Our 10 best-selling brands

SkinCeuticals is an American skincare brand founded in 1994 around the antioxidant research of Dr Sheldon Pinnell, a dermatologist at Duke University. Its best-known formula, C E Ferulic, combines 15% pure vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) with vitamin E and ferulic acid, and it is the product most of our customers start with. The range is built on a simple routine: antioxidants and sunscreen in the morning, targeted serums and barrier repair at night.

La Prairie is a Swiss luxury skincare house, launched in 1971 and inspired by the cellular research of Clinique La Prairie, a clinic founded in Montreux in 1931. The brand is best known for caviar: its Skin Caviar line, introduced in 1987, uses caviar extracts in creams and serums made to firm and lift. La Prairie sits at the very top of skincare prices, and most of our customers buy it for one signature product, usually the Skin Caviar Luxe Cream.

REJURAN is the skincare line from PharmaResearch, the South Korean company that developed the Rejuran skin booster used in dermatology clinics. The skincare is built on c-PDRN, DNA fragments derived from salmon, which are used to support skin repair, calm redness and improve elasticity. It has become one of the most talked-about Korean brands of recent years and is now also sold by Sephora in the US. Most customers start with the Healer Turnover Ampoule, used morning and night after toner.

La Mer began with one product: Crème de la Mer, a moisturiser launched in 1965 by Dr Max Huber, an aerospace physicist who spent 12 years and thousands of experiments developing it. His Miracle Broth, made by fermenting giant sea kelp, still runs through the whole La Mer range. The brand has been part of The Estée Lauder Companies since 1995 and is one of the best-known names in luxury skincare. The original cream is still what our customers buy most.

Helena Rubinstein opened her first beauty salon in Melbourne in 1902 and went on to build one of the first international cosmetics businesses. The brand now belongs to L'Oréal and focuses on luxury anti-ageing skincare. Since 2008 it has worked with Laclinic Montreux, a Swiss aesthetic clinic, and its Replasty creams are modelled on the recovery care used after aesthetic treatments. Our customers in the US and Canada buy more Helena Rubinstein than anywhere else.

Penhaligon's is a London perfume house founded by William Penhaligon, a barber from Penzance in Cornwall who in 1870 took over the barbershop at the Hammam baths on Jermyn Street. It has held Royal Warrants across its history and was granted one by King Charles III in 2024. Its Portraits collection, launched in 2016, gives each scent an eccentric aristocratic character and a metal animal-head cap. It is what our customers buy most, especially in the UK.

Shiseido was founded in 1872 in Ginza, Tokyo, by Arinobu Fukuhara, a former chief pharmacist of the Japanese Navy, as Japan's first Western-style pharmacy. It is one of the oldest beauty companies in the world, with ranges from luxury skincare to men's grooming. At LMCHING our customers mostly buy its anti-ageing creams, led by Future Solution LX, which Shiseido calls its most luxurious skincare line.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical is one of South Korea's oldest drug makers, founded in 1932 and known at home for the Bacchus energy drink. Its over-the-counter skin treatments are sold in Korean pharmacies and are popular with travellers looking for pharmacy formulas for acne and scars. Each product targets one problem and is applied only where it is needed, rather than all over the face.

SK-II is a Japanese prestige skincare brand launched in 1980 and owned by Procter & Gamble. Its whole range centres on PITERA, a yeast ferment the brand says was inspired by the smooth hands of elderly sake brewers. Facial Treatment Essence, which is more than 90% PITERA, is the product SK-II is famous for and the usual place to start.

Soffell is an Indonesian insect repellent made by Enesis Group and sold across Southeast Asia. It uses DEET, the most widely used repellent ingredient, at 13% and protects for up to 8 hours. What sets it apart is the scent: floral or orange instead of the chemical smell most repellents have. Many travellers discover it in Indonesia, and our customers order it for travel, hiking and summer evenings at home.