Bonjour and welcome to my review of another thrilling month for Team AC and me… for this edition of Maxine’s roundup, we’re venturing across the Channel! That’s right, the big news for April was Absolute Collagen in France. (And of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample some delicious macarons - in AC yellow, naturally!)

It’s enormously important to me that our fabulous French Absoluters are treated with the same love, care, and power of S.I.R (feeling Safe, Important, and Respected) as our English-speaking community, so it was truly an honour to share the AC story with some incredible French journalists and Absoluters. They all gave us a gorgeous warm welcome and were an absolute joy to work with. I went along with Darcy and Oriane, who is our amazing Country Manager for France, and we had an absolutely wonderful time - as you can see from our snaps! I think it’s safe to say I fell in love with Paris - what a beautiful city, and full of beautiful Absoluters. 

And the globetrotting didn’t stop there, as Darcy and our Quality Lead, Liane, also took a trip to Belgium on a supplier visit - check her out in her white coat!

Back in the UK, meanwhile, big things were happening - starting with a feature in Hello! and OK magazines - keep an eye out for us in the latest edition.

I’m especially delighted to announce that we have our first ever awards win for our new haircare range! We launched our shampoo and conditioner duo in March and it’s already been awarded Highly Commended at the Marie Claire Hair Awards, so we are all super proud of this fantastic achievement so soon after launch. Excitingly, this now means every single product in the Absolute Collagen family has won an award - we could not be prouder.

(And speaking of our shampoo and conditioner, have you tried these new products yet? Don’t forget, when you subscribe you’ll automatically receive a 22% discount, so you can enjoy your absolute best hair days for less - I’d love to hear how you get on!)

And finally (I never get tired of sharing awards news!) I am THRILLED to announce that our shampoo and collagen drink are up for the prestigious CEW Consumer Choice Awards, for Best New Hair Product and Best New Wellbeing Product respectively. For me, CEW is where AC all began, and as a passionate champion of Absoluters in everything I do, the CEW Consumer Choice Awards represent a truly meaningful, incredible milestone. I would love it if you could vote for us at the CEW website (just create an account to sign up, vote for us in Best New Hair Product and Best New Wellbeing Product, and you’ll be in with a chance of winning a beauty haul worth £500!) - thank you so much!

Looking ahead to the next month, I’m delighted to say May is also shaping up to be a truly magnificent month, with LOTS lined up for you lucky Absoluters! Keep an eye out on your emails for all the details - I won’t give too much away, but there’s some pretty incredible things lined up, and you (and your friends!) won’t want to miss out. For one thing, May will be AC’s fifth birthday - I can hardly believe it!

With all this excitement, I needed some ‘down’ time, and you all know how I love the great outdoors, it's where I recharge and get my energy. So I spent last weekend hiking 14 miles in a truly stunning location (all to be revealed later on - keep an eye out in the Absoluter group for a very special competition relating to my super secret hiking location!) It was absolutely amazing - lots of fresh air, sun, and sheep.

And finally… I never thought I’d say this, but I now have a blue tick on Instagram and Facebook!

This is so exciting and I’m so proud of Margot, our Organic Social Lead and my incredible social media whiz, for working so hard and getting the accounts verified - come and follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest on the amazing madness going on in my life, and exclusive behind the scenes content. I’d love you to come and say hi!