From their
old vicarage home, in the tiny village of Laxton in Northamptonshire, their beauty
products have been produced from simple natural ingredients, without any animal testing
(if something needs testing they use people who volunteer). The only animal products used
are beeswax and honey.
Products like their Honey Treatment
Cream use beeswax, camellia oil and apricot oil (£9.30 for 50 ml) or their light
cleanser Camomile Cleansing Gel, includes
camomile, cucumber and aloe vera which is washed off with water for a refreshing finish
(£ 5.50 for a 100 ml tube). Gardeners Cream,
with seaweed extract rosewater, wheatgerm and sweet almond oil, with UVA/B sunscreen is a
boon to women who spend a lot of time outdoors, at £7.30 for a 50 ml jar.
 Their top seller, the
Evening Primrose Skincare range is the Martha Hill line specially formulated
in the 1980’s for dry, maturing skin. The oil from evening primrose, rich in
essential fatty acid, helps to combat moisture loss, improve elasticity and, they assert,
“may even reduce the
skin’s sensitivity to sunlight”. The range includes a moisturiser, (£7.40 for 50 ml), a toning gel for
the same price, evening primrose cleansing
(£8.40 for a 150 bottle) and nourishing cream
for use at night (£9.30 for 50 ml).
The small family firm, now mainly run by the founders' grandsons, Julian and
Damian Hill-Brookes, prides itself on the speed and informality of its customer services. Since they took over the reins three years ago
they have quadrupled turnover.
“We have put a lot of energy into it “, says Damian Hill-Brookes
and points to their award-winning website www.marthahill.com
where customers can order very easily from their on-line shop.
 Martha Hill skincare ranges are also
sold by mail order and are packaged in simple white containers that can be returned for
re-cycling. Because of this slightly
no-nonsense strategy, the Martha Hill line
can be sent out to the customer at very reasonable prices.
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Soft and peachy -
we have all been told that the English complexion is the envy of the world. It’s the
damp, rainy weather that helped us before moisturisers in a pot were ever invented. But
there are still hazards for our skin, not least a tendency to a delicate dryness. These
are some of the problems that an English family business started nearly 60 years ago by
Martha Hill, and now run by two succeeding generations, has chosen to focus on.
