With its orchards, fruit farms and willow withies, Somerset is a place where cider was once currency and folklore still infuses life.
Shaped by the fertile Somerset Levels, old drovers’ roads and a culture rooted in making, growing and seasonality, it has managed to absorb its recent, rather fashionable reinvention without losing sight of itself.
It is also where I grew up, which is perhaps why I have especially enjoyed watching a steady stream of beauty and wellness brands emerging from the county.
And to be clear, this is not Somerset becoming the new Cotswolds, with glossy products arriving to accessorise country living. These brands have built distinctly regional but thoroughly modern identities grounded in craft, botany and a slower pace of life.
The Blueprint: Cowshed
We should begin with Cowshed because, long before wellness was about optimisation and Steven Bartlett bemoaning a glass of wine, it was supplying feel-good self-care from an actual cow shed. Founded in 1998 at Babington House near Frome, the concept grew from ingredients found in the estate’s walled garden. It was wholesome, feel-good and unworthy — this was the 1990s after all.
Nearly three decades on, the brand has had a relaunch, placing renewed emphasis on its roots after a successful world tour via Soho House bathrooms. The Somerset spirit remains, even if the formulas and sustainability credentials have evolved.
Somerset DNA: Cowshed may have expanded, but it continues to work with a fragrance house 10 miles down the road from Babington.
Try: The Refresh collection, scented with bergamot, lemongrass and grapefruit. (From £12, Cowshed.com).
Top Somerset tip: “Vobster Quay – a beautiful swimming lake a mile from Babington House” says Kat Kerrigan, Cowshed’s brand manager
The Alchemists: Ffern
Founded in 2018 by siblings Owen Mears and Emily Cameron, botanical fragrance house Ffern was shaped by a childhood spent next to a biodynamic herb farm on Exmoor and a shared commitment to restore perfumery to its artisanal roots.
The brand releases four fragrances a year, one for each season. Available to members of its ledger (and visitors to its London store), they feel tied to a place, a time and nature’s rhythms.
Somerset DNA: Ffern’s world is steeped in local mythology. “It’s the land of King Arthur, of the Green Man, stone circles and ancient woodlands,” says Cameron. “Growing up we were fascinated by craft, nature and folklore – Ffern is where these ideas come together.”
Try: Summer 26, a citrus floral layered with clementine, rose, basil and blackcurrant bud. (£89, from June 21, Ffern.co)
Top Somerset tip: “I love the Three Horseshoes in Batcombe. Their cider list is amazing,” says Cameron.
The Aesthetes: Commune
The brainchild of Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux, Bruton-based Commune launched in 2022 with a natural self-care line approached through a design lens. Its beautiful aluminium bottles are cult objects among those in the know, while the brand has snapped up spots in the chicest homes and hospitality spaces, including Estelle Manor.
Somerset DNA: “We take our cues from English folklore and the Somerset landscape,” says Neal. “This feeds everything from scent profiles to the gothic lettering on our bottles.”
Try: The Seymour hand wash and hand cream duo, guaranteed to make every sink look better and every hand smell like Somerset in spring. (£120, Commune.cc)
Top Somerset tip: “Go to Chalice Well in Glastonbury on a spring morning. Fill a bottle from the Lion’s Head fountain and soak up the stillness,” says Neal.
The Formulators: Foundry
Foundry designs and makes hardworking, luxurious, problem-solving skin and bodycare from a Saxon water mill near Frome. Founded by cosmetic formulator and perfumer John Kilroy, the brand combines serious science with ingredients gathered from the surrounding countryside. “We call this approach wild science,” says Kilroy. “This gives us the technical edge that small companies traditionally struggle to achieve, alongside a small-batch, wild-crafted quality that big companies can’t scale.”
Somerset DNA: Twice a year Foundry harvests local spring blossoms, field flowers, autumn berries and fruits and transforms them into the extracts, ferments and active ingredients used in its formulas.
Try: Biome serum, a sophisticated formula designed to strengthen skin health. (£120, Foundryformulas.co.uk)
Top Somerset tip: “The beer and pop-up food nights at Westcombe Dairy near Bruton. They’re very local, very small and very good,” says Kilroy.
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