She also knows what stress can do to the body and, as a skin therapist, says it is the number one reason for ageing.
Her schooling in the tiny commune town of Ravere consisted of compulsory work hours for children and as a little girl up to 7 years old, she was doing much of that work.
“There was a park, but as students we had to clean up that park. Students were doing harvests, helping on farms, tidying up.
“You had those compulsory hours at certain times of year. So in autumn there were so many leaves we would have to rake up together, and in springtime, the park was full of weeds, so every class had scheduled time in the curriculum to do that.”
She remembers her upbringing being a lot more self-sufficient than what she sees here in Wānaka. No children were picked up from school, if the bus came later, you just entertained yourself.
“Education as full on; by the time I graduated I was so full of information as we were having seven lessons every day. Then you had a lot of homework, so I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but beauty never came to mind.”
Ms Glazebrook said her family and others in the communal living area would be granted access to be able to buy food at the grocery market and take back to the village.
“I was very young but I still remember those bonds, you could go to the store and you had a coupon as a right to buy some food.”
Having learned how to work hard at such a young age, she went on to study construction architecture and do her apprenticeship in the industry. While she loved the busyness of it, all she saw were stressed faces.
“What I saw was there was so much stress, our people work crazily. When the project needs to be finished, they would work until 10pm, our summers are shorter, days shorter, so it had to be done.”
After she graduated her apprenticeship, she took a gap year in 2009 to travel to New Zealand, and ended up in Wānaka because she liked to ski. She found the season here reminded her of home, and stayed.
“I like the seasons, I like that we have similar crops here, apples, stone fruits, blackcurrants, redcurrants — it really reminds me of home.”
She rates Wānaka as a great “anti-stressful” town. While the people are active, the scenery and pace provide a good balance.
“At home you can get stuck in a ‘live to work’ mindset but here when it gets stressful you can really balance and bounce back fast as there is so much to do.
“It can be busy but it is still not as hectic as if you live in the big city. You don’t sit one hour in traffic to get somewhere.”
After leaving New Zealand, Ms Glazebrook did a similar gap season in Norway and when she came across a spa resort in the ski village, she felt the relaxation appealed to her so took up massage therapy and then later did her diploma in skin therapy.
What appealed about skin therapy was you would visibly see the stress coming off their faces, she said.
“I like facials because we have so many nerve endings on our face that is connected to the central nervous system and that is where we rest and digest, so I have a better impact on a person.”
She opened her own business, Ilu Hub, in Wānaka in 2019 as a Christmas present to herself. She combines technology and natural skincare.
It was Ms Glazebrook’s original life lessons of hard work that have made it a success — her putting in long days and seven-day weeks to get where she is today.
“It is always a great compliment when a client falls to sleep in a treatment.”
