Bō Beauty Kit: Bliss in a Box!!!

Bo Beauty Kit's Bubbly Jingle Edition Available Now!

I love featuring strong, determined, smart and creative women, the kind that have dreams and actually go live them. Those who'll recognize a great idea and actually pursue it. I met with Joha and Lu a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with their new project, but mostly fell in love with the passion they talked about it, and the energy, love, and long hours of work they've put into it. By the time our meet ended, I had nothing but respect and admiration for this beautiful young pair, and I hadn't even seen the finished product yet; if you can dare call it a mere product...

A few months back I blogged about one of my latest obsessions: Beauty Boxes or VIP Boxes, of the likes of Birchbox or Glossybox. Little did I know I would soon be raving about a new favorite right here at home! In all, in took me less than a second to fall in love with the sleek festive packaging without even knowing the yummy treats that awaited inside. I couldn't help my excitement when I was first gifted my very own Bo beauty Kit, with my name engraved and all (ahem...) as my friends started oohing and aahing as we all inspected this beauty junkie treasure chest. Let's just say that as soon as the lid came off I became a Boista. 

This is Bo Beauty Kit. A Box full of pure feminine pampering bliss. I love the thought it's creators have put into every detail of this first edition. Not limiting the kit to a simple beauty routine but taking it up to the next level: a beauty experience. For in this box you will not only be treated to full sized beauty and makeup products for these holidays, but beauty tips, additional premium samples of professional skin care products such as Dermalogica and coupons to beauty services, including a full hair salon experience and amazing discounts at re-known beauty establishments. Think of Bo as your one stop beauty shop in a box!

I've confessed to my addiction to samples previously on LADV. I often find myself wanting to try a new product without the full commitment in size and price. Yet unless I start suspiciously lurking around the beauty counters striking the occasional free sample I usually stick to my faves for the comfort of not having to try and purchase unknown prods. I thought Bo was another Beauty Box full of samples, but I must admit I was ecstatic to find all the products were full size presentations of cult faves such as EOS lip balm!

When this initiative first came up between these two beautiful friends, one a new mommy and her partner a radiant bride-to-be (Yes, even with their plates full, they found the time to come up with this and put it all together just in time for the Holidays!) they laughed out how little or no time they had for pampering and spoiling themselves, even occasionally, not to mention on a daily basis, and how exhausted they ended at the end of a chaotic day with the baby or after work; the kind of days you don't even feel like removing your makeup...yeap, I know we've all been there... How great would it be if all you needed for your own beauty routine and relaxing moment (the whole ten minutes of it, if lucky!) came in one same box...wait a minute...there's an idea... and Bo Beauty Kit was born.

I think it is part of a woman's selfless nature to put everyone else's needs before our own, sometimes even sacrificing our downtime and forgetting to occasionally spoil and pamper ourselves for a change. How often do we forget that the best way to look and feel beautiful is inside out. A beauty routine consists not only of a face wash but of a moment of inner peace and relaxation, dedicated to the small rituals we women enjoy so much. Both Joha and Lu also agree that at the end of the day every woman deserves to be pampered. They thought about their own beauty routine, relaxing with a book, running a bath after a long day of hard work or lighting a scented candle, and so created a kit that contained the necessary tools and incentives to create this self-spoiling experience as they like to call it.

And this is exactly what you get... in a beautiful festive box that has already found alternate use in my makeup drawer!

They have carefully chosen products they have tried and used themselves and swear by them.  Eventhough they both have significant input when choosing every single product that makes it into the kit, they rely greatly on their Bo Experts and the knowledge and technique of these re-known professionals in beauty, makeup and personal care trends.

So what can you expect in the Bubbly Jingle edition of Bo Beauty Kit besides a box full of happiness? Five full-sized beauty products including an aromatherapy candle to enhance the Bo experience, experts tips, discount coupons, free hair services and skin analysis. Best part of it? You get it delivered right to your door, free of charge!

Joha and Lu at Bo Beauty Kit's cozy launch

Meet Joha and Lu. One look at these beautiful friends and business partners and you know they know what they're selling and are right on fashion and beauty trends. As much as I pushed, they wouldn't admit to being makeup junkies like yours truly but loved that they understand looking good does not have to require a long time, mostly because, for us women in general,  time is the most precious asset in question, and they managed to put most of what you need to get jump-started, all in a box!

What's next for Bo Beauty Kit? Subscription Plans! Boistas beware... For now, Bo Beauty Kit's Bubbly Jingle Edition is definitely high up on my gifting list! I Can't wait for the upcoming edition this Valentine's! Stay tuned...

Click here to check out Bo Beauty Kit on Facebook and order your kit now at bobeautykit@gmail.com and ask about their special offers and promotions!

THESE HOLIDAYS GIVE LOCAL...SHOP SMALL!

What a great way to support our community and boost local commerce. These Holidays: Give Local & Shop Small! Please share this initiative with friends and family! So many family businesses, local artisans, young entrepreneurs, and young students can benefit from this idea. Support local industry, big or small, support real people!

Get Inspired: Loving your Workspace

I sometimes find it extremely difficult to actually get some work done this time of the year. I'm easily distracted by the whole Christmas frenzy, days are beautiful, skies are bluer, making me wanting to be outside, so here's a tip: put some time, thought and love into your work space. Assemble a gallery wall, frame some art prints or even your kid's artwork, light a scented candle, keep flowers on display, fresh or synthetic, paint in soothing colors, arrange your books, stationery, and magazines in a beautiful display. Add your personal touch. Mind the small details. Work with what you have.

I'm addicted to prints, check out www.madebygirl.com and www.pearlsandpastries.com , these are great sites for affordable prints and original artwork to assemble your own gallery wall. On a budget? Frame a greeting card! Try some DIY art!

Having a neat, clean, organized workspace can inspire you in many ways to actually get things done when your mind begins to wander. Here's a tiny peek at my own workspace and what I keep close for inspiration:

May you always, always...

10 Ways To Get Into The Christmas Spirit!!!

There is something awfully wrong with the world today. Well, many things for that matter. But don't worry, I won't go all global warming on you. To me it really is about the smaller things. We go about our days and nights always in a rush, sometimes forgetting to breathe. Literally. To take a long deep breath before we go on to the next big thing. Everything goes faster around this time of the year. Days get shorter. Sun sets earlier. Places get crowded. Traffic gets unbearable...and with each year, ever since I can recall, Christmas is less of what it used to be and more of what it shouldn't. 

I have this perfectly clear memory of a small girl at the age of six or seven, snuggled in her bed with a glass of milk and one too many chocolate chip cookies (they were not even home made, but store bought; I never was the baker...), watching A Christmas Carol on TV. I can't remember which of the many versions it was or the actors in it, but I can remember the feeling of laying there, knowing there was no school for another three weeks; with not a single care in the world. Life was so simple back then. For my five year old, christmas is mostly about getting a letter on time in order to receive whatever she's seen on TV. This year: a plush dolphin, a swimming doll, and a glow in the dark pillow. I have to admit it is mostly my fault. I guess it's easier. Hit the mall, buy the gifts, and be over with it.

This Christmas however, I plan to rediscover it's magic. For her, and my whole family. I want to relive and share that feeling I still recall from that memory. I want to go back to basics. I want to stop and take that long deep breathe. I want the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, and cookies in the oven (even if they came out of a box) and the sight of flickering lights. I want to gather around the tree and give thanks for all what we have and who we have. I want a story to tell. I want the myth. The film version. I want my own christmas miracle, and my little one to be excited about  the little things just as I once was.

So I came up with a short list of all things possible that could get me and my family in the christmas spirit (whatever this was, I'm about to remember!) As clichéd as you may find many, I'd love if you'd join me in this journey and try a few, maybe even come up with a few of your own and give this famed spirit a try year-long!!!

1. Give.

I hope you didn't stop reading right at Give, just to drive straight to the mall. We've taken Giving around christmas pretty literal, and though I can't deny I'd still love to get that beautiful bag I've been lusting after for sometime now, this year giving will have a whole different meaning. Let's give a smile, a Please, a Thank You, a Have a Good Day, a Merry Christmas, a kiss, a hug, a pat on the back, a It's going to be OK, a How are you? Let the kindest word and the unexpected pleasantries be the best gift of all.

2.  Bake Something.

Whip up something. Anything for that matter. It doesn't even matter if you're any good at it. Involve your children, invite your friends, gather round the kitchen, send some over to the neighbours... I promise there is nothing in this world the smell of chocolate chip cookies in the oven can't solve. 

3. Make some DIY ornaments and gifts.

Avoid the crowds and log in to Pinterest from the comfort of your home to get the best DIY ideas for making your very own christmas decorations and gifts. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with the little ones. Create something beautiful for someone you love with your own two hands. Craft your own gift tags. Give your ornaments a makeover. Discover the joy of spray painting!

4. Dim the lights. 

You read that right. Strategically place string lights around the house. Light some scented candles. You'll immediately relax as you arrive home and set a holiday mood.

5. Compile a Christmas Playlist. 

Play it while you make dinner for your loved ones, or while stuck in traffic. Teach your kids some carols. Put them to bed with a christmas song. C'mon, who hasn't ever sang along to Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is You??? Ok, so maybe a few of you haven't, but trust me, it's catchy!

6. Make & send your own Christmas Cards.

Do it the old-fashioned way. Write and actually mail or deliver a few lines. You might be surprised and reminded how beautiful your handwriting is. No impersonal E-Cards this year!

7. Read a Christmas Children's book.
Relive the magic of christmas through classic holiday stories. Read a few pages every night, or introduce these stories to your little ones at bedtime.

8. Make a difference. 

Donate. Volunteer. Organize a Toy Drive for a children's hospital. Organize a Soup Kitchen or just drive around and distribute meals for the hungry and the homeless you encounter on your drive.

Keep someone warm. Go through your closet and your children's closet. Select items that don't fit anymore or that you haven't used in over a year and donate them to those in need. 

Check out this great Facebook page for everyday ideas of little things and small acts of kindness you can do to make someone's day...or your own!!!  https://www.facebook.com/sisosbuenoquesenote

9. Create a new tradition.
Come up with your very own family tradition for the holidays. Choose any of the above and make it an unforgettable evening for  your friends and family. Whether baking, watching a movie, reading, writing your own Christmas cards, trimming the tree, caroling...Remember, tis' the season to laugh, love, share and create those special memories you'll cherish the rest of the year...years from now!

10. Watch Love Actually. 
Simply the best film ever to get you in the mood for anything. Period.

Why Bebé isn't driving Maman Crazy...

I sometimes watch a TV show featuring the world's toughest jobs. This got me thinking and conducting a small, very unprofessional research of my own, during which I came across a number of publications ranking the toughest jobs, the dirtiest jobs, and the most stressful jobs. From sales, accounting, IT, teaching, to, ready for this?...Owl vomit collecting (I'm not kidding on this one), you could find pretty much every job on the planet. Yet not ONE of these multiple rankings, included what for me is, the ultimate toughest job of all: Parenting. 

Let's face it. Parenting is a blessing, but it can be as rewarding as exhausting. I constantly find myself asking two questions: 1. Is my kid happy? and the hardest and most recurring one: 2. Am I doing it right? With time I've understood these are not necessarily related. The first one is a question of 'yes' or 'no' answer, while the second one however has no definite answer. There will be good days and bad days, ups and downs, happy days and sad days, smiles and tears, victories and failures; I will make mistakes. These however will and should never define me as a parent, much less a good or a bad one. This definitely won't define my kid. I've heard the expression before on how children should come a with a handbook, but wouldn't this take all the fun out of it??? 

I can't tell you s#*t about parenting. I began brushing my daughter's teeth at two years old, because I never thought about it. One day I asked a friend if she brushed her daughter's teeth already and said she'd been doing it since her first teeth began to show. I felt like such a terrible parent. For a week or so, I brushed her teeth four to five times a day, as if trying to make up for all the months I hadn't done it before. One day my husband told me I had to stop beating myself over a simple mistake any new mother could have made. He made me take a good long look at her, there she was, happy and healthy, beautiful smile and all...That was one of the many memorable mistakes I've made. And boy have there been many more!!!

It's good to have someone to talk with about these parenting tricks and tips, but the first piece of advice I could probably give you that I've learnt the hard way is never compare your parenting experience or style to anyone's you know or read about. The truth is, when it comes to parenting nothing is set in stone. The second piece of advice is to buckle up and enjoy the ride!

In my trying to figure out this whole motherhood/parenting thing, I've come across a number of books and guides, all written by real mothers trying to figure the whole thing out, day by day. My all time favorite is Pamela Druckerman's (An american journalist living and parenting in Paris) journey to discover the wisdom of french parenting. I myself recently witnessed there is something, somehow the French are doing right. On a recent trip to Paris, every meal for my then four year old consisted on a side of frites. I remember the horrored look on each and every waiter that took our meal orders for more than a month. At first I made nothing of it. Then, with each outing it began to hit me. I can say I don't recall any children in all the restaurants we visited having a cheeseburger, fries, chicken fingers or anything along these lines. Or any mothers for that matter, trying to shove a piece of anything down their throat, while simultaneously wrestling them in order to manage sitting them down. In fact, most menus didn't even have kid's options. Food was food. For grown ups and children, the only difference if any would rely in portion size... and parents actually seemed to be enjoying a meal out; even with their youngest.

Her recount of parenting in France is not only accurate but hilarious. French Mothers are not obsessed with reading pregnancy, birthing, or parenting guides (ahem...), and children are surprisingly joyful, well behaved, and in control of their attitudes, behaviour and emotions. Not to mention they'll eat whatever is on their plate. Druckerman explains "there's something about the way the French parent that makes it less of a grind and more of a pleasure". Druckerman's work of investigative parenting is built on the premise that "to be a different kind of parent, you don't just need a different parenting philosophy. You need need a very different view of what a child actually is". See, most of the time we begin in the wrong end, trying to figure out what a parent is and should be, forgetting it is not actually about us, but it really all is about the child. 

Druckerman had me at this line which I'll now leave you with, which basically summarizes everything I aspire to as a parent, and will hopefully be enough for you to download away!: "The French have managed to be involved without becoming obsessive. They assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children, and that there's no need to feel guilty about this".

I highly recommend reading Druckerman's full work. However, if you are too busy...parenting... I was recently introduced by one of my favorite new Mommies to BEBE DAY BY DAY also by Druckerman. It's basically the lowdown on her complete investigative works on French Parenting. It's the witty, mostly common sense, easy-to-read guide of the keys and lessons of bringing up gourmet babies without losing your calm parenting ways, with special emphasis on saying non the right way. Druckerman's cherry on top is a list of her favorite recipes from the Parisian creche (day cares); I suggest you keep this one handy!

CLICK HERE TO BUY BRINGING UP BEBE ON AMAZON.COM

CLICK HERE TO BUY BEBE DAY BY DAY ON AMAZON.COM

If you loved these titles, you might want to check out the following:

CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON.COM

CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON.COM

CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON.COM

XO

Today's Pick: Melissa Kirsch's THE GIRL'S GUIDE TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

2. THE GIRL'S GUIDE TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, Melissa Kirsch

This book really lives up to it's title. When Kirsch says everything, she means EVERYTHING. 

From the Spinach-on-the-Tooth Rule (I'm not kidding on this one) to what to do when you feel like crying at work (or this one!), it covers pretty much every aspect of the modern girl's life.

At first, the all text and no pictures layout, tiny illustrations and sidebars can be too much for the eyes and a tad overwhelming. I suggest you tackle it by chapters. Don't go specifically for the subtitles that  first get your attention and think might apply to you. You'll be surprised with the very useful practical advise you might find under retirement plans.

This girl has thought of everything. From the thirteen essentials of table etiquette and how to get a haircut you don't hate, to e-mail etiquette, how to act when you're home for the holidays, the pros and cons of casual booty, the woman's sexual bill of rights, dating on the job, questions to ask a potential roommate, the buying vs. leasing debate, checkbook balancing, to choosing the right bra size and why you really must quit smoking today.

I love that Kirsch goes beyond all beauty, lifestyle and etiquette guides I've read. Sure knowing all about the latest beauty trends and makeup applying tricks is much more fun than considering ways of advancing in your career or evaluating whether you should buy a new or used car, but let's be realistic: in your real day to day life, you'll be faced with these less than fun dilemmas more often than whether you should ever wear a fannypack (also in the book...A No No from ALL perspectives!)

Kirsch's guide IS everything; a witty, helpful, practical, insightful, empowering, straight to the point, laugh out loud useful survival guide to adult life: not to mention it would make a great gift for your girl friends!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE GIRL'S GUIDE TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ON AMAZON.COM

XO