To share a little of that magic we’ve rounded up some of our favourite home-grown British beauty brands – some newbies, some more established – from natural skincare to holistic haircare, punchy fragrances and supermodel-approved beauty.
Willowberry
Gloucestershire-based Willowberry skincare is loved by top make-up artists and facialists alike for its skin-enriching formulas. It’s packed with plant-based powerful actives and nourishing essential fatty acids, including rosehip, chia seed and vitamin E. The trio of natural products includes a cleansing balm, day cream and face oil at present, offering all the key foundations of your skincare routine, naturally.
100 Acres
The editorial team at GWG are big 100 Acres Apothecary fans. Based in the beautiful Cotswolds, the brand is inspired by ‘the natural beauty and botanical diversity of the English countryside’, packing in as many native herbs and botanicals as possible into its all-natural formulas. Each product is hand-blended in small batches, harnessing the natural therapeutic properties of the flora of the British Isles. Whether it’s a soak in the rose and lavender bubble bath, or a lather of the zesty lemon myrtle and grapefruit hand wash, this is a great British brand to discover.
Disciple Skincare
Hormonal breakouts? Stress-induced acne? DISCIPLE skincare was launched by psychotherapist, Charlotte Ferguson to truly ‘sort out stressed skin’. The clever formulas run more than ‘skin deep’, not just fixing the surface issues, but working internally too to improve how the body adapts to stress and works to rebalance those pesky hormones (hello cortisol) that affect our skin in the first place. Hand-blended, they use the finest raw botanicals, with prebiotics to nourish the skin’s good bacteria and enriching omega 6 oils to help balance out skin’s natural sebum levels and thus minimise breakouts. Clever, truly transformative skincare that really tackles the underlying cause of troubled skin.
Champo
Pronounced ‘Shar-pour’, this British independent haircare brand has its roots in Ayurvedic practices and its head (and manufacture) here in the British Isles. When Champo’s founder fell into a hair funk, she turned to her septuagenarian Indian grandmother and her luscious locks to find out the secret of hair health. Turns out the old ways are the best and the ancient Indian holistic healing system of Ayurveda was to thank for her healthy tresses. And so Champo was born. You can take the ‘Hair Dosha’ quiz online to find the right range for you, with each formula harnessing the ‘ancient wisdom’ of ayurvedic formulas, combined with cutting-edge tricology know-how.
Squish
Founded by British model, author and body positive activist Charli Howard, Squish has a fun, tongue-in-cheek, retro vibe. The Cheeky Cherry eye and cheek mask de-puffs tired eyes (while looking like gummy sweets), while the cute Flower Power Daisy patches are designed to draw spots out and help reduce inflammation. The price points are great for teens, while the inclusive campaigns, with their zero retouching policy, show real acne, scars and a ‘numerous skin colours, genders and ethnicities’. Currently with a limited range of products, keep Squish on your radar for new launches this year.
Five Dot Botanics
Five Dot Botanics was launched by Zaffrin and Brian O’Sullivan after they became overwhelmed with the 30 to 40 ingredients listed in their skincare. They set out to create a range that did ‘more with less’, using only five vegan, plant-based ingredients in each of the five products. Pared back and honest, Five Dot Botanics offers 100 per cent visibility and clarity for customers. Great for those keen to simplify their beauty regimes.
Floral Street
Floral Street’s founder Michelle Feeney’s CV reads like a beauty cabinet who’s who. She’s gone from the house of Estee Lauder to MAC to St Tropez, finally taking up the reins as CEO of PZ Cussons Beauty Division. Her 20-year career led her to launch Floral Street in 2017, ‘a modern British fragrance brand with sustainability and eco-responsibility at its very core.’ Inspired by modern, urban British women and the city of London itself, Floral Street fragrances are designed to be built into an entire fragrance wardrobe. With evocative scents, such as black lotus,‘the classic English-Rose dressed in a black leather jacket’, the library takes florals and toughens them up. A bit like the capital itself.
READ MORE:
7 Tips For Buying Beauty Online
6 Apothecary Beauty Brands
5 Beauty Bloggers To Follow
By Lydia Mansi
February 2020
