April 23, 2025 • 34 mins
Scent has a powerful ability to transport us through time and space, evoking memories with just one breath. In this riveting conversation with Yasmin Khalil, founder of KŌDO London, we unlock the secrets of luxury home fragrance that honors both indulgence and wellness simultaneously.
Yasmin reveals how her Lebanese heritage and interior design background converged to create something truly revolutionary: decadent, food-inspired home fragrances that are potent and non-toxic. After discovering that conventional fragrance products can contain up to 4,000 hidden chemicals (many linked to serious health concerns like hormone disruption and reproductive issues), she set out to create a clean alternative that sacrifices nothing in luxury or scent experience.
The magic of KŌDO lies in its gourmand inspirations—think dark chocolate espresso, matcha vanilla coconut, and caramelized citrus—all crafted to evoke those special moments throughout our day. Yasmin walks us through how scent can transform spaces and moods, sharing her personal rituals for morning energizing, workout preparation, and evening unwinding.
Visit KŌDO London for more and to check out their mini sets available now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Action.
Welcome to the Curation, a showfor the culturally curious.
This is your host, noor Hassan.
Each week, I'll guide youthrough a curated edit of the
finest in art, fashion, design,culture, luxury, wellness, tech
and more.
This is your go-to space fordiscovering trailblazing ideas,
untold stories and meaningfulconversations with innovators
(00:30):
and creators who are shaping ourworld.
There's no gatekeeping here, sosit back, tune in and let's
discover only the best.
In this episode, I'm joined byYasmeen Khalil, the founder of
(00:50):
Kodo, a scent-driven wellnessbrand, blending fragrance, food
and ritual.
We explore the power of cleanscent daily rituals and how Kodo
is redefining home fragrancethrough sensory storytelling, is
redefining home fragrancethrough sensory storytelling.
Yasmin was so kind to send metheir incredible minis set,
which is the most beautiful giftand includes five distinct
(01:13):
fragrances that you can use toscent your home or even yourself
, and it is clean and non-toxic.
So the fragrances includeMorning Glory, citrus, Bliss,
pick Me Up by the Fire, sweetDreams and have notes of
incredible rich dark chocolate,Madagascar, vanilla, sweet
orange, espresso, ginger,cinnamon and so much more.
(01:37):
I truly enjoyed discoveringthis brand, Kodo London.
And now, without further ado,this is my conversation with the
founder, yasmeen.
Hey, everyone, right now I'mspeaking with Yasmeen Khalil,
(01:58):
who is the founder of Kodo, andYasmeen is someone whose brand I
discovered through my pilatescommunity, because this is
something that I think wellnessin general.
Um, all of the creators tend tolook for brands that are
elevating in the market, and Ithink that that's essentially
(02:19):
what your brand was doing.
So I was following it for awhile and then we got to talking
and I felt it would be theperfect actually episode to do
in this current season.
So, first of all, yasmin, I'dlove for you to introduce
yourself to the audience.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Hi, so I'm Yasmin.
I'm originally Lebanese butgrew up in London.
I'm originally Lebanese butgrew up in London.
Initially I was an interiordesigner and then I went into
the world of fragrance a fewyears ago and created a brand
called Kodo.
Kodo is a home fragrance brand,but it essentially blends three
(02:59):
different elements, which isfragrance, food and wellness.
So they're all natural, which isthe wellness aspect of it.
We use kind of the top qualityingredients.
They're all non-toxic, they'reclean.
They're just much better foryou than most things on the
market right now.
We don't use any preservatives,parabens, phthalates, which I
(03:21):
can go into later.
So that's the wellness aspectof it in a nutshell.
And then the food element comesin, because I feel like, being
Middle Eastern, we associate somuch with food and nostalgia and
memories of home, and I feellike when I think of home, I
think of the smell of like acoffee brewing in the morning or
(03:43):
a fresh cake in the oven or myfavorite drink in the morning,
and I just feel like there wasnothing on the market that was
making home fragrance thatsmelled luxurious and felt
luxurious but also was superdecadent.
So I wanted to create a productthat really represented those
(04:04):
sweet moments of your day andthose sweet delicacies that we
love having throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Amazing.
I love that and I think you'reso right.
I think it's one of the mostdifficult things to find like a
perfect mix of a product that isactually not toxic for the home
but also has a decadent smell.
So I think that's incredible.
I want I want you to actuallydescribe to us a little bit.
So who is Yasmeen today?
(04:32):
I know you've been through along journey and it's incredible
.
You're Middle Eastern, you'reliving in London.
It's such an eclectic societyin general and I love London but
so who is Yasmeen today?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Your state of mind, your current mood.
Yeah, I mean, who I am reallyshines through the brand and I
think that's what's reallyspecial about it to me, because
who I am is someone that reallyenjoys those small moments,
whether it's small moments ofyour day and rituals throughout
your day, whether that's justkind of really appreciating,
yeah, just the sweet moments ofyour day, the sweet moments of
(05:16):
your life.
I love, I think who Yasmin is,it's like definitely a foodie,
so that really shines throughbrand.
I have such a passion forwellness.
I think one of the things thatis such a core value to me is
quality.
So, whether it is quality of aproduct, quality of the food I
eat, quality of everything I doon a daily basis really matters
(05:41):
to me and that's why I think,when I look at even the design
of Kodo and the bottle itself,it had to be of like the top
quality.
I wanted it to look like anaccessory on your shelf, not
just a cheap fragrance bottle.
The formula I needed it to bethe highest quality because I
wanted to know like what I'mbreathing in isn't going to be
(06:01):
toxic for me.
So, yeah, I would say who I amis someone that just really
cares about quality and someonethat just really appreciates the
sweet little moments.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I think that's really , really resonated in your brand
and from even the Instagramaccount from your account I can
tell that you do romanticizeeverything, which is lovely, and
I think we need a lot more ofit.
Honestly, I absolutely lovethat.
So I want to get into theemotional power of scent.
(06:35):
So I don't think people reallyunderstand the impact that
fragrance can have in likeshaping your mood and wellness.
So can you tell us a little bitmore about that and how it
obviously inspired you to createa whole brand focused on this?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yeah for sure.
My journey with that actuallystarted when I was an interior
designer and I started tounderstand the power of changing
the way someone feels when theywalk into a room.
So whenever people ask me aboutoh my gosh, like how did you go
from interior design tofragrance?
It's so different I always saythey're not actually so
(07:13):
different.
When I was a designer, you woulddesign a room in such a
specific way so that that personfeels a specific feeling.
For example, if you weredesigning a bedroom and that
person has a very hectic worklife outside the home, I would
design it in a way that madethem feel like it was their
sanctuary.
So you would use calming colors, calming lighting, etc.
(07:36):
And I really started tounderstand the way you can
manipulate the way someone feelsin this space.
And then, when I startedfragrance manipulate the way
someone feels in this space andthen when I started fragrance, I
felt it was the exact samething.
Like you can smell something andit takes you back years of
memories.
Or you smell something and itmakes you really hungry or makes
you feel nostalgic.
(07:56):
If you're feeling kind of likeyou want to go out and you have,
let's say, an evening planned,you would want something a bit
more dark and sensual.
So, yeah, I would say that'swhere I started to really look
into how you can change the waysomeone feels through scent.
And then, like I said, myjourney has always really the
(08:21):
core of it all has really beenthis food element.
And I started to look into allthese coffee shops and food
concepts and I realized a lot ofthem will actually diffuse the
scent into their stores so thatyou can manipulate the way a
customer acts.
So let's say you're a coffeeshop and you want to be selling
more croissant, you couldessentially mimic the smell of a
(08:44):
bakery, diffuse that throughoutthe store and statistically,
people are much more likely tobuy a pastry with their coffee.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
so that's we actually started that's really
interesting and I think it works100%.
I've been there and I've beeninfluenced by these, um, I mean
it, it's tools and it'sincredible.
Actually, it gives the coziestfeeling to any space.
And so I think I want to getinto the most interesting part
(09:12):
of Kodo, which is really thepart that made me truly want to
interview on our podcast, whichis the non-toxic element of it,
the clean fragrance element ofit.
This is what's truly soinnovative, because not only is
the fragrance potent andaesthetic and beautiful, but
also it does not harm you, which, unfortunately, we all know.
The candle brands that smellamazing.
(09:34):
I'm sure they're not great forus, right?
And this is a movement.
So how did you sort of get onthis and be a first mover in
this field?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
um.
So I think I always say there'sone thing following your
passion, which this isdefinitely something I was
passionate about, and thenthere's another thing which is
like, are you able to monetizeyour passion and does it make
sense?
And when I looked at the market, you had people that were
talking about clean perfume.
So I'm not the first when itcomes to that.
(10:07):
You have clean perfume brands.
But in the home fragrancemarket and, like I said, I had a
background in design, so Ireally love the idea of creating
this sanctuary in your home Ididn't feel like the home
fragrance market was doing it.
Well, you had your luxuriousbrands, like you said, that
smelled very good, but theydon't really care about what
(10:28):
they're.
You know the colorful candlesthey're using because it doesn't
make sense for them to.
They can profit more of usingkind of the you know usual
standard ingredients.
And then you had the naturalbrands, which are out there, but
I didn't feel they had thislike elevated presence or this
(10:50):
element of luxury or you know.
So that's where I really sawthere was a gap in the market
and I wanted to bridge that gapwith Kodo, which was a luxurious
, decadent product that was alsogood for you.
What I mean by good for you isyou know the actual term
fragrance.
Unfortunately, the industryallows brands to use it as a
(11:10):
vague term fragrance, but thatcan be a blend of ingredients
that can include up to 4000chemicals, wow, ok, so I was
shocked when I started toresearch that and then basically
, yeah, companies can hide abunch of harmful chemicals in
their products under the simpleterm fragrance.
So under that term, the main oneespecially for a woman that is
(11:32):
super harmful is calledphthalates, and phthalates have
been proved to disrupt hormoneactivity, reduce sperm count,
cause reproductive malformations.
So for me, this was like thebiggest red flag, especially as
a young woman who, I feel, likeso many of us, struggle with
hormonal imbalances.
I just found that like this wascrazy to me.
(11:55):
So I really wanted to tacklethat issue with Kodo and like
make sure we're not using any ofthose and then other chemicals
that usually are in fragranceshave, like also have impacts
like brain fog, asthma fog,asthma, bloating, fatigue, like
there are so many harmfulimpacts of these chemicals.
(12:15):
So that was a big, big, bigpriority for us, which was to
move away from that.
Unfortunately, obviously it'smuch more expensive to produce,
but I do believe consumersnowadays really care for clean
ingredients and I think it'ssuch a shame for brands not to
tap into that.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
I think your answer is incredible because I mean,
really now, with the age of likeI don't know TikTok and
everything we're so educated asconsumers.
When you find out thatsomething is not good for you,
you will effectively stop usingit and look for an alternative.
So when you messaged me and Ifound your brand and I made the
connection, I was like, wow,this is so incredible.
(12:56):
This is something I really haveactively been searching for as
a consumer.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I'm so happy.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I can't wait to share them with you.
I know me too, and the thing islike, and I, and even in Dubai,
which I mean, I I'm back andforth every single month Like
it's such such such anincredible market and still up
and coming fragrance is stillsomething, like you said, it's a
gap and I think you reallyfound the correct balance, um,
to fill it.
So I want to get into the foodand like the, the gourmand
(13:24):
element of your fragrances.
Um, I love a good like darkchocolate.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I need to, I need like it.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I always say I need a daily piece of chocolate
exactly like a decadent, likedelicious thing, and I think
maybe it's like the middleeastern side.
Um, so, like I, what I'm sayingis that I really think the
middle eastern side of you, likeyou know food, you know the
scents and like I feel like thehome is always filled with, like
we have the concept of like thehood and all of these
(13:53):
incredible things.
So what made you really go intothe incredible sense of like
dark chocolate, cinnamon,hazelnut it's so creative and
it's not your standard like Idon't know um smell of like
powder or laundry or whatever.
You know what I mean.
You went really into like themost decadent of scents.
(14:13):
Is there a reason for it?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
uh, yeah, there.
I mean, there's so, funnilyenough, there's so many reasons
and they all came together inthe most authentic, natural way.
So the way it all started, um,was I had the biggest passion
for perfume, and this is likeyears back, even before I
started working um, and everyonearound me knew it.
So, like I have, I had amillion perfumes in my room.
(14:37):
I would go into everydepartment store.
I was in search of the perfect,like the perfect gochumon
fragrance, um, and I just wantedthe perfect vanilla, perfect
chocolate.
I really don't know why I hadthis obsession, but I think some
things just come and you haveto follow your gut with them.
And that was how it started.
(14:59):
I was just, I loved gourmandperfumes, and then the way I
actually made our signatureflavors was I just tapped into
and thought of what are theflavor combinations that I love
consuming?
So, for example, I love achocolate hazelnut.
I love everything with nut init, so like a kind of pistachio,
(15:21):
a hazelnut.
And so when I created thechocolate one, I thought of okay
, like, how can I blendingredients that are gonna smell
so decadent and yummy but alsonot sickly?
So I used dark chocolate mixedwith espresso, because I knew
the espresso would add anelement of bitterness and it
(15:41):
wasn't overly sweet.
The way I created morning glory,which is our matcha one, was I
just thought of like how do Ilike my matcha in the morning?
And, like I said, I am I'm veryspecific with kind of the
things I like on a daily basisand really kind of enjoying them
, romanticizing them and makingsure I'm using like the best
quality ingredients.
(16:02):
So, for example, my matcha inthe morning is usually with like
a homemade milk.
It's with vanilla, it it's sospecific.
So when I created Morning Glory, I made sure we used green tea,
coconut, because I usually likeit with coconut milk.
I used Madagascar vanilla,because I love adding vanilla.
I put a touch of cinnamon,because I love a sprinkle of
(16:22):
cinnamon on top.
So for me, creating thefragrances felt very natural
because I just used theingredients that I love making
or cooking or baking with andincorporated them into the
scents, and we did that throughobviously like standard
ingredients, but then we alsoused some food extract so that
it can be as natural as possible.
(16:44):
I love that and, honestly, yeah, that's how it kind of came
together.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That's incredible and you can feel the passion in
your voice.
Trust me, like I've done over100 interviews and you're so
happy about this, I absolutelycan't wait to try all of the
fragrances.
I want to get into thecollaborations you've done so.
You worked with some incrediblebrands in london and dubai I
(17:12):
mean expanding across the regionand some of them are blank
street, obviously incrediblematcha union, remys.
How have you been able toamplify the brand kodo and do
such incredibly tailoredcollaborations?
What's the strategy there?
And I'm obsessed, obviously,with the content that comes out
(17:32):
of it.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Thank you so much.
I feel like this whole callI've been blushing.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
We will definitely do another part two in person, but
I have to get you on thepodcast ASAP.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, definitely, when I'm in Dubaiai I'll let you
know.
But, uh, the collaborationscame about again in a very
organic way.
So when I first launched thebrand for the last few years
before that, I was obsessed withremy's cakes, um, and, like I
said, they were top qualityingredients, very good for you.
They for me, I think it's likekind of one of the best quality
(18:10):
cakes out there and they'vealways felt so homemade.
So she has her famous chocolateand banana cake and I think, in
terms of collaboration, the onething like I would really
advise people, no matter whatage you are, is just reach out
like you don't lose anything.
You might get a million ignores, but then you also get guesses
along the way and like thosekind of are like are so worth it
(18:34):
, like get the 10 ignored emails, but then the one that actually
works, um, and I usually feelthe one that works out is the
one that's meant to be on yourpath, um, and with Rimi's Cakes
it happened exactly like that.
I was always a customer.
I reached out to her when Ilaunched, right before launching
the brand, and I I told her ourconcept and I said I would love
(18:54):
to make a scent thatrepresented your brand.
And I think what's been amazingfor Kodo is that we're able to
tap into the food and thewellness.
So with Rimi's Cakes it was thefood, and we created a
signature scent for her, calledChoco Bananaane, which is her
chocolate banana cake, and it'sjust amazing.
It smells like a fresh bananachocolate cake out the oven, but
(19:16):
without the sickly banana feel.
It's just like a hint of it,but a more.
It just smells like a bakedcake.
It's really amazing.
So that's how her collaborationcame about.
And then Matcha Union.
Obviously, because we haveMorning Glory, which is a
matcha-inspired scent, we wereable to collaborate with brands
like Matcha Union.
I love the founder she's like agood friend of mine now and we
(19:40):
do wellness events together.
So we usually host a Pilatesclass or a pop-up.
We make matchas for people, um,we let them smell the matcha
scent.
So it's all about creating andcurating an experience and
combining those elements of food, wellness and scent.
So no matter who we'recollaborating with, we'll always
(20:01):
make sure we're combining thosethree elements.
Um, so that's how match unionscollaboration came about.
Blank street was actually aninteresting one because they had
a christmas pop-up recently,and that's the power of scent
and personalization, becausewhen they were actually gifting
(20:21):
people and selling theirmerchandise, they used the
sprays on their tissue paper sothat people were able to like,
choose a personalized smell forthe gift that they were getting.
And I just think that's justsuch a beautiful interpretation
of what scent can do, which isthis element of personalization
and the special moment and theidea that you can gift it to
(20:43):
someone, create a memory from it, take it home with you, and I
think that is just such abeautiful way to you know, sell
the product.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I love the idea of the Christmas sense.
It makes perfect sense and Ican't wait to actually try
Rimi's cakes, now that you'vetalked about it, you're getting
the whole thing next week, sookay.
So I want to my last couple ofquestions for you, for the
entrepreneurs out there.
What's the biggest lessonyou've learned over this journey
(21:13):
of building Kodo that you wouldlove to share with all of the
entrepreneurs that regularlylisten to the podcast?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
I think I mean there's obviously like so many
things I've learned.
But if I had to narrow it down,I think the main thing is, like
I mentioned earlier, just throwyourself out there.
It's something I've seen that'sjust really, really, really
worked in our favor.
I mean, we didn't even launch ayear ago, like we launched last
(21:45):
April, so it hasn't been a yearand I feel like we've been able
to grow in a very natural,organic way, because I've just
thrown myself out there, whetherit was asking friends to
support, whether it was emailing, cold emails, reaching out to
people a friend of a friend thatknows you know this brand or
this podcast and just reallyputting yourself out there, I
(22:08):
think will get you so far,because what do you have to lose
?
Like you might get thoserejections, but then you also
get those wins and you're ableto move forward and also forget
opportunity.
It's just it's so inspiring tomeet other people that are also
entrepreneurs, are working hardor you know you can inspire each
other, and I think that's sucha nice thing about social media
(22:31):
is you're able to meet so manypeople that are alike or
different but that are able toinspire you in some way, and
I've met such amazing people inthe last year.
So that would be my main adviceis just put yourself out there
and then, in terms of the actualbrand building, I think the
(22:52):
main thing I've learned is startdoing as much as you can on
your own, Like, if you can, ifit takes you an hour extra to
learn a new skill and thenimplement that, take that hour
extra and learn it, rather thanoutsourcing everything, because
there's a lot that you can learnand then later on, when you
(23:15):
hire, you're able to knowthey're doing it right, they're
doing it wrong.
You can pinpoint exactly howyou like it.
But I don't think it's healthyas a founder to go into anything
blinded.
I think you should know how todo everything so that you're
able to manage it later on.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
I think that's absolutely great advice.
Like, I really love that advice.
Both points that you made areincredible.
You know, reaching out out,learning it yourself.
I think these are, like keytools for entrepreneurs, truly,
um.
Okay, so I want to know for you, as Yasmin, what's your daily
scent ritual?
So, first of all, what's yourco-docent of choice?
(23:51):
I'm sure everyone's dying toknow.
Not that you could pick, butyou know, um, and you have like
a ritual.
Like, do you, for example, makesure your house is centered at
a certain time of day?
Is it sort of like that?
Like, do you have any tips forsomething, for a ritual,
creating ritual?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I mean yes like.
This is my favorite questionbecause I'm all about rituals,
um, so in the morning, usually,like, I, like, I'm a big
believer in like as soon as youwake up, open your blinds, open
the window, just kind of getthat natural sunlight, that
fresh air.
So usually in the morning whenI do that, I'll always pray
morning glory um, that's ourmatcha one and it's just, it's
(24:30):
sweet, it's fresh and it's, forme, super energizing.
So I love spraying that in themorning.
Um, and then usually, like, itwill be followed by like I'll go
to the kitchen, I'll make amatcha, I'll just kind of sit
with myself without using yourphone, just have like 20 minutes
to yourself, even if it meanswaking up earlier.
I think the morning is sosacred.
(24:51):
So that's like the way I woulduse morning glory in the morning
and pick me up.
I actually don't use as much inthe home, but I use it on myself
.
So before leaving the house,before a workout or something,
I'll usually mix morning gloryand pick me up.
And that's my favoritecombination because you get a
(25:12):
bit of the green tea, coconutvanilla, which is fresh, but
then you get the dark chocolateand the chocolate hazelnut which
adds this kind of warmth to itso you smell.
You leave the house smellinglike edible.
Um, I get so many complimentswhen I when I wear those two, so
I would definitely do that Iwould use it on myself and then
(25:34):
in the evening, the way I woulduse by the fire is when I'm
preparing dinner.
I love cooking so, like, let'ssay, I'm cooking in the kitchen,
I'll always spray by the firearound the house, outside the
front door, just to make surethe house is always smelling
warm, elevated, cozy and you setthe tone for your evening.
(25:54):
I think the nicest thing to dois set the tone for your day,
set the tone for your evening,the tone for your evening.
I think creating an atmospherewhich you feel just comfort in
changes the way you feel withthe people you're around, with
yourself.
So usually by the fire isdefinitely our evening scent.
And also the notes in it iscaramelized sugar, amber,
(26:15):
cinnamon, cade wood, candiedlemon.
So all those notes are reallynice and actually neutralizing a
food smell.
It's like perfect.
If you're making fish, let'ssay yes amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I love that.
I'm so happy to do this.
You have the perfect ritual.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
You gave us the blueprint I could literally talk
you through this whole day.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
No, no, 100%.
And, honestly, my audienceloves the details, so this is
great.
My last question for you beforeI ask for your curation is
what's next for Kodo?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
So, kodo, in the bigger picture, I would love to
become your go-to homeware,finally enough, and I would love
to bring it back to interiordesign, and that's our goal in
the bigger picture.
So all our fragrances right noware made to make your day a
little sweeter.
And essentially, I would wantto add to this collection and
(27:12):
like we do have really excitingthings happening this year, okay
, perfect, I can spill the tea.
So we're launching next week aminiature collection.
Oh my god so cute.
It's amazing like I'm obsessedwith the bottles.
They look so cute, um, they'relike just little babies, um, and
like a baby bottle.
Of our 100 ml, they're all 30ml.
(27:34):
And then we also have a set, uh, which is kind of a discovery
set, which have all four of ourclassic flavors and then one
extra one which is a citrus one,and that is going to be our
summer scent, which will launchfull size in may.
And the citrus one is my newfavorite.
It's like a mandarin lemon,caramelized sugar, a touch of
(27:55):
black pepper.
It's like it's just the mostamazing scent, um, so that's
launching in march and thenwe're launching a really cool
collaboration scent in april.
Um, and yeah, these are likekind of the things in line right
now and we'll add to thefragrance collection throughout
this year.
And then, in the bigger picture, like mentioned, I would love
(28:17):
to go into homeware.
So once we have the fragrancecollection up and running, I
want to create things for yourhome, to make your home a little
sweeter.
So you have the fragrances andthen you have little curated
collections, so whether it's acup collection, a coaster
collection, a cushion collectionand just accessories to sweeten
up your home and then bring itback to that idea of interiors
(28:40):
and fragrance and, I guess, theblending of the two amazing,
really looking forward to all ofthat, especially the 30 mil.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
This is perfect for travel and, as someone who
travels a lot, like as manythings as I can fit in as
possible, that's amazing.
Um all, so I want to know.
Curated bias means.
This is the curation podcast.
What are things, little things,in your day that you would
recommend that elevate your day?
Obviously, one of your Kodosense is one of them.
(29:11):
So, yeah, what's your littlecuration that truly you would
recommend to the audience to theaudience.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I think first thing and I feel like people hear this
so much, so I'm I am like kindof cautious to say it, but
really it's meditation.
I know in the wellness worldthat's so spoken about, but it's
, it truly is for a reason.
I mean, I've been meditatingsince the age of 14.
(29:39):
And I I really can't imagine myday without it, I can't imagine
my life without it, and somemornings it's five minutes, some
mornings it's 15, but it justallows you that space to to
connect, to, like what am Ifeeling today?
Or, you know, sometimes to askfor guidance, whether you
believe in God or not, to beable to pray to something, or
(30:00):
just ask for support or guidanceor ease, for me is just like
such a powerful tool to be ableto tap into and understand
yourself better and the wayyou're feeling.
And so definitely meditation islike the main thing for me.
Um, I think any type of movement.
Um, I love a workout.
(30:23):
I, whether it's a quick walk inthe park, a pilates, um, if you
like, if your audience likesdetail, honestly, I love a legui
or I love a reformer a hundredpercent.
Yes, we are all about that okay,fine, so I'll give you the
detail.
I love a legui class a fewtimes a week because I feel like
it builds like amazing strength, um.
(30:44):
But I'm also quite petite, so Ifind the reformer Pilates,
let's say, once a week even justgives you this extra bit of
length 100% agree, totally, andour Pilates community is
extremely strong and they will.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They will listen to you on this one, okay fine.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
So definitely do like a classical reformer one to two
times a week and then a legree,let's say two times a week and
then on the other days.
I love a home kind of Pilatesyoga flow which I feel gives
just this extra length anddefinition to your body, and I
love Melissa Wood or BryonyDeary.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yes, bryony Deary, melissa Wood, and those are your
two that you use to do theat-home flows, right.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Exactly Like I usually do Melissa's meditation
every morning, and then Bryony Ilove her pilates workouts and I
love melissa's yoga workout.
So it really depends on whatI'm feeling, um, but that
definitely is like a big part ofcurated uh by yasmin in my day,
um, and then the other.
(31:54):
I guess the final thing isobviously kodo and then also
eating good food, and when I saygood food, I mean one food that
tastes good but that just alsofeels really good.
I think it's quite.
It gets quite mixed up thesedays because you have two
extremes.
You have people that are inwellness, let's say saying only
(32:15):
eat food that feels good, andthen that can either look like I
don don't know a salad or anacai or a lean protein, but then
you also have the other extreme, which is like eat whatever you
feel like and you know like beintuitive and have the burger
and have the pasta.
Yeah, for me it's finding thatlike happy medium, where it's
(32:36):
like I'm eating what makes mefeel good.
So let's say your smoothies,your salads, but also being
intuitive and thinking, okay,like I'll do.
I feel like a burger, I'll havethe burger, but I'll make sure
my breakfast and lunch is maybea bit healthier, includes more
vegetables.
I think you can't go oneextreme or another.
(32:56):
Then it's not healthy, but justeating what genuinely feels
good for your body and that youknow will be better for you in
the long run amazing.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Thank you so much, yasmin.
You've given us so many tipsand tricks and so much insight
into the world of fragrance andinto the world of kodo.
We can't wait seriously for theminis and all of the upcoming
events and incredible thingsyou're going to do, and thank
you for being on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to share themwith you.
I'm excited to share them withyour audience and, yeah, thank
you so much for having me thankyou for listening.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Make sure to follow at the curation pod on instagram
to stay updated with all of ourfuture episodes and curations
and, of course, make sure tocheck out at kodo london for all
of the future fragrancereleases, and I will see you on
our next episode.
Action.
Welcome to the Curation, a showfor the culturally curious.
This is your host, noor Hassan.
Each week, I'll guide youthrough a curated edit of the
finest in art, fashion, design,culture, luxury, wellness, tech
and more.
This is your go-to space fordiscovering trailblazing ideas,
untold stories and meaningfulconversations with innovators
(00:30):
and creators who are shaping ourworld.
There's no gatekeeping here, sosit back, tune in and let's
discover only the best.
In this episode, I'm joined byYasmeen Khalil, the founder of
(00:50):
Kodo, a scent-driven wellnessbrand, blending fragrance, food
and ritual.
We explore the power of cleanscent daily rituals and how Kodo
is redefining home fragrancethrough sensory storytelling, is
redefining home fragrancethrough sensory storytelling.
Yasmin was so kind to send metheir incredible minis set,
which is the most beautiful giftand includes five distinct
(01:13):
fragrances that you can use toscent your home or even yourself
, and it is clean and non-toxic.
So the fragrances includeMorning Glory, citrus, Bliss,
pick Me Up by the Fire, sweetDreams and have notes of
incredible rich dark chocolate,Madagascar, vanilla, sweet
orange, espresso, ginger,cinnamon and so much more.
(01:37):
I truly enjoyed discoveringthis brand, Kodo London.
And now, without further ado,this is my conversation with the
founder, yasmeen.
Hey, everyone, right now I'mspeaking with Yasmeen Khalil,
(01:58):
who is the founder of Kodo, andYasmeen is someone whose brand I
discovered through my pilatescommunity, because this is
something that I think wellnessin general.
Um, all of the creators tend tolook for brands that are
elevating in the market, and Ithink that that's essentially
(02:19):
what your brand was doing.
So I was following it for awhile and then we got to talking
and I felt it would be theperfect actually episode to do
in this current season.
So, first of all, yasmin, I'dlove for you to introduce
yourself to the audience.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Hi, so I'm Yasmin.
I'm originally Lebanese butgrew up in London.
I'm originally Lebanese butgrew up in London.
Initially I was an interiordesigner and then I went into
the world of fragrance a fewyears ago and created a brand
called Kodo.
Kodo is a home fragrance brand,but it essentially blends three
(02:59):
different elements, which isfragrance, food and wellness.
So they're all natural, which isthe wellness aspect of it.
We use kind of the top qualityingredients.
They're all non-toxic, they'reclean.
They're just much better foryou than most things on the
market right now.
We don't use any preservatives,parabens, phthalates, which I
(03:21):
can go into later.
So that's the wellness aspectof it in a nutshell.
And then the food element comesin, because I feel like, being
Middle Eastern, we associate somuch with food and nostalgia and
memories of home, and I feellike when I think of home, I
think of the smell of like acoffee brewing in the morning or
(03:43):
a fresh cake in the oven or myfavorite drink in the morning,
and I just feel like there wasnothing on the market that was
making home fragrance thatsmelled luxurious and felt
luxurious but also was superdecadent.
So I wanted to create a productthat really represented those
(04:04):
sweet moments of your day andthose sweet delicacies that we
love having throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Amazing.
I love that and I think you'reso right.
I think it's one of the mostdifficult things to find like a
perfect mix of a product that isactually not toxic for the home
but also has a decadent smell.
So I think that's incredible.
I want I want you to actuallydescribe to us a little bit.
So who is Yasmeen today?
(04:32):
I know you've been through along journey and it's incredible
.
You're Middle Eastern, you'reliving in London.
It's such an eclectic societyin general and I love London but
so who is Yasmeen today?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Your state of mind, your current mood.
Yeah, I mean, who I am reallyshines through the brand and I
think that's what's reallyspecial about it to me, because
who I am is someone that reallyenjoys those small moments,
whether it's small moments ofyour day and rituals throughout
your day, whether that's justkind of really appreciating,
yeah, just the sweet moments ofyour day, the sweet moments of
(05:16):
your life.
I love, I think who Yasmin is,it's like definitely a foodie,
so that really shines throughbrand.
I have such a passion forwellness.
I think one of the things thatis such a core value to me is
quality.
So, whether it is quality of aproduct, quality of the food I
eat, quality of everything I doon a daily basis really matters
(05:41):
to me and that's why I think,when I look at even the design
of Kodo and the bottle itself,it had to be of like the top
quality.
I wanted it to look like anaccessory on your shelf, not
just a cheap fragrance bottle.
The formula I needed it to bethe highest quality because I
wanted to know like what I'mbreathing in isn't going to be
(06:01):
toxic for me.
So, yeah, I would say who I amis someone that just really
cares about quality and someonethat just really appreciates the
sweet little moments.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I think that's really , really resonated in your brand
and from even the Instagramaccount from your account I can
tell that you do romanticizeeverything, which is lovely, and
I think we need a lot more ofit.
Honestly, I absolutely lovethat.
So I want to get into theemotional power of scent.
(06:35):
So I don't think people reallyunderstand the impact that
fragrance can have in likeshaping your mood and wellness.
So can you tell us a little bitmore about that and how it
obviously inspired you to createa whole brand focused on this?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yeah for sure.
My journey with that actuallystarted when I was an interior
designer and I started tounderstand the power of changing
the way someone feels when theywalk into a room.
So whenever people ask me aboutoh my gosh, like how did you go
from interior design tofragrance?
It's so different I always saythey're not actually so
(07:13):
different.
When I was a designer, you woulddesign a room in such a
specific way so that that personfeels a specific feeling.
For example, if you weredesigning a bedroom and that
person has a very hectic worklife outside the home, I would
design it in a way that madethem feel like it was their
sanctuary.
So you would use calming colors, calming lighting, etc.
(07:36):
And I really started tounderstand the way you can
manipulate the way someone feelsin this space.
And then, when I startedfragrance manipulate the way
someone feels in this space andthen when I started fragrance, I
felt it was the exact samething.
Like you can smell something andit takes you back years of
memories.
Or you smell something and itmakes you really hungry or makes
you feel nostalgic.
(07:56):
If you're feeling kind of likeyou want to go out and you have,
let's say, an evening planned,you would want something a bit
more dark and sensual.
So, yeah, I would say that'swhere I started to really look
into how you can change the waysomeone feels through scent.
And then, like I said, myjourney has always really the
(08:21):
core of it all has really beenthis food element.
And I started to look into allthese coffee shops and food
concepts and I realized a lot ofthem will actually diffuse the
scent into their stores so thatyou can manipulate the way a
customer acts.
So let's say you're a coffeeshop and you want to be selling
more croissant, you couldessentially mimic the smell of a
(08:44):
bakery, diffuse that throughoutthe store and statistically,
people are much more likely tobuy a pastry with their coffee.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
so that's we actually started that's really
interesting and I think it works100%.
I've been there and I've beeninfluenced by these, um, I mean
it, it's tools and it'sincredible.
Actually, it gives the coziestfeeling to any space.
And so I think I want to getinto the most interesting part
(09:12):
of Kodo, which is really thepart that made me truly want to
interview on our podcast, whichis the non-toxic element of it,
the clean fragrance element ofit.
This is what's truly soinnovative, because not only is
the fragrance potent andaesthetic and beautiful, but
also it does not harm you, which, unfortunately, we all know.
The candle brands that smellamazing.
(09:34):
I'm sure they're not great forus, right?
And this is a movement.
So how did you sort of get onthis and be a first mover in
this field?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
um.
So I think I always say there'sone thing following your
passion, which this isdefinitely something I was
passionate about, and thenthere's another thing which is
like, are you able to monetizeyour passion and does it make
sense?
And when I looked at the market, you had people that were
talking about clean perfume.
So I'm not the first when itcomes to that.
(10:07):
You have clean perfume brands.
But in the home fragrancemarket and, like I said, I had a
background in design, so Ireally love the idea of creating
this sanctuary in your home Ididn't feel like the home
fragrance market was doing it.
Well, you had your luxuriousbrands, like you said, that
smelled very good, but theydon't really care about what
(10:28):
they're.
You know the colorful candlesthey're using because it doesn't
make sense for them to.
They can profit more of usingkind of the you know usual
standard ingredients.
And then you had the naturalbrands, which are out there, but
I didn't feel they had thislike elevated presence or this
(10:50):
element of luxury or you know.
So that's where I really sawthere was a gap in the market
and I wanted to bridge that gapwith Kodo, which was a luxurious
, decadent product that was alsogood for you.
What I mean by good for you isyou know the actual term
fragrance.
Unfortunately, the industryallows brands to use it as a
(11:10):
vague term fragrance, but thatcan be a blend of ingredients
that can include up to 4000chemicals, wow, ok, so I was
shocked when I started toresearch that and then basically
, yeah, companies can hide abunch of harmful chemicals in
their products under the simpleterm fragrance.
So under that term, the main oneespecially for a woman that is
(11:32):
super harmful is calledphthalates, and phthalates have
been proved to disrupt hormoneactivity, reduce sperm count,
cause reproductive malformations.
So for me, this was like thebiggest red flag, especially as
a young woman who, I feel, likeso many of us, struggle with
hormonal imbalances.
I just found that like this wascrazy to me.
(11:55):
So I really wanted to tacklethat issue with Kodo and like
make sure we're not using any ofthose and then other chemicals
that usually are in fragranceshave, like also have impacts
like brain fog, asthma fog,asthma, bloating, fatigue, like
there are so many harmfulimpacts of these chemicals.
(12:15):
So that was a big, big, bigpriority for us, which was to
move away from that.
Unfortunately, obviously it'smuch more expensive to produce,
but I do believe consumersnowadays really care for clean
ingredients and I think it'ssuch a shame for brands not to
tap into that.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
I think your answer is incredible because I mean,
really now, with the age of likeI don't know TikTok and
everything we're so educated asconsumers.
When you find out thatsomething is not good for you,
you will effectively stop usingit and look for an alternative.
So when you messaged me and Ifound your brand and I made the
connection, I was like, wow,this is so incredible.
(12:56):
This is something I really haveactively been searching for as
a consumer.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I'm so happy.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I can't wait to share them with you.
I know me too, and the thing islike, and I, and even in Dubai,
which I mean, I I'm back andforth every single month Like
it's such such such anincredible market and still up
and coming fragrance is stillsomething, like you said, it's a
gap and I think you reallyfound the correct balance, um,
to fill it.
So I want to get into the foodand like the, the gourmand
(13:24):
element of your fragrances.
Um, I love a good like darkchocolate.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I need to, I need like it.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I always say I need a daily piece of chocolate
exactly like a decadent, likedelicious thing, and I think
maybe it's like the middleeastern side.
Um, so, like I, what I'm sayingis that I really think the
middle eastern side of you, likeyou know food, you know the
scents and like I feel like thehome is always filled with, like
we have the concept of like thehood and all of these
(13:53):
incredible things.
So what made you really go intothe incredible sense of like
dark chocolate, cinnamon,hazelnut it's so creative and
it's not your standard like Idon't know um smell of like
powder or laundry or whatever.
You know what I mean.
You went really into like themost decadent of scents.
(14:13):
Is there a reason for it?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
uh, yeah, there.
I mean, there's so, funnilyenough, there's so many reasons
and they all came together inthe most authentic, natural way.
So the way it all started, um,was I had the biggest passion
for perfume, and this is likeyears back, even before I
started working um, and everyonearound me knew it.
So, like I have, I had amillion perfumes in my room.
(14:37):
I would go into everydepartment store.
I was in search of the perfect,like the perfect gochumon
fragrance, um, and I just wantedthe perfect vanilla, perfect
chocolate.
I really don't know why I hadthis obsession, but I think some
things just come and you haveto follow your gut with them.
And that was how it started.
(14:59):
I was just, I loved gourmandperfumes, and then the way I
actually made our signatureflavors was I just tapped into
and thought of what are theflavor combinations that I love
consuming?
So, for example, I love achocolate hazelnut.
I love everything with nut init, so like a kind of pistachio,
(15:21):
a hazelnut.
And so when I created thechocolate one, I thought of okay
, like, how can I blendingredients that are gonna smell
so decadent and yummy but alsonot sickly?
So I used dark chocolate mixedwith espresso, because I knew
the espresso would add anelement of bitterness and it
(15:41):
wasn't overly sweet.
The way I created morning glory,which is our matcha one, was I
just thought of like how do Ilike my matcha in the morning?
And, like I said, I am I'm veryspecific with kind of the
things I like on a daily basisand really kind of enjoying them
, romanticizing them and makingsure I'm using like the best
quality ingredients.
(16:02):
So, for example, my matcha inthe morning is usually with like
a homemade milk.
It's with vanilla, it it's sospecific.
So when I created Morning Glory, I made sure we used green tea,
coconut, because I usually likeit with coconut milk.
I used Madagascar vanilla,because I love adding vanilla.
I put a touch of cinnamon,because I love a sprinkle of
(16:22):
cinnamon on top.
So for me, creating thefragrances felt very natural
because I just used theingredients that I love making
or cooking or baking with andincorporated them into the
scents, and we did that throughobviously like standard
ingredients, but then we alsoused some food extract so that
it can be as natural as possible.
(16:44):
I love that and, honestly, yeah, that's how it kind of came
together.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That's incredible and you can feel the passion in
your voice.
Trust me, like I've done over100 interviews and you're so
happy about this, I absolutelycan't wait to try all of the
fragrances.
I want to get into thecollaborations you've done so.
You worked with some incrediblebrands in london and dubai I
(17:12):
mean expanding across the regionand some of them are blank
street, obviously incrediblematcha union, remys.
How have you been able toamplify the brand kodo and do
such incredibly tailoredcollaborations?
What's the strategy there?
And I'm obsessed, obviously,with the content that comes out
(17:32):
of it.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Thank you so much.
I feel like this whole callI've been blushing.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
We will definitely do another part two in person, but
I have to get you on thepodcast ASAP.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, definitely, when I'm in Dubaiai I'll let you
know.
But, uh, the collaborationscame about again in a very
organic way.
So when I first launched thebrand for the last few years
before that, I was obsessed withremy's cakes, um, and, like I
said, they were top qualityingredients, very good for you.
They for me, I think it's likekind of one of the best quality
(18:10):
cakes out there and they'vealways felt so homemade.
So she has her famous chocolateand banana cake and I think, in
terms of collaboration, the onething like I would really
advise people, no matter whatage you are, is just reach out
like you don't lose anything.
You might get a million ignores, but then you also get guesses
along the way and like thosekind of are like are so worth it
(18:34):
, like get the 10 ignored emails, but then the one that actually
works, um, and I usually feelthe one that works out is the
one that's meant to be on yourpath, um, and with Rimi's Cakes
it happened exactly like that.
I was always a customer.
I reached out to her when Ilaunched, right before launching
the brand, and I I told her ourconcept and I said I would love
(18:54):
to make a scent thatrepresented your brand.
And I think what's been amazingfor Kodo is that we're able to
tap into the food and thewellness.
So with Rimi's Cakes it was thefood, and we created a
signature scent for her, calledChoco Bananaane, which is her
chocolate banana cake, and it'sjust amazing.
It smells like a fresh bananachocolate cake out the oven, but
(19:16):
without the sickly banana feel.
It's just like a hint of it,but a more.
It just smells like a bakedcake.
It's really amazing.
So that's how her collaborationcame about.
And then Matcha Union.
Obviously, because we haveMorning Glory, which is a
matcha-inspired scent, we wereable to collaborate with brands
like Matcha Union.
I love the founder she's like agood friend of mine now and we
(19:40):
do wellness events together.
So we usually host a Pilatesclass or a pop-up.
We make matchas for people, um,we let them smell the matcha
scent.
So it's all about creating andcurating an experience and
combining those elements of food, wellness and scent.
So no matter who we'recollaborating with, we'll always
(20:01):
make sure we're combining thosethree elements.
Um, so that's how match unionscollaboration came about.
Blank street was actually aninteresting one because they had
a christmas pop-up recently,and that's the power of scent
and personalization, becausewhen they were actually gifting
(20:21):
people and selling theirmerchandise, they used the
sprays on their tissue paper sothat people were able to like,
choose a personalized smell forthe gift that they were getting.
And I just think that's justsuch a beautiful interpretation
of what scent can do, which isthis element of personalization
and the special moment and theidea that you can gift it to
(20:43):
someone, create a memory from it, take it home with you, and I
think that is just such abeautiful way to you know, sell
the product.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
I love the idea of the Christmas sense.
It makes perfect sense and Ican't wait to actually try
Rimi's cakes, now that you'vetalked about it, you're getting
the whole thing next week, sookay.
So I want to my last couple ofquestions for you, for the
entrepreneurs out there.
What's the biggest lessonyou've learned over this journey
(21:13):
of building Kodo that you wouldlove to share with all of the
entrepreneurs that regularlylisten to the podcast?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
I think I mean there's obviously like so many
things I've learned.
But if I had to narrow it down,I think the main thing is, like
I mentioned earlier, just throwyourself out there.
It's something I've seen that'sjust really, really, really
worked in our favor.
I mean, we didn't even launch ayear ago, like we launched last
(21:45):
April, so it hasn't been a yearand I feel like we've been able
to grow in a very natural,organic way, because I've just
thrown myself out there, whetherit was asking friends to
support, whether it was emailing, cold emails, reaching out to
people a friend of a friend thatknows you know this brand or
this podcast and just reallyputting yourself out there, I
(22:08):
think will get you so far,because what do you have to lose
?
Like you might get thoserejections, but then you also
get those wins and you're ableto move forward and also forget
opportunity.
It's just it's so inspiring tomeet other people that are also
entrepreneurs, are working hardor you know you can inspire each
other, and I think that's sucha nice thing about social media
(22:31):
is you're able to meet so manypeople that are alike or
different but that are able toinspire you in some way, and
I've met such amazing people inthe last year.
So that would be my main adviceis just put yourself out there
and then, in terms of the actualbrand building, I think the
(22:52):
main thing I've learned is startdoing as much as you can on
your own, Like, if you can, ifit takes you an hour extra to
learn a new skill and thenimplement that, take that hour
extra and learn it, rather thanoutsourcing everything, because
there's a lot that you can learnand then later on, when you
(23:15):
hire, you're able to knowthey're doing it right, they're
doing it wrong.
You can pinpoint exactly howyou like it.
But I don't think it's healthyas a founder to go into anything
blinded.
I think you should know how todo everything so that you're
able to manage it later on.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
I think that's absolutely great advice.
Like, I really love that advice.
Both points that you made areincredible.
You know, reaching out out,learning it yourself.
I think these are, like keytools for entrepreneurs, truly,
um.
Okay, so I want to know for you, as Yasmin, what's your daily
scent ritual?
So, first of all, what's yourco-docent of choice?
(23:51):
I'm sure everyone's dying toknow.
Not that you could pick, butyou know, um, and you have like
a ritual.
Like, do you, for example, makesure your house is centered at
a certain time of day?
Is it sort of like that?
Like, do you have any tips forsomething, for a ritual,
creating ritual?
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I mean yes like.
This is my favorite questionbecause I'm all about rituals,
um, so in the morning, usually,like, I, like, I'm a big
believer in like as soon as youwake up, open your blinds, open
the window, just kind of getthat natural sunlight, that
fresh air.
So usually in the morning whenI do that, I'll always pray
morning glory um, that's ourmatcha one and it's just, it's
(24:30):
sweet, it's fresh and it's, forme, super energizing.
So I love spraying that in themorning.
Um, and then usually, like, itwill be followed by like I'll go
to the kitchen, I'll make amatcha, I'll just kind of sit
with myself without using yourphone, just have like 20 minutes
to yourself, even if it meanswaking up earlier.
I think the morning is sosacred.
(24:51):
So that's like the way I woulduse morning glory in the morning
and pick me up.
I actually don't use as much inthe home, but I use it on myself
.
So before leaving the house,before a workout or something,
I'll usually mix morning gloryand pick me up.
And that's my favoritecombination because you get a
(25:12):
bit of the green tea, coconutvanilla, which is fresh, but
then you get the dark chocolateand the chocolate hazelnut which
adds this kind of warmth to itso you smell.
You leave the house smellinglike edible.
Um, I get so many complimentswhen I when I wear those two, so
I would definitely do that Iwould use it on myself and then
(25:34):
in the evening, the way I woulduse by the fire is when I'm
preparing dinner.
I love cooking so, like, let'ssay, I'm cooking in the kitchen,
I'll always spray by the firearound the house, outside the
front door, just to make surethe house is always smelling
warm, elevated, cozy and you setthe tone for your evening.
(25:54):
I think the nicest thing to dois set the tone for your day,
set the tone for your evening,the tone for your evening.
I think creating an atmospherewhich you feel just comfort in
changes the way you feel withthe people you're around, with
yourself.
So usually by the fire isdefinitely our evening scent.
And also the notes in it iscaramelized sugar, amber,
(26:15):
cinnamon, cade wood, candiedlemon.
So all those notes are reallynice and actually neutralizing a
food smell.
It's like perfect.
If you're making fish, let'ssay yes amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I love that.
I'm so happy to do this.
You have the perfect ritual.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
You gave us the blueprint I could literally talk
you through this whole day.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
No, no, 100%.
And, honestly, my audienceloves the details, so this is
great.
My last question for you beforeI ask for your curation is
what's next for Kodo?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
So, kodo, in the bigger picture, I would love to
become your go-to homeware,finally enough, and I would love
to bring it back to interiordesign, and that's our goal in
the bigger picture.
So all our fragrances right noware made to make your day a
little sweeter.
And essentially, I would wantto add to this collection and
(27:12):
like we do have really excitingthings happening this year, okay
, perfect, I can spill the tea.
So we're launching next week aminiature collection.
Oh my god so cute.
It's amazing like I'm obsessedwith the bottles.
They look so cute, um, they'relike just little babies, um, and
like a baby bottle.
Of our 100 ml, they're all 30ml.
(27:34):
And then we also have a set, uh, which is kind of a discovery
set, which have all four of ourclassic flavors and then one
extra one which is a citrus one,and that is going to be our
summer scent, which will launchfull size in may.
And the citrus one is my newfavorite.
It's like a mandarin lemon,caramelized sugar, a touch of
(27:55):
black pepper.
It's like it's just the mostamazing scent, um, so that's
launching in march and thenwe're launching a really cool
collaboration scent in april.
Um, and yeah, these are likekind of the things in line right
now and we'll add to thefragrance collection throughout
this year.
And then, in the bigger picture, like mentioned, I would love
(28:17):
to go into homeware.
So once we have the fragrancecollection up and running, I
want to create things for yourhome, to make your home a little
sweeter.
So you have the fragrances andthen you have little curated
collections, so whether it's acup collection, a coaster
collection, a cushion collectionand just accessories to sweeten
up your home and then bring itback to that idea of interiors
(28:40):
and fragrance and, I guess, theblending of the two amazing,
really looking forward to all ofthat, especially the 30 mil.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
This is perfect for travel and, as someone who
travels a lot, like as manythings as I can fit in as
possible, that's amazing.
Um all, so I want to know.
Curated bias means.
This is the curation podcast.
What are things, little things,in your day that you would
recommend that elevate your day?
Obviously, one of your Kodosense is one of them.
(29:11):
So, yeah, what's your littlecuration that truly you would
recommend to the audience to theaudience.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I think first thing and I feel like people hear this
so much, so I'm I am like kindof cautious to say it, but
really it's meditation.
I know in the wellness worldthat's so spoken about, but it's
, it truly is for a reason.
I mean, I've been meditatingsince the age of 14.
(29:39):
And I I really can't imagine myday without it, I can't imagine
my life without it, and somemornings it's five minutes, some
mornings it's 15, but it justallows you that space to to
connect, to, like what am Ifeeling today?
Or, you know, sometimes to askfor guidance, whether you
believe in God or not, to beable to pray to something, or
(30:00):
just ask for support or guidanceor ease, for me is just like
such a powerful tool to be ableto tap into and understand
yourself better and the wayyou're feeling.
And so definitely meditation islike the main thing for me.
Um, I think any type of movement.
Um, I love a workout.
(30:23):
I, whether it's a quick walk inthe park, a pilates, um, if you
like, if your audience likesdetail, honestly, I love a legui
or I love a reformer a hundredpercent.
Yes, we are all about that okay,fine, so I'll give you the
detail.
I love a legui class a fewtimes a week because I feel like
it builds like amazing strength, um.
(30:44):
But I'm also quite petite, so Ifind the reformer Pilates,
let's say, once a week even justgives you this extra bit of
length 100% agree, totally, andour Pilates community is
extremely strong and they will.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They will listen to you on this one, okay fine.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
So definitely do like a classical reformer one to two
times a week and then a legree,let's say two times a week and
then on the other days.
I love a home kind of Pilatesyoga flow which I feel gives
just this extra length anddefinition to your body, and I
love Melissa Wood or BryonyDeary.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yes, bryony Deary, melissa Wood, and those are your
two that you use to do theat-home flows, right.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Exactly Like I usually do Melissa's meditation
every morning, and then Bryony Ilove her pilates workouts and I
love melissa's yoga workout.
So it really depends on whatI'm feeling, um, but that
definitely is like a big part ofcurated uh by yasmin in my day,
um, and then the other.
(31:54):
I guess the final thing isobviously kodo and then also
eating good food, and when I saygood food, I mean one food that
tastes good but that just alsofeels really good.
I think it's quite.
It gets quite mixed up thesedays because you have two
extremes.
You have people that are inwellness, let's say saying only
(32:15):
eat food that feels good, andthen that can either look like I
don don't know a salad or anacai or a lean protein, but then
you also have the other extreme, which is like eat whatever you
feel like and you know like beintuitive and have the burger
and have the pasta.
Yeah, for me it's finding thatlike happy medium, where it's
(32:36):
like I'm eating what makes mefeel good.
So let's say your smoothies,your salads, but also being
intuitive and thinking, okay,like I'll do.
I feel like a burger, I'll havethe burger, but I'll make sure
my breakfast and lunch is maybea bit healthier, includes more
vegetables.
I think you can't go oneextreme or another.
(32:56):
Then it's not healthy, but justeating what genuinely feels
good for your body and that youknow will be better for you in
the long run amazing.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Thank you so much, yasmin.
You've given us so many tipsand tricks and so much insight
into the world of fragrance andinto the world of kodo.
We can't wait seriously for theminis and all of the upcoming
events and incredible thingsyou're going to do, and thank
you for being on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to share themwith you.
I'm excited to share them withyour audience and, yeah, thank
you so much for having me thankyou for listening.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Make sure to follow at the curation pod on instagram
to stay updated with all of ourfuture episodes and curations
and, of course, make sure tocheck out at kodo london for all
of the future fragrancereleases, and I will see you on
our next episode.
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