India Hicks left her glamorous life in the fashion capitals of the world after she fell in love and decided to move to an island in the Caribbean to start her family.
Her body and home collection, aptly named Island Living for Crabtree & Evelyn is an encapsulation of all the things she loved about her home and living on an exotic gem of an island. India, who happens to be the daughter of renowned British interior designer, David Hicks and goddaughter to Prince Charles, was inspired by all her senses – island folklore, her favourite island flower, the natural vegetation, classic West Indian style and antique maps.
An international model and author, India was named in honour of her grandfather, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India.
India says: “Every year as a child, I would spend holidays on a remote island in an eclectic and rather beautiful house that my father designed. A neighbouring island later became my home, where I fell in love and decided to live.
Now as I go down through the garden, with my children to the ocean, and like words coming back to me, we hear the breeze sighing through the Casuarina trees. We see the fragile beauty of the gorgeous Spider Lily as it grows out of the bare pink sand, and smell the soft blend of wild flowers and tropical air where the land meets the sea – salt and sand, fruit trees and flowers, sharing my childhood with my children.
“Island life has opened my eyes to a new kind of natural beauty inspired by people at ease with themselves,” she says. Her philosophy for all things natural led her to combine island plants, fruits and flowers. “As the beauty of island women will attest, body care recipes made with natural island plants, fruits and flowers have tremendous revitalising and protective properties.”
Working closely with Crabtree & Evelyn, India created her Spider Lily bath and body products by drawing upon island wisdom and using an abundance of natural ingredients. Mango, avocado and coconut is included in her body and bath collection to nourish and help protect the skin. Healing aloe vera to hydrate and soothe as well as rejuvenating salts and minerals from the sea. Synthetic and harsh ingredients such as parabens, mineral oil, sodium lauryl sulphate and propylene glycol were deliberated excluded.
At the heart of Island Living’s Body Collection is the Spider Lily Eau de Toilette, India’s signature fragrance. Inspired by India’s favourite island flower, the delicate and courageous white Spider Lily that grows wild by the edge of the sea.
This intoxicating yet airy and light fragrance captures the spirit of the island together with citruses, orange blossom, tropical fruits, night-blooming jasmine, green palms and sea air accords.
The Spider Lily Body Collection includes an Eau de Toilette, Shower Gel, Hand Wash, Body Polish, Natural Triple-milled Soap and Body Cream The Island Living Home Collection reflects India’s love of simple, elegant forms and natural materials. Each item – from the Casuarina Three-wick scented candle, to the Casurina Fragrance Diffuser and Home Fragrance, has an island style to scent rooms with her Casuarina fragrance. This home fragrance is inspired by the island breezes that sweep over her veranda at sunset, bringing with them the scent of Casuarina trees, orange blossoms, palm leaves and salty air.
All in all, the entire Island Living Body and Home Collection is India Hick’s tribute to her own distinct personal style and tastes. With her aristocratic background, her design-infused upbringing and her days of strutting the catwalks of London, Paris and New York has lead her back to where her heart truly resides, on an exotic island filled with elements which contribute to a symphony for the senses.
“On the island, I am much more aware of the elements, sun, wind, water and how we fine tune our mind and body with their natural energy…Island life conjures up images that play on all the senses. The light and heat of outdoors, the sound of the ocean and the breeze and the scent of the tropics…flowers, trees and fruit.”