In the Garden with Wildsmith Skin
Take a trip to the verdant surroundings of the Heckfield Estate, home of Wildsmith Skin
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In the Garden with Wildsmith Skin
Take a trip to the verdant surroundings of the Heckfield Estate, home of Wildsmith Skin
By: Team Liberty
In the uncharacteristic heat of summer, where parched lawns, scorched earth and wilting resolve are dotted across Britain: the Heckfield Estate is an oasis of calm. Nestled in the Hampshire countryside, the vast estate exudes a sense of steady serenity: walled gardens are abuzz with meandering bees, towering trees rustle and the scattering spray of a lake-bound fountain bring a soothing sense of escape to every step. These most halcyon surroundings are the home of Wildsmith Skin – a relative newcomer to the beauty world, but one building a steady following.
With an ethos that fuses natural ingredients with research backed actives, Wildsmith not only aims to craft results driven skincare, it also seeks to bring a touch of the Heckfield Estate’s calming aura to your bathroom shelf. With immense success.
In Liberty’s halls, you’ll find The Treehouse by Wildsmith, a treatment room designed to transport you to the verdant arboretum in Hampshire, where the brand’s own spa, The Bothy by Wildsmith, sits in the Heckfield Estate grounds.
As well as taking inspiration from the trees and botanical finds that are scattered through Heckfield Estate, many of the ingredients are grown on the estate’s biodynamic farm: calendula, roses, lavender and camomile are all ready for picking when Liberty visits the estate on a sun-soaked summer’s day.
To discover more about the brand’s unique ethos, Liberty sat down with Katherine Pye, Wildsmith’s general manager.
Can you tell us a little about the brand?
Wildsmith Skin was originally created for a beautiful property in Hampshire called the Heckfield Estate. First for the bedrooms, and then for the wellbeing concept, The Bothy by Wildsmith, which is our home. It’s where we practise all our treatments and where all of our products are used.
How would you describe the Wildsmith ethos?
Our ethos is about skin health and wellbeing, using plant-powered ingredients backed up by lab-grown actives and bio-actives. All of our leave-on products go through clinical trials, so they deliver amazing holistic results while also being highly effective.
The "wishing tree" in the Heckfield Estate grounds
Are there elements within that ethos you’re particularly proud of?
I think where we come from is really fascinating. The name Wildsmith comes from William Walker Wildsmith, a gardener at the Heckfield Estate known as a radical botanist. He planted a stunning arboretum here, and the way we interact with the trees and live through the seasons has been our inspiration. For example, we consider circadian rhythms when creating treatments, with products that work at particular times of day: like our massage oils.
You say Wildsmith was a radical botanist. What does that mean?
We interpret it as him being ahead of his time. He brought trees from across the globe and experimented in the glasshouses: he even grew pineapples using heated soil, which was a real sign of opulence back then! That spirit of innovation inspires us. We aim to be radical by blending nature and science and proving the efficacy of our products through clinical trials.
Can you tell us more about the relationship between Wildsmith and the Heckfield Estate?
Heckfield is our living lab. We’re inspired by the plants and trees here and even grow some of our ingredients on the five-acre biodynamic market garden: roses, calendula, chamomile, and lavender. We harvest them in the summer, dehydrate them to retain their essence, and use a steam-distillation process in Somerset to create hydrolox – floral waters and essential oils – which go into our formulations.
Can you tell us about how the arboretum and nature directly inspire your products?
Trees are governed by circadian cycles; they know what to send where, and when. That philosophy underpins our formulations, delivering the right ingredient to the right part of the skin, in the right dosage, at the right time. We use sophisticated ingredients like a colloidal platinum matrix that does exactly that, with proven clinical results.
Why combine clinical, lab-grown ingredients with botanical ones?
Lab-grown actives allow us to deliver performance-led products. While we have purely botanical products (like our massage oils with beautiful essential oil blends) just being “natural” wasn’t enough. We wanted to compete with performance-led cosmeceutical brands. By combining both worlds, we can offer our customers results and sensorial beauty.
Our Dual-Action Exfoliator, for example, combines PHAs and AHAs (chemical exfoliants) with a crushed cherry stone for manual exfoliation. It perfectly illustrates how we bring both science and nature together.
When developing new products, what’s the process? How do things go from the gardens to the bottle?
Listening to our customers is key. For example, we created our overnight hydrating mask because many customers struggled with rosacea and redness. We begin with identifying effective actives, which already have clinical backing, then work with cosmetic scientists to pair them with botanicals. The formulation then undergoes clinical and consumer trials. If it doesn’t meet our standards, we go back to the drawing board. It’s very collaborative: made by many, tested by many.
You also have a strong emphasis on holistic wellness. Can you tell us about that?
Coming to the English countryside is about recharging. The Bothy by Wildsmith, our wellbeing space, is child-free, alcohol-free, and phone-free. We ask guests to hand over digital devices upon arrival. It was a bold decision, but one that creates a deeply restorative environment.
When we opened, we offered just five treatments, the longest being Wildsmith Time, a two-hour full body experience that begins with kinesiology diagnostics. This allows the practitioner to understand where the guest is at before beginning.
For people living in urban environments, how would you suggest reconnecting with nature in daily life?
Even just stepping outside helps. We recently created a “Treescape”, where a bio-sonographer recorded the sounds and frequencies of trees interacting, which we turned into a downloadable experience. I live in an urban area and use it to decompress. Our products are also highly sensorial, with organic essential oils, so they can transport you here, whether or not you’ve been to Heckfield!
Why does Liberty feel like a good partner for Wildsmith?
Liberty has always been a radical department store, always seeking something new. As a customer, it’s the first place I go. At the Treehouse, we tried to bring a slice of Hampshire to London, using drone footage of the Arboretum projected onto a screen during treatments. There’s also a generosity of spirit. Treatments are redeemable, ensuring guests leave with the right products. It’s all about discovery and beautiful, considered experiences: much like Liberty itself.
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