Body beautiful

PG&H reveals what’s currently trending, what’s on its way for the second half of the year. collection that supports and highlights the plight of British bumblebees,” Lesley explains. “Busy Bees provides the benefits of honey without including any actual honey, formulated with honey-inspired extracts and fragrances. With a donation from every purchase going directly to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust we are taking steps to give our customers choices that align with their wishes.”

With so much media coverage given to wellness, the sector has really come into its own over the past few years, with people not only looking to buy sustainable products but also those that are free of harmful parabens and sulphates and have added health benefits, with the demand for vegetarian and vegan-friendly formulations continuing to increase.

“Our customers are searching for extra wellbeing benefits in their bath and body products, over and above cleansing and

Fun And Functional

moisturising,” concurs Heathcote & Ivory’s creative director Lesley Aaronson. “We have therefore responded with the launch of a collection, aptly named Flower of Focus, that features cutting edge fragrance innovation to boost energy,”

She adds that with more and more people caring about the environment, and their relationship with the natural world, their customers are continuing to make thoughtful choices. “As a vegan brand, we have responded and launched a vegan honey

“The societal progression towards more mindful lifestyles, seems to be driving consumers to make more ethical purchases,” says Laura Kavanagh, co-founder of GOTY award winning Go La La!

“We want our products to amuse and entertain, but also to reflect the ethical values of ourselves and our customers. Apart from sourcing responsible products, we now work with climate positive company Earthly to invest in green projects and become a carbon neutral company. Our recently launched Funny Smells fragrance sticks and bath mitts have proven to be a great success alongside the rest of our Filthy Gorgeous range,” confirms Laura, “with more soap designs coming up this year, plus the re-launch of our Smelly Balls bath bombs and some other filthy fun!”

The company has also spotted a renewed excitement in people planning their bathtime ritual, driven by fewer people making the daily commute. “This led us to create a classic bubble bath, an enriched bath foam in the William Morris At Home Forest Bathing line-up,” highlights Lesley. “Fragranced with aromatic oils and phytoncides - wellbeing molecules from trees - it brings the regenerative benefits of forest bathing to self-care.”

Looking ahead to AW23, Lesley highlights that the William Morris At Home Peacock & Bird collection will feature bubble bath infused with orange and clove essential oils, in an ornamental, stone-finish glass bottle, with bubble bath also featuring in a Heathcote & Ivory Christmas gift set that elevates bathing to a fragrant candlelit ritual. “We are firm believers in the restorative power of a fabulous long soak with bubbles,” states Lesley, who adds that core body care is extending into products that target specific areas. “We have responded with a dedicated foot care cream and muscle rub set in our In The Garden range, and plan to add more targeted body care products,” she confirms.

At their customers’ request, Marmalade of London is transitioning from hand-wrapped recycled plastic tubes and pumps in its skincare range – co-ordinated hand and body wash and hand and body to lotion – to glass containers and pouches. “Because a lot of people gift Marmalade, we have relaunched the product lasting longer, plastic waste is also reduced. Plus foaming soap also biodegrades at a quicker rate than traditional liquid soap,” points out Sophie.

The company’s Woodbridge collection offers eight foaming soap fragrances, to include Crème Brûlée, Sicilian Lemon and Ocean Breeze,

Well, Well

Despite struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, almost one-in-four Brits have no plans to cut back on health and wellbeing/spa weekends. (Source: HyperJar) and nourishing natural ingredients for a home spa-like experience. “For instance, our body wash has mangosteen oil which is packed full of antioxidants, and prickly pear oil, which soothes sunburn and calms skin irritation. Customers are looking for that little bit extra, with niche ingredients that are beneficial to their needs. It’s a key buying decision factor, and one that’s going to grow.” the range to make it more gift-led, investing in finding really good quality glass,” explains Helen. “We’ve already transferred four items into glass with pouches and will be transitioning more over the coming months.” Looking ahead, the company will also be developing shampoo and conditioner to further expand the range.

“There is a drive towards natural, vegan, sustainable products which offer innovation, quality and value,” says Julie Holmes, founder of WildOlive. “Current trends are botanical, with fragrances and packaging which reflect this theme.”

Continues Julie:

Meanwhile, for those preferring a more traditional soap choice, Michel Design Works also offers triple milled soap bars, another environmentally friendly staple.

Wellness Joins The Line-Up

“The bath and body sector has grown up in many ways in the last few years,” states Lisa Swaine, founder of Bettyhula. “Consumers are more discerning, conscious of what goes on their skin and how it's packaged, and we’ve worked hard to answer today’s demands in this

Maison&Objet has confirmed the launch of a Well-Being&Beauty sector for its September 2023 edition, which takes place in Paris from 7-11 September. It’s a brand new area of the show, and will featured products for the body, mind and home.

“Enhancing the retail experience is at the heart of everything we do, with a large range of pick and mix products enabling customers to put together their own unique gifts. Extending this range is the focus of 2023, where we will be adding to our bath melts, soaps, bath tea bags, face masks, lip balms and innovative shower pods with a new exciting alchemy range to be launched for the Autumn.”

At Aromatize, marketing manager Sophie Aldred says that foaming soap has long been a popular choice over traditional liquid soap. “Two of our brands – Woodbridge and Michel Design Works - offer foaming soap which is thought to be more environmentally-friendly. The pump dispenses a rich lather straightaway, using less product and less water, making each hand wash better for the environment. In addition, due to area. For example, our Bath & Shower gift set not only has a Bettyhula super soft sponge that’s made from bamboo fibre, but the tubes in the set are made from sustainably-sourced sugar cane.”

Lisa adds that there is also a rising awareness of therapeutic essential oils

Meanwhile, another growth area, highlighted by Lisa, is waterless products. “One of our best-selling items is our talc-free dusting powder where we are currently developing a powder-based product. It will launch this summer and is quite unusual.”

At Mad Beauty, creative director Julia Cash points out: “Bath and body has always played a significant part in the Mad Beauty portfolio and we continue to cater for consumers needs by offering the bathroom beauty essentials that help create those ‘spa at home’ moments and aid self-care routines. Our new Spring/Summer Mystic Magic range includes bath salts, Feel Good Vibes crystal bath soap and a Gnome Matter What giftable bath and body set, as well as cute, compact gnome-shaped shower gel pods for self-care on the go.”

Julia highlights that AW23 will see Mad Beauty’s bath, body and beauty offering expand with an innovative line up of a new nostalgic range.

For gift retailers looking to expand their wellness offer, there’s sure to be a strong focus on self-purchase as well as gifting.

1: Wellbeing Pod With Essential Oils By F.Y.G

The Wellbeing Pod and 100% Pure Essential Oils range will positively enhance every day: helping one to de-stress, improve sleep, lift a mood, find balance and harmony, or just completely relax. Designed to diffuse the optimal amount of fragrance throughout the home, this beautifully crafted, sleek ceramic diffuser will work to not only improve your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, but also doubles as a stunning piece of minimalist décor.

F.Y.G

T: +44 208 914 7974

E: info@fyghome.com

W: www.fyghome.com

2: Luxury Handwash

Brand new from Meg Hawkins is the new Luxury Handwash Collection, each featuring original watercolour designs. Each handwash in the collection has been created with well-being in mind. Select a favourite Meg Hawkins design, or select a favourite fragrance, created using the finest, natural ingredients. Beautifully fragranced, sustainably made, and gorgeous packaging, each handwash will be kind to the skin and will compliment the home.

Meg Hawkins

T: 07811 672 460

E: hello@meghawkinsart.com

W: www.meghawkins.com

3: Fragrant Indulgence

The new collection from Manor House encompasses 28 fragrances to choose from – making it the company’s largest offering to date. All of the products are hand made in England. The pot pourris are designed inhouse using the finest botanicals available, fragranced using high quality oils then finished with individual flowers, petals and seed pods before hand tying every box and bag ready to display. The fragrance oils are great for refreshing pot pourri or for traditional and even electric oil burners and they remain one of Manor House’s top selling products. The full fragrance range is complemented by botanical candles, reed diffusers, diffuser refills, room sprays, drawer liners, luxury hand wash and moisturisers. The lotions are safe to the environment and not tested on animals.

Manor House Home Fragrance

T: 01359 250720

W: www.manorhousehomefragrance.co.uk

4: Life Changing Luxurious Soap

This handcrafted bar of natural soap changes lives. A vegan bar infused with pure essential oils that provides sustained employment, mental health and qualifications to people experiencing homelessness. This bar, Yin & Yang, is an activated charcoal and white kaolin clay swirled soap which smells like a rose lavender waterfall which is made up of premium plant oils. It’s a product handmade for the home, so people can rebuild theirs.

Labre’s Hope

T: 07518 021148

E: Aaron@labreshope.co.uk

5: The Gift Of Hope

This handcrafted soy wax candle represents hope. It’s a biodegradable glass candle infused with luxury which provides sustained employment, mental health and qualifications to people experiencing homelessness. As the two-wicks burn, notes of white florals, vanilla and coffee diffuse into the air along with hope that there is a brighter future tomorrow for those experiencing homelessness. It’s a product handmade for the home, so people can rebuild theirs.

Labre’s Hope

T: 07518 021148

E: Aaron@labreshope.co.uk