About us

Hi, I’m Hillary, a pharmacist with a passion for creating skincare that is both safe and genuinely effective.

If I’m being honest (as we always are here), Lily & Marigold came to me quite unexpectedly, born from equal parts frustration and a desire to create something better.

Let’s rewind.

In my late twenties, I fell in love with skincare. Like many, I spent far too much of my hard-earned money experimenting with popular brands, rarely pausing to read ingredient labels or question what was inside. I became aware of the “clean beauty” movement, but didn’t yet question what clean truly meant, or how consistently that standard was upheld.

Everything shifted in my early thirties, when I was trying to conceive. Suddenly, what I put on my skin mattered. I began scrutinizing ingredient lists and safety data, and what I found surprised me. Many of my trusted favourites contained harsh preservatives, hormone-disrupting fragrances, and actives not considered appropriate during pregnancy, yet they still carried the label of “clean.”

While I eventually welcomed two beautiful daughters, my commitment to safer skincare only deepened. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, I found myself searching for products that balanced safety with performance, and quickly realized how difficult that was to find.

Some brands I would have reasonably considered safe leaned into botanical formulations, but avoided clinically proven actives, leaving products that felt gentle yet proved ineffective. Others promoted themselves as “preservative-free,” but lacked the stability required for safe use, leading to rapid spoilage. I kept asking myself: why does it feel impossible to find a thoughtful middle ground between cutting corners at safety’s expense and ineffective skincare?

And then I remembered my day job.

As a pharmacist, I understood formulation science, ingredient safety, stability testing, and the value of evidence-based actives. I knew how to evaluate both efficacy and risk. I realized that what I was searching for was actually possible — I simply had to create it for myself.

So I began formulating.

What started in a makeshift lab in my basement quickly became Lily & Marigold, a line of pharmacist-formulated skincare, handcrafted in small batches from formula to fulfillment. Every product is thoughtfully designed, mixed, filled, labeled, and packed by hand, allowing complete control over quality, safety, and performance.

Named for my daughters’ birth flowers, Lily & Marigold is built on the belief that skincare can be safe, gentle, and effective; a true happy medium. Apothecary-inspired botanicals blended with evidence-based actives. Thoughtful ingredients. Careful formulation. Products that feel beautiful to use and safe during even the most sensitive seasons of life.

This is skincare made slowly, intentionally, and with heart.

Welcome to our shop. I’m so glad you’re here.