As England puts itself back together after the riots. I thought I’d celebrate Great things about England in Perfume Junky. Yardly is one of England’s oldest and most successful perfume companies.
1770s
The Early Years
In 1770 the Cleaver family founded what is known today as Yardley London, which would go on to be one of the most successful soap and perfumery houses in the UK. Inspired by England’s diverse and varied flowers, we have remained we have remained committed to discovering fragrances using natural ingredients such as our signature scent English lavender, which continues to be at the heart of Yardley London’s ranges.
This era got stereotyped as lavender and old lace, but I actually really like it. I think fashion has gone back a little to this in 2024.
Notably, the 60’s and 90’s saw trends to bring Yardley up to date with Twiggy, Supermodels and Yardley House.
1931
A Move To Yardley House
Yardley moved to the brand new Yardley House at 33 Old Bond Street in 1931, featuring retail store and beauty salon. However, declaration of the Second World War would hit Yardley hard, as output in the Yardley factory was cut to 25 per cent of pre-war figures thanks to a Limitation of Supply Order, but paradoxically, sales of lipstick soared.
1960s
Twiggy – The Model Of The Moment
With London at epicentre of music and fashion during the Swinging Sixties, Yardley was at the forefront of the cosmetics movement, with Britain’s most successful model, Twiggy, fronting advertising campaigns featuring Twiggy Lashes.
1970s
Formula 1 Grand Prix
In 1972, Yardley sponsored the McLaren team in the Formula 1 Grand Prix, with cars emblazoned with gold ‘Y’s’ in support of Yardley’s new range of men’s toiletries.
1990s
Yardley Hits The Catwalk
In 1996, Linda Evangelista became the face of Yardley in one of the biggest TV beauty campaigns of the nineties.
Yardley obviously has great advertising vision.
Really glad as it has kept the product alive.
Now it has gone back a bit to its twee roots, I’m really contented it is still there.
The Future
After 250 years, Yardley London continues to look towards the future, striving to provide the very best quality ingredients and formulae in its fragrances and bath & body products. As a brand, we have a responsibility to do our part for the planet, as well as for our customers. That is why with this 250-year milestone, we’ve introduced a new look to support our range of vegan-friendly and cruelty-free products, and we continue to pursue sustainable sourcing for our natural ingredients.
Surviving the Beverly Hills-type power women of the 80’s from last week, Which I also love but can’t help cross-referencing why Yardley had to use supermodels.
It can rest a little on its’ pure ingredients, 17th-C bottle design, and extremely pretty package design. Till the next fashion storm comes along, (if it ever does).
In this shop I’m going to focus on the original Lavender product, have to say an old lady once gave me a Yardley Gift set as a child and I loved it. She was really nice and that was how I got into spa products if I’m honest.
She obviously wasn’t always an old lady, so she was sharing with me the art of beauty.
It was in a sale in a care home.
My mum took us to things like that sometimes.
She enjoyed talking with her elders and brought us up to respect older people. We learned a lot of wisdom young people don’t know.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with sharing memories with people, if you share the memory with someone younger maybe you aren’t old anymore anyway. Who knows the secret of time, age, or existence anyway?
We just need to believe, then it will happen for you.
My Yardley Perfume Junky Shop
Yardley lavender
English Lavender Brilliantine
Product Overview
The original English Lavender Brilliantine – a traditional pomade that holds, helps shape and adds shine to the hair. It also helps relieve dry, chapped skin. Fragranced with Yardley London’s Original Lavender fragrance, this hair cream can be used on the hair and body.
yardleylondon.co.uk/english-lavender-brilliantine
Yardley London’s Original English Lavender
Product Overview
Yardley London’s Original English Lavender, is a beautiful, elegant perfume that combines lavender leaves, neroli and clary sage with a heart of lavender oil and geranium, enhanced with deeper notes of sandalwood and tonka bean.
Directions
Spray the perfume lightly onto your pulse points in the morning after using our Bath & Body range and refresh throughout the day.
yardleylondon.co.uk/original-eng-lavender-edt-125ml
A modern version of our original English Lavender fragrance
Product Overview
A modern version of our original English Lavender fragrance, but still containing the calming lavender essential oil ingredient sourced from the fields of England since the 1930’s. This beautifully fresh, light, elegant fragrance features top notes of bergamot and clary sage with a heart of calming English Lavender subtly combining notes of eucalyptus, geranium, jasmine, chamomile and violet, enhanced with deeper, warm base noes of wood, vanilla and patchouli.
Containing 94% naturally derived ingredients and vegetable derived alcohol base. Cruelty free and suitable for vegans.
yardleylondon.co.uk/english-lavender-edt-125ml
This has sold out? maybe they will make some more.
English Lavender Perfumed Body Powder 200g
You can get this one.
Product Overview
This luxurious Perfumed Body Powder, infused with Yardley London’s English Lavender fragrance, gives a silky smooth texture to the skin, leaving it delicately fragranced and refreshed. It features a beautifully fresh, clean elegant fragrance combining bergamot and clary sage with a heart combining English Lavender, eucalyptus, geranium, jasmine, chamomile and violet, enhanced with deeper, warm notes of wood, vanilla and patchouli.
Contains 94% naturally derived ingredients. Cruelty free and suitable for vegans. Plant-based formulation.
Directions
Apply the perfumed powder all over the body to leave your skin feeling silky, soft and delicately fragranced. Use after washing with Yardley London’s Luxury Soap or Body Wash.
https://yardleylondon.co.uk/english-lavender-perfumed-body-powder-200g/15059428.html
All the Lavender products to fragrance layer for a longer-lasting effect. Think I will try fragrance layering and post my purchases to perfume junky archive.
yardleylondon.co.uk/elysium.search?search=lavender
CONCLUSION
I’m a fan of calming relaxing lavender.
Maybe this is why older women of yore were so graceful and vivacious, they calmed themselves with lavender, from the 1770s, but kept young and beautiful from drinking tea with its anti-oxidant and caffeine ingredients.
How English women stay young vivacious and beautiful.
Looking forward to this English contribution to perfume junky as pre covid Lavender was my go-to calming/relaxing spa day no 1 ingredient.
From Lavender oil to actual Lavender interior design.
Laura Ashley was my go-to Interior design shop. Coincidently my favourite design was her lavender toiles inspired by 17th-century pastoral scenes. As we couldn’t afford much when we moved here I would purchase her lengths of fabric and make them into interior design products myself. I teamed it with a satin lilac bedspread set from Argos that was like the satin sleep cushion cover I got from boots. Have to say I prefer Lavender if I had a choice as the colour is also calming and promotes sleep. Wonder if bathing in Yardley Lavender before bedtime promotes sleep? ~ can only guess it will.
I’m a bit of an old-fashioned girl if I think about it, but it doesn’t have to be lavender and old lace, like Miss Haversham.
My wedding went wrong actually, but I never got the dress and Feng Shuid the brochure. It was more Estee Lauder Beautiful and meringue I suppose. Realise once they took it in from the size 18, (in the shop they only had size 18 dresses and clipped them in with bulldog clips at the back ~ they wouldn’t let you try it on before the day once they had altered it and they wouldn’t put sleeves in ~ fairly rubbish service for the price they were charging), it wouldn’t have fitted my body type anyway. A narrow escape from a bitch fest experience if I’m honest.
Floating in a 1700 lavender-perfumed dream is much more escapist and wonderfully relaxing.
1700’s is like Cinderella.
English history is so enjoyable.
You can visit stately homes in trendy clothes these days so if you are not a meringue girl you can enjoy old lavender without looking like Miss Haversham.
Hope this week has inspired you to discover more interesting things about England.
If you are English and reading this, hope English Lavender gives you hope.
We are so much more than rascist riots and are heritage is so rich and interesting.
Yardley is a great example of England’s good points.
Found some Lavender fields in England that you can travel to on a Sunday out.
Maybe the rioters should take a day off and see if Lavender calms them down.
Ye Olde England of today
We visited one of these once, this is Ye olde England, with the olde cottages. Very picturesque.
visitengland.com/best-lavender-farms-fields-england
n.b. you don’t need to dress up over the top to go somewhere like this, you’d be more comfortable in day-out clothes like everyone else will probably be wearing. Think the photography is some sort of merchandising. I’m one of the people who never gets merchandising. It is actually re-sellell an old product, but a lot of people don’t understand it. It tends to make the companies money though so they tend to opt for merchandising.
I just end up confused if I’m honest.
(Except the seasonal aisle in Asda ~ used to get and love that).
Would recommend the Lavender fields for a day out, but the one we went to was hard to find with not much there.
Maybe this is the idea to take a photo there to make it worth the journey?
If you pre-plan your journey, it could be just one of the places you visit.
Hopefully, the shop at the lavender field will stock Yardley Lavender.
Take in the local stately home to get the 17th-century experience, unless it is now an overpriced wedding venue.
Pack your sketchbook and camera if you are an artist or designer.
Hope you enjoyed this blog.
Saphire
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