Maxine’s August Roundup: Holidays, New Beginnings, and… Christmas?

What a mixed month August has been. From gorgeous sunshine to torrential rain and then blustery storms, we have experienced it all!

Katy, our social media butterfly who answers all your social media comments, spent a wonderful week with her family in Cornwall. Fortunately, it was during the gorgeous sunshine, and she had an absolute ball. For those of you who were trying to enjoy your staycations during the torrential rains and blustery storms, I feel for you. I recall many days chasing sodden tents across campsites when Darcy and Margot were small!

Absolute HQ has been busy as always, sending out over 5,000 serums to our Absoluters within days of launching, which is incredible, and we have had some great feedback. It seems you love the results of Maxerum! As with any new product, we do recommend a patch test before beginning everyday use, as Maxerum contains four active ingredients and has been formulated to pack a punch. Samples are available if you would like to try a patch test before purchasing a full bottle.

Looking to the future, we are looking to develop a 30ml sachet refill for the serum. This is an exciting development, because it means repeat orders will then be able to be posted through your letterbox, ensuring ease of delivery for you. Please do let me know if this is something you would like, as all our decisions are always motivated by what our lovely Absoluters truly want.

On a similar note, we are also introducing a recycling scheme for our sachets. The sachets themselves are already made of recyclable materials; however, they cannot yet be recycled through regular kerbside recycling collections. Keeping Absolute Collagen environmentally friendly is hugely important to us, so we are working on a scheme whereby Absoluters can send back a minimum of 28 used sachets at a time for us to recycle for you - watch this space for more information as we progress with this exciting project!

Away from the office itself, this month we spent a fabulous day filming at Harley Street, London, with our much loved in-house Trichologist Eva Proudman MIT IA. We popped along to her clinic and actually bumped into an Absoluter who had booked in to see Eva, so that was a real treat!

Having Eva on our team for the past two years has been incredibly insightful in identifying and understanding the hair concerns of our Absoluters who are at the forefront of every decision we make. We have sent out surveys, scanned the results, and have heard you loud and clear. Now, after much research and consultation, we are delighted to let you know that we have started working with Eva to create a haircare range especially for you, our loyal Absoluters.

You may have noticed Laura, one of our fantastic customer service ladies, appearing across our social media channels answering some of your questions on video. We think she's a natural and is taking it all in her stride. You go, Laura!

Sorry to say the word, but Team AC are already busy working on Christmas! And gifting is very much at the forefront of our minds, ensuring our Absoluters can offer their loved ones the gift of stepping into their own skin and feeling their absolute best too. Keep an eye out as we head into the winter months for more information and sneak peeks of our snazzy sparkly festive packaging, which we’re all extremely excited about!

It really is all change at Absolute Collagen, as we are all sad to be losing our Annabelle. Annie H, as I call her, has done a sterling job packing your orders during the summer, and we simply adore having her around; she is a breath of fresh air and just gets on with the job in hand. But the time has come for her to embark on her incredibly exciting internship at Nasty Gal. You go Annie H, they’re going to love you! I have no doubt you will become one of their most treasured assets.

In other news, my eldest daughter Darcy has flown the nest and is busy setting up home in Shrewsbury, although obviously working together means we will still see one another most days. I couldn't be happier for her and her partner Richard as they embark on this exciting new chapter in their lives. Richard is very much an Absoluter and also the Financial Controller at Absolute Collagen - sorry Rich, you’re not escaping entirely!

On a personal note, I recently asked Eleanor Carlingford, an artist whose work I love, to create a piece around Darcy, Margot and myself. It reflects how we as a family are fluid, stepping up to the mark when needed and moving sideways and back when required. It's called 'We are 3' and it is just about us, how we operate both in business and personally. It's great fun; the artist has an incredible process when she creates works and totally immerses herself in the process. (You can see Eleanor’s Instagram here, or check out her work on her website.) While she was working on this piece, she listened to a song called 'Real Life (Angel)' and referenced lyrics from this song: "You have never been dumbfounded" and “Go straight to the place where you first lost your balance, and find your feet with the people that you love."

I spent a few days trying to find this place in my life, where I had first lost my balance, but was unable to locate it. I then had an overwhelming realisation that this was because I had never had balance in my life. After all, how can you lose something you never had? I then had another realisation which left me with a smile: I did have balance, but it was only in the present that I had found it. Life is indeed a journey, and we never stop evolving.

Stay safe & stay sane!