this week’s episode at a...

Thanks for checking out the latest ‘Man in the Mirror’ podcast. My guest this week is Graham Clarke, the CEO of British barbershop brand Murdock London. I met Graham a few months back and had such an interesting conversation with him that I thought I need to get him on the show! If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of the brand and I use many Murdock London items in my own dail...

Thanks for checking out this episode of ‘Man in the Mirror’ podcast. My guest this week is self-styled ‘perfume author’ Jonathan Ward, who is founder of his eponymous brand, well known for exquisite home fragrance and now fine fragrance too.  I first got a Jonathan Ward ‘Kartushya’ candle a few years ago and now and I think it’s still one of the best I’ve ever had. A room-filling, rich fragra...

Welcome to episode 3 of the latest season of ‘Man in the Mirror.’ My guest this week is creative, designer, entrepreneur and founder of anatomē, Brendan Murdock.  anatomē are a wellness brand and a contemporary take on the apothecary. The formulations and products support sleep, gut health, and emotional wellbeing and attempt to bring balance to modern lifestyles. The brand has just launched...

Thanks for listening to episode 2 of the new series! My guest this week is Austin Mutti-Mewse, the brand manager at the oldest barbershop in the world, Truefitt & Hill. The brand has served monarchs, prime ministers, military leaders and the great and the good for over 200 years. They are now based in the St James area of central London. Truefitt & Hill are known for their range of cologne...

Welcome back to Season 7! Something a bit different to kick things off - I recorded this first episode in front of an audience of fragrance lovers at the world famous Liberty department store, London in June 2024.  I was lucky enough to get some time with world renowned perfumer Pierre Negrin, the man behind Black Orchid for Tom Ford, many fragrances for Amouage and Ralph Lauren - and he has...

My guest this week is, err, me! I thought as an ‘end of term’ episode I could tell you a bit more about me - and some of the products I’ve been enjoying recently. Rather than talk to myself, which might be weird, I remembered that I’m married to an ex-radio DJ, so I enlisted the help of my wife Ali to turn the tables and pose the questions for one week only. She also has the honour of being the fi...

My guest this week is Alex Oprey, who is the Marketing and E-Commerce Director at British fragrance brand Miller Harris. Alex lifts the lid on the creative process once the actual perfume is made. We speak about the task of bringing the product to life and inspiring customers to find out more - and then ultimately purchase! It’s quite a challenge, if the work is too enigmatic and vague it risks sa...

My guest this week on ‘Man in the Mirror’ is Carlos Huber, who is the fragrance developer and founder of fragrance brand Arquiste. I met Carlos earlier this year when he hosted an event with Fiole and I knew I needed to get him on the podcast to find out more about the brand - and the man himself! Arquiste is the result of the inquisitive and thoughtful approach that Carlos takes to fragrance. It...

My guest this week on ‘Man in the Mirror’ is Tajinder Hayer (Taj), the founder and editor of print & digital luxury mens fashion magazine, ‘The Rakish Gent’. I’ve always loved reading the magazine. Taj has a clear sense of his audience and he super-serves them with beautifully shot fashion, grooming and lifestyle content.  Taj has South-Asian heritage and it’s important to him that the br...

Thanks for joining me for episode 4 in season 6 of ‘Man in the Mirror.’ My guest this week is Vesa Kalho, the Head of Beauty Buying for UK department store group, Fenwick. Vesa is originally from Finland, but moved to the UK over 20 years ago and had a long career at Harrods, working his way up through various retail & buying roles before his current position at Fenwick. Buying is an area of t...

Thanks for joining me for this third episode in season 6 of 'Man In The Mirror.' My guest this week is Nick Gilbert. Nick, along with his colleague Pia Long, is the co-founder of Boujee Bougies, a UK based fine fragrance and candle brand and the pair also run Olfiction - a fragrance consultancy.  During the podcast we discussed Nick’s background in perfume retail with Boots, Les Senteurs and...

Welcome back to episode 2 in the new season. It was my huge pleasure to chat to men’s stylist & image consultant Phill Tarling recently. Phill styles celebrities such as Ben Shephard, but he also offers image consultancy, styling and wardrobe edits to anyone who wants to be empowered by the clothes they wear. We all know how feeling good about our exterior appearance can engender a sense...

I’m back with season 6! Sorry it’s slightly later than planned - it took longer than anticipated to schedule guests for this season and then life got in the way! Anyway - we’re kicking off with someone I’ve been wanting to talk to for a long time. It’s Steven Gontarski, who is the manager of the Scent Bar niche/indie fragrance store in L.A. - and also a regular presenter & contributor to the b...

My guest on the podcast this week is Thibaud Crivelli, the founder of Maison Crivelli - a fragrance brand for modern-day explorers. The brand is (only) five years old, but is already making massive waves with perfumes such as Oud Maracujá, Iris Malikhân and Santal Volcanique, to name but three.  Maison Crivelli is a contemporary brand with a pared-back aesthetic and a focus on high quali...

My guest on the podcast this week is Chris Wyatt, the V.P. Global Education for Jo Malone London.  I sat down with Chris at the Jo Malone London Townhouse to talk about the brand, his role as an educator around the world, his favourite products - and what he thinks about the man that looks back at him in the mirror. Huge thanks to Chris and the whole Jo Malone London team for making me s...