Rites: top beauty picks for the design-conscious in 2018

The Gentle Label’s line of multi-functional house cleaning products is your choice for a spotless home free of chemicals and allergens. Made of natural, organic ingredients, the tight edit of a dish soap, laundry liquid and multi-surface cleaner minimises your consumer choices, freeing space from your cleaning storage cabinet. They are all highly concentrated to last, with biodegradable certificates from the Soil Association, without compromising on looks. Available at Content Beauty.

Writer: Sotos Varsamis

George Bamford has opened the first stand alone Bamford Grooming Department Store, to add to the three existing Bamford brand locations across London. Nestled at 33 Threadneddle Street, on the outside of The Royal Exchange, this dedicated shop is home to the collection of men’s grooming essentials. A traditional listed façade conceals a sensitively renovated boutique, which started life as an 1850s tobacconist. A spiral staircase loops up towards a double-height ceiling, while a secret lower ground floor area is the perfect place for quiet, one-to-one appointments and selected pop-up partnerships.

This elegant outdoor shower by Belgian architect Hans Verstuyft got us thinking about what else we might need for a spot of sun-soaked loafing. Hair often gets forgotten, but Oway, a new Italian botanical hair brand, is providing us with many new favourite staples, including its Sun Protective Elixir. There’s also the detergent-free New Wash by Hairstory, Davines’ replenishing Su Hair Mask, and Frédéric Malle’s hair mist, newly available in cult scent Portrait of a Lady.

Sun Protective Elixir, €32, by OWay. New Wash, £44, by Hairstory. Su Haur Mask, £20, by Davines; ‘Portrait of a Lady’ hair mist, £125, by Frédéric Malle, both from Liberty. ‘Galles’ towel, £115 for two, by Society Limonta. ‘Grace’ shower, €5,980, by Hans Verstuyft, for Purificare-Us. ‘Mind the Step’ wallpaper, £100 per sq m, by Christian Benini, for Wall & Deco, from West One Bathrooms

Photography: Jack Wilson. Writer: Emma Moore

Seven years since debuting its avant-garde perfume brand, Oliver&Co has opened its first flagship shop in Madrid, which from now and on, will be its only retail outlet in the world. Founder Oliver Valvere, loyal to his uncompromising and renegade profile, collaborated with interior designer Nacho Amago to craft a space that has nothing in common with any other conventional niche perfumery, but reminds more of an underground dark-industrial electronic club, referencing Oliver’s background as a DJ and sound engineer. The use of rough unrefined materials like concrete and metal in contrast to soft black drapes together with sound, strong backlight graphics and cosmic imagery draws the vistor’s attention to the fragrance itself and the perfumer’s olfactory alchemical transformations.

Writer: Sotos Varsamis

The Anya Hindmarch Smells candle range which launched last year has expanded, with the addition of three new fragrances. This time, Hindmarch was inspired by often overlooked, yet familiar scents, re-interpreting them in her signature eccentric style as high-end perfumes for the home. Lip Balm is a lush fruit with notes of cherry blossom, plum, jasmine and iris to remind us of our first kiss. Toothpaste is a fresh herbal mix of mints, menthol and fruits to evoke the familiarity and cosines of those nights spent curling on the sofa. While sun-dried, laundry-inspired Washing Powder is an ozonic floral with violet, pine needles, cucumber and watermelon. All three candles come adorned with her signature cartoon style.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis

Charcoal Aura Anti-Pollution facial mist, by Guy Morgan

Studio Guy Morgan is keeping up with the tradition of East London’s hot houses and famous nursery gardens to offer a range of gender-neutral products made in small batches locally with natural ingredients. Its latest release is a contemporary urban lifestyle accessory to moisturize and protect on the go. On a base of Bulgarian rose water, a blend of anti-oxidant ingredients shields your skin against damaging pollution and creates a mist of reflective calmness around you. For extra protection is infused with some Somerset sourced charcoal known for its property to remove and eliminate toxins.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis

With our ever-increasing demands for natural beauty products, newly launched skincare brand MALĀKO is sure to satisfy them, with a wellness-based approach to skincare. Established by Kanchalika Stephenson and informed by Thai holistic medicine, MALĀKO utilises 17 natural therapeutic ingredients and vitamins to uplift both inside and out. Three soul-soothing goods and an ‘Essentials Kit’ make up the current Skin to Soul collection. Produced in the UK in small batches to preserve potency, the packaging, meanwhile, is devised by London-based studio Loolaa Designs. Featuring key ingredients, including stress-reducing lemongrass and soothing May Chang, the concoctions deeply hydrate dry winter skin, while their zesty scents recall of Thailand’s lush climates.

Writer: Jessica-Christin Hametner

It’s been a while since Aesop threw its hat into the ring with new skincare offerings, and with the imminent launch of In Two Minds, it isn’t doing so lightly. It has taken three years of research led by Aesop’s Innovation and Research Manager, the impressively qualified British-based Rebecca Watkinson to come up with a three-step regime that addresses adequately and comfortably the needs of complexions that exhibit dehydration (typically across the cheeks) and excess oil (typically in the t-zone). The Facial Cleanser does the hard graft, taking away oil with disrupting the balance, and a soothing Facial Toner if followed by the Facial Hydrator, which combines Andiroba and Copaiba and Acai oils, for a nourishing but unclogging finish. With tantalising textures, it’s a range that’s sure to be popular, whether an oily t-zone is your bag or not.

Writer: Emma Moore

Four years ago beauty innovator Foreo was a dental care game changer by redesigning the electric toothbrush from scratch. Now it has pushed its own boundaries even further with the new upgraded version, ISSA II. From the outside it features the same high-tech design like the previous model, incorporating a PBT polymer and medical grade silicon brush-head that won’t harbour bacteria and promises to last at least six months. But ISSA II is twice as powerful providing 11,000 high-intention sonic-pulse microsweeps per minute, 16 easily adjustable cleansing modes and this time, won’t need charging for a whole year. Just smile freely and make sure you remember where you keep the charger.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis

Kindred spirits Ben Gorham and Virgil Abloh have joined forces on a multi-disciplinary collection of fragrance, denim, t-shirts and handbags called ‘Elevator Music’. Inspired by the soundtracks that are intended for passive listening, the dynamic capsule range explores the idea of luxury goods in Off-White’s distinctly tongue-in-cheek way. To match, Byredo has designed a subtle, yet captivating scent to serve as a backdrop for daily life. An elegant mix of midnight violet, bamboo, jasmine petals and burned wood, the fragrance is available in perfume, hand cream and hair perfume forms.

Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Stockholm based Ref Hair care puts simplicity and sustainability at the forefront of its ethos. Self-branded as making ‘natural beauty by Swedish standards’ its range is 100 per cent vegan, organic and made with the intention of celebrating beauty from all cultures and backgrounds. Aptly named the ‘Wonder Oil’, its signature product – with subtle yet exotic twists of coconut and rum – promises a silky, nourishing effect without the need for silicone and other undesirable additives. Armouring hair with UV and free radical protection, the serum is reinforced with quinoa protein to strengthen and a combination of marula, jojoba and sunflower seed oils to smooth and reign-in stray hairs.

Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

Set up by daughter and father Bessie and Richard Austin, eco gurus and art addicts will find their skincare match in Norfolk-based beauty brand Austin Austin. Comprising six certified organic products formulated without GM ingredients, silicones or artificial colours, the collection caters to skin, body and hair, among them a fragrant bergamot and juniper shampoo and conditioner made with plant and olive extracts. Goods are filled with essential oils that deeply nourish the skin and respect the environment, as each is suitably contained in 100% recycled packaging, adorned with illustrations by fine artists such as Christian Newby. With minimalist good looks and deeds, Austin Austin elevates the green market by bringing an air of sophistication to high-performance skincare.

Writer: Jessica-Christin Hametner

Launched at London Fashion Week 2018 in partnership with Roland Mouret and Peter Pilotto, the new S/S18 Kure Bazaar collection is a model fit for the fashion and eco-conscious. With 90 per cent of ingredients deriving from natural sources and the all-important ‘10-free’, the polish brings nature to nails without skimping on performance. Kure Bazaar is both vegan and free from animal testing, sourcing Vitamin E and Bamboo to strengthen and repair nails. The latest colour collection is comprised of 4 shades, from the statement ultra-violet ‘Catwalk’ to the natural and muted ‘Rose Snow’. Boasting durability, longevity and squeaky-green values, Kure Bazaar is forming part of the evolving conversation about ethical fashion.

Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

In a bid to turn back the clock, Dr Loretta Skincare keeps skin unexposed from the elements to reveal its youth. The newly launched brand was developed by patient-doctor duo Dr Loretta Ciraldo, a sought-after board certified dermatologist with over 40 years of experience, and Myriam Zaoui Malka who boasts over 20 years of expertise in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, nutrition and aromatherapy. Formulating products that target the four external factors they found to cause 85% of damage to the skin – pollution, light, climate and irritants – the co-founders infused their goods with ‘inactive’ ingredients, which do not irritate the skin. Instead, each contains high concentrations of medical-grade actives, therapeutic essential oils and effective botanical ingredients, all protecting the skin’s pH and microbiome.

Writer: Jessica-Christin Hametner

Dubbing itself ‘a revolutionary French cosmetics Maison, with a concern for the environment and humanist values’, La Bouche Rouge is a quite the mouthful. It creates the desire to buy less, by buying better – helping the environment, and in turn, the amount of uneccesary products in your bathroom cabinet. The lipstick case, a fine calf-leather ‘piece of art’, is produced in one of the most prestigious tanneries in France, according to skilled methods kept secret through the generations since 1842. On request in the Atelier, a specialised craftman will also engrave your initials onto the leather. Six new colour tubes debuted at New York Fashion Week, devised by make-up artist Wendy Rowe. Among them, a poppy hue inspired by the canvases of Andy Warhol, a 70s, slightly orangey red — think all-American, Pepsi Cola and roller disco and an ultra-pigmented brown red.

Writer: Elly Parsons

What if you could banish all those bottles from your bathroom cabinet – the one that depuffs your eyes, the one that brightens your skin, the one that irons out wrinkles – and replace them with just one serum? A number of beauty entrepreneurs have launched single cure-all serums to the market. In a bid to uncomplicate her skincare regime, Napa winery owner April Gargiulo founded Vintner’s Daughter and developed the multi-correctional Active Botanical Serum. It quickly gained cult status. Vanderohe’s No.1 Nourishing Face Serum and The Beautiful Oil by Kjaer Weis are two more with similar intent. We’ve looked into the growing choice of complexion panaceas, and found a few worth clearing our shelves for.

Pictured, from left, EGF serum, £125, by Bioeffect. Active botanical serum, £175, by vintner’s Daughter. Cryo energising face serum, £140, by 111Skin. Super Seed facial oil, £70, by Votary. The beautiful oil, £180, by Kjaer Weis. No.1 nourishing face serum, £88, by Vanderohe. Nutrient Concentrate skin smoothing, £93, by Susanne Kaufmann. Supreme Maintenance Youth serum, £215, by Dr Sebagh

As originally featured in the March 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*228)

Writer: Emma Moore

Forming part of Caci Clinic’s new skincare range, Ki sunscreen was created with the unforgiving New Zealand sun in mind. Offering vital skin protection from the consequences of sun exposure, the product is appropriate for all skin types, including those prone to acne and heightened skin sensitivity. Made from recyclable packaging, Ki is fragrance and synthetic free, functioning as an effective antioxidant and to repel the impact of harmful UVA and UVB rays and free radicals. Other benefits include minimising pore visibility, preventing accelerated ageing and oil control through the powerful ingredient, Matmarine. Ki Sunscreen leaves skin feeling smooth, matte and primed to confront the elements.

Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

This therapeutic object was conceived when ideas from French design studio Smarin and the Observatory of Alternative Medicines merged. The Sifflu Peace Pipe places emphasis on the mechanism of breathing, encouraging the user to lengthen breaths and draw strength from the diaphragm. The device aims to banish negative habits by reverting back to natural respiratory function without mental or environmental interruptions. In diverting attention to self-awareness and mindfulness, stress-induced tension can be released and a more effective posture acquired. Through a particular technique, the pipe can also be used to diffuse essential oils within a space. With a slim shaft of gold-flashed copper finished with silicone tips, Sifflu’s design is sophisticated and distinguished, forming an elegant accessory in its own right.

Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

Using the universal language of colour, a new niche beauty brand called Prismologie combines the highest quality ingredients with the healing benefits of gemstones and crystals. Its latest release – six remedy balms that correspond to the meridian channels of the body – introduces the ancient wisdom of Eastern medicine to our everyday beauty routines. Intended to rebalance and assist natural wellness, each balm has a different function according to its colour: white diamond and platinum for purification, green jade for restoration. Packed with a lot of heart in small, travel-friendly bottles, Prismologie balms provide ‘instant’ therapy, whenever the occasion might present itself.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis

Living as we do, in a time where products come with planned obsolescence, how refreshing to celebrate Claus Porto’s 130 years of making ultra-luxe soaps and body-care with a beautiful publication. The book’s designer – Andrew Howard – leads us through the pages, delving into all aspects of this design-forward brand’s jazz age packaging, and going behind the scenes of its production processes. If you are an aficionado of the Portuguese pine, eucalyptus and juniper scented soaps and joyful belle époque wrappings, this book is for you.

Writer: Angela Gokani Brasier

The Japanese don’t traditionally do perfume, but the nation seems to be having a moment in western perfumery circles. Previous borrowings favoured cherry blossom, but lately it’s the aromatic citrus plant yuzu that has hooked the likes of Buly 1803, whose Eau Triple Kiso Yuzu features yuzu, mint and Japanese laurel, and Maison Kitsuné, which has worked with British perfumer James Heeley to launch Note de Yuzu. Aesop, meanwhile, has launched Hwyl, which takes inspiration from the woody aromas of a walk through a 300-year-old Hiba forest in Japan.

From left, Eau Truple Kiso Yuzu, €130 for 75ml, by Buly 1803; Hwyl, £85 for 50ml, by Aesop; Note de Yuzu, £90 for 50ml, by Heeley Parfums, for Maison Kitsuné, from Liberty.

As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*225)

Writer: Emma Moore. Photography: Philippe Fragnière

Proverb is the new, organic male skincare range formed by power couple Kirstie and Luke Sherriff, who met while studying at Oxford University. The influential skincare consultant, and former Harlequins RFC player joined forces to employ their extensive knowledge of elite nutrition to a concise line of skincare and supplements to aid wellbeing for the active man. To accompany the products, the duo has created an app to personalise routines and monitor progress. Self-styled as the ‘skincare equivalent of going to the gym’, Proverb maintains that all components of the body are interlinked: skin, diet and mentality. The proof is in the proverb: ‘You only get out what you put in’.

Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

‘Ex-Voto’ can be defined as a material manifestation of a miracle given to a saint or divinity. A new iteration of the idea – the ‘Ex-Votos’ candle collection from Cire Trudon, modelled after an artifact discovered in Syria currently housed in the Louvre – is instead intended as an offering to a friend, your home or the one you love. The wax candles, available in a number of muted colourways, can be tendered for protection, for gratitude or simply because they are beautiful. By turning a sacred relic into an everyday object, the legendary candlemaker reminds us that we don’t have to look far for miracles; we can find them closer to home.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis

Among the many different facets of the female disposition that both beguile and befuddle, the impact of the hormonal cycle is probably the most mystifying of them all. The all-natural skincare label Amareta seems pretty close to cracking the code. Made without synthetic fragrances, hormone-disrupting chemicals, synthetic preservatives and harsh acne treatments among others, Amareta embraces the natural rhythm of a woman’s hormonal make up, whether it’s the usual 28 day monthlies, pregnancy, or general dips in hormone levels that result in dull or dry skin. With offerings including skincare, bodycare make-up, all filled with botanical actives and elegantly packaged to match, each product is as luxurious as it is efficacious to use.

Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

London-based design agency Morrama has launched its first solo project, the Angle Razor. A contemporary version of the traditional straight razor, it aims to bring back the pleasure of the wet shave ritual in the era of complicated smart shavers and disposable shaving cartridges. The well balanced, carefully articulated angle promises the utmost control and safety, and is made from anodised, long-lasting aluminium. The Angle offers the precise shave of a professional barbers, echoed in its clean, sharp design.

Writer: Sotirios Varsamis