You may be surprised by his answer
With numerous music awards under his belt (including four Grammy awards) and a career that spans over a decade, Michael Buble is no stranger to producing and launching hit after hit... and we’re so happy for it - his music makes our drive to the office every morning that much more bearable. As for beauty, Buble has made his mark in the fragrance world with not one or two, but four perfume launches - first with By Invitation in August 2016, then with By Invitation Rose Gold in March 2018, followed by Pour Homme in April 2018. The newest fragrance, called By Invitation Peony Noir, has just launched exclusively in Chemist Warehouse, My Chemist and My Beauty Spot this month, and covers off notes such as rose, peony, vanilla, cedarwood and sandalwood to reflect the themes of romance, love and elegance. We recently sat down with the star himself in an exclusive interview to learn more about his fragrance creating process, along with his latest music and how to spends date night with his wife.
On his newest album…
“There are some songs that I feel are so much better when they’re really organic [and] come very naturally – there are songs on this record I only sang once and that isn’t normal. There’s actually a song called ‘Where or When’ on the record that is about reincarnation and I think it’s really the most romantic look at a relationship. [It’s about] looking at the person across from you and knowing that I met you in another lifetime. [When recording it] My co-producer didn’t know the chords to play on the piano. I had a meeting to go to that night so I said, ‘listen, I’ll go into the studio and I’ll just sing it acapella on the microphone.’ So I sang it and I said ‘once I give you the vocal you can just build a little piano track and we’ll have a rough demo to work on’ and I never sang it again. A guy named Will Ross who works with John Williams on Star Wars music - he orchestrated it. It was very strange but I don’t think I could have ever had that honest and that kind of edgy or emotionally graphic performance if I had done it and tried to – it would have ending up becoming a little bit stagnant I think. Instead it became this raw, powerful and beautiful thing because there was no time. I love talking about how each song is constructed and where those feelings come from – I’m a musician, this is my happiness.”
On why he launched fragrances…
“I think for me, the interest came from promising myself I would leave my comfort zone. That I would grow and even if I feared something I would try.”
By Invitation Peony Noir
On what it was like creating his first fragrance…
“‘By Invitation’ is a combination of my favourite notes all put together. That was me driving these poor perfumers crazy. I just know that I had a clear destination and that was that I wanted it to be sweet without being overpowering, but I wanted it to be exciting, I wanted it to have a kind of a unisex essence. I like the mix of the notes sandalwood, rose and peony. Just like a musician creates compositions - taking different notes and bringing them together - that’s kind of what I was doing. It brought me a lot of comfort and it’s nice to know that you can believe in something opposed to being a cringey celebrity who slaps their name on something because they give you a cheque.”
On his favourite scent of all time…
“I know it sounds crazy but I keep going back to sandalwood. It’s really clean and fresh. Actually that was one of my favourite things about Diptyque’s Tam Dao. It’s funny - I was dating an actress many years ago and that was her fragrance and I remember one day she was on a film and I came to visit the set and she sprayed it on me and told me to try it. I said ‘no it’s a girl’s fragrance’ yet I wore it for the next 15 years. I don’t think I’ve ever been complimented [previously] – to this day when I wear it, I am complimented so much. [I still wear it] once in a while. I wear my own stuff, too.”
On his idea of a perfect date night…
“At this point it would be putting two little boys to sleep by eight o’clock. Having our little girl eat enough [milk] that she passes out for a couple of hours and just lying down in bed and watching a little Netflix and maybe holding my wife’s hand. That’s about as sexy as it’s going to get. My wife and I have promised each other we’ve got to work hard on trying to find these moments because we have three kids and my wife is crazy busy with her career.”
Want to get more out of you favourite scent? Try these tips to make your fragrance last longer.
What’s your favourite fragrance note, and why? Let us know in the comments below.
Main image credit: Getty
Iantha is BEAUTYcrew's Beauty Editor, and has been part of the team since the site launched in 2016. Besides pinky-nude nail polish and wispy false lashes, she has a healthy obsession with face masks and skin care ingredients. Her previous work can be found in Virgin Australia Voyeur, Women's Health, and SHOP Til You Drop.
