Have you discovered True Beauty yet?
Have you discovered the world’s first does-what-it-says-on-the-tube-and-jar brand?
Or Tomato Tonic?… Or some melon, bakuchiol, and cucumber? Or broccoli seed oil? … Or some of Fatma Shaheen’s Cosmeneuticals?
Paradise Found? Have you ever run a bath of organic myrtle oil? You don’t know what you’re missing.
Luxury British self-care isn’t all about ESPA, Liz Earle, Emma Hardie, REN, Pai, Bamford and Charlotte Tilbury. Have you heard of Elan, Bramley, Dizziak, or Faace? … You should have or will do.
“Life is complicated. Skincare doesn’t have to be, “says FAACE founder, Jasmine Wicks-Stephens, “We inflict a lot of self-sabotage on our products. We offer the it-is-what-it-is world it does-what-it-says beauty.”
Londoner Lorreta De Feo’s “ultra-hydrating – no exceptions and no exclusions”- haircare range. “I created DIZZIAK because I needed it. I have around five different textures to my hair and I found conditioners either too weak or too heavy. I was duped by ‘snazzy’ descriptions and claims. I wasted so much money. That’s the reason the DIZZIAK branding is so succinct – I didn’t want any fluff or BS. I wanted t healthy products that really worked, that smelt beautiful, that looked great, felt great and that was accessible, I also wanted the brand to reflect my other passions – music, art, and fashion”.
Bramley was founded by Chloë Luxton in 2009. The beauty brand is inspired by her love for nature and the British countryside. Sakrd offers Superfood Organic Frenzy. Psychotherapist Charlotte Ferguson’s Discipline offers products like Drea Skin Retinyl. SBTRCT sells palm oil-free, plastic-free waterless products.
Business Park could be the new Grasse. London’s East End the new Provence. Leyton Industrial Estate could be the new go-to one-stop beauty stop and Putney Bridge is the best place to go for a tan.
What are the emergent British-born independent brands that makeup E-Beauty or UK-Beauty?
Britain offers the same amount of consciously sourced botanical actives, supportive anti-oxidants, adaptogens, potent transformative formulations, and the same brand pillars in their beauty and skincare products as anywhere else.
No country has a monopoly on exfoliation and rejuvenation.
Breakthrough brands are appearing all the time to follow in the footsteps of Yorkshireman Julian Kynaston’s “Illmasqua” cult-turning-mainstream make-up brand, inspired by the 1920s Berlin club scene “to reflect his passion for all things subcultural”. Soon Britain’s major exports could be “Electric Rhubarb”, “Dagger Rose Balm” and “Coconut Crumble” lip juice. The UK offers exciting new experiences in luxury skincare, makeup, wellness, and fragrances.
The Glowery’s founder, lawyer Roshanne Dorsett, enrolled in The International Organic Skincare Entrepreneur Program run by the accredited natural and organic cosmetic science school Formula Botanica. She learned how to safely, scientifically, and professionally make natural and organic skincare products as well as learning the business skills to start her own natural skincare brand. Make a coconut crumble superfood lip scrub and popularize Berry Fruit.
“The Glowcery products are made in our artisan lab in Bedfordshire. Coconut Crumble is based on my love of desserts! I wanted to create a product that smelt good enough to eat because it is used so close to the mouth. Made using raw coconut sugar, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil our Coconut Crumble is loved for its tropical scent and its effectiveness to gently exfoliate dry patches of skin, whilst softening and smoothing lips.”
Facialist Fatima Shaheen founded “Skin Design London”, fusing designer cosmeceutical expertise with cutting-edge science to deliver luxurious clinic-standard results at home. Australian ex-pat Micela Nisbet launched “Neighbourhood Botanicals” after a career as a rock music sound engineer. Ex-barrister Clare Price founded “Guava and Gold” which has a Paradise Found beauty bundle. “Gender equality is partly a business issue – it helps economies and communities too. My goal was to create an elegant, capsule collection of products with ethical credentials, inspired by heady reflections of the tropics and a desire to capture unforgettable, exotic holiday memories in a bottle. I aimed to create products that will transport you to a moment of sheer bliss that can be revisited again and again.”
Other Brit beauty brands with growing reputations are Arabella Preston and Charlotte Semler’s “Votary” with its famous broccoli seed and other plant oil range, Colette Newbury and Mark Curry’s Inkey, Karen Cummington-Palmer’s 79 Luxe, Fatima Shaheem’s Skin Design, Sister & Co (who sell myrtle body oil and Amanda Harrington – called by Vogue “the Michelangelo of tanning”. She patented “The Bespoke Body Colouring Technique”.
Mixing African Botanics and Yoruba culture with English aromatherapy in products like Idan Oil is Liha. “The concept of Asé is linked to communion with yourself and your personal energy, similar to the Eastern concept of Prana or Chi,” says founder, Liha Okunniwa.
Adds her co-founder Abi Oyepitan: ”All of our products are designed to enrich your life with a daily ritual of attuning to the symphony of your body and getting your energy, or Asé, where it needs to be, something our ancestors were truly passionate about. We embrace the healing alchemy of nature.”
Says Joanna Silva of “Elan”, a British brand made by women for women with a range including Melon, bakuchiol, and cucumber: “We do not follow trends. We develop products that truly perform. It takes countless tests, and months of relentless work to come out with something our customers love and appreciate, Elan Skincare was the realization of my dream to find a way to elevate, empower, and nourish women. I aim to build a women-led, independent skincare brand that is trusted and loved in the UK and beyond.”
