From the Ground Up: Ann Feldman of Gallop Hill
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Temps de lecture 3 min
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Before Gallop Hill was an award-winning botanical skincare line, it was a road.
Founder Ann Feldman was born in the West Village, just blocks from the Hudson River. “The Hudson has always been my place,” she says. As a child, her family moved north to Tarrytown, and purchased a farm just past the Catskills, with a dirt road called Gallop Hill. “The farm was gorgeous. We had all this beautiful land that my parents were able to get really cheap back then. The local farmer would grow things, and my grandpa grew up on a farm and knew a lot about different plants. We had a pond right next to Gallop Hill that I would swim in. It was beautiful.”
Today, Ann lives even further north in Tivoli, where her lab is located. “I keep going further and further north because I did grow up with a farm and I miss the country. We’ve since sold the farm, but I’m so happy I moved. It’s such a difference. It’s beautiful up here.”
That farm shaped how she thinks about ingredients — long before she ever considered making skincare. The name Gallop Hill is a tribute to that land and those early influences—especially her grandfather, who understood the power of plants, and her mother, who always said, “It’s the seeds and the fruits that are the best for you.” Decades later, that wisdom would become the foundation of her skincare philosophy.
During COVID, after her mother passed away, she returned to formulation with a different mindset. “I had nothing to do but sit there and be sad, or I could try and learn something. So I immersed myself in learning about botanical skincare.”
She formally trained in botanical formulation and continued advanced studies at Formula Botanica, focusing not just on ingredients, but on preservation systems and stability testing — the parts of skincare most consumers never see. “I had no idea how much goes into skincare and plants, how magical plants are,” she says. “I really became very diligent about safety.”
For Ann, safety isn’t a marketing claim — it’s a responsibility. “In the UK and throughout Europe, you have to have certain tests done for all of your skincare. I decided I was going to have all my products go through this rigorous testing because I didn’t want to hurt anybody.” Anything water-based must pass stability testing, including PET testing to ensure the preservation system holds up through heat, cold, and daily use. “One of the things I learned is how to create a broad-spectrum preservation system that will keep yeast and molds and bacteria at bay.” Each product is also batch tested and dermatologist tested. “Everything gets about 60 people to patch test it for about two months. That’s really the final call for everything.”
"I had no idea how much goes into skincare and plants, how magical plants are"
In an industry where “natural” is often aesthetic, she prefers substance. “Some brands will have some natural things and then they’ll put a big, beautiful picture of blueberries on their label yet there are also ingredients that are not that great for you. If you’re using them every day or twice a day, I just didn’t want anything like that in my formulas. Microplastics, stuff you don’t want in your daily routine. Things that are not biodegradable that hurt the fish. I didn’t go that route.”
When asked what healthy skin should look like, she doesn’t hesitate. “Calm. I think calming your skin down, not using exfoliants too much. You can’t see it, but it’s microscopic cutting your skin. Just calm ingredients, pH balanced, keeping your skin barrier in really nice shape. Gentle, and not too much.”
As winter shifts toward spring, her routine stays steady — she simply adjusts textures, layering toner, serum, and moisturizer depending on how her skin feels that day. When pressed to choose a favorite this time of year, she returns to the one that has resonated most widely.
“The Nourish face cream just won gold at the International Beauty Awards,” she says. “I put all seven products into the International Beauty Awards. I won seven awards for seven products.It was really validating,” she says. But for Ann, the proof is in front of her. “It just works. I see a difference in my face. And you get repeat customers — that’s the biggest sign.”
“I’m a shy person in some respects, and I had to get out there and do markets," she admits. “At my first one, I listened to how the person next to me was explaining their skincare. By the end of it, I was better at talking about my products, And now I'm surprised at how much I enjoy it. I really love meeting people and talking about the skincare that I've created and seeing people who remember me and buy more. That’s such a great feeling.”
For Ann, that connection — to people and to the plants and land that shaped her — is what Gallop Hill has always been about. The farm, the pond, the lessons from her grandfather and mother — they’re all in the work she puts into every jar. And in the end, that care is what defines Gallop Hill.
