Neal’s Yard Remedies

A forerunner of the organic movement in the early 1980s, Neal’s Yard has retained a loyal following, despite competition from younger companies with similar ideologies. These days, the Covent Garden-founded brand has 10 shops in prominent shopping locations in London, including Upper Street, Spitalfields and both Westfields. Several locations are also home to luxury treatment rooms that offer a wide range of therapies. The prettily packaged products, in their distinctive blue-glass bottles to safeguard the ingredients, smell delicious without being overpowering.

Made in an eco-factory in Dorset, they run the gamut from lovely French soaps, hand washes and bath oils to sun creams, deodorants and essential oils, plus a mother-and-baby range. There’s also a dispensary for a huge range of dried herbs. Our top picks are the quick-absorbing Orange Flower Facial Oil, the Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture Cream, the gently foaming Palmarosa Facial Wash and the Melissa Hand Cream. The range of remedies designed to ‘feed the skin from within’ includes the Mahonia Clear Skin Formula, a tonic to be taken orally, and the Organic Beauty Oil, containing essential fatty acids to improve skin elasticity and hydration. There is also a men’s range: NYR Men. The products find the happy medium of still feeling premium (even Aesop doesn’t use glass bottles any more, while NY does), with prices that won’t break the bank.