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G Baldwin & Co Pharmacy
This old-school apothecary, specialising in natural products from oils, balms to herbs, has been going on the Walworth Road since 1844. Swing by for top-notch dispensing advice and you might bump into long-time customers Michael Caine or Terence Stamp.
Best buy Six-bar soap-making mould kit £24.49.
171-173 Walworth Rd, SE17 (020 7703 5550/www.baldwins.co.uk) Elephant & Castle tube.

Geo F Trumper
Geo F Trumper is recognised as the finest traditional gentlemen’s barber in London. The original Curzon Street shop remains the same, with its exquisite mahogany-panelled cubicles and old-school grooming products.
Best buy Sandalwood Cologne £30.
9 Curzon St, W1 (020 7499 1850/www.trumpers.com) Piccadilly Circus/Green Park tube.
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Opera Opera
This tiny, slightly rough-around-the-edges, family-run business in Covent Garden still produces its Harpers range of eyewear that takes in NHS-style specs to glittering drag queen-inspired cats-eye frames. Opera Opera also offers bespoke frames and can even replicate that treasured pair of old glasses you’ve sat on one too many times.
Best buy Harpers frames £180.
98 Long Acre, WC2 (020 7836 9246/www.operaopera.net) Covent Garden tube.

Penhaligon’s
Tourists and Londoners alike find themselves drawn to this classic English perfumer, where fragrances are made with lily of the valley, lavender and bluebell. Not that Penhaligon’s varied stock list is preserved in aspic: a new generation of shoppers will love the pastel-coloured leather vanity and iPod cases (from £35).
Best buy Blenheim Bouquet £50.
125 Regent St, W1 (020 7434 2608/www.penhaligons.co.uk) Piccadilly Circus tube.

Miller Harris
Perfumer Lyn Harris accords scent its proper luxury status in her two stylish French salon-style boutiques. Knowledgeable staff will guide you to the family of scents you’ll like the best.
Best buy Noix de Tubéreuse £52/50ml.
21 Bruton St, W1 (020 7629 7750/www.millerharris.com) Bond St tube.

Nelsons Homeopathic Pharmacy
Founded in 1860, Nelsons has been the physical and spiritual home of homeopathic medicine ever since. Dr Edward Bach also began to sell his Bach Original Flower Remedies here in the 1930s and the store is full of evocative artefacts reflecting its history. Nelsons’ vast ‘potency bank’ of more than 2,000 homeopathic remedies is in steady demand, either over the counter or by mail order.
Best buy Pollenna hay fever remedy £4.20.
73 Duke St, W1 (020 7629 3118/www.nelsonshomeopathy.com) Bond St tube.

Afro World
On the busy junction between Kingsland High Street and Dalston Lane lies Afro World, the mythical-sounding beauty store packed with countless pots and bottles of specialist hair treatments, and wigs and hairpieces of every colour and style imaginable.
Best buy Jennifer Myers Hair Oil £9.99.
7 Kingsland High St, E8 (020 7275 8848) Dalston Kingsland rail.

Eco
Founded by Nicola Giuggioli with a little help from his sister Livia and her actor hubbie Colin Firth, Chiswick’s green-minded lifestyle shop was opened to prove that the ecologically sound can also look fantastic. The basement design consultancy advises amateur eco warriors, but if you’ve only a few quid to spare, pencils made from recycled CD cases are just £2.
Best buy Corrugated cardboard side table from £270.
213 Chiswick High Rd, W4 (020 8995 7611/www.eco-age.com) Turnham Green tube.

Howies
The sporty ethical brand’s first stand-alone store is fitted out with sustainable wood furniture and eco paints and issues e-receipts. Selling weird and wonderful recycled gifts (a belt made from a bike tyre, anyone?) alongside its comfy clothes for men and women, Howies is feel-good fashion.
Best buy DohBoy doll £25.
42 Carnaby St, W1 (0207 287 2345/www.howies.co.uk) Oxford Circus tube.

Bookshops | Fashion boutiques | Department stores | Erotica and Lingerie Gifts | Health & beauty | High street | Interiors | Jewellery | Menswear | Shoes Specialist | Sports & Technology | Vintage fashion | Shopping Awards 2008