At FACE | Body & Beauty Balclutha, excellence isn’t just about treatments, it’s about shaping a complete sensory experience. From lighting and scent to sound, every detail is designed with intention. For director and founder Annalysse Mitchell, music sits at the centre of that approach. She talks to Sam Brooks about how vital music is to her business’ success in the wake of winning Spa of the Year Award at the NZ Beauty Awards.
Annalysse Mitchell started out doing hair and makeup in Christchurch but got into beauty therapy when she moved to Balclutha. “It was something I always wanted to do as a teenager, but never went into it, and it just came back around. I loved the training, loved the science, but the best outcomes were always with the people.”
She describes herself as an integrative skin therapist. “That means we really focus on the whole person, the whole body and how that correlates to whatever people’s needs are, whether that’s skin correction, oncology care, end of life care, or beauty therapy needs.”
“We treat a lot of different goals.”
FACE | Body & Beauty is a mix of a beauty spa and a clinic, with a team of ten (including a couple of casuals on the wedding team). “We are in a smaller town, but service a wider district, so we cover quite a range of services.”
Music is integral to what FACE does. Integrative therapy looks at the whole person and their needs – including their sensory needs. “We’re really intentional about what the client feels when they walk in the door: the temperature, little chocolates and mints on the table, herbal teas, beautiful home fragrance smells, all of that.”
As you can imagine, music is a huge part of it, because if we don’t get that right for the person, or the type of treatment that they’re in for, it doesn’t achieve the goal of their experience. We tailor to each individual.
The clinic is often managing several clients at one time. One client could be having a waxing appointment, another a makeup appointment, and so on and so forth. All of these treatments – and the clients – have different needs, so Annalysse curates the music experience around a mix of what is the best fit.
The business uses saved playlists, most of which consist of instrumental music from all different genres, vibes and feels. Annalysse specifically chooses not to have words in the music, so people can switch off, be in their own thoughts and not be triggered by anything.
“You know how you hear a song and it might be nostalgic? It might remind you of a great party you went to, or a funeral. Or when you hear a cool popular song but it’s about a break-up? That’s not always great for clients. So, we don’t have words.”
She brings up a time before she had her own clinic and was a bra-fitter for Bendon Lingerie. “I worked with the most amazing managers, but they were obsessed with the Bee-Gees. 24/7 we’d listen to the Bee-Gees, so every time I hear that it takes me back there.”
The curation can range from positive and upbeat vibes for say, a group of girls going in for their school ball makeup, to a “silent treatment”, which doesn’t mean silence, but a desensitizing kind of music that lets the client zone out.
When Annalysse first opened her clinic 14 years ago, they were actually still using CDs, mostly from New Zealand artists, including Lorde, Kora and Fat Freddy’s Drop (“if people wanted to have a bit of fun”). “We had about three or four CDs that we used to play on repeat. Brooke Fraser was one of them, Kimbra was another. When I started changing CDs, I’d have clients ask me, ‘Can you put in a Kimbra CD?’”
Annalysse is adamant that FACE cannot do what they do without the right music. “It is literally the make or break between a wonderful client experience or a terrible one. It’s intentional, what we listen to.
For me, it’s important to pay the licensing fee. It makes sense and it’s ethical that artists get a cut of the experience. We’ve got local musicians in our town, and I’ve learned that if I play their song, it helps get them their royalties, and they get however many cents from each time their song is played.
Annalysse – and FACE | Body & Beauty– strive for excellence. It’s that excellence that won them Spa of the Year 2026, and the excellence that clients now expect from them. “Music is a huge part of that. If we’re ethical in all of our other areas of practice, we have to have that licensing. You’re only as good as your weakest link, right? Gotta tick all the boxes, not just one.”
Because Music Licensing is a beautiful thing.
Learn more about FACE | Body & Beauty here, and if your beauty business is not already covered with a OneMusic licence, find out more here.
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