We received this Facebook message last weekend and I just had to ask Vivienne if she was happy for us to share this little story, because it quite literally brought a tear to my eyes... weekly pay and fortnightly pay have certainly allowed more people to join in on the treat revolution and when we read messages like this it definitely reminds us why we offer this service! 

"Thank you for my December box. This was my final year at University, 5 years ago I started my degree, and 1 year ago I left my husband. The last year has been really challenging, aside from all of the heartache that goes with splitting a family in half, the level of pressure, the bills, and amount of responsibility on my shoulders seemed to have double. I used to get your boxes a couple of years ago but last year when I saw that you were offering weekly pay I signed back up.

I live in a small flat in Christchurch, I work a part time job around kids and study, and have a commission based sales job in my spare time. Between jiggling my household bills, school fees, and all the unexpected expenses life has, I have been able to maintain my $12 weekly payment for my monthly treat box. 

When it arrives, it is just like Christmas every month, and helps to make looking after my skin affordable. You guys are great to deal with, Chloe made me feel so much better when I called after embarrassingly missing my final December payment and despite how busy everyone was, your team managed to help me resolve the whole situation. 

Next year I have accepted a position working full time as a junior solicitor in a community law practice in Christchurch, and while the salary for a first year is not massive, it is still double what my family is used to surviving on. Thank you for reminding me to take care of myself so I can take care of my tribe, and thank you for making weekly pay an option so that I could afford to make time for myself. I would like to change my next payment to monthly so please go ahead and switch it to the 1st of Feb. I can't wait to get the natural January box and think what you do to make women feel good is very special. 

I enjoy reading the updates about your business and think you should all be very proud, from one working mum to another, we got this."

Vivienne - MyTreat Customer (Christchurch) 

This week we pack January boxes to get them out to our deserving customers, and while you are no longer able to sign up for these amazing Natural New Year boxes, we have just released our February theme and thought you might like to know a little more about it. Last year our sleep themed subscription box was a huge hit. We are very excited to be following up our Sold Out January Natural New Year Box with a selection of treats that will encourage some early nights and self care. The 2019 Sleep Box is all New Zealand made and every treat is 100% natural... and just so we can sleep easier here at MyTreat HQ, this box is also completely plastic free.

These ethical body and beauty treats have been selected from brands who are committed to environmentally sustainable packaging. Being able to celebrate Matakana Skincare, Nudi Point, SleepDrops and more great New Zealand brands, means our customers are in for some sweet dreams and glowing skin. Our February box is designed to make you feel amazing with high quality, natural skincare you will love. 

If you need a few tools to encourage more great sleep, and to make sure each hour you do get is high quality, you will enjoy all the full size products this box has on offer! With a retail value of $100, the hero of this box is undoubtedly SleepDrops NZ Adult 30ml for everyone to try. There are also 4 great other brands we are partnering with on this box so you can enjoy natural night cream, all over exfoliation and skincare and beauty treats from all over New Zealand.  

The award winning SleepDrops is an all-natural sleep and stress remedy that provides support during times of stress and sleeplessness. SleepDrops is New Zealand’s number one selling sleep range and has been supporting people to sleep better for over 10 years and we are so excited to have a full size adults SleepDrops NZ bottle in each box for you to try. 

Sign up HERE

 

In November we received our first delivery of beautiful MyTreat branded underwear, with our manufacturer eagerly awaiting the first round of feedback, the GO button was pushed late last year on the order for more. This means we are going to be brightening up mail boxes all year with beautiful, soft, MyTreat branded underwear we know you will want to wear. 

After 2 years sending underwear to people all over New Zealand we have a fair idea of what you do and don't like. For the last few years we have worked with a handful of suppliers and while some knickers have been a real hit, we have struggled to always manage the quality, and sizes the way we wanted. By finding a manufacturer to make our own designs, we can ensure the underwear is ethical, beautiful, and the right size for our body shape. 

When setting out to develop our own brand we worked with more than 40 customers to get specific feedback for each size group. It was important for us to be able to cater to all sizes and offer the same beautiful fabrics, and flattering cuts. The road to our own brand has been a bumpy one and with the first few samples being delivered completely different to what we anticipated, we finally started to make progress in the middle of 2018. 

If you would like to sample our beautiful new underwear you can sign up to an Underwear Only Subscription and get 50% off your first order when you use the code HALFPRICEPANTS at check out. Order <<HERE>>.

Or check out our one off shop <<HERE>> to order yourself a pair (or two) without the ongoing commitment of a subscription. 

Happy New Year!! Whether it's an extra few rides on your bike, a river float with friends, or a sneaky cider in the sun, the summer months should definitely include an element of self indulgence! The silly season is behind us and we can focus on the things that will make 2019 an extra exciting year. At MyTreat we are thrilled to have our best boxes ever coming out over the next few months, and are excited to help more women feel beautiful, healthy and strong this year.  

We asked around and wrote down our top 5 tips for treating ourselves better in 2019.

1.      Making YOU time a priority...
Even if you can only find 1 hour a week. Go for a walk, or a wine, take a yoga class or head to the gym; and if peace and quiet is what you crave, find a spot you can hide away from it all. The most important thing to remember with your YOU time, is not to feel guilty. Looking after ourselves should not be something we have to justify, and more often than not it is ourselves that feel doubt over whether we deserve it. We just have to decide it is what we are owed, and go for it. If you need some tools and treats to help pamper yourself, checkout our January box <<HERE>>

2.      Apply the ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’ philosophy.
Check ourselves out of drama, and don’t buy into problems completely beyond our control. We have all been in those situations where we have the right advice that is never heard. The best thing we can do for ourselves, and our nearest and dearest is to focus our energy at home and allow the problems of others to resolve themselves.

3.      If you’re grateful, write it down.
Being a mum can be exhausting, trying for babies can be so unfair, working for a boss who is completely unrealistic is brutal, but the challenges life throws at us can be overcome and something that has helped is a little gratitude diary. Each day the little miracles and top few things to be appreciated are written down. You may have heard about this before, and you may think it’s a load of rubbish, but for those among us who choose to give this a go, I am sure the outlook is brighter and our mindfulness over how wonderful family, friends, and life can be, is improved.

4.      Keep our expectations in check.
Basically for the sake of your own sanity you can dial back on the pressure you are putting on yourself, because you are probably your own toughest critic! When I first had my little girl I was so eager to be the perfect mum and wife. I wanted to have the house clean, baby fed, dinner ready AND grow a successful business. Each day the list was long and as I got further into the newborn haze, I was less and less able to complete what I had set out for myself each day. Someone very wise came to visit and told me to get rid of everything on the list except 2 things each day. What this did was allow me to set my expectations realistically based on my circumstances, and overnight I went from feeling like a failure to being able to fully focus on enjoying my daughter and appreciating the jobs I did achieve…

5.   Ask for help…
During this same period (as mentioned above), I also learned to delegate the rest of the list to hubby! If your man (or children) need to help with more chores this year, write it down for him. Men are practical, they cant read our minds and some probably don’t even know if they need to help out more, so just give him clear instructions on what you would like help with.

New Zealand is a business hub… perhaps not in the traditional sense but there are women all over this country who are dominating in their own little industry. From New Zealand made clothing coming directly out of rural towns, to exciting new subscription boxes with everything from chocolates to spices, and underwear, and perhaps one of the biggest and most dynamic industries, sleep management and naturopathy.

Enter Kirsten Taylor. Founder and creator of SleepDrops NZ. You may have seen them in the news recently, because this beautiful boss lady is on a mission. Not only are her effective products about to take the globe by storm but she is turning up the volume on her brand, and asking the public to help fund her quest for taking SleepDrops to the world. The costs for running any business are significant; the costs involved with growing a brand internationally, plus the required testing, researching, and production needed for going global are not even comprehensible for most of us. This innovative funding model allows investors to realise the benefits of supporting a great New Zealand brand, rather than lining the pockets of internationally owned financial institutions.

Kirsten has not just emerged on the scene with a grand plan for world domination. Her products have been tried and tested by Kiwi’s for 10 years, her team is vast, experienced, and poised for this new project. With the company’s growth map outlined, it was time to grab the snacks, hit the road, and watch this exciting New Zealand business take on the world markets… Except at the end of last year the media came after Kirsten and her SleepDrops Crowd Funding and Pledge Me campaigns. Her mistake? They had a very small error on a balance sheet showing a positive business position and very positive projections that detailed millions in revenue allocations. Not for one second did I read the media pieces and think that the SleepDrops campaign was misleading people into supporting their growth. What made me feel incredibly sad however, was the fact we are STILL existing in an age where women are not celebrated for their incredible achievements.

The crowd funding documents not only highlighted an extremely successful company grown from nothing, but a thorough and well thought out forecast for future growth…. The good news is the goal of raising over $500,000 has been realised! With the final financial figure yet to be released, the strength of Kirsten’s brand, her products, and her resilience in the face of backlash is a testament to her as a CEO. It gives all of us women in business, questioning what the hell we are getting ourselves into, and coming up against a little too much ‘man-splaining’, a lot more faith. Work hard and don’t give up, no matter how brutal the challenges can be, success awaits us, and our mission to bring something really cool into peoples lives, is worth every bit of hardship along the way.

We are so excited to be partnering with SleepDrops in 2019, not only will we be able to include their highly regarded Adults 30ml in our up coming boxes but we cant wait to fill you in on how this adventure goes for this great New Zealand brand.

When we found out there was a possibility of including more Oxygen Skincare in a 2019 MyTreat box, we were just so eager to get their amazing organic products out to our deserving customers we asked very nicely if we could start the year off on a high note with one of the hero products. We are thrilled to include the Purifying Honey Masque in our January boxes and know you will enjoy this all natural face care favourite! This is a beautiful NZ brand and their growth as a company has been a result of people experiencing the Oxygen Skincare difference, and falling in love.

Originally a family of organic Hops farmers they have successfully diversified into skincare and with the founder having roots within the beauty and modelling industry she is fully aware of just how powerful good skin is, as a confidence booster for both women and the teens. The mother and daughter (and Auntie) team, have developed a New Zealand natural skincare range to love and MyTreat January boxes have never looked better.

This Purifying Honey Masque has been developed to suit teens and women, and will support a beautiful, toned, and healthy complexion and is a great way to kickstart your 2019 skincare routine. If you struggle to find a toner that successfully balances your skin, this masque is a life saver. As mentioned in our January box reveal blog this product goes on like silk, and that is no understatement. It is so light and luxurious and you can feel it working its magic straight away.

Oxygen skincare is currently available in Farmers, and pharmacies around New Zealand. While this brand started small, they have been steadily increasing production for the past 3 years and the momentum behind the successful skincare range has seen them go international in recent months. They are also launching a subscription skincare service, which is ideal for teens who are looking for a consistent and effective routine to help manage specific complexion and skin issues. Find out more about the service here, and if you are looking for a way to help your teen get ready for the new school year or as they head off to university, this range should not be overlooked.

We choose our treats based on the ability for our customers to purchase more of the range, or repeats of the product. No end of lines, just top quality treats that we are proud to introduce to you. We are also only looking for natural brands, and being organic is a great indicator of just how good this is for our skin. The process is extensive and it’s a testament to the ethos of Alana and Olivia that they have achieved this. This product is genuine cruelty free, we don’t buy products from brands like Covergirl, Calvin Klein and Maybelline that comply with export/import animal testing requirements and are not truly cruelty free. Help us celebrate the amazing women in business at Oxygen Skincare who are striving to achieve better skincare for our teens, our environment, and our bodies.

Head over and follow them on Instagram or Facebook and keep an eye out for your chance to win this amazing Oxygen Skincare prize pack.

We are back and working through the inbox as we speak. I hope all our wonderful customers (and their friends who received one off boxes for Christmas) had a great festive season. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported MyTreat throughout 2018, we are excited about the treats still to come and look forward to a fun year ahead. 

Whether you worked, holiday'd, or had a combination of both, there is no doubt we all head into the new year feeling a little jaded. Yesterday when I opened my laptop after my first proper break in over a year, it was not long before I started to feel my MyTreat motivation returning. This year is all about more great relationships with suppliers, great products for our boxes, and consistent and responsive service for our customers. I am very excited about what we can offer both brands that work with us, and our loyal customer base. This year we want to increase our presence through more exciting photos and video content, and more brand partnerships.  

Last year we introduced bigger boxes, our own brand of underwear and more value loaded boxes than ever before. We did also increase our prices by $4 per month in November, this enables us to have more room to play with box budgets, and to ensure each item inside really does WOW you. The biggest challenge of 2018 was working out the right way to manage a real life grown up business. I learned how to create the best possible team, manage the balance of energy working within our office, and ensure the resources were evenly contributed to each aspect of running MyTreat. While the marketing was never a problem, I have very little experience in HR, admin and other skills essential for successfully running a small business so the learning curve was a big one. 

While we are aiming to keep the team small and efficient, in 2019 we are going bigger than ever before. While we do have a few exciting announcements to be revealed very soon, one of the most exciting projects of this year is one that I have been dreaming of since launching MyTreat. With marketing in my blood and a passion for all things promotion, we are launching the MyTreat Marketing Group. This will focus on allowing our suppliers to increase sales, while subsidising the growth of our own marketing team for the further benefit of our suppliers, and our customers. 

If you know someone who has a business, and who would love to increase their online revenue, let them know to get in touch. I am currently hunting for a handful of businesses who are a good fit with our brand to launch the concept with. We look forward to a very busy and exciting 2019 for both MyTreat and the MyTreat Marketing Group. 

To request an information pack please contact: Rosie@mytreat.co.nz

This Natural New Year box has a few extra special treats, and we are SO excited to be working with Oxygen Skincare and Little Honey to bring you products that your whole body will love. Timing is everything, and at MyTreat we are heading into 2019 with a spring in our step and looking forward to offering more amazing treats for our subscribers to try. This box is a well thought out so you can enjoy seasonal treats for your whole body, your hands, your face and your soul. We want to help you start 2019 the way you intend to go on (treating yourself more often!). 

Each January, we sit down as a team, write up our personal and professional goals, and gather our thoughts about how we can be better as a brand in 2019. It is a good time of year to set ourselves a few challenges, and reflect on all the fab things that have been achieved over the last 12 months. We want all our customers to have an opportunity (and excuse) to take some time out and rejuvenate with some By Nature Skincare essential oils, and this is such a great product to help you start 2019 on a calm and happy note. This natural treat will help uplift you, and encourage a biochemical reaction in your brain to help you relax and de-stress. The perfect tool to aid in the goal setting, and reflection process. 

A beautiful 200ml certified organic masque... skincare experts will understand what a masque does, but for those of us who struggle to find the time to cleanse let alone pay time and attention to the tone of our complexion, a masque is a little vague. Is it a mask? Well sort of, this is an innovative wash on- wash off face care product from New Zealand brand Oxygen. With the power of natural manuka honey and cucumber, the unique blend of beneficial hop extracts is ideal for improving your skin tone. This beautiful product rubs onto your face like silk, the aroma of honey is subtle and sweet, and after you have washed this off, the natural oils in your face will be balanced, your pores will tighten, and your skin hydrated for a naturally glowing face. This product is well suited to all skin types and is especially formulated for teens and women to share. 

With your clear mind, and beautiful complexion, it's only fair we send you something to revive your body too. This luxe glove from tan icons Little Honey can be used to apply a beautiful even tan from tip to toe, or you can use it as a gentle exfoliate (or Chloe's hot tip... a super chic oven glove..!!). You will get a voucher to use so you can choose the best Little Honey tan for you, and if you are an all natural skin tone lover like Chloe, you can always use this treat to ensure your skin is gently exfoliated which is ideal at the time of year where our bodies see more lotions, sun-creams, gels and creams. 

January is a great time to send a lovely hand lotion, and this Linden Leaves Crystal Crush nourishing hand cream is an award winner and will fit perfectly in your purse, or pencil case! This New Zealand brand is all luxury, and with a full natural certification, you know each and every ingredient can be organically and ethically traced back to its origin. When we are talking about coating our hands in cream, it is so important to know that there are no nasty chemicals or harsh synthetic fragrances used. This product, and every treat from Linden Leaves has been developed with love, and this lotion is one of their hero products your hands will thank us for. 

Over the November and December period we sold over 30 different varieties of exciting one off boxes... and we noticed a trend. Some sold VERY quickly, when looking at what the common theme in our most popular boxes there were a few things in common. They had Linden Leaves inside, AND they included this amazing little (we call it secret keeper) product. Hide tired eyes, improve collagen regeneration, firm your fine lines and feel more confident going make up free. New Zealand made firming eye serum and is infused with magnolia bark extract, Argan oil, and Q10 to promote skin elasticity and will help you hide those post festive season dark eye circles, and help nourish & hydrate your skin. We love this product because it helps stimulate the bodies natural generation of collagen to firm fine lines and help you feel fab with a real luxury NZ made treat.

If you want in on the treat revolution in 2019, choose your subscription box here.

It's always a pleasure to work with women running their own businesses. Absolute Essential was established 30 years ago by Bo Hendgen, her understanding of therapeutic plant oils, and passion for aromatic medicine has driven her to develop one of the leading therapeutic plant oil manufacturing businesses in New Zealand, and while she does sell direct to customers, and throughout stores across New Zealand, she also exports her high quality, certified organic products to Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

It was a challenge when Bo arrived from France 33 years ago with 2 small children and $500 and a dream of creating her own aromatic medicine practice here in New Zealand. While trying to work with high quality plant oils, she struggled to get what she needed in New Zealand at the time. Bo set out to create and develop her own essential oil business, and special therapeutic blends that would allow her to more effectively treat her Auckland patients. For the first few years she was making her products on demand, not only for use in her own practice, but for shops throughout Auckland. As her business has grown Bo has had the opportunity to learn all aspects of running her own company, she has successfully risen to that challenge and despite some insincerity within the natural and organic oil market, she is committed to only working with the most natural processes and as a result Absolute Essential special blends and oil's are among the highest quality in New Zealand and globally. It is all about the size of the molecules which are absorbed into our system and help our bodies take advantage of these special plant oil aromas. Bo and her team have managed to achieve significantly higher levels of molecule extraction within their natural process, which means her pure blends and essential oils are better absorbed by our bodies than other similar products on the market.

Her focus remained on creating highly effective natural plant oil products, with low impact on the environment, and creating a sustainable work place, both internally for her staff, but also in a way that flowed through to customers. Using carefully thought out packaging that can be easily recycled in New Zealand, and ensuring the entire process from development, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing and distributing is all in-house, Bo has managed to provide a full range of specific products to target everyday issues, from sleep deprivation, stress management, skin problems, and so much more. Aboslute Essential is the first of it's kind in our boxes and the Stress Less blend will help you feel more focused, and calm. We know the best beauty tool of all is feeling great on the inside. We can't wait for this treat to be delivered to our deserving customers as we are fully aware this time of year does come with it's fair share of stress. This box is all about New Zealand made products, but it's also about the best of the best. In terms of what you can source domestically, we feel like there is much to learn about the plant oil market. Both about benefits specific natural aromas can provide for our bodies, but also in terms of what is genuine and what is not. After speaking to Bo, I did get the feeling there is a level of frustration at the common misconceptions in the market.

Here are the 3 key differences we though t would be helpful when it comes to understanding natural plan t oils....

• Natural Slow & Low temperature extraction results in MUCH higher levels of absorption for our bodies... "The truth is that our senses have been bombarded with such a volume of synthetic and mass produced aromas and with the majority of people living in such clean, man-made environments, we are mostly disconnected from the deeper molecular relationship we actually have with pure natural fragrance. No matter how cleverly recreated, a synthetic compound will never have the life forces of a plant essence to integrate with your body's own natural processes. Even the natural fragrances that do get used are often so adulterated by high production practices that their aromas are more likely to carry not therapeutic molecules but damaged and contaminated ones. It has been found that the molecules that come into our body systems with modern fragrance blends do not integrate in a natural way but rather accumulate in our organs and immune systems."
• Although it’s only a small part of the brain in terms of volume, the limbic system has some of the most basic, life-sustaining and meaningful roles of all brain structure, and organic plant oils will target this to help you manage stress, sleep better, and more. The limbic system controls emotions like anger and fear, and by using oils you can help regulating eating, hunger and thirst, help your bodies response to pain, and help control the function of the autonomic nervous system, including things like pulse, blood pressure, and breathing. "Pure, medicinal-grade essential oils offer a way to integrate with natural body systems that just isn’t possible with synthetic medicines. And currently their value for influencing natural relaxation and healthful balance is making its mark in traditional medical institutions around the world. This is significant not because medical science looks set to throw out all drugs in favor of natural essential oils, but because essential oils are helping to open up the world of allopathic medicine to a more holistic appreciation of patient health care."
• Look for a company who specialise in therapeutic plant oils. "We believe that people and planet are dynamic beings with a natural capacity for perfect balanced health; that everything in the natural world is connected; and that it is not possible to nurture authentic health in one living being with a process that is damaging to another."

If you would like to find out more about the Stress Less blend included in the New Zealand Made November Box click here.... or to book your e-Consult and kick start 2019 on a great note, click here. 

Here it is... the December Christmas stocking box. This box is currently sold out, we do have a waiting list if you want to join here ... read on below to see all the treats we are delivering this Christmas. 

Featuring our favourite brands, and treats you need at this time of year. Beautiful Body Oil from Linden Leaves, with natural botanical extracts to hydrate and restore your skin, Pink Clay Mask, Skinnies Sungel, a day creme a natural rosehip lip balm. This box was designed to offer practical and exciting body treats that will let you pamper your skin and protect it from the summer sun.

Skinnies Sungel (RRP $34.95) is the perfect sun protection for busy people. "This SPF30 sungel smells delicious, feels really nice on your skin, and doesn’t leave any nasty residue. It’s really easy to apply, and a little goes a long way. You can wear it under makeup straight away, which means that it’s perfect for everyday protection...." Megan Kerr - blogger, nzgirl review.

"What makes this different from your average sunscreen in that it doesn’t contain water – most contain 50-70% water, meaning that they take 20 minutes to dry (while the water evaporates), and when you sweat or swim the sunscreen washes off, which is why you need to reapply every 2 hours. Not with Skinnies! Skinnies dries in 2 minutes, isn’t greasy or white and you only need to apply a small amount for super long lasting protection. There are no parabens, preservatives, fragrances, colours or perfumes in Skinnies and it DOES contain vitamin E that moisturises your skin while the other ingredients are protecting it. Skinnies Sungel is made in New Zealand (tick), and isn’t tested on animals (double tick)."

Plus every single one of our December subscribers will receive a Linden Leaves memories Body Oil... this botanical body oil will leave your skin hydrated, and your senses uplifted with natural plant extracts. These are beautiful to look at too, with free dried roses inside each bottle. Made with love indeed... 

We are also SO excited to feature our own brand of beautiful MyTreat underwear in December Underwear, and Body and Underwear boxes. If you are not already on the list to get these, but would like to try them out please respond to this email before 10am Friday and we can update that for you.