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Perhaps it’s that King Charles III’s coronation has piqued interest once again in the British Isles, or that news is out about a new crop of products with global award wins, but talk about the best British beauty brands is rife once again in the beauty world.
That includes traditional brands such as Penhaligon’s which have been favoured by royalty for generations, and category-defining products from world-leading makeup artists such as Charlotte Tilbury.
Plus, if you live in the UK, purchasing from British brands can help the sustainability of your beauty routine – as long as the product in question actually benefits from local ingredients and manufacturing.
To help you discover the best beauty that Britain has to offer, these are the British beauty brands across skincare, makeup, bodycare and fragrance that the CF team deem worth adding to your routine.
A true demonstration of utilising the best of Britain's lush and fertile lands, Lord and Lady Newborough's 12,4000 acre Welsh estate is home not only to an organic farm; it's also where ingredients are freshly foraged for Rhug Estate's beauty line. That includes organic crops, wild nettles, spring water, honey and beeswax. There's also the new cleansing balm that you can trust to easily swipe away makeup, while leaving your skin soothed and nourished. It's enriched with antioxidant-rich wild berries from the estate.
Elemis is celebrating 20 years of its iconic Pro-Collagen range and there's plenty of reasons why the British brand's classic cleansing balm is still winning awards to this day. The blend of nine essential oils makes the lightest work of even waterproof mascara and longwear foundation. Plus, one sniff of its calming aroma is enough to transform your bathroom into the bliss of a mini spa experience. If fragranced products aren't for you, the unscented version is just as effective at melting away makeup.
Manufactured in a factory surrounded by the rolling hills of Wales and powered by founder Georgie Cleeve, who has an impressive ability to make the scientific magic behind her products easy to understand, there's plenty to get excited about within Oskia's product range. This rejuvenating facial oil is our pick, mainly because it is like a convalescence trip to the coast for your face – it wraps your skin up in a gentle hug of plumping botanical extracts, including African Acmella, lupin and sea fennel.
Within the UK, Boots' No7 range probably needs no introduction – there's no product offering quite like it that still has the power to generate queues on high streets and crash websites on launch days. The latest innovation also doesn't disappoint, powered once again by a partnership with the University of Manchester. The hero ingredient is a peptide technology – fragments of amino acids to 'trick' your skin's natural healing process into action – and the serum has been tested on 4,000 women, with visible decreases in skin damage and wrinkles within four weeks reported.
Charlotte Tilbury changed the makeup game and arguably helped facilitate the biggest trend of the decade – 'no make-up make-up', with the launch of globally-renowned nude lipstick, Pillow Talk. It's well-known for providing a universally flattering neutral shade, while the classic priming moisturiser, Magic Cream, is similarly award-winning, with a cult celebrity following. Using the code REDCARPET currently gets you 20% off across the site.
A celebrity makeup artist so legendary in the beauty space, and especially backstage at Fashion Month, that the industry have nicknamed her 'Mother'. If you're looking for longlasting high-pigmented makeup, Pat McGrath Labs is the pinnacle. This comprehensive eyeshadow palette continues to get our beauty editor's heart racing; it's the perfect combination of shimmer and smoky mattes to define any makeup look.
If you don't like wearing too much makeup or carrying around a massive cosmetics case, run don't walk to buy some of Trinny Woodall's clever creations. The Lip2Cheek colours are category-leading when it comes to multitasking products: you can swipe them across your lips, cheeks and even eyes, with shades that have been recommended using AI technology to ensure you get the perfect colour to lift and brighten. It's no wonder the brand is now one of Europe's fastest-growing beauty companies. Plus, there's brilliant skincare too.
Considering the Citizen Femme team and our readers are constantly travelling for business, we have high standards when it comes to products that promise to perfect your makeup on-the-go. Stick-based formulas are our recommendation, as they also mean you don't have to worry about your liquid limit going through security. PIXI's creamy blush tint certainly makes the grade. It provides a natural-looking glow that instantly banishes the first signs of tired skin.
Penhaligon's fragrances have long been fit for royalty, in fact the British perfumer has two Royal Warrents to its credit, but this particular fragrance has an extra special royal link. It was created in partnership with King Charles III, when he was the Prince of Wales, and is designed to capture the scent of one of his favourite residences, Highgrove. Even more impressively, it utilises a new scent technology that can accurately recreate the smell of the flower-packed fields without having to pick the flowers.
There's a reason so many taste-making brides decide to wear Jo Malone on their wedding day, Red Roses Cologne being a particular favourite. The scents are known for enduring on the skin and they are noticeable but not overpowering, so you'll get lots of compliments without making a perfume-based scene. This rose scent specifically, with a blend of seven types of roses, still feels modern due to the energising zest of lemon and crushed violet leaves.
When Nicola Elliott was working 60 hour weeks as a journalist, she noticed the overwhelming effects of stress on her and her friends, and decided to do something about it. She retrained as an aromatherapist, and the result was her joy-inspiring 100% natural wellbeing brand and candles that just call out to be lit. There are options for better sleep, less stress and more energy – all made from natural vegetable wax and essential oils proven to improve mood.
Such is the regal allure of British fragrance brand Floris that its White Rose scent was said to be one of Queen Elizabeth II's favourites (alongside Guerlain's L'Heure Bleure). The classic scents, which are designed to be unisex, are still sold from the original shop on London's Jermyn Street and there's also an opportunity to create your own signature fragrance there too. It makes the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one.
ESPA is one of the leading spa beauty brands in the world, let alone the UK, and you just have to open the lid of this body oil to understand why the full range is stocked by wellness alcoves across the globe. The British brand manages to effortlessly bottle relaxation within its potent blends, which contain oils such as myrrh, sandalwood and frankincense, each clinically-proven to calm stressed minds.
Bamford's classic hand wash brings a much sought-after sense of luxurious sophistication to your bathroom – whether you live in a busy city or a sprawling country abode. Carole Bamford's organic and sustainable beauty range also has an uncanny ability to nourish your mind as well as your body, so it's no surprise the brand is increasingly stocked in spas worldwide too. That includes at one of our favourite cosy Cotswold boltholes.
Another example of the power of Britain's heritage beauty companies, Molton Brown has been delighting with its bath and body range since it was started out of a hair salon in London in 1971. Still as giftable as it was back then, you can always expect a great lather and a similarly mood-boosting scent whichever of the company's expansive offering you decide to try.
A relaxing bubble bath is our beauty editor's best piece of advice to soothe jet lag, and the formulas of Neal's Yard Remedies are all-but-guaranteed to send you into a peaceful slumber. The brand has been harnessing the power of Britain's organic herbs, botanicals and essential oils for over 40 years, including from around the company's eco-factory in Dorset.
You may not give much thought to why your classic hairbrush looks like it does, but you have Mason Pearson to thank for it. The ultimate heritage addition to your dressing table, this British brand is regarded as the creator of the first ergonomic brush, and it’s still loved for its scalp-stimulating bristles and bouncy cushioning that avoids a harsh scratchy feeling. It’s available in travel-size too.
When Beauty Pie launched, it broke the beauty mould with its subscription-based service that gives you access to products at a super-accessible cost price. Now the Super Healthy range spans skincare, bodycare and haircare, with these latest brushes meaning you can experiment with ways to revitalise your hair without breaking the bank. Beauty Pie certainly demonstrates some of the best of British innovation.
Need nourishing care for curly hair or afro? British haircare has been behind some of the most exciting innovative formulas of recent times, so there’s a wealth of options. Don’t overlook leading hairstylist Charlotte Mensah’s line or Boucleme’s joy-inspiring curl routine. But, if you have to choose just one, Dizziak’s iconic deep conditioner is the done-in-one product that will breathe new life and bounce into your coils.
One of the leading lights of British hairstyling, and the loveliest guy to boot, Adam Reed’s new Covent Garden salon is the hottest ticket for your next haircut. Then, to make sure your hair stays looking especially swish-worthy between appointments, the stylist’s vegan everyday shampoo provides an impressively gentle yet moisturising clean.
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Lead photo credit: Rhug Estate
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