The Buzz from Bella Luccè

Attention New Zealanders

Bella Luccè's newest distributor, Capulet, now has product in stock in their Parnell showroom in Auckland. They invite you to visit the beautiful Akali showroom, located at:

79 St Georges Bay Road
Parnell
Auckland
New Zealand

Anne and Mo invite you contact them to experience the Bella Luccè experience in person. If you're in the area, please be in touch at +64 9 300 9404 as they'd love to give you a personal test drive of some of the newest spa products to hit the New Zealand shores.

Last call for our Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea

For six years now, we've offered our luscious Vanilla-Coconut Whipped Shea during the cooler months. As the mercury rises, we have to temporarily discontinue the product as it's insanely high concentration of shea butter (95%+) doesn't fare well in higher temperatures. We'd typically be suspending our whipped shea production for the season next week, but this year is a bit different.

As of Wednesday, March 17th, Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea will be discontinued indefinitely. Despite only be offered for 5 months out of the year, it is one of our most popular offerings and it has legions of devoted fans. Fear not: we have every intention of reintroducing our Vanilla-Coconut Shea Butter (along with an entirely new product collection on September 1, 2010) in a new product format, with improved packaging and dashes of some of the most exotic ingredients we've ever sourced. Our hope is that this new version will be available year-round, but we won;t know that for certain for a few more months now.

Here's what we do know for sure: you have just 10 days to stock up before it's gone forever. We'll whip up as many batches in our production kitchens as needed, but the formula will be retired permanently as of March 17th, so don't delay!

Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea, fresh off the beaters in our South Carolina production kitchen

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

When I think spring, I think of strawberries. And when I think of strawberries, I think of the big-as-my-fist models, dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate, sprinkled with nuts, dashed with coconut and studded with chocolate chips. Exhibit A: Shari's Berries. They're my never-fail, go-to gift and they always draw raves. Birthdays, thank you's, anniversaries, apologies...there's never a bad time to send a box, Hell, just send a box to yourself. :)

African Shea Butter

Revered for centuries by the women of Africa, shea butter is a renowned skin soother. Obtained from the karite nuts of a tree native to the West African tropics, the supple butter's high concentration of fatty acids gives it the ability to deeply moisturize and retain the elasticity of the skin, while also protecting against the damaging effects of the sun. Bella Luccè is proud to use organic shea butter imported from the Ghana in our product collection.

Find it in: Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea, Pumpkin Glow, Norwegian Oceanic Salt Rub

Cranberry-Yuzu Sugar Scrub

The very first sugar scrub we ever debuted way back in 2003, and still Bella Luccè's very best seller to this day. A creamy blend of nourishing oils and rich shea butter, studded with real cane sugar and ruby red cranberry seeds to slough dead skin and restore your glow. It's spring cleaning time for your skin too, you know? Find it here...at a very special price, for a very limited time.

You'll never guess...

....where I'm headed now. This Thursday, I leave for Mali, Africa to be a part of the Global Shea 2010 Conference. Hundreds of shea butter producers, formulators, trade specialists and skin care aficionados will gather in Bamako, Mali for 4 days of workshops and networking and to enjoy the opportunity to document the process of turning karite nuts into the the wonder that is shea butter. I'm ridiculously excited to be going and I'm very grateful to have been invited to address approximately 300 African women on March 17th who are interested in starting their own branded skin care companies, but aren't quite sure where to start. While there, I'll also be spending some extra days doing legwork for a new luxe collection Bella Luccè will be debuting September 1, 2010. Sound like a busy schedule? Oh, indeed it is. I hope you'll join me for the madness. I'll be posting pics and blogging as I go, so check back here late this week to come along on the adventure!

Traditional Dogon dancers in Mali

The largest mud building in the world in Djenne, Mali

7 Creative ways to enjoy chocolate....

One can never have too much chocolate in their lives. We practically live and die by that motto here at Bella Lucce. Some days you walk into our production facilities and the walls are practically permeated with the heavenly stuff as we whip up fresh batches of our Peruvian Chocolate Collection. Seems the good people at "The Daily Fork" agree- they've just released a list of seven great new ways to enjoy chocolate and check out who slid into the #7 spot!

Healing Lifestyles & Spas sings the praises of honey

The skin care pros over at Healing Lifestyles & Spas magazine recently sang the praises of wholesome, natural honey and the bevy of goodies it provides for the skin. It's a wonderful article and they even recommend two of our best-selling Bella Luccè products as great examples of honey-packed beauty products.

"Honey, one of nature’s most amazing and delicious substances, has been used to dress wounds, soothe rashes, and moisturize weathered, sun-damaged skin for centuries. And though this household staple probably finds its way into your tea more often than it does your skincare regimen, honey’s topical benefits are not just old wives’ tales—both time and science have proven their efficacy. Turns out the wise old wives were right—honey not only boasts both antioxidants and antibacterial properties, but acts as a natural humectant, trapping skin’s moisture within."

You can read the entire article here and grab yourself a jar of our Manuka Honey Drizzle and Silk & Honey Lotion right here.

Heart Spa Project

I recently received a call for help from Lisa Holland, a Columbia-based therapist who's passionate about women and heart health. She.s hosting the first "Heart Spa" event, where women can connect with one another in a festive atmosphere, all while learning tools they can use to decrease stress, live happier lives and keep their hearts healthy in the meantime. The event promises "a spa-like environment with relaxing therapeutic hand massage and healthy hours d'oeuvres, berry seltzers and dark chocolate" (sounds like my kind of party). Bella Luccè donated products to be used during the massages at the event and goodies for you to take home, too! The event is being held on Wednesday, February 24th, beginning at 6pm, at:

City Art Gallery
1224 Lincon Street
Columbia, SC 29201

You can contact Lisa for more details at 803.727.8486.

Enter to win $78 worth of my favorite Moroccan goodies!

The amazing Donna Maria Coles-Johnson, president of Indie Business, graciously wrote a feature article recently on From Morocco With Love. It's a really wonderful piece that provides more of the backstory behind my new venture. I invite you to read the article at the Indie Business Blog, but time is of the essence! Through Monday, February 22nd, she's doing a very special giveaway...it's simple to enter and one lucky winner will walk away with a $78 Moroccan prize pack- your choice of leather babouche slippers and a set of our Arabesque Henna tea glasses!

To be entered to win both of these fabulous Moroccan goodies, you must do each of these three things:
1. Leave a comment at her blog. Tell her how this story inspires you to make a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate, especially children. You may share as many comments as you’d like. Each will be considered separately.

2. Join the Indie Business FaceBook Fan Page. Here’s the link. How easy is that one?

3. Twitter a link to this post. You can do this automatically by clicking here. That link opens up your Twitter page and makes it easy for you to Tweet this post with one click.

Hurry- the contests ends on Monday, February 22nd. Good luck!

Learn how adding beauty to your world changes theirs..

I am thrilled to announce that my new nonprofit has sprouted wings as of 10am EST today. You've heard me talk about it for months now, but today is the day it's finally all come together. Christened From Morocco, With Love, it's my way of sharing the deep beauty and rich heritage of Morocco with all of you, while having a positive impact on the impoverished women and children of the region. It's a wonderful concept: you're invited to shop for gorgeous home decor, vintage Moroccan wedding blankets, sequin leather slippers, handsome Thuya wood products and authentic silver jewelry and 100% of the proceeds will be returned to Morocco in the form of school tuition, nutritional support, work animals, dental care, shoes and clothing, and on and on. Please stop by and then help us spread the word. You'll find us at www.FromMoroccoWithLove.com Later today, I'm sending out a very special discount coupon, exclusively for Bella Luccè clients who are a part of our mailing list, so I invite you to join now if you're not already a part of it. Many, many thanks for your continued support!

More love from Italy...

Our European distributor is on fire of late and the Italian press just threw some more Bella Luccè love our way...from the latest issue of "La Pelle", a professional beauty magazine in Italy.

Guess what's coming?

Please give a warm welcome to...

We’re thrilled to welcome these 20 new stockists to the Bella Luccè family. Please stop by, phone in or click on to let them know how much we appreciate their bringing your Bella luccè luxuries even closer to home:

Ashland, OR: Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Mauldin, SC: Results Group Salon
Singapore: Spa Lifestyle, Inc.
Annapolis, MD: Varuna Aveda Salon Spa
Danvers, MA: Tomani Skin Therapy
Muscatine, IA: Salon Incognito
Sterling, VA: Hair Port Salon & Day Spa
Lakeland, FL: DayDreams Day Spa & Bath Shop
Hampton, NH: Spectra
Hazelhurst, GA: Designs By Jason
Salt Lake City, UT: Unity Salon
Concord, MA: 1 on 1 Self Indulgence
Montclair, NJ: Bangz Salon and Wellness Spa
Webster, MA: Masaje Day Spa
Sedro-Wooley, WA: Katharina Petker
Sandy, UT: Brickhouse Retreat
Medford, NY: Thee Salon
Woodstock, GA: The Hair Market Salon Spa
Spokane Valley, VA: Bella Dolce
Seattle, WA: Source Salon & Spa

Click here to locate the nearest Bella Luccè stockist in your area... there are more than 500 worldwide!

Attention Bella Lucce fans in Connecticut!

Bella Luccè's Peruvian Chocolate Collection was selected for an upcoming segment on fun Valentine's Day gift ideas. Tune into NBC 30 in Hartford, Connecticut on Monday, February 1st at 11am to catch it live!

P.S. You can indulge in the same decadent chocolate treats this holiday...select products are being offered at special pricing through February 14th!