The Beauty Of Bespoke: Inside Cosmetics à la Carte’s Rise To Success
By
3 days ago
Founder Lynne Sanders shares the story of her unique – and much beloved – beauty brand
From a Kent fruit farm to Chelsea‘s cult beauty address, Cosmetics à la Carte founder Lynne Sanders reflects on 50 years of bespoke makeup, pioneering formulations and her quiet revolution in British beauty.
Cosmetics à la Carte: The Inside Story
By the time I was a teenager in the 1960s, I already knew I couldn’t find the right concealer – and that I didn’t want to be pushed into nursing or teaching, as girls often were. I was born with a fascination for beauty and fashion, despite growing up on a fruit farm in Kent. We had a little black-and-white television, and I remember seeing Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, the miniskirt – it was a thrilling time to come of age, though opportunities were still thin on the ground for girls like me.
I wanted to study science, and I did – but not at university, because my father insisted on saving for my brother’s education. ‘You’ll get married anyway,’ he said. Instead, I landed a place at Unilever, whose research labs in Isleworth gave me a firm grounding in cosmetic chemistry – even if I found the haircare side rather dull. But I was tenacious and finally found my way into the fledgling Society of Cosmetic Chemists, where I trained in what is now a full honours degree course. That’s where I met my future business partner, Christina Stewart.
She was brilliant, bold, photogenic – the perfect front-of-house to my backroom boffin. We both moved to Yardley, which then had its laboratory in Bond Street above Ferragamo. Glamorous times. But when Yardley was sold to American owners, things changed. Christina, ever ahead of her time, called out the gender pay gap and challenged the glass ceiling – and when she was essentially pushed out, she turned to me and said, ‘Let’s put our money where our mouths are.’
So in 1973, we opened our first shop on Motcomb Street in Belgravia. We called it ‘Cosmetics à la Carte’. It was a revolutionary concept – personalised makeup, custom-blended to match your skin tone and style. Diana, Trinny and Susannah, the Queen of Spain, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Jones – they all came to us. Word spread, and we became known as the go-to place for women who wanted beauty on their own terms.
We did a lot of film and TV too – bespoke colours for the BBC, Dracula’s face makeup when he rose from the grave, even special formulations for West End shows. I remember creating something from scratch for a Lion King dancer who was allergic to her stage makeup. That’s the kind of thing we live for: solving problems with beauty.
From the start, we were never about the mass market. We believed – and still do – that makeup should not look, feel or smell like makeup. It should be seamless, effortless. Enhancing rather than masking. We catered to women who felt overlooked by mainstream brands, and we listened carefully. Our customers would say, ‘I used to buy something like this – can you make it?’ And of course, we could. That sense of intimacy and precision is still at the heart of what we do.
We stayed on Motcomb Street until 2015 then moved to our current home just off Sloane Square. I remember walking into the Cadogan offices with a presentation under my arm and pitching for a space in Duke of York Square. They recommended instead something on the soon-to-be iconic Pavilion Road – close enough to my beloved Peter Jones, our ‘mothership’. Our little shop with two windows and a door in the middle has been our home ever since.
Christina and I worked side by side until 2009. She eventually stepped back, and I was ready to take up the reins. We’re still a small, dedicated team – some have been with us for 25 years – and we continue to attract women looking for authenticity and real expertise. The international clientele has grown dramatically over the past decade, which is wonderful. It means we cater to every skin tone, every age, every story.
My daughter Isabella is now involved with the business; we’re currently giving the shop a little refresh, and we’ve expanded our skincare range – all calm, clean and free from known irritants. With so many people over-exfoliating and reacting to harsh actives, we’ve gone back to gentleness. We’re also launching our own sunscreen – lightweight, non-greasy, free from hormone disruptors – which took time to perfect, but had to meet our standards.
I never set out to go global. I just wanted to make beauty feel personal again. And for those who want that too, we’re still here – the holy grail, quietly tucked away in Chelsea.
