 Our innovative selection of 100% natural facial masques just got a facelift: we’ve tripled the size of each jar, while delivering a 60% savings. Tres fabulous, no? Each one is a dry powder that you can mix in 30 seconds or less with pantry ingredients to create a fresh, totally customized treatment especially for your skin type. It’s super-simple and no-mess, with instructions right on the jar. My personal favorite? Strawberries & Creme. Luscious strawberries blend with Argiletz rose clay and powdered buttermilk to create an amazing facial treatment that softens and renews tired skin as it boosts brightness. The perfect “perk me up” for you rksin this holiday season! 
 
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. 
 Regular readers will likely know that I am obsesses with tea. And I don’t mean mildly obsessed. I fuel my addiction regularly with new tea varieties and teaware, but this particular tea-to-go mug is my favorite. Crafted of ceramic, it boasts double walls which help the tea stays hotter longer and also means it isn’t uncomfortable to hold, even when freshly filled. I love the bold graphic design and the sandblasting adds texture making it even easier to grip. Snatch one up for just $12 at Stash and take your morning pick-me-up on the road! 
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.
|
Our Famous Sampler Boxes: New & Improved!· January 16, 2012 - Bella Luccè NewsFor several years now, we’ve been offering our uber-popular Sampler Boxes: twelve deluxe samples in an adorable Chinese takeout box for just $20. They’ve been so popular, in fact, that they’ve quickly become one of our all-time bestselling products. However, the masses have been clamoring for a way to make the boxes target their specific interests, which is not an easy task when you have 40+ samples on offer. We hear you, friends…we hear you. With some careful planning and a bit of programming magic, we are pleased to announce a new format for our famed Sampler Boxes! Starting today, you’ll be able to select a specific box type when shopping on our website. Sampler boxes will be assembled from the list of available samples based upon your preference, though we cannot guarantee the inclusion of any specific sample (they’re all made fresh with each new batch of product and our selection varies from time-to-time). We can promise that you’ll never receive duplicate samples within a single box.  Our hot-off-the-presses Sampler Box types include: So, if you’re new to Bella Luccè (or a loyal client who’s itching to try something new), then we humbly suggest this golden opportunity to discover our incredible product collection. Our adorable “Goodies-To-Go” take-out box is brimming with a dizzying selection of our most beloved products. We like to call it: Maximum Bang for Minimum Bucks. Let us know what you think! Spice up your weekend with the arts· January 13, 2012 - Bella Luccè NewsI’ve always been a tremendous lover of the arts. From ballet classes as a child to acting and directing plays in high school, the performing arts have been part of the tapestry of my life since I was a wee little thing. I have diligently tried to pass that appreciation of the arts down to my children as well: we’ve toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and spent countless hours at the Museum of Modern Art. We’ve enjoyed more than a handful of Broadway shows whilst in the city and we hold season passes to the local ballet company and to the local Broadway touring season. My Chloe (now 14, but then 11) was so desperate to learn the art of glassblowing and was so frustrated that everyone locally thought her too young, that she begged me to take her to sit at the feet of a Chihuly student in Seattle, who helped her create some gorgeous pieces that I cherish. Celie spends summers in pottery camp and gets better at throwing pots on the wheel every single season. She also plays viola and bass, and Chloe guitar and flute. We’ve stood knee-deep in mud and driving rain to jam out during a 3-day music festival in Memphis. We travel to Emory University every spring to study Buddhist art during Tibet Week- everything from mandala and thangka workshops to mala-making classes to butter sculpture. Yes, butter. We’ve taken circus trapeze classes, though my core still has not recovered. And we once hosted an epic Halloween party with local firedancers/ breathers performing and an uber-cool end-of-school bash where bellydancers performed and taught the wee ones to balance swords atop their heads. Yes sir, we loooooove the arts.  
I readily admit that I am often frustrated by the art offerings available locally, as we reside in a small capital city in South Carolina. But that frustration evolved into extreme pride last night as I watched Alternacirque’s 2012 season opener “Dreams.” This eclectic collective of fire dancers, aerial artists, hula hoopers, spoken poets, break and belly dancers, stiltwalkers and more are homegrown and some of the Southeast’s finest. I have followed the group since their inception- an old journalist friend wrote a story about them and I’ve been checking in to see them whenever possible over the years. In fact, the fire troupe is the same one that graced our Halloween party in 2008 and the bellydancing troupe is the same one that wow’ed us at that summer party in 2009. Natalie Brown, the artistic director and founder, is a Hurricane Katrina refugee from New Orleans who brought an amazing vision and an abundance of chutzpah to Columbia- and we are all the better for it. I’ve seen Alternacirque perform in dimly lit bars and in outdoor parking lots with the most minimal budgets imaginable. But they have persevered, and fine tuned, and expanded their repertoire and dug in their heels and whoa….have they blossomed! Bella Lucce is a proud sponsor of their 2012 circus season and it is such a gift to have this caliber of vision and talent in our own backyards here in Columbia, SC. Last night’s season-opening performance felt like a “coming out” party for a rowdy group of immensely talented circus kids who dared to plant their eclectic seeds in a town best known for its conservative political scandals. 
Last night was the kickoff of their three-day “Festival of Doom” and the madness continues this evening with the “East Coast All-Star Undulating Abdomen Bellydance Show of Doom”, featuring performers from across the Carolinas, Philadelphia, DC, Georgia, Tennessee, and Chicago. Saturday night will bring the “Circus, Sideshow & Burlesque Show of Doom” with acts from as far away as Seattle, and my favorites: the Wonderson Duo of acrobalance and aerial artististry from Charleston. Both events will be held at the CFMA Black Box at 941 Pulaski Street in Columbia (behind Gervais & Vine). Tickets are $13 at the door and will likely sell out, so get there early if you can. Please support the arts in your community…and come say “hi” if you’re at the events this weekend- I’ll be there. I promise it won’t be your usual weekend fare! Each row, moving left-to-right: Chloe learning to draw a geometrically correct Buddha at Emory University in 2009. Celie and her new viola, 2010. Chloe widening the neck of her first blown glass vase in Seattle, 2008. Chloe goofing around with a giant cosmic egg at the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore 2011. Chloe at the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA, New York City 2009. Celie with a poster signed by the West Side Story cast, Baltimore 2011. Celie learning how to care for her thangka painting from a Buddhist monk, Atlanta 2010. Bellydancers performing on our back deck at a party in 2009. Me, collecting my first “gather” of molten glass during glassblowing lessons, Seattle 2008. Chloe and Celie with a member of the Blue Man Group after a show, NYC 2009. Now appearing in Vegetarian Times· January 9, 2012 - In The Press
Chocolate bodycare just got a whole lot better…· January 5, 2012 - Bella Luccè News Nine years ago, Bella Luccè introduced our famed Peruvian Chocolate Collection, which has since appeared in dozens of magazines worldwide and become a best-selling customer favorite. Now we’re raising the bar once again, thanks to the reintroduction of our Peruvian Cocoa Azul Collection. New for 2012: a higher concentration of organics, elegant new graphics and more convenient packaging. The same luxurious textures and aromas you’ve come to love… 
These decadent creations don’t just smell of chocolate, they are chocolate. Created with golden cocoa butter, organic Dagoba cocoa and premium French cocoa absolute, we’ve harnessed the potent antioxidant powers of South American cocoa beans and given them a boost with the addition of real blueberries.  Six innovative new formulas have just made their debut and we’d love to know what you think. Right now, we invite you to save 20% on our new Peruvian Cocoa Azul collection. Just use code CHOCOLATECRAVING at checkout to reveal instant savings. We’ll also tuck in a FREE Peruvian Chocolate Renewing Masque with any order of $45 or more. As always, FedEx ground shipping is complimentary for all order of $75 or more delivered to the lower 48 states.
A look back at 2011· January 4, 2012 - Bella Luccè NewsI’d like to thank each of you reading for your gracious support over the past year. It’s was one for the record books and the close of each annum is a time of deep introspection for me as I count my blessings and focus on the events of the last 12 months. In that spirit, here’s what we did in 2011: * Welcomed more than 100 new spas within the U.S. to the Bella Luccè family * Continued the work of our nonprofit, including our first aid distribution trip (which included the donation of more than 400 picture books to a local school and provisions of backpacks, personal hygiene and school supplies for 200 students at a rural school in Morocco, along with life-saving surgery for a young boy attending the school) * Breathed new life into our famed Peruvian Chocolate Collection, relaunching it as our Peruvian Cocoa Azul Collection (we’ll do a big reveal later this week!) * Updated the packaging and relaunched all three of our signature facial masques to improve their value for our clients * Donated more than 2,000 pounds of product to two local organizations here in Columbia, SC: Harvest Hope Food Bank and Sister Care women’s shelter * Used more than 9,500 pounds of botanical oil (the majority of it organic) and more 22,500 pounds of sugar in the creation of our sugar scrubs * Appeared in more than 30 publications worldwide * Distributed more than 45,000 pounds of sugar scrub and 38,000 pounds of lotion and crème worldwide * Helped teach women in Morocco how to make soap using indigenous ingredients as a means of improving hygiene and promoting self-sufficiency * Performed trainings at the annual hospitality training of Uniworld’s Global River Cruises in Vienna, Austria (voted #1 river cruise line in the world by Conde Naste magazine) * Shipped orders to all 50 states and more than 3 dozen countries * Our CEO (Lela Barker) visited Austria, Italy, Morocco, Dubai, Mexico and Thailand to speak at industry events, visit international distributors, perform philanthropic work and explore new product ideas and ingredient sourcing. That’s more than 52,000 miles in the air…and a lot of jetlag. * Offset 100% of our carbon emissions * Added industrial, on-site recycling containers so that we can now recycle 100% of all cardboard incoming to our facility * Hand-poured more than 35,000 lip balms * Hosted two fundraising drives via Facebook, which resulted in $1,500 in donations to continue the amazing work of the people at Mercy Corps * Sponsored a walk-a-thon in conjunction with the SC Alexander Graham Bell Association to promote awareness and raise funds devoted to providing hearing aids for deaf children in the Columbia, SC area I am eager to see what triumphs and struggles the next year brings. Thank you for being a part of our journey and best wishes for joy, health and success in 2012! Introducing…· January 2, 2012 - Bella Luccè News Meet our new office mascot: Thoreau. He joined our family over the holidays and I stopped by the office today to introduce him to the Bella Lucce team. He’ll soon be joining our other pup Emerson for naps under my desk! For those of you who may remember previous posts about my beloved dog Samadhi, you’ll be pleased to know that Thoreau is a Keeshond, just like Sam. If Thoreau grows up to be just half the dog Samadhi was, I’ll count myself infinitely lucky… Happy holidays!· December 25, 2011 - Bella Luccè News From all of us at Bella Lucce to each of you, we send you wishes for the happiest of holidays. May they be filled with joy and peace and may you feel our profound gratitude for your continued support…here’s a phenomenal 2012! |
|
 |
 |
|
Questions, comments, feedback? Write me at thebuzz@bellalucce.com, or browse my Mission Statement. ©2005-20011 Bella Luccè All Rights Reserved
|