Margaret Hema is best known for her outstanding oils and skin sculpting facial technique but there’s also one cream that continues to be a mainstay of her brand.
Hema, 79, still hand blends her Margaret Hema Day Crème, face oils and perfume. Her magic is in her recipes which are a closely guarded secret.
Her luxurious Day Crème is waterless, filled with skin-nourishing goodness including extra virgin cold pressed New Zealand avocado oil, organic jojoba and camellia oils, certified organic New Zealand beeswax, Mānuka honey UMF15+ and essential oils such as locally grown Pacific Blue lavender to name just a few ingredients.
Throughout she’s only ever had one day crème in her repertoire because she believes it’s all one needs (excuse the pun) and it’s certainly a remarkable formula.
When applied, it feeds the skin as well as protects, heals and hydrates (thanks to its natural humectant and antibacterial properties). It’s also a beautiful make-up primer and gives the skin an instant dewy look.
The person
Margaret Hema the person is deeply private and has a mysterious aura about her, yet she’s not afraid to stand out and is unequivocally stylish.
American president Lyndon B Johnson once singled out 20-year-old Hema amongst a parade in Wellington in 1966. Thousands lined the streets hoping to get a glimpse of the president and to her amazement his car stopped beside her and opened the door, swung his body out of the car, his feet touching the ground, took her hands and placed a golden pen from his inside pocket in them. She remembers he had black shiny shoes. The next day her photo was in The Evening Post under the caption “The girl with golden hands”. Looking back, it was prophetic. Her hands are indeed golden.
Margaret Hema. This portrait and main image photography Carolyn Enting
Beginning her brand in 1988 she started creating oils to facial with and her philosophy has always been to treat the skin as beautiful fabric.
Margaret Hema Facial Oil was first trialled by dancers from the Royal New Zealand Ballet (it removes heavy make-up effectively without stripping the skin of moisture and plumps the skin).
Over the years she’s developed unique and unrivalled recipes for her compact and effective range of products that are as beautiful for the nose as they are for the skin.
I first met Margaret Hema in 2003, and she’s pretty much been looking after my skin since then. At the time actress Liv Tyler was a frequent visitor to her private salon along with many of the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and some of those relationships endure to this day.
Margaret Hema products that continue to be my non-negotiables for my daily skincare routine are her Facial Cleansing Oil, Millennium Face and Body Oil and of course her Day Crème SPF.
Skin fitness
Over the years, I’ve also had countless Margaret Hema facials and have adopted part of the Margaret Hema Facialing Method into my own skincare regime which I believe accounts for my skin fitness!
The technique for her unique skin-lifting facial lymphatic massage had you leaving the salon looking 10 years younger every time. She stopped doing her legendary facials during the Covid pandemic.
Her reputation as a legendary facialist and pioneer product developer in natural skincare has seen her achieve cult status amongst her loyal followers for whom she has helped change their skin for the better.
Her heritage backstory is one that brand strategists dream of and is even more remarkable by the fact that she’s never sent out a press release!
Margaret Hema outside Fidels, Cuba St, Wellington. Photography Carolyn Enting
There are so many strands to the Margaret Hema story that speak to a heritage brand yet is possibly the world’s best kept secret.
