We’re thrilled to introduce a skillfully collaborated collection of Bella Lucce’s bestsellers, now offered in TSA-friendly sizes tucked inside chic cotton travel bags. Our new Travel Amenity Kits enable you to take your favorite Bella Lucce luxuries for face and body on the road no matter where your travels may take you. Whether you’re off on an adventure by plane, train or automobile, we wish you happy travels! 
 
Shop Bella Luccè's nonprofit to discover a treasure trove of handmade Moroccan luxuries and learn how adding beauty to your life can change the lives of indigenous Berber people. 
My teenage daughter recently left for a summer service trip to Thailand. I was scouring Etsy for a piece of inspirational jewelry to give her when I stumbled upon LuluBug. I’m smitten with her whimsical, original designs in sterling silver. My Chloe scored a locket that said “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams…” but I’ve got my eye on several other pieces as well. Who could resist the “You are my sunshine” necklace? 
Crushed Freshwater Pearls: Celebrated by Asian women and ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia for more than 3,000 years, pearl powder has a rich history and a myriad of legendary tales about its use at the Imperial Palace. Created by pulverizing real freshwater pearls, it is reputed to boost skins brightness and is rich in both amino acids and trace minerals. 
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs 
3 tbsp. Dried Lavender Flowers* Process lavender flowers in a blender until they become a powder, turning off the blender and scraping down the sides as necessary. Whisk together lavender powder, milk, and honey in a glass bowl, then pour into a jar. Before each use, shake the jar and pour half of the mixture into the bath. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes enough for 2 baths. *Dried lavender flowers can be found in the spice section of gourmet and specialty stores. (Recipe courtesy of the National Honey Board) 
Search our past spotlights and articles! 
I highly recommend the following cozy nooks and places of interest- they represent some of my favorite stops on the web.
|
Spring Cleaning: Raw Material Inventory Clearance· April 19, 2013 - Bella Luccè NewsSpring is definitely in the air and my team has been busy at our facility: fresh coats of paint, a particularly thorough scrub-down and clearing out unused items. I’m hosting a raw material clearance sale for ingredients we no longer need in our inventory. Just a few highlights: - Bulk fragrance oils (all phthalate-free) To Order: Please send us an email (address is in the attachment below) with the items you’d like to purchase, including your full mailing address (no PO boxes, please). We’ll confirm availability and calculate shipping charges. First come, first served. Delivery: Courier charges are the responsibility of the buyer. We have competitive, discounted rates with FedEx and will charge exact shipping fees for insured, ground delivery within the lower 48 states. Parcels will be dispatched within 48 hours of payment. Details: Ingredients are sold as described, without warranty, in their original packaging. Unfortunately, we are unable to break items down into smaller quantities. All ingredients have been carefully stored since delivery in our commercial warehouse: tightly sealed, temperature-controlled, with no exposure to smoking or pets. We’ve been keeping a secret…· March 18, 2013 - Bella Luccè NewsFor the past several months, we’ve been keeping a bit of a secret at Bella Lucce. Thankfully, I can finally share the good news with you! Universal Companies, one of America’s largest spa distribution companies, has added select Bella Lucce products to their lineup. Universal Companies has been in business for more than 30 years and they now serve 30,000 spas and salons from coast to coast, offering one-stop-shopping, innovative product choices and stellar customer service. We’re proud to partner with such an outstanding distribution company and look forward to reaching new audiences for Bella Lucce!  Stop by Universal Companies to browse their selection of Bella Lucce or order a catalog. Seasonal Bella Lucce products will soon be added to the lineup and we look forward to visiting Virginia in the very near future to offer hands-on training to the Universal team!  
The Story of Shea· March 14, 2013 - Bella Luccè NewsI’ve just returned from a trip to Nigeria (my very first, in fact). I have long indulged a love affair with Africa which has landed me in a few varied spots around the continent (Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Mali and Uganda), but Nigeria was a first for me. Setting aside the tales of northern unrest and escalating security concerns, the Nigerian people proved to be a warm and friendly bunch, eager to learn and hungry for information. I was incountry to attend the 2013 Global Shea Conference, a collection of several hundred stakeholders culled from around the world. From nut gatherers to butter processors and exporters to manufacturers, we chatted all things shea butter for three solid days. My role at the event included leading a workshop on product development, sitting on a panel to discuss the needs of western shea buyers (quality, consistency, etc.) and assisting in a series of soapmaking workshops lead by my friend Stephanie Craig of embodico (in which 120 African women made their very first batches of soap!).  A few friends I made at the 2013 Global Shea Conference in Nigeria I first attended a Global Shea Conference in 2010 in Mali. In both Nigeria and Mali, the highlight of the event was a trip to visit local shea cooperatives. Though I have marveled at the shea-making process in three separate countries, I am awe-struck each time I have the opportunity to witness it anew. The rhythmic kneading process is a dance of cooperation. The flow of each step well-defined, almost intuitive. This is the story of empowerment. Of African women preserving an indigenous art. A tale of sisterhood in the hot African sun as these women create economic opportunity for their families. It’s a beautiful sight to behold. Since so many of Bella Lucce’s products incorporate shea butter, I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek behind the scenes… Shea trees grow in seventeen African countries in a wide swatch of the continent. They are beautiful creatures with flowers and fruit in season. They drop ripe fruit to the ground in due time and the collection of those fruits by local women (usually in baskets or gourds) is the first step in a long process from fruit to butter.  A shea tree in the parklands of Nigeria The fruits (green and round with a unique taste) are promptly depulped by hand or by animals. The large nuts within are then boiled for 20-40 minutes to stop the germination process. Shea butter is made from the natural fats within the nut and those fats are consumed as the nuts germinate. The boiling process halts germination, preserving the fats and boosting butter yield. The boiled nuts are then left to dry naturally in the sun, often on concrete slabs or woven mats.  The large pots in which fresh shea nuts are boiled After a few days of sunbathing, the nuts are dehusked to remove their thin shell. Each specimen is then sorted and graded according to quality. Throughout the drying process, the nuts are continually inspected by the women, who pluck from the batch any nut that’s not up to snuff. The dried, shelled nuts are then bagged in large sacks (preferably burlap, which allows them to breathe and prevents moisture buildup) and put to sleep to await further processing.  Women sorting though drying shea nuts at a cooperative in Minna, Nigeria When the time is right for processing, the nuts spill from their bags before being crushed (either by hand or simple machinery) to create a coarse powder which is roasted over a flame. The day that I visited this particular cooperative, the mercury in Abuja topped 108. One hundred and eight. Can you imagine manual labor, open flames and triple digit temperatures? Mercy. Mercy and much respect. The roasting process accomplishes several goals: a) it renders lifeless fungi that might be present, b) it evaporates any remaining moisture, and c) it denatures the cell walls to prepare the nuts for milling.  Tumble roasters and the women to whom I bow in awe After a quick mechanical milling, the dry, roasted nuts are now in powdered form and the action really heats up. The next step is the emulsification of the butter, a process that involves the addition of fresh water and lots of elbow grease. The nuts contain natural emulsifiers, released via sheer will and friction. The women (who must have the softest hands on the planet) rhythmically knead the butter, adding more water as necessary until the fats are fully formed.  Crushed, roasted nuts in the roaster Each tub of butter is hand-kneaded, often in unison by a row of women whose rhythmic massaging resembles a dance. It is a beautiful and humbling sight to behold. Sometimes there is singing. Often there are babies strapped to backs. Oh, how I adore women! The kneading process can take up to ninety minutes with poor quality nuts, though a good batch of nuts can yield shea butter in around a third of that time.  Handkneading the shea butter to release the fats and emulsifiers The butter, now in liquid form, is boiled over an open flame in a large iron pot. This process clarifies the shea, after which it’s left to cool. The result is a solid, creamy butter that is utter magic for the skin. The shea at this stage is considered “unrefined.” The more refined variety involves further processing at a larger, more sophisticated facility (typically located outside of Africa).  The women of shea I asked my friend, Dr. Peter Lovett (considered by many to be the world’s preeminent shea expert) about the origin of shea. It’s impossible for me not to ponder that question as I stand transfixed by the rhythmic kneading. I mean: who was the first to figure this out? Here was his answer: “This is an academic discussion. At least 1,500 years of shea parklands are proven with archaeological evidence, but could be much earlier as evidence is appearing demonstrating up to 7,000 years of cultivation in the Sahel-Savannah. There is also growing evidence that the Ancient Egyptians were using shea butter and wood as far back as 5,000 years ago, but as yet, evidence is unconfirmed. Could even be much further back…” Amen to girl power. Amen to Africa. Amen to Mother Nature. Amen and amen. And that, my friends, is how shea is born. While several of Bella Lucce’s products incorporate West African shea, the majority of our shea butter originates from East Africa. That region produces a slightly different butter from a slightly different species using a rather different process. I was fortunate to visit our Ugandan shea producer in 2010 and I documented that process in word and pictures. I invite you to read more about that East African shea butter right here.  This is what was waiting for us as we stepped out of the cooperative to leave. This is why shea matters so very much. It feeds, clothes and educates these children. And millions more across Africa. Less than two weeks until Africa!· February 19, 2013 - Giving Back Famous Zuma Rock in Abuja, Nigeria Have I ever mentioned how much I adore Africa? As a little girl, I was transfixed by my grandmother’s stack of National Geographic’s and the images of people so different than everything I knew. In high school, I dove into studies in African culture via my sociology classes. And I thought my heart might explode as I stood in the customs line to gain entry to Egypt in 2009. That was my first time on African soil, though it certainly wasn’t my last. Throughout 2010-2011, I traveled to Morocco five times and onto Mali, Ghana and Uganda in some of my most cherished travel adventures. But it’s been eighteen months since I found myself on the continent, which is why I am delighted to share that I’ll be heading to Nigeria in less than two weeks to attend the Global Shea Conference.  I first attended a shea conference in Mali in 2010 as a featured speaker to tell the story behind my cosmetics company. That conference led to so many great things: an important private label partnership, key contacts for African botanicals I later incorporated into my African Adventures collection and an opportunity to teach cosmetic workshops throughout Northern Ghana. I’ve been eager to get back to another conference and the stars aligned for 2013! This year I’ll be wearing a few different hats: 1. At the request of conference organizers, I’ll be sitting on a panel exploring shea sustainability, as well as serving as a small business development resource for various startups. I’ll have the opportunity to review business plans for African entrepreneurs who are looking to launch their own beauty empires. 2. Funlayo Alibi of Shea Radiance is coordinating an ambitious slate of trainings and she’s graciously invited me to lead a two-hour workshop. My focus will be teaching attendees how to bring their cosmetic products to market…from concept to launch. It’s a lot of ground to cover in 120 minutes but I’m up for the challenge! 3. Donna Maria Coles Johnson, president of the Indie Beauty Network (IBN) has been named the 2013 Global Shea Conference Social Media Liaison. Donna Maria has asked me and fellow IBN member, Stephanie Craig of Embodico, to assist her efforts to empower attendees to use social media to support their conference experience and boost their business networking goals. I’m excited to serve as a set of boots on the ground on IBN’s behalf, to rally the local troops to use Twitter and Facebook at the conference.  Women sorting shea nuts at a cooperative during my 2010 trip to Mali I’ve got a great traveling companion, too. The aforementioned Stephanie and I are meeting up on a layover in Frankfurt and heading to Africa together. It’s not our first collaboration- we traveled together to Morocco in 2011 to distribute educational tools to a rural school through my nonprofit. While there, Stephanie led a soapmaking workshop for indigenous Berber women and she’ll be busting out those skills again as she leads a series of soapmaking workshops at the Global Shea event. I’ll be there to cheer her on and I’m eager to watch the controlled chaos of teaching soapmaking in multiple languages to a few hundred women from across the continent!  Stephanie and I distributing aid at a Moroccan school in 2011 My mister is a bit unsettled by numerous travel warnings for the area, so he’s submitted a specific request for extra good juju as make the journey. Stephanie and I covet your good thoughts and encourage you to join us virtually on the trip. I’ll be posting pictures and updates via my Twitter account and I hope you’ll follow along. On March 7th, we’ll be heading out to visit local shea cooperatives and you won’t want to miss those images. The “field trip” day of the conference is always my favorite! Please give a warm welcome to…· February 8, 2013 - Bella Luccè NewsWe are thrilled to announce the newest additions to the Bella Luccè family of stockists. The locations listed below have fresh shipments of Bella Luccè ready and waiting…stop in, ring them up or click on to pick up your favorite bath and body luxuries locally. Albany, NY: Complexions Day Spa Click here to locate the nearest Bella Luccè stockist in your area… there are now more than 1,000 worldwide. If you’re a spa or salon interested in hearing about our innovative products and treatments, we invite you to give us a ring at 800.485.3079! GARAGE SALE: We’re clearing out our warehouse!· January 23, 2013 - Bella Luccè NewsAmended on 1.30.13 to reflect remaining inventory.
Pomegranate Powder (Natural Foods): one 40pound case The Not-So-Fine Print: There are 3 options for delivery: Interested in an item? Cut and paste what you’d like to claim and send us an email using our contact form. Please include: Thanks for helping us free up a bit of space! Our hat is off to you…· December 29, 2012 - Bella Luccè News The Bella Lucce offices are closed on Monday and Tuesday (January 1st and 2nd) but we look very forward to a new year with you! |
|
 |
 |
|
Questions, comments, feedback? Write me at thebuzz@bellalucce.com, or browse my Mission Statement. ©2005-20011 Bella Luccè All Rights Reserved
|