Maxine’s May Roundup: AC Turns 5 - and Darcy’s on Forbes 30 Under 30!

May was a massive month for Absolute Collagen, with a whirlwind of events, achievements, and all round fun.

May was, of course, Absolute Collagen’s birthday - we turned 5 years old! It’s been a rollercoaster ride, from cooking up collagen in my kitchen and packing the first Absoluter deliveries in my garage to the powerhouse brand we are today with over 50 fabulous members of Team AC.

We celebrated with a fun Absoluter giveaway, sending out birthday cards in randomly selected deliveries which meant the recipients could claim a free AC silk scrunchie by sending in a selfie with their card. I absolutely loved seeing all the gorgeous selfies flooding in, and I hope you’re all loving your scrunchies, too.

The Absoluter celebrations didn’t stop there, as I then hosted a fabulous lunch at The Ivy, Birmingham, to further celebrate our 5th birthday. What an amazing time, with some truly amazing women! It’s always such a joy to spend time with Absoluters - you’re the reason I do everything I do and moments like these are truly a highlight.

Rounding off the birthday fun, some of Team AC got together to celebrate. We dressed up, (did you see I wore blue feathers, as one does!) and went to Flight Club in Birmingham, where we played some virtual darts (with some healthy competition among some of us!), had some drinks, and let our hair down! Then, the morning after, our leadership team took over packing orders in the warehouse to give our amazing warehouse team a much needed break. Got to say I’m not as fast as I used to be - Darcy certainly cracked the whip a few times!

It was also a chance to celebrate another huge piece of news: Darcy is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list! As co-founder of Absolute Collagen, she’s been recognised in the Retail & Ecommerce category among some other pioneering names and fantastic businesspeople. It has been an incredible journey building Absolute Collagen with Darcy and I couldn’t be prouder - I know she’s going to go on to do even more incredible, inspirational things.

As well as birthday celebrations, May also saw some other fabulous events, starting with a super fun photoshoot with our hair experts, Eva Proudman and Michael Douglas, at Michael’s gorgeous London hair studio. Michael works with some of the top film and TV stars to style their luscious locks, so it was a huge treat for me to have my hair done by him, too! Keep an eye out for the photos…

Plus, Eva also joined me for an exclusive Absoluter virtual haircare event, answering all the important hair questions and even demonstrating a live hair consultation on Team AC’s lovely Gemma. It was such a great event and I can’t wait to welcome you to lots more in the future - watch this space!

I also hosted a working brunch to hear feedback on what Absoluters want next from AC. Everything we do is driven by your wants and needs, so these informal, informative get-togethers are really important. We chatted all things AC, and enjoyed some delicious food as well - combining two of my absolute favourite things!

It’s super important to me to give back and support good causes, and so I’m extremely proud to support the Prince’s Trust. This month, I was honoured to attend The Prince’s Trust Young Achievers Awards Ceremony in London - there was even a red carpet! Young people have never been so disadvantaged as they are today, and it was incredibly uplifting to hear some of their stories in the face of adversity and to celebrate them and their achievements. The Prince’s Trust has been supporting young people for the last 50 years, and I am incredibly proud to be involved in their next steps.

Now, let’s talk hair. Have you tried Absolute Collagen’s shampoo and conditioner duo yet? Well, if you’re looking for something to pump up the volume of your hair, then we’ve got you covered - as our thickening shampoo has just been awarded Best Product for Volume in the Woman and Home Hair awards! I’m incredibly proud of this one, as I created this haircare range based on feedback and requests from Absoluters who were concerned about fine, thin hair, so it truly means so much to have won this award: this shampoo really works!

Away from work, I spent my Bank Holiday weekend on a gruelling 22 mile walk - it’s great to get out and about in nature but my gosh this one was tough!

Finally, a quick peek ahead to another super exciting event and some HUGE news for us as a brand: Absolute Collagen will be appearing at Good Housekeeping Live, as the official beauty partner! This is a definite highlight of the beauty and lifestyle calendar, so it’s incredibly exciting to be attending, and even more amazing to be the official beauty partner, and I’m so looking forward to meeting everyone. It’s a three day extravaganza, lots of fun, and will be happening on June 23rd-25th - grab your ticket now, and I’ll see you there.