St. James of London

St. James of London is a men's grooming and fragrance brand whose origins trace to 1953, when a British chemist created a small line of personal skincare products using ingredients grown in his garden [2]. That original brand was sold only in the United Kingdom and was discontinued after roughly a decade. It was revived in the 2010s by American owner Todd Fisher, who bought the trademark and original formulas and relaunched it in 2014 [2].

The brand is British in origin and still manufactures in the United Kingdom, but its current commercial base is in the United States: the company site records the founding as British and UK-only in its early years [2], while the present owner-operator is based in Chicago, Illinois and ships from the US [5]. Both facts are documented rather than contradictory. The range spans fragrances, shave creams, safety razors, brushes and related bath and grooming goods.

According to the company, the brand began in 1953 with an unnamed British chemist who formulated a handful of skincare products from garden-grown ingredients [2]. Distributed only in the UK, it "quietly fell by the wayside after a decade," as the company puts it, and lay dormant for many years.

Its second life came through Todd Fisher, who was born and raised in Illinois and worked in sports marketing — with companies including Reebok and Wilson — before moving into fragrance. After a period working for a British fragrance brand, he purchased the trademark and original formulas in the autumn of 2013 [2].

Fisher relaunched St. James of London in 2014, beginning with the Cedarwood & Clarysage collection, described by the company as the original 1953 fragrance [2]. The catalogue expanded steadily, reaching ten fragrance collections by 2018. Alongside colognes and eau de parfum, the brand added wet-shaving hardware — safety razors, badger and synthetic brushes, stands and bowls — and bath and hair products.

The brand is owned and operated by Todd Fisher, who acquired it in fall 2013 [2]. No parent company or later acquisitions are recorded in the available sources.

St. James of London presents itself as an all-natural grooming line, using the tagline "All Natural Skincare & Grooming." Its formulations centre on glycerin: the company argues that a shaving cream should be "natural and glycerin based," explaining that glycerin helps hold moisture in the skin during shaving. The brand contrasts this with alcohol-based and aerosol products.

The wet-shaving editorial site Sharpologist characterised the brand as "an established brand that has resurfaced with a twist," framing it as the revival of a 1953 British line under new management. Fisher told the same publication that the brand is "probably among the few, if not the only" to manufacture in small batches [5].

The fragrance side is built around scent pairings such as Cedarwood & Clarysage, Sandalwood & Bergamot, Mandarin & Patchouli, Black Pepper & Lime, and Tonka & Tobacco Flower, alongside a higher-end Extrait Pure Cologne range. On the grooming side, the brand offers glycerin-based shave creams and a three-piece safety razor it describes as European-crafted and benchmade.

The shave creams are formulated with glycerin and a blend of oils — including meadowfoam seed, cranberry seed, olive and sweet almond — and, according to a Sharpologist review, use "no artificial coloring, parabens (preservatives), alcohol, or synthetics" [6]. Manufacturing takes place in the United Kingdom: Fisher has said the brand works with "a well-established manufacturer in the United Kingdom" that "has been around for three centuries" [5], and the review identifies the original maker as the UK firm Creightons [6].

Editorial coverage has come chiefly from Sharpologist, which reviewed the shave creams favourably, calling their performance "excellent" and "among the best," and separately interviewed Fisher about the brand's history and manufacturing [6][5].

The brand is active. Its e-commerce site carries a full catalogue with multi-currency checkout and same-day shipping, and editorial coverage reports distribution across roughly 20 countries through barbershops, shaving stores, clothing shops and fragrance retailers [5].