Stuck in a #beauty rut? @beautypress #SpotlightDay offers up great ideas for 2015 for both men & women! #bbloggers

Don't get stuck in a rut for 2015, just like you set professional goals, set some new personal ones too! Single and ready to mingle? Maybe a switch up in appearance is what you need to help cupid along while you are waiting to get hit by the love arrow!

I have been on a sort of 'personal renaissance' myself, I chopped off over 13 inches of hair last year to donate to women with Cancer (read up on my experience if you missed it HERE), next up for me a color change for my hair which I have never actually done but really want to try (and NO there are no grey hairs on my head yet, this is just for FUN), and I started the first week of the new year by shopping my closet, tossing stuff I have entirely outgrown and getting ready to make some wardrobe changes. Starting with new foundation, because you can buy great clothes but if the undergarments aren't holding what they should hold, the clothes won't look right!

Even with professional goals the first foot you put forward counts, so I am also looking to give my Beauty Routine a swift kick in the mascara so to speak and my favorite New York City event, Beauty Press (a network for Beauty Editors and Bloggers to connect with Beauty Brands) put some new products on my radar, and I just had to share them with YOU, here they are in alphabetical order:

Brand Exhibitors Include:

Absolutment Parfumeur, Absolument Homme

My little 'scent secret'? I tend to wear Men's Cologne's over women's perfumes. I like the notes in cologne better and find that they smell better on me (and I guess men feel the same way, because when I go out and wear cologne I get more of those 'what scent are you wearing'? from men than I do when I try wearing women's perfume! With 3 notable exceptions, my three 'girlie' fave scents are Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue, Doux Amour by Spadaro, and Midnight Promise by Bellegance Perfumes!) Absolutment Parfumeur, (Press on the British Flag to read the site in English!) founded by Pascal Rolland (the person who re-introduced Absinthe Liquor in France in 1999 after an 84 year ban!) decided to create his first perfume Absolutment Absinthe - making him the first liquor-maker perfumer! I did like Absinthe, but I LOVE Absolment Homme, I mean like obsessively love it! I am waiting on full size units on both of them and I think they would be amazing as gifts for Valentine's Day! (and if you want to bring over a bottle of Absinthe while you are it....#justsaying)

Biomega Freeze Baby Mega-Hold Hairspray by aquage (Photo credit @beautypress)

While I love my new shorter 'do', keeping those layers looking 'styled' definitely requires a good hair spray, but I don't want sticky helmet head, so I'm digging the new Biomega Freeze Baby Mega-Hold Hairspray by aquage to keep those layers in place on these cold, windy and inclement winter days on the East Coast!

Baiser ROSE Candle

I love the smell of FRESH Roses. And yes I meant to capitalize the word Fresh, one of the reasons I tend to not be attracted to many perfumes is that the rose scent used is highly 'synthetic' or overly concentrated and over-bearing, at least to my nose. I was surprised to find myself taken with the Baiser ROSE Candle, I'm rarely such a frilly, girly girl type, but this very pink, rose-scented candle was a delight to the senses and I really like it! Definitely another Score as a Valentine's Day Gift Idea!

Breakups to Makeup

Breakups to Makeup is the creation of makeup artist Angelique Velez (pictured above) as a staple of self-expression for the person whose heart was broken and buried themselves in the darkest of places, to the cancer patient who has lost all her hair yet finds comfort in that perfect shade of lipstick, a brand for those with a genuine love of makeup, their fashion and accessories are just plain spot on! See the t-shirt next to her? It reads "I would cry but my mascara is designer' - I know I am not the only one yelling YAS! and YES! or the makeup bag that reads "I May Not Be Perfect But My Makeup Is' - If you plan to 'give good face' this year, then this is EXACTLY the brand you want to do that with! I wish one of their T-Shirts or Cosmetics bag were in the Swag bags, but sadly they weren't or you would see a picture of me wearing it!

Huile des Princesses aromatherapy utilizing precious oils

If a trip to Paris is on your bucket or New Year's resolutions list but for whatever reason you don't think this is going to be your year either, try Huile des Princesses a new aromatherapy line with all-natural precious oils for face, body, hair and massage on for size. A little bit of Paris luxury for your home spa. Maybe not a trip to Paris, but your skin will think it has been there at least!

Intelligent Skin Sense

Founded by a multi-spa owner, Intelligent Skin Sense uses a very holistic approach utilizing botanical herbs and clinically tested ingredients to make beauty products and tools that help you bring the spa experience home. Sense a theme? Why not make pampering yourself one of your top priorities for this new year butterflies? I would love to try out the Micro-Current Home Facial Device, I have never tried one of these before and have often wondered about their efficacy. If any of you have tried them please let us know what you think!

K6 Skincare (Photo Credit: @beautypress)

K6 Skin Care, founded by Dallas based naturopath Sharon Krahn, her combination of enzymes, herbs, essential oils and nutrition led to an organic skin care line that is safe for ALL skin types especially those with hypersensitive skin.

Manicure by Primp and Polish

This Gel Manicure with Nail Art courtesy of Primp and Polish (linking you guys to their twitter handle as the website was down when I sat down to write this!) is just plain EVERYTHING! Looking back at it just makes me happy. Look at that vibrant nail polish and that 'deco-inspired' Nail Art! This lasted well over a week for me and while Gel is a bit harder to remove than traditional Nail Polish, the long lasting brilliant look is worth the extra time and steps in my opinion. They have 3 locations in Brooklyn, New York!

What happens when a group of cosmetics-crazed science geeks from MIT join forces? Wink Natural Cosmetics an all-natural solution to help promote eyelash and eyebrow growth in dormant hair follicles. While some growth serums, can boast giving you longer eyelashes, they can still be sparse, just longer and sparse, what Wink does is make your lashes AND brows thicker and fuller too!

In addition to the brands above who provided samples, there was a swag bag and the Editor Review Bag Sponsors included:

Nordic Beauty (photo credit: @beautypress)

Nordic Beauty is a natural and organic skin care line that utilizes Marine Collagen Peptides from Norway, it is a combination of Science, Marine Collagen Peptides and cold Norwegian Sea Water. 

Nurse Jamie (photo credit: @beautypress)

Jamie Sherrill, R.N., "Nurse Jamie" is the owner of Park Medical Spa in Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, she is a registered nurse and global skincare expert with quite a list of celebrity clientele who love her healthy skin solutions, cutting-edge products and medical devices. She also offers skincare regimens for MEN, not just women! That's right my male butterflies, this is the year to kick your grooming habits up a notch too!

I actually got to meet the Zotos 180PRO  team at the summer Beauty Press (held on a Luxury Yacht in Manhattan, if you missed that recap click HERE), the anchor in the line (oops no pun intended after the yacht reference I swear!) is the Miracle Repair Damage Eliminator Treatment which uses a patent pending cross-linking ingredient to attract the reparative benefits of 180PRO products to the damaged areas of your hair like a magnet, to repair up to two years of hair abuse and safeguard your tresses against future damage. I tend to blow out and flat iron my hair often, so this is literally made for me!

My Take:

I was stoked that Beauty Press was actually able to squeeze in another event just before the holidays! I loved to see that 180PRO returned as my hair is really responding their products, and there were a ton of new to me products, and as I go along road testing them I will provide individual reviews. (I only test one system at a time so I know what is actually working for me, takes me a bit longer, but I test systems individually and finish them completely/empty the tube so I can give you an accurate review and pinpoint exactly which product is giving me results. I fell in nail love with my mani with nail art so I will be doing more Gel Manicures on these pages this year that's for sure! Although I will say that KISS Products pop on and pop off nails are still a particular fave of mine for speed, ease and convenience. 

Wonder if it's too much to ask of Cupid to be sure that the man that comes trying to sweep me off my feet is wearing Absolutment Homme?

Butterflies which brand resonates most with you? Which one would you most like to try? Let them know you saw them featured on Ascending Butterfly so we can hopefully come back with something fun for YOU too!

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FTC Disclosure: I am a member of the Beauty Press Network. This is NOT a compensated post, it is an event recap. This is NOT a sponsored post and all opinions are 100% my own!  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.