Every village needs its local amenities, even the urban ones. Adding to a reputable cheese shop, fishmonger and bakery, London’s Marylebone High Street is now home to the city’s first eco-luxury boutique, devoted entirely to beauty. A far cry from any health shop or beauty hall, Content Beauty/Wellbeing is filled with elegant, all-natural beauty products for both men and women from all over the world.

From moisturisers to make-up, founder Imelda Burke has cherry-picked each brand for its ecological commitment and its stylish product design. Besides old favourites like Dr. Hauschka and Barefoot Botanicals, Content also stocks more obscure labels like British brand Pai skincare, Stem Organics from Down Under and the American company Tsi-La that creates organic perfumes.

For particularly sensitive skins, the boutique also offers a bespoke service where products can be created without specific ingredients. A strict policy has been applied to the brand selection process – no products that uses parabens or petrochemicals (or a further 25 unfavourable chemicals) get through the door.

In creating Content, Burke was bent on smashing stereotypes on all levels. While the boutique’s interior is indeed decorated with organic paint, recycled cardboard and found objects, Burke has opted for charming, vintage accents like botanical illustrations of flora and fauna, a chandelier from the 1950s and a hypnotising installation of hand mirrors on slick black walls.

A perfect place for us to try before we buy, we don’t think we’ll be doing much of our beauty shopping online anymore.