Pampered by FireFly Wellness

by Laura on September 28, 2011

A few months back, my friend Karen at Firefly Wellness. I was gifted a 30 minute free half hour spa treatment with Firefly Wellness. Karen is a licensed massage therapist and esthetician. She has a local studio and she has been doing spa treatments for 11 years, including microdermabrasion, massage, facials, and waxing.

I e-mailed Karen to make an appointment and she sent me a menu of her services. I was curious about the microdermabrasion. I was not sure if microdermabrasion would suit my needs, but I had heard a little about it from a friend. I spent a great deal of time in the sun and under the damaging rays of the tanning bed in my younger, more carefree (READ: CARELESS and WRECKLESS) days. I have some sunspots around my temples and forehead that I find quite unsightly, as a result. Karen was extremely patient and took much the time to help me in my decision. She carefully explained the benefits of each treatment. After a few e-mails back and forth, we decided that microdermabrasion would be the best course to address my concerns for the sun damage. I booked my appointment and anxiously patiently waited for the appointment time to come.

I cannot remember the last time I had a facial or massage. It had been a while. There has been a lot of stress in my life the past couple of months and I knew I needed it. I needed some time to take care of myself.

I arrived at Karen’s house with my daughter. She has a little boy a year or so younger than Allie. The two kids ran off to play. I immediately felt comfortable with Karen. Her office is like an oasis. It is so serene and peaceful: the music, the soothing sounds of waterfalls, the fragrance of calming oils and lotions, and the warm towels were inviting.

I upgraded my treatment to a full hour and I am so glad I did! The first thing she did was cleanse my skin and my face was tingling. My skin already felt amazing. She did some extractions, which were uncomfortable, but not painful. It was a multi-step process: cleansing, exfoliation, extractions, mask, and then moisturize.

The microdermabrasion is really weird. Karen warned that it would feel like a cat’s tongue licking your face and as gross as it sounds—it is not bad! The microdermabrasion removes the top layer of dead skin cells, and leaves the newer, healthier cells. It makes your skin feel as soft as a baby’s bottom and look youthful. She was took her time and explained each procedure before she did them, letting me know the how’s and why’s. Next, she massaged my neck and shoulders. I am pretty sure I went to sleep during this part. I was definitely in my own little world. All the tension was gone and I was feeling pretty amazing.

When the facial and microdermabrasion was done, I felt so refreshed. I did notice that my skin had a healthy glow and the large, clogged pores I typically have around my nose seemed smaller. I felt like I had a mini face lift, because the tension in my face was completely gone. My skin is much more radiant, my sun spots lighter and my skin is as smooth as a baby’s—well, you know—smooth!

Karen is very knowledgeable about skin care and has a variety of specials she offers. One of the specials she has is really amazing! She offers a significant discount if you buy the services in a bundle. For example, she was running a promotion where you can purchase four microdermabrasion treatments for $220. That is $100 discount!

I definitely recommend Karen. If you are local and looking for someone that really knows how to make a girl feel beautiful, refreshed, and relaxed, she is definitely worth it! Her prices are reasonable. Her products are high quality. She knows what she is doing. You know what else? You are totally worth it!

Disclosure:

I was gifted a free 30 minute facial in exchange for my honest testimonial. I upgraded to an hour long facial and microdermabrasion treatment with my own money. All opinions stated are my own. No monetary compensation was given in exchange for this review.

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Eucerin Gift Bag Giveaway

by Laura on September 23, 2010

While attending BlogHer, I did not have a lot of time to explore the conference expo halls as I would have liked. Between the sessions, the parties, the meet-ups, and other events, I hardly slept! Besides, with the airlines changing $25-30 per bag, Mr. Bear and I opted to pack lightly (sharing one suitcase). Sadly, much of the wonderful swag was left behind in New York City.

That is why I was thrilled when I was contacted by Eucerin to try some of their products. They offered to send me a swag bag from BlogHer and I did not even have to worry about packing it into our non-existent space in our luggage.

blogher_swag

Eucerin has many products we have used throughout the years with Allie. We especially like the Aquaphor on the infrequent occasions she has been struck with heat rash. My favorite? I love the Eucerin® Everyday Protection Body Lotion with SPF15, which provides protection from the harmful rays of the sun. It smells great, does not leave my skin slimy, like some lotions can, and makes my skin all silky smooth.

Eucerin_Everyday_Protection_13.5oz.__63597-8

Don’t believe me? See for yourself! Eucerin is offering to share this swag with you, Dear Readers.

Eucerin® Daily Skin Balance Fortifying Body Lotion and Daily Skin Balance Hand Crème are the perfect moisturizers to defend against environmental stressors. Their combination of provitamin B5, glycerin and a PH buffer keeps skin strong and moisturized all day long with just one application.

Eucerin® Everyday Protection Body Lotion and Everyday Protection Face Lotion keeps your skin healthy and protects against dry skin by moisturizing for 24 hours, helping to prevent skin aging and cancer, long-term damage and skin cancer by providing broad-spectrum sun protection. Absorbs quickly without any greasy feeling on the skin.

For further information on Everyday Protection Lotion and other Eucerin products, visit EucerinUS.

If you made it to BlogHer and missed out on the opportunity to receive a swag bag, or did not make it to BlogHer, and even if you are unsure what exactly BlogHer is, you may enter to receive a swag bag from Eucerin.

What can you win?

Enter for a chance to win Eucerin Daily Skin Balance Body Lotion, Daily Skin Balance Hand Crème, Everyday Protection Face Lotion SPF 30, Everyday Protection Body Lotion SPF 15 and a health and wellness journal. All items will come in a reusable shopping bag (All pictured above).

How to Enter–The Devil is in the Details

The Skin First IQ quiz which was officially launched at BlogHer and is available on the Eucerin Skin First website for you to play. Take the Skin First IQ Quiz to learn a bit more about what it takes to put your skin first. Simply leave a comment here and let me know what you learned from your Skin First IQ quiz OR what part of you needs this gift bag most.

For Additional Entries (Please leave a separate comment for the entries you complete!):

1. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following:

Enter to win one a BlogHer swag bag from Eucerin and @mommycanrun http://tinyurl.com/23r3m9s

OR, Click the Tweet button at the top of this post.

2. Go to the Eucerin Facebook page to get a free sample when you take the Skin First Pledge, which will also make a donation to HealthyWomen.org.

3. Subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed or get email updates when I post.

4. Go to my main blog page and follow my blog, using the Google Friend Connect gadget in the sidebar, near the end of the page.

Deadline:

Friday, October 2 at 11:59 pm EST. I will randomly pick the winners so everyone has a chance to win. **PLEASE leave an email if your blogger profile does not include it or you don’t have a blog. I need a way to contact you.** Once a winner is drawn I will contact them and the winner will have 48 hours to reply back before I draw a new winner. Giveaway is open to US residents only who are 18 years of age or older.

Disclosure:

I received a gift bag from Eucerin to try their products. All opinions stated are my own. No monetary compensation was given in exchange for this review.

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Halloween and Fall Printables

September 20, 2010

“What do you want to be for Halloween this year,” I asked.  “A kitty!” she answered excitedly.  “So, you want to be an Allie kitty?  You are going to be an Allie Kat for Halloween?” I delightfully retorted.  “Yes, I want to be an Allie Kat.  Won’t that be funny?”  Yes, it would be sort [...]

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Reviews to Come

September 16, 2010

I have a few reviews in queue right now.  In fact, I have some products to give away.  Yeah! Check back regularly for product reviews.                          

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