Press — 2004
Tatler (UK)
by Olivia Falcon, Deputy Beauty Editor
December 2004
The Dominion Post (Wellington, NZ)
"Fashion Talk" by Carolyn Enting, Fashion Editor
2 December 2004
10 out of 10 for Hema
The latest issue of Britain's Tatler magazine has heralded Wellington facialist Margaret Hema "a new beauty heroine" and heaps praise on her "eponymous line of Hema products" that its deputy beauty editor, Olivia Falcon, has "awarded an usually unheard of 10 out of 10". The article also includes comments from actress Liv Tyler who has been using Hema Millennium oil on her tummy throughout her pregnancy. Meanwhile Hema's lightly carbonated spring water has also been getting a 10 out of 10 from Wellington restaurants. Light on burp, easy on the digestion and good for the skin, Hema water is now available at Arbitrageur, Fidels, Good Luck, Lone Star and Hummingbird.
Marie Claire (UK)
4 Celeb Ways to Radiant Skin by Clare Zerny
October 2004
The Dominion Post (Wellington, NZ)
London Loves Hema by Carolyn Enting, Fashion Editor
26 August 2004
A Wellington woman's fresh take on natural skin-care has caught the attention of London's beauty editors, and the city's beautiful people, says Carolyn Enting.
ACTRESS Liv Tyler is her most famous fan, but it is the magic of Margaret Hema's hand-blended oils, not her celebrity client list, that has beauty editors in London predicting she will be the Next Big Thing in facials.
Like Jo Malone and Eve Lom, the facialists of choice for Britain's beautiful people, the Wellington-based Hema, 58, makes her own skin-care products, and after a visit to London earlier this month she has signed an agreement to supply her products exclusively for nine months to A-list London beauty treatment centre Triyoga, as well as The Beauty Store in Glasgow.
While in Britain she gave facials to an impressive line-up of beauty editors including those from Tatler, Marie Clare, Harper's & Queen, and British Vogue - look out for their rave reviews in future issues. Triyoga are keen for her to work for them as a facialist for at least six months, but her Wellington-based clients don't need to worry - she's not planning to leave just yet.
The news of Hema's latest success will come as no surprise to fans in Wellington, where she already claims cult status among the fashion and film industry set. According to Triyoga's therapy manager, Victoria McClelland, the retreat whose clients are said to include luminaries such as Kate Moss and Jude Law took on the quietly spoken Hema because of the purity of her products and the fact that they work on all skin types. 'We have been looking for 18 months for a skincare range and treatment that fulfils our expectation of brilliance and one which retains authenticity and fits into our holistic approach to well-being,' she says. Triyoga tried out the product before committing to the brand, but its fame had already spread to Britain. "A friend of our top yoga instructor went on a bus trip of the South Island, and asked the woman sitting next to her what skincare she used because she had beautiful skin. The woman said 'it's a product called Hema and you can only buy it in Wellington'."
Hema's official launch at Triyoga on August 6 was attended by 100 guests and held in its largest yoga studio. Located in Primrose Hill, it's home of the 'posh bohos' (London code for A-list bohemian), where girls are light on the make-up and heavy on the Prada. Hema, dressed in vintage Zambesi, with bare feet, fitted right in. Triyoga are very protective of their client list, and so is Hema. However, that hasn't stopped people such as Liv Tyler, and fellow Lord of the Rings cast members Elijah Wood and Miranda Otto, writing testimonials for her website.
Hema has worked in the beauty industry since 1971, but it was her disillusionment with the skincare products available that led her to develop her own range. With the help of loyal clients such as Lady Rosemary Southgate, who were happy to act as guineapigs, she has developed a unique range of seven products using New Zealand ingredients including avocado oil, Pacific Blue lavender, kawakawa, flax and manuka honey, that guarantee 'no stink or sting'. 'I always believed the skin didn't need a lot. An oil, cream and spray is a skincare range and a mask is a lovely treat. Skin is about the whole person. It is what you eat, what you think about yourself.I believe it is genetic and from there it is a protective barrier to stop the bits and bobs falling out,' Hema says.
It is a sentiment that is echoed at Triyoga. 'We love the fact that the range of products is only seven, which makes it much easier for people to manage. It is also good to have a treatment that works as well for men as it does women,' Ms McClelland says. 'It is a treatment for those who want more than just a beauty treatment, as the skin is the body's largest organ we think of it more as a holistic therapy to maintain good health. As one client's reaction to it was "it feels like your skin can breathe again'."
Hema products are available in Wellington from The Vault, Zambesi, Kirkcaldie & Stains and Nature Unplugged.