WELLNESS

Seeking deeper change

Melbourne based MISS FOX is so much more than just a spa. Owner VICTORIA FOX shares her story, and how beauty therapy services must start with self-care.

Victoria Fox

I certainly didn’t enter the beauty industry to change the world. But a cosmetic treatment gone horribly wrong set me on a journey to deliver a ‘better kind of beauty therapy’.

My background is academic, and my career background corporate. I had never thought of the beauty industry as a ‘real job’. In fact, I had never even had a facial before I opened my Day Spa. I always felt out of place at beauty and pampering venues, and on honest reflection I didn’t truly value (nor understand) what they did. As an executive for a multi-national company, I felt like I was “too busy” for selfcare and couldn’t see the return on investment. How things change.

An unfortunate experience with a cosmetic doctor ended up permanently scarring me, physically and emotionally, and propelled me to learn more about this mysterious world of beauty and wellness. Recognising the highly vulnerable state people may be in when they seek beauty therapy, and driven by a desire to offer a safer, more caring service, in 2008 I started a non-invasive clinic for body and skin enhancement (called Shrinc).

Whilst the clinical results we were achieving were phenomenal, the feeling I got from seeing people’s confidence improve was everything. We had women (and some men) finally begin to bring attention and affection towards body parts they had previously ignored, or completely hated. They were reconnecting with their body, they were regaining comfort in their appearance. But most of all, they were beginning to accept themselves just a little more. Something magical was happening and I could see progress on an outer level, and an inner level.

Having struggled with my own body image issues, there was a deep element of care and compassion delivered in the ‘style’ of beauty therapy at Shrinc. I could relate to my clients’ struggles and I could deliver the words of encouragement I knew they needed to hear, because it’s what I had needed to hear before I booked into that silly cosmetic procedure all those years ago. The clinic naturally evolved into a holistic service encompassing nutrition, weight management, skincare and detoxification. But when people resonated with our style of service so much that they started asking for nails, waxing and more, we realised we might need to expand. Such was the success and the demand for this type of care, that it inspired an entire beauty and wellbeing wonderland, which manifested as MISS FOX.

MISS FOX was born in 2010, based on a dream of a magical beauty destination where one could experience their highest nature, and decadent nurture. It had been inspired in part by my travels — the polished service from sophisticated boutique department stores in New York, meeting the opulent “absolutely, whatever you want, ma’am” glamour of high-end Las Vegas. There is a scene in the Wizard of Oz movie where Dorothy is getting ready to meet the Wizard, and is whisked around the ‘wash and brush’ salon to have her hair, makeup and nails prettied. “Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?,” she says, “uh-huh!,” they reply. That ‘you can have it all’ service was MISS FOX. It was still underpinned by the same values as my first clinic – that deep element of care inherent in the entire beauty experience, a five-star service environment and doing things differently to the industry norm. But this creation was on another level, a glittering department store of beauty, serving the who’s who of where’s where.

After seven years in the industry, and 33 years into this life, I had an existential crisis of sorts – a breakdown meets breakthrough. What was once important no longer was, and that which I held to as my ‘identity’ began to crumble. It was all still there, but the awards, success and ‘things’ became meaningless, almost overnight. A very well packaged life on the outside revealed a deep emptiness inside. There was something missing. At my lowest point, the darkest night of my soul, I made a decision. That I would invest as much time and energy as I had into my business, into understanding, accepting and building a relationship with myself.

Now, I seek to use MISS FOX as a platform for deeper change – for beauty therapy within and without. What started as a house of spectacular beauty and grooming services has since matured into a cool, caring and conscious collective for self-care. It’s been a very personal journey and incredibly challenging, but we (my business and myself) have never felt more authentic than we do now.

At MISS FOX we seek to create beautiful experiences that help people reconnect with themselves – their body, mind and spirit. We believe time spent cultivating a better relationship with yourself is not only amply rewarding, but essential for your own wellbeing – as well as that of those around you (after all, you’re so much nicer when you like yourself). We believe that when people take care of themselves, they feel good about themselves. When people feel good about themselves it has a ripple effect on the people around them. So, through taking care of yourself, you make a positive contribution to the world around you.

We’ve slowly refined our service to offer more body-positive, more emotionally-conscious and more inspiring services and stories, whilst still maintaining our luxury feel and exceptional standards. We’ve mindfully reviewed the suppliers and brands we chose to work with, the team that serves you, and we’ve embedded social giving into everything we do. We facilitate an experience of self-care by going deeper into beauty therapy, with services such as wellbeing counselling, gut health and nutrition advisory, holistic skin therapies and even energetic healing modalities, which sit side by side with traditional grooming treatments such as nails, skin and body. Through our workshops and events we desire to cultivate inner beauty through topics such as Love and Relationships, Emotional Self-Care, Positive Self Talk, and The Mind/Gut Connection. I also run an online series called ‘The Art of Self’ that discusses the science of personal transformation, and the art of ‘inner magic’.

MISS FOX continues to grow and expand our way of thinking and being, taking steps towards being the best we can be, as a brand, business, team and community. It is our intention to deliver a safe space for sacred self-care, and to raise the confidence, happiness and wellbeing of everyone that enters our realm. It’s empowering and enlightening beauty therapy, all beautifully packaged for the modern woman and man. Don’t worry, we haven’t taken away the Champagne Bar (and nor would we!).

One of my favourite quotes is by Ghandi, who said you must “be the change you wish to see in the world”. We create our own reality, and the outer world is simply a mirror of our inner world. Ghandi says you must work on yourself for a better world. Which makes changing the world very simple. Not easy, simple: Just focus on yourself.Find out more AT missfox.com.au To join in the Art of Self series, send an email to victoria@missfox.com.au