One of the oldest soap, toiletries, and cosmetics companies in the world is Yardley of London. Established in 1770 by the Cleaver family, and named for a William Yardley who purchased the company in 1823, Yardley was a major producer of soaps, perfumes, powders, and hair pomades throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The company’s signature scent, English Lavender, was launched in 1873. The company supplied toiletries to several British monarchs. In the Swinging Sixties, Yardley got a big boost in the American markets with the so-called “British Invasion” which revered all things Brit, including music by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Carnaby Street fashions, and the model Twiggy, who became the “face” of Yardley. Today Yardley is owned by Wipro of India. (Source: Wikipedia)