Spa • Beauty • Wellness

Even if I haven't yet given birth, my existence is already consumed by thoughts of my wee one; keeping on top of my pregnancy supplements and nutrition to encourage his healthy development, researching and purchasing everything we'll need to keep him safe, maintaining regular GP checks and growth scans. The list seems truly endless.

It's safe to say then that Mother's Day is the last thing on my mind. So when, in my third trimester, I was gifted a spa treatment by More Than Skin, I was humbled beyond belief. Suddenly, Mother's Day didn't seem like just another mandatory awareness day. Suddenly, it had real meaning. Instead of being the nurturer, I was being nurtured, and I now understand the profound significance of treating mothers.

Walking into the spa's spacious main reception, I felt awash with the warmest energy. Sunlight streamed onto the blush pink sofa, and I was met with the biggest smile from Spa Manager Pauline. Guided into the treatment room, low lighting calmed my senses, and I slipped into the treatment bed and the deepest state of peace.  

Pauline intuitively tailored the facial to my pregnancy needs. It began with a refreshing cleanse from Joyce Blok's sensitive range, enriched with rebalancing natural oils. A deeper cleanse followed as JB's Face & Body Exfoliant polished away surface debris and dead cells (god knows how long they'd been there). The scent of jasmine took me somewhere heavenly during an incredible facial massage, the coveted 100% Natural Balm working to hydrate and rebalance my complexion. With lymphatic drainage activated - I felt less puffy, more contoured, and more - me. Pauline then applied JB's Professional Blueberry Peel-Off Mask, which moulded to fit the contours of my face. Rich in blueberry extract, vitamin C and chamomile, it gave my skin (and state of mind) a real moment of softness. Super Serum completed the experience, my skin welcoming its silky gel texture as it worked to repair and rejuvenate. 

As the animal world begins to grow thicker coats and forage for extra food in preparation for winter, autumn is Mother Nature's first seasonal reminder that we too, should nurture our wellbeing. Cooler temperatures, harsher winds and a decrease in sunlight make caring for our skin and state of mind during this time essential. Our favourite way to do both is with a weekly mask. Here's why masking is the ultimate form of self-care this season. 

Mask up to elevate your skincare routine 

Face masks elevate your skincare routine and give your skin a concentrated boost of vitamins and nutrients. Depending on your mask of choice, they can target any skin concern and provide game-changing benefits like reducing unwanted inflammation, oil and breakouts or amplifying hydration, tone and a sunshine-like glow. We recommend incorporating a mask once a week to improve skin health and condition. The best part? Waking up the morning after an evening mask sesh - hello goddess skin!

Mask up in the name of emotional wellbeing 

As we move away from the hustle culture that was rife during the 90's and early 2000's, taking a moment for ourselves is now recognised as one the most important things we can do for our mental health. Pausing for some me-time and applying your favourite face mask can improve mood and support mental wellbeing. No one aggressively cleans the house or works through their admin list while wearing a mask. We're much more likely to do something calming while those delicious ingredients are soaking into our skin. Most mask-wearing multi-taskers will enjoy a hot bath, watch a movie, sip on a hot drink or dive into their favourite book. To keep our emotional wellbeing cups intact, anything done for others or work should come from a secure, grounded place. Perhaps the old "put your own mask on before helping others" analogy has an even deeper meaning outside an aeroplane safety briefing. 

Like our Mother Nature muse, More Than Skin is in a constant state of evolution. From our humble beginnings as a beauty studio focused on the necessities of skincare and grooming, we've grown into our name, looking deeper than the first layer of skin alone. 

Our holistic view pairs the best in skincare formulations with delicious self-care rituals to nurture mind, body and soul. We're always researching new ingredients and curating treatments to guide your skin and wellness journey. This April, MTS introduce the first in a series of professional-only facials. 

The Professional Facial is a luxurious 60-minute treatment that begins with dedicated cleansing and toning. Joyce Blok’s Alpha-Beta Radiance treatment is applied to enhance the skin's natural exfoliation process, allowing the renewal of healthier skin cells and improving moisture retention from within. Your therapist will use 16% or 25% strength alpha-beta hydroxy acids making your treatment a powerful facilitator for skin transformation. With radiance restored, the choice is yours; will you delve deeper into self-care with a therapeutic massage to relieve tension in the back, neck and shoulders? Or will you opt for a rejuvenating and anti-ageing light therapy treatment? Ideal for those seeking optimum skin care results. Walk away with glowing skin, a heavenly sense of calm, and our gift to you; a complimentary, full-size Alpha Beta Gel Cream. With an Alpha-Beta strength of 4.5%, it's the perfect elixir to maintain and promote your new-found glow from home. 

The Professional Facial is available from now though the autumn season. Only limited spots each day. Call early to reserve your place. 

Gone are the days when self-care is seen as an indulgent treat for special occasions. Today it's viewed as a wellbeing essential and is something that both western and eastern medicine agree on. Every New Year we encourage you to book your regular self-care dates with us and 2023 is no exception...here's why.

Despite our growing knowledge of its necessity, self-care is one of the first things that gets dropped from our to-do list when life gets busy. A characteristic familiar in women who tend to put the needs of others before their own. Having a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce anxiety and stress, increase happiness, and more. A revival for mind, body and soul, it provides us with the energy not just to cope but thrive in everyday life.

If your moment of self-care includes skincare (such as a facial), there are additional benefits. Like fine-tuning your car, it helps to think of a facial as essential maintenance. Facials help remove the build-up of oil and dirt that everyday cleansers can't. Facials increase circulation and deliver oxygen, proteins and nutrition to the skin, while eliminating congestion. Increasing circulation also promotes cellular turnover and helps slow the ageing process. 

Another reason to set regular self-care dates in your diary lies in the mental health benefits of looking forward to something. Anticipation of an upcoming event sits within a newer branch of psychology known as "the psychology of happiness". Research shows that having an event or experience to look forward to directly affects our wellbeing. 

The wellness benefits of forest therapy & a simple mindfulness ritual to bring nature into your home.

At the crux of every overused saying is an element of truth. "Nature is the best medicine" is the perfect example. Who hasn't felt better after a walk outdoors or a dip in the sea?

Forest therapy is a wellness practice which at its simplest, means spending time in the forest or nature as an antidote to the overwhelm of sights, sounds, and smells of city life. Just some of the many forest therapy benefits scientists and academics have discovered include; reduced blood pressure, anxiety, anger, depression and stress, restored focus, improved sleep, increased energy and creativity, a calmer nervous system and greater clarity of thought.  

However, getting outdoors isn't the only way to enjoy the power of nature. Here are a few simple ways to bring nature into your home:

Indoor plants - enough said! Plants inject positive vibrational energy into your space and provide a wealth of wellbeing benefits. 

Incorporate wooden furniture and decor with texture and raw elemental materiality. For example; an oak table or woven baskets. 

Embrace aromatherapy with natural essences. Better yet, take a mindfulness moment with More Than Skin’s Forest Therapy Bath & Shower Oil.

Take a Mindfulness Moment

As you apply the soothing Forest Therapy Bath & Shower Oil, take a moment to visualise basking in nature. Imagine you're standing under the most beautiful waterfall or bathing in a crystal clear lake. Repeat to yourself, "I inhale the future, I exhale the past", breathing in and out slowly and deeply, embodying the sentiment.

Isn't it funny how the closer we get to the end of the year, the faster time seems to tick? One minute it's a fine spring morning in October, and the next, you're in a zorb tumbling towards December. And while your to-do list should be getting slimmer, it feels like it is accumulating tasks at speed - present shopping, Christmas day planning, what to cook, where to go and who to visit. We are here to help by encouraging you to take a moment of tranquility. A break? Will that really help? Yes it will and here’s why.  

A moment of tranquility is one of transition. Slowing down from an unsustainable pace and into presence. Allowing yourself time to rest and recover. Because as much as we're capable of, we need to remember that we are the vessel. We’re not supposed to “do it all”. And the saying "you can't pour from an empty cup" couldn't be more accurate. By making space for yourself and taking a moment - you open up to receiving. 

There are many ways to cultivate a moment of tranquility, but one of our favourites is through self-care. A beauty treatment might seem like it's only taking care of the outside, but it also allows us to connect internally. To close down the eyes, breathe and contemplate how magical it is to simply be in your body. 

For some, gift-giving comes as second nature. They’ll buy in advance, give meaningful gifts, perfectly wrapped and delivered with a smile. For others, any cause for celebration causes ‘gift anxiety’. Not an official term by any means, but if we had to diagnose it, we’d summarise the symptoms as; indecision, last-minute desperation and sheer panic. For the acute, it may come with multiple attempts of self-assurance, telling yourself over and over “it’s the thought that counts”.  

So it got us thinking, what makes the perfect gift? And how can we make things easier on ourselves? Particularly as we approach the silly season. 

We believe the equation is pretty simple. The perfect gift is one that will bring the receiver joy. A great indicator of whether your gift will succeed in this endeavour is to turn the tables. Would you be happy to receive the gift yourself? And will you feel joy when delivering it? If you feel warm fuzzies on both accounts, you’ve nailed it. 

To help you out even further, we’ve found the perfect gift on your behalf - a More Than Skin Voucher. And before you revert to old-school thoughts around a voucher not being thoughtful; our More Than Skin Vouchers are, just as their name suggests, more than vouchers. They’re a “moment of peace”. A gift that says, “it’s ok, this year has been a lot, this is your chance to let go and indulge in some well-deserved self-care”. What could be more thoughtful than that? 

This year we have collaborated with world spa winners Aromatherapy Associates London for an extraordinary opportunity for you to invest in the perfect gift. The focus is on tranquility, rest and sleep. 

You may like to give a moment of peace, serenity, restoration or revival. Our More Than Skin Vouchers come in an array of curated beauty and wellness experiences. 

Who would you like to gift a self-care experience to this year? Your mum, sister, a loved one or a friend who’s always been there (no matter how often you fail to text back). Or perhaps yourself? What a delicious way to see out the year. 

www.morethanskin.co.nz

As part of our birthday celebrations this month, we have been gifting a Joyce Blok Sugar Scrub with online purchases over $250. This week we were delighted to have been asked to extend these delicious treats to friends of our MTS family. The art of gifting, especially a surprise gift, is such an uplifting experience. Studies have shown that people who give gifts feel happier and better about their lives. We see this each time we wrap a gift or put together a voucher for one of our clients in Spa. They are literally glowing with pleasure as they anticipate how treasured the moment of delivery will be.

We also get enormous pleasure in wrapping gifts as part of our online service. Gifting improves our mood and state of mind. There is no way you can have a negative thought as you are giving someone you love something to enjoy. As it turns out, the act of giving is a gift in itself.

Sometimes the choice of gift reflects what we perhaps cannot communicate verbally. We may feel too shy, too sad or too overwhelmed, yet the art of giving somehow does the job for us. For example, a living plant can be gifted and nurtured for months after it has been received. Every day the person who was gifted the plant is reminded of how loved they are.

Some say the greatest gift you can give is time. We say the greatest gift you can give is touch – but we are perhaps a little biased. Whatever your preference, we hope you enjoy the art of giving over the coming weeks and months. A tradition that never gets old.

Here’s to us, here’s to you and here’s to ageing well.

Ageing well - what it means to us as we turn a year older  

Hard to believe we are 29 years old this August! For some of us the cry of ‘oh to be in our 20s again’ was heard as we discussed this weeks journal. The reality is age is but a number and ageing well, as a term often associated with a lack of fine lines and wrinkles, in 2022, now seems somewhat archaic! 

At More Than Skin, we've only ever viewed ageing with the same positive and holistic lens we do anything. To us, ageing well is about how happy you feel in your own skin (not how others perceive it), it's about how healthy or energetic you feel, how inspired you feel and whether you're living life on your terms.

At More Than Skin, we see acts of self-care as a source of strength. Bathing is the most beautiful example of this.

Through the lens of self-care, bathing is more than just ‘getting clean’. Physically, bathing can soothe muscle tension, support immunity and balance your hormones. Being submerged in warm water calms the nervous system, and reduces stress and anxiety in the body. Emotionally, the healing power of water allows us to wash off any negative energy from the day. It’s a chance to escape, reflect and simply be. The ultimate moment of stillness.

Cultures around the world have long believed in the healing benefits of water, and bathing is rooted in ritual, tradition and respect for self and nature. In Japan, bathing is believed to be just as important as eating and sleeping. Japanese onsen, or hot springs, are visited frequently to cleanse body, mind and spirit. Hungary has the most natural thermal springs in the world - their spa and bathing culture dating back to ancient Roman times. In Finland, bathing practices extend to steam baths and saunas, so much so that saunas are almost equal to their population.

This bathing month, we invite you on a journey of self-care. We believe wellbeing is the sum of many parts. It requires tools, rituals and healthy habits. 

Evenings are an essential part of the equation. It’s time to fully rest and restore. With this in mind, we’ve put together a bedtime checklist for a quiet mind and a relaxed body.

For a calm mind and body

Indulge in a good book

Download a mindfulness app - even just tuning in for a few minutes can train your mind to better cope with stress and anxiety

Take some deep intentional breathes to reset your central nervous system

Keep a journal or notebook beside your bed to download any concerns or things you’d rather think about during the day

Reduce screen time an hour before bed 

Bathe in De-stress Mind Bath & Shower Oil 2 hours before bed

Enjoy a soothing chamomile tea

Commit to some light exercise to shake off the day. Any form of movement from a boogie in the living room, a gentle walk or yoga can clear your head and give a sense of empowerment and calm.

Light a candle to soothe your senses - Aromatherapy Associates limited edition candles come in three therapeutic aromas; Rose, Deep-Relax and De-Stress. 

Try integrating some of these into your nightly routine over the next month and observe how it makes you feel.

History tells us of the power of scent through the role it played in ancient rituals, ceremonies, and healing realms. This was a little lost with the commercialisation of synthetic fragrance, but today fragrance has adopted deep purpose and meaning beyond a cheeky spritz of perfume to compliment an outfit. 

Neuroscientists have proven that scent can alter our emotions and moods more than any other sensory experience. Our scent receptors are closely linked to our limbic system, the part of the brain which influences memory, emotion, and psychological functions. 

We invite you to shift your mood with the therapeutic aroma of a candle infused with natural botanicals and essential oils. Choose your favourite from Aromatherapy Associates limited edition range based on what mood you'd like to cultivate. 

I want to feel…

Nurtured, Rejuvenated, Nourished and Uplifted

Rose candle Crafted from an essential blend of warming Damask rose, fresh geranium and rejuvenating palmarosa, working together to uplift the spirit and nurture the heart. 

Relaxed, Tranquil, Peaceful and Restful

Deep Relax candle Crafted from an essential blend of naturally-sedating vetiver, soothing chamomile and comforting sandalwood to help you relax into your most restorative sleep.

Clear of Mind, Calm and Focused

De-Stress candle Crafted from an essential oil blend of clarifying frankincense, calming wild chamomile and focusing petitgrain, working together to help calm and focus the mind.

Lighting a candle casts the softest glow and infuses your space with scent to help shift your mood. The perfect way to unwind and combine with any nightly winter rituals, whether taking a bath or getting cosy with a good book.   

As our name suggests, More Than Skin promotes a holistic view of the body, extending deeper than the first layer of the skin. Just as we appreciate our skin and the body it calls home, we also appreciate our other home, the planet and the traditions of all who inhabit it with us.

A time of celebration and ceremony in Aotearoa, Matariki is a significant event in the Māori calendar. Matariki is named after a cluster of stars that reappears, shining brightly over New Zealand during mid-winter nights. The constellation’s reappearance marks the end of the Māori lunar year and the beginning of a new year.

This Friday, Matariki becomes a public holiday for the first time in New Zealand, so we thought we’d share some ideas on how to celebrate.

PAST Take time to reflect and remember. Honour loved ones no longer with us, the special times shared. Light a candle, play music and take the beautiful memories with you into the year ahead.

PRESENT Celebrate the present with loved ones, share stories, songs, kai, laughter and gratitude, creating a solid foundation and new memories.

FUTURE Matariki is all about renewal. The perfect time to connect with nature and recharge your wairua/spirit. Indulge in self-care, get creative or crafty, learn a new hobby, plant a tree or vege patch. These are all symbols of new life and new beginnings. 

So close to 2022’s winter solstice, this weekend is a special one. With it, we invite you to take a moment to pause and consider how it might feel if you injected the art of ritual into your life. 

We’re big believers in the importance of ritual over routine. But what does that mean? It means treating daily and seemingly ‘ordinary’ tasks as more meaningful practices which have a real sense of purpose. 

It is easy to live on auto-pilot and move subconsciously from one task to another. Washing and cleansing our bodies for example, is often treated as no more than a ‘cog in the wheel’ of all the tasks to get done in our day. But how might we feel if we thought of bathing or showering as a chance to reset our body and mind? The practical function of cleansing remains, but we approach it differently, as a moment of nourishment. One of our favourite ways of doing this is by utilising the power of aromatherapy. 

The Aromatherapy Associates range was originally created so the Founder could ‘prescribe’ an aromatherapy treatment for her clients to take home with them. The Bath and Shower Oils continue to be coveted for their wellbeing benefits. 

We’d love you to experience the therapeutic powers of aromatherapy whenever you take a shower or soak in the bath and transform the daily act of cleansing into a moment of wellbeing. So, as a special treat on this very special weekend and the gorgeous winter months ahead, we are offering an exclusive gift with purchase. Receive a FREE full-sized Shower Oil when you purchase from our bespoke winter solstice collection. Each Shower Oil contains a carefully considered blend of essential oils to help cultivate everything from a moment of rest, to a boost in energy. 

As with anything in life, balance is key. There will always be routine tasks that we need to complete efficiently. But there is great value in finding small routines that we can turn into rituals to enhance our wellbeing and change how we feel as we journey through the day. 

It’s easy to feel inspired by our beautiful community, and in the lead up to a very special Mother’s Day weekend, we give thanks to our MTS ambassadors for wearing their hearts on their sleeves and sharing their thoughts on their mums and motherhood with us.

"Becoming a mother has been the most beautiful experience, an experience you can never quite prepare yourself for in many different ways, but for its challenges, the love is indescribable. My world has changed and it makes me appreciate not only being able to become a mother but to see my own mother in a whole new light" - Nikki Bunkall, MTS Ambassador.

"I love my mum, she has always been my biggest supporter in life, in everything that I do". Sophie Collett, MTS Howick Assistant Manager

“This weekend, I’ll be making sure mum knows I am so blessed to have her, I know it hasn’t always been easy bringing us up and I’m so thankful for her patience and unconditional love. Love you Mum”. Pauline Tan, MTS Albany Manager

Lighting a candle can be a conduit to soothe our senses, spark romance, reconnect with the present moment and signify a more intentional and meaningful way of life.

While many cultures have their own traditions involving candles, it's the ritual of lighting a candle itself that matters. A simple act that goes beyond spiritual, religious beliefs to the elemental healing power of nature. 

The benefits of lighting a candle

Light a candle to shift into the present moment (the Danish call candles 'levende lys' or 'living lights').

Light a candle for cosy, calming ambience - again, I'll mention the Danish, who are candle obsessed and one of the happiest nations in the world.

Light a candle for productivity. As soothing as a flickering flame can be, it can also help with focus. Lighting a candle on your desk can act as a symbol to yourself that you're entering a productive zone.

Light a candle to elevate your meditation.

Light a candle as a ceremonious act of remembrance.

Light a candle to enhance your intentions and ability to manifest.

How to set a candle intention  

Decide on your intention. What do you want to invite into your life or how would you like to feel in the days ahead? Confident, calm, peaceful, motivated? Say your intention aloud, or in your mind, as many times as you'd like. Direct the energy of your words and thoughts towards the candle. Light the candle and sit with it, watching the flickering flame for a moment as it sets your intention in motion.