Rituals

Rituals sells bath, body and home products that sit halfway between everyday toiletries and small gift items. By our assessment, its strength is the scent-led packaging of a simple routine: shower foam, body cream, hand wash, candles and room fragrance all come wrapped in a spa-like style that feels more polished than plain drugstore basics. That polish is also the limit, because many products are about mood, fragrance and presentation as much as function, and the line can look expensive for what it does. In practice the brand is about soft textures, strong scents and shelves that look carefully arranged. Rituals sits closer to lifestyle beauty and home fragrance than to hard-nosed skincare or pharmacy staples. The country code points to the Netherlands, and the company’s whole idea has a neat, designed feel that matches that origin. It is a good fit for people who want their everyday wash-and-moisturise routine to feel a little more put together, and less for anyone wanting bare-bones basics.