June | Beauty Brand We Love
Organic beauty from one of wellness' first pioneers
“The past year has shown us that if we don’t have health, we don’t really have anything,” says Margo Marrone
Anna-Marie SolowijWhen pharmacist and homeopath Margo Marrone opened the doors to her organic health and beauty emporium on the King’s Road 20 years ago, she heralded the beginning of the wellness movement. Since then, a steady trail of savants have sought out The Organic Pharmacy for its combination of topical and ingestible products and expert advice from alternative and orthodox health specialists.
Now, the culmination of all that knowledge and all those years comes together in the first of an international chain of concept stores at 51 Marylebone High St, London, that is truly holistic, uniting health and beauty services with retail, interactive experiences, a juice bar, florist, yoga studio and event space. There’s even a dedicated area for dogs, with organic biscuits, water and a Fido-friendly social media wall.
It seems Margo has thought of everything, but then she always did, making the connection between inner health and outer beauty long before her emulators. As she said recently: “The past year has shown us that if we don’t have health, we don’t really have anything.”
Now, the brand that began with a balm cleanser (Carrot Butter Cleanser – still a best-seller today) has morphed to include a market-leading range of performance-driven organic formulations for inner health and outer beauty that fuse herbal, homeopathic and pharmaceutical knowledge. Best-sellers include The Detox Kit, £175, and Volumising Balm Gloss Sparkle, £25 – a plumping, non-drying shimmery lip balm. Newer additions to the lineup include Advanced Retinoid-Like Body Oil, £55, with Ayurvedic and TCM ingredient Bakuchiol, as well as a range of new facial serums for targeted care. Glow Serum, co-created with beauty journalist and diversity activist Ateh Jewel, combines hyaluronic acid with vitamin C, aloe and shimmering bronze pigments for natural radiance.