Meeting Faith Hill

Who

Myself and a group of North American beauty editors

What

The launch of singer Faith Hill's signature perfume, a sparkling new floral suitable for day or night. And yes, it smells just as pretty as she looks.

Where

A swanky (rented for the occasion) townhouse in NYC, buzzing with public relations reps, marketing managers, record company managers, agents and journalists.

42-year-old Faith Hill is no slouch when it comes to getting things done. In between a music career that's resulted in 5 Grammy awards, over 30 million albums sold worldwide and sold-out concert tours across North America, she's also an active mother to three children and wife to country music star Tim McGraw. Her date-book is even more hectic now she's stepped into the world of beauty.

Wearing a designer pink dress, Faith made an admirably stable entrance down a winding staircase in a pair of fabulously high shoes. ("I'm usually in sweats and jeans!" she told me later.) After a screening of the new perfume commercial and a sniff at the new juice, I was able to escape the media scrum in the main hall and step away with Faith for a quiet chat upstairs.

Q. You're an inspiration to women because it seems like you have it all: the career and the family. It's obviously not as easy as it looks.

A. It's not easy at all. What is easy, is that there's no choice between what comes first. My family has dictated how I schedule my music career, what I choose to do or not. Many working moms understand the juggle. I want to be a good wife and not neglect my husband, I've got three children demanding my attention and a demanding career that is now growing in a different way [with my perfume launch]. It's stressful! It's a lot on my plate.

Q. It's easy for things to look effortless from the outside.

A. I don't know that I try to make it look effortless. Finding balance is an every day adventure. I just try to do the best I can.

Q. How do you handle the stress?

A. This sounds so contrived, but it's how I feel: I try and get the most that I can out of each day. It's a simple lesson—I try to stay present in every moment, whittle out the noise and remember what I know is true. My family is healthy and happy and everything else pales in comparison.

Q. It's funny to hear a musician say she wants to cut out some of the noise in her life.

A. I'll tell you what the most stressful thing is for me—all the questions that come my way. I have to answer 100-200 questions a day from my kids, my husband and my colleagues—everything from what's for dinner to what album cover photo do you like best. It's overwhelming. I get kind of cranky when I'm so busy that I haven't carved out any time to put the brakes on and do things I enjoy that have nothing to do with work, like cooking.

Q. Could you have done this—created your own perfume—in your twenties or even thirties?

A. I don't think I would have known how, no. Sure, there are girls out there that are very capable of doing it that young, but not me. At this age, I'm confident and experienced and I've found the things that really work for me. Over the years I've figured out, hey, I only like one or two things and that's fine.

Q. So you weren't a big perfume collector beforehand?

A. No, my vanity isn't covered in bottles. There are just a couple, and the ones I wear, I've worn for years.

Q. Which are...?

A. Narcisco Rodriguez is a favourite of mine; I've worn that for a long time. I also love Jo Malone Red Roses Body Lotion. I put it on after a shower and wear it to bed. In the morning, the sheets smell like roses. My kids grab pillows from my room because they say they smell "just like me." That's what I was hoping to create with my perfume.

Q. Perfume and fragrance is so tied up in memory. Did your mother wear perfume?

A. No, she didn't. I just remember Johnsons & Johnsons lotion—if I smell that it takes me right back. I definitely wanted to do something that had a strong link to my home in the south—the magnolia trees and gardinias have such a distinctive, strong scent everywhere you go. I also wanted peony because they're so feminine and romantic.

Q. What was your final take on making a perfume? Is it something you're going to do again?

A. Definitely. I was amazed by the process, the technical side of doing it. All these different oils and tabs and colours—it was harder than putting a concert together!

Looking for more juicy perfumes? Check out the prettiest perfume bottles, lightweight scents for summer, and why it's ok to cheat on your perfume.

This article is original content on More.ca