For two years we washed our hands at the same time as singing “Happy Birthday”, so as to achieve the optimum results in the battle against Covid. Now, I’ve always been someone that enjoys the process of washing my hands, creating the lather, and watching the bubbles leave my skin perfectly perfumed… and also clean. So, this instruction was very easy to follow. Since the world reopened for business, soaps and hand washes have remained an important part of our lives, more for reassurance than performance. However, it’s time to reintroduce some luxury into the bathroom courtesy of Jonathan Ward and Kartushya.
When I was growing up in the seventies and eighties every household had their favourite bar of soap. Shower gels were yet to dominate the supermarket shelves and so you had choices such as Pink Marble Shield, Pears, and the classic Imperial Leather. Now, from the early eighties onwards the popularity of showers increased dramatically and so did the products that went with this time-saving necessity. “The Luxury Shower Gel” was well and truly born. Bars of soap have continued to hold their own on the supermarket shelves, but there’s also place in every home for a creamy, perfumed handwash.
Jonathan Ward is a name that is connected with some of the UK’s finest independent candles, and his success is now truly worldwide. The fragrances have a strength and a body that is rare, more often candle scents are slightly thin, and it’s this complexity that Jonathan has continued throughout his collection. The candles eventually gave birth to a debut fragrance, Kansas, which was a celebration of us all coming through two years of separation from each other. Beautifully realised in a tornado-like bottle, it was the perfect coda to a period in time that will live in us all forever.
His latest Kartushya Hand & Body Wash also has a link to this period as well, and it’s something that you might not know about Jonathan Ward. His candle, Assassin Belarus, was actually the last physical beauty launch before the UK went into lockdown. Tuesday 17th March saw a practically deserted London preparing itself for restrictions that would come into force six days later, and so this launch really was a symbolic change in the way that companies would behave for the next two years. For many it seems like a lifetime ago, for others it feels like yesterday, but the handwashing focus is still as strong as ever.
Jonathan chose his Kartushya fragrance to launch his Hand & Body Wash Collection, and it’s easy to understand why. The scent combines a cognac and tobacco pairing with a bold shot of black pepper, but there also an aromatic quality that comes from touches of rosemary and lavender. However, the inclusion of earthy patchouli and dry cedarwood, all above a lush amber accord, provides a scent that is truly addictive. The actual wash also contains aloe vera and nettle leaf, so there’s a moisturising and antioxidant benefit, but the star really is the fragrance. With a large collection of candle scents available to him, which will be next?
Kartushya Hand & Body Wash is available from the Jonathan Ward website at thejonathanward.com priced at £41 for 450ml. [Sample provided by Jonathan Ward]
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