Hannah Holman

JazzyJas2.0 · February 18, 2013

JazzyJas2.0 · February 18, 2013

Interview-Kate Schweitzer

Gone are the days of stopping to smell the roses. With Marc Jacobs' latest fragrance incarnation, it's all about the daisies. Well, Daisy Eau So Fresh, we mean.

Vibrant and charming, the new incarnation — with top notes of raspberry and ruby red grapefruit and a base of warm plum and cedarwood — is a sunnier, more whimsical version of the original Daisy. And there's little that's sunnier and more whimsical than the face of the Daisy Eau So Fresh campaign, model Hannah Holman.

We sat down with Hannah to get her take on shooting with Marc, impromptu horseback riding, and how to tell someone they're wearing bad perfume.

What was it like to work with Marc Jacobs and his team?

It was inspiring, actually. They kind of say, "Do your thing. Do whatever you want to do." They give you guidance, but they want it to be natural. And [fashion photographer] Juergen Teller, he's very fast. We had three days to shoot it, and I'm pretty sure he had it within the first day. And he was saying, "I don't know what to do next," and I said, "Oh! I saw a horse — lets ride horses." So we asked production to get us a horse, and he said, "This is mostly just for fun. I think we already have the shot." But he ended up loving it. We each took a ride. Juergen's never ridden a horse, and he's yelling, "Whoa, make it stop, make it stop!" and bouncing up and down. And the woman with the horse was so terrified.

And the shoot was in Spain, right?

Yeah, it was amazing, just covered in daisies. I've never seen so many daisies in my life. And it was rolling hills. We were there three days, and we'd have these five-hour lunch breaks. I'd go to the pool, and then be like, "I guess I'll get back to work now." It was nice. Really nice.

They cut your hair on set, too. Were you freaked?

They did. I was so excited. I love cutting my hair. I actually asked for it.

From the ad, it seems like a sensual summer fragrance. Why do you think it's the perfect scent for summer?

When I smell it, I think of somewhere that's not really warm, but somewhere that's happy and radiant. And obviously the bottle is very summery, but it would definitely be a fragrance I would wear in the spring or summer. And there's not as many musks. There's musks, but the original Daisy is more so, so that to me seems like something you would wear in the summer but maybe in the city. And Daisy Eau So Fresh seems like something you would wear in a remote place, on vacation, or in the country — or if you were wishing you were in the country!

How do you incorporate fragrance into your personal style? Are you always wearing something?

I'm very particular with my smells. I have quite a sensitivity to certain smells. I think if they're too flowery… It's good that I like this one because there's the raspberries, there's the fruits, there's the musk. That's usually it. I wear it daily, and I don't really switch it up much. I'll wear one for about a month or two and then maybe I'll get bored and want to try a new one. Or, if I'm going on holiday somewhere, it's fun to have a smell to remember the holiday… And it's good when people have something to remember you by, smells to remember you by, as creepy as that sounds.

Do you have any sensory memories like that?

When I was probably about 16, I was in the shopping mall with my mother and I was buying my first perfume. My boyfriend had bought me one before, but I had never really had a proper perfume, besides from Bath and Body Works or something. And so I was going to buy this perfume, and she was advising me not to get something that's too strong or too powerful, and don't mix it with your deodorant smell, your hair spray smell, because that takes away from the curiosity and there's just too many smells going on, so she said, "If you're going to wear the perfume, just wear the perfume." And this was all while shopping for my first perfume, which was Daisy. So I was actually holding the bottle while she was saying all this, and it's my first campaign. It's so odd.

A fragrance campaign is a big deal for a model. How does if feel to have one at this point in your career?

Perfumes and beauty campaigns are the biggest deal to a model — and to photographers and to everyone, for that matter. But the fact that it was Marc Jacobs, I was really excited. I've always been a fan of Marc. Growing up in Utah, I wasn't really into fashion, but he was one of the few people I did know and I was aware of, so after doing his Marc by Marc campaign a few years ago, I was really honored. And I knew it was going to be easy-going. I knew it was going to be fun. I was happy to be representing him because Marc himself is such a good guy, and, well, one of the best in the industry.

What's a tasteful way to tell someone they're wearing too much perfume?

I gave my roommate a bottle of Eau So Fresh, because I have about, you know, six. So I gave one to her, and she loved it, and one day she's spraying it on and she says, "I love this perfume, I need more," and I'm like, you just sprayed it ten times! And she'll borrow my clothes, and it's just so powerful when I put them back on. So I just said to her, "You know, actually, sometimes when people are standing by you, it's too over-powerful. It makes people more curious about you if they're like 'Oh, what's that smell?' instead of when they can smell it across the room." So, I don't know! I don't know a nice way to say it. I mean, just say it nicely. Pretend you're advising them, or make up a story — "someone told me that they hate your perfume."

Read more: Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Perfume Product Review - Hannah Holman Daisy Interview - Marie Claire