Yallop Bath & Body
Yallop skin care is based in Lincolnshire and is essentially a one- woman cottage industry. Nicola Yallop began creating her own handmade beauty products as gifts for friends and family whilst still at college. The popularity of these presents encouraged her to invest more time and money into developing a skin care range that she could create, market and sell from home. Nicola’s vision encompasses the need for natural ingredients and processes; a focus on an artistic representation of the product as a gift, and the determination to use recycled, and recyclable, packaging across the entire range.
The Yallop products include hand creams, bath soaps, balms and serums plus home fragrances. The Maychang hand cream is a Shea and cocoa butter that moisturises the skin and is paraben-free. It also contains sweet almond oil, vegetable glycerin and citric acid but it is the essential oil of Maychang that really provides the heavy, citrus aroma in this cream, whilst vitamin E Helps with cuticle and nail conditioning. The aroma felt a little heavy-handed at first but on absorption faded to a lovely, lemony scent whilst the cream absorbed nicely into the skin.
The Maychang was also the focus of the bath-bomb cup cake (£4.50) for this review. Whilst I can appreciate the craft that goes into making these, very cute, confectionery chameleons, I find myself somewhat at odds with putting a cup cake in my bath. It feels like you’re wasting food that should really be devoured lustily. But that’s just me. Still, after dropping it into a running bath, I returned to find the place smelling rather fine and had a very soothing soak indeed.
Whilst in the bath I had left the bedroom slowly enveloping itself in a scent of Japanese mist that emanated from a melting heart made of soy wax. Placed on top of an oil burner with an unscented tea light underneath, the heart melted slowly and filled the room with a blossom-like scent that certainly seemed to help me into a deep slumber. The gift packaging included in these products really do make these lovely handcrafted presents and at £8.50 won’t break the bank.
Overall this sample of Yallop’s products bodes well for its future, particularly with regard to the growing need for natural sustainability within the market place. The packaging is excellent and although some may find the bows and ribbons a little too girly for their tastes, many more will be seduced by its homespun chic. One could see Yallop skin care doing very well in the bathrooms of many a boutique hotel. Available at Yallop Skincare online.
