Highborn London

Skincare Born in a Chemotherapy Ward.

Tracey Broadway was 34, mid-chemotherapy for breast cancer, with skin in roughly the state one would expect, when she took a look at the available aftercare and thought — well, that's a rather bleak shelf, isn't it. So she and her partner Henry Baker simply made something better: 100% natural, organic, no parabens, no sulphates, no animal testing — all the things one quietly hopes to find on the back of a bottle. Five months after finishing treatment, Tracey ran the London Marathon. For breast cancer research. As you do. She hasn't really stopped running them since, and a slice of every purchase keeps the cause funded.

The catalogue, in fairness, does what it says on the rather elegant tin. The Crystal Cleanser and Diamond Toner handle daily maintenance. The Imperial Eye Gel — and this is the slightly astonishing bit — has accumulated over 2,600 five-star reviews for doing something properly useful about under-eye chaos. The Four Phase Day & Night collection sits on 4.86 stars across 4,600+ reviews, which is the sort of number that does rather make one pay attention. There's a plant-based retinol alternative (the Bakuchiol Youth Elixir), an SPF 30 moisturiser bristling with green tea, spirulina, and pomegranate, and — for the gentlemen — an Imperial Moisturiser for men. The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Independent, and the BBC have all written it up. Partly for the products. Mostly, one suspects, for Tracey.

For more pieces from independent makers, browse our Cosmetics collection or discover home-grown design through our British Makers selection. Find brands chosen for what they stand for via Shop by Purpose, find considered presents in our Gifts for Her edit, and find brands chosen for how they make things via Sustainable Brands.