The smell of spice is reminiscent of three things: winter stews, mulled wine and homemade apple crumble. Basically, the food equivalent of a slanket – cosy, but not exactly on-trend. For many, a sweet waft of cinnamon or a heady whack of ginger is all that is required to transport them to a place of creature comforts. But more often than not, that place starts and ends with the kitchen.
Spices have been used to add flavour and nutrients to food since the year dot. Walk around any supermarket and that’s still their opening gambit. But the true value of spices reaches far beyond this, and no industry knows it better than beauty. So why have spices failed to make a lasting impression in cosmetics? Aside from a few iconic products – Old Spice, Pommade Divine and Tiger Balm – it’s hard to name many spice-based products that have transitioned into the 21st century without burning out, or falling into ‘old wives’ tale’ territory.
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