Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Looking for new #Beauty Brands to put on your radar for summer? @beautypress and @Ascending1 have got you covered!

Beautypress Spotlight Day put a few great products on my radar and needless to say I just had to share!

Here they are in (mostly) Alphabetical Order:


We have featured All Beauty Water several times on Ascending Butterfly and I am always happy to see them, beauty really does start from within and with each bottle offering 2 glasses of nutrient enhanced skincare that nourish your skin from within, this by far has to be the best weapon in your beauty arsenal for summer and beyond. Stay hydrated my friends!


Did you really look at that photo above carefully? If so you spotted the super pretty butterfly in the founder of BeverlyD's hair! BeverlyD's Luxe Organic Hair Care products promise to heal hair from the inside out and make hair young again. As always, I am solely presenting the brands I met at Spotlight Day and will provide more extensive reviews on all products once I have had a chance to test everything out. But I did see people have this product applied to their hair and saw really good results but I haven't yet tried it on my own hair.



I have to admit I tried this that night when I got home from this event. When I tell you that you NEED this in your life, I am not exaggerating. Callex will get your feet summer sandal ready! You can put this on and not feel like you are going to slide out your shoes, but it keeps your feet exfoliated and gets rid of cracked heels better than anything else I have tried to date. (Please note: Do NOT use exfoliating foot appliances while using this. It's redundant, use this and you won't need the appliance, just saying! And it's on the box.)


Kesh Beauty Argan Oils are available in 'Pure', 'Rose', and 'Orange Blossom' scents and are 100% organic cold-pressed. I love Argan Oil as it is truly versatile, it is equally effective on skin as it is on hair, and as hair retains and radiates scent so well, a touch of a scented argan oil in my hair as the tropical trade winds blow through my hair this summer sounds like a plan to me!


Capri Blue Candles are heavenly scented and will certainly compliment your decor. So give your space and your senses LIFE, you can't go wrong with any of the scents, but 'Rain', 'Blue Jean' and 'Velvet Moss & Jasmine' were standouts for me.


This science based cellulite removal product that is popular in France definitely held the biggest curiosity factor, as I think many people thought it was something else entirely! Cellu Blue replicates the gesture of a "palpate-roll" massage, honestly I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, so I will report back on my progress with it once I have.


CōTZ, The Healthier Sunscreen has also been featured on Ascending Butterfly before, this time around they were featuring their CōTZ Face which I have been using and LOVE, this is perfect for summer as I rarely wear foundation in summer, the texture on this is awesome and what had me sold is when I sweat this didn't sting or burn my eyes. It offers an SPF 40 protection, feels soft and silky and leaves a sheer matte finish and the price point is fantastic, this is a WINNER.


Dr's Remedy is formulated by two podiatrists with a special blend of organic ingredients, their collection offers over 30 nail colors along with treatment products to help battle dry, brittle and discolored nails. My nails can certainly use some extra TLC for summer that's for sure.


Ecco-Bella is skin care enriched with VitaminCells, Flower Wax Infused Makeup, and Water-Free Herbal Body Lotions.



I LOVE the color on this lipgloss, too bad this baby wasn't in our bags!


I am a BOLD lip kind of girl! No 'wallflower' shades for me!


Ecco Bella's philosophy of 'Intelligent Beauty' certainly mirrors my own, the founder does NOT believe in animal testing and she is a board member of the organization Friends of Animals. Now that my friends is beautiful!


Elysee Scientific Cosmetics who offers skincare, makeup, Tools & Brushes as well as fragrance was a fun stop! We got to take home their Fountain of Youth Soothing Line Diminishing Gel, I plan to put this one in the fridge for summer and apply it to my skin cold. As I have acne prone skin I find that Gel Formulations have always worked best with my skin and I look forward to completely testing this one out and will report back to you after I have. (It takes me awhile because I actually finish a system completely before reporting back to you. I don't believe applying something once is going to yield accurate results or provide me or you a complete picture!)


You know me, just trying to get creative with my photography and mix things up a bit, ittsē lets you create your own palette - you can choose from over 100 pressed shadows, brow and complexion products and group them together which is perfect for travel!


Maliqá is a floral fragrance with essence of water lotus, and notes of peony and rose with a nice mix of woods and musk thrown in!


Pottymints was another of those 'surprise' products, at first I thought it was actual mints to consume with a funny name, but these are not mints for your mouth, they are mints for your TOILET! These are actually single use dissolvable air freshener tablets, you know so your 'potty' won't smell so much like an ahem...potty! (if you keep one of these in your purse, you can always use these if you are stuck in public restroom hell. Say you are only in there for a #1 and someone comes into the stall next to you and proceeds to carry on with a #2 you can open one of these so you can finish your business in peace and get out of there! LOL)



Above: The Thymes Aqua Corraline Collection can boast that it's body scrub is an Allure Magazine Best of Beauty Award Winner!

I was stoked to see a brand there that I have been using long before my blogging days. I actually discovered them when I arrived for a Broadway Show early and went looking around the gift shop in the hotel adjacent to the theater. I was just sort of mindlessly roaming around when I sprayed the tester of Thymes and Goldleaf and it was love at first sniff. I bought the entire collection and it is still one of my favorite scents. I took my time taking in every single bit of their display which was an olfactory delight I tell you!

Above: Frasier Fir is Christmas in a candle my friends!

Above: The Gingerbread Candle was actually my surprise favorite, I don't even eat Gingerbread, but I want to burn this in my kitchen 24 hours a day, I can't describe the scent, the notes are spicy cardamom, crystallized ginger, fresh ground cinnamon and golden amber. I know I am always attracted to all things amber when it comes to scent, but this is just super rich, warm and inviting, try it you'll LIKE it!

Above: I may have let out a little 'Squee!' when we were given Thymes Goldleaf Gardenia to take home! With notes of Gardenia, rose, jasmine, amber, praline and patchouli, this will be my signature scent this summer!





































Above: Thymes definitely never fails to surprise, despite me not being a Gingerbread lover, I LOVED their Gingerbread candle and again I LOVED the Tupelo Lemongrass Collection as well and I am not normally a 'lemongrass' kind of girl, so go figure!

Swag Bag Inclusions:

In our bags were also products by Aquage, Jane Carter Solutions and MyChelle. I will definitely give more feedback when I have given everything a full test, but I will say that I did try out the Nourish & Shine which is Jane Carter's best seller for dry hair and skin and despite the texture feeling a bit 'grittier' than I expected to the touch it did leave my hair softer, really helped tame the frizz and I rubbed the excess onto my hands and they did feel softer!

MY TAKE:

BeautyPress Spotlight Day always curates a great mix of products and brands, there were a few really unusual ones (in a GOOD way) and I was super stoked to meet the team behind Thymes as it is a brand I have used for a VERY long time. I came away with products I wasn't already using to put on my radar, and I can't stress enough just how much I am loving Callex for my feet, if you wear sandals in the summer you are going to thank me for this recommendation!

Which product above would you most like to try and why? 

Happy Wordless Wednesday! (Bloggers feel free to comment and leave us the link to your Wordless Wednesday so we can check out your Photos too! Remember, absolutely NO Giveaway links, this is a Wordless (or not so wordless) Wednesday ONLY!)

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FTC Disclosure: This is an event recap, this is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received, 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.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

{#WordlessWednesday} Giant Monarch Butterflies at New York Botanical Garden! @NYBG #FridaNYC #AscendingButterfly

Imagine having a Monarch Butterfly this big in your garden!


That's Me, Ascending Butterfly in the middle!

Happy Wordless Wednesday! Bloggers feel free to comment with a link to your post so we can check out your photos too! (NO Giveaways please, this is just a wordless wednesday linky only!)

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received, 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.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

{#TastyTuesday} @MasterCard Cooking Demo with @Chef_Aaron Sanchez at @NYBG #pricelessNY #FridaNYBG #Foodie

Pro shot courtesy of @PhocialMedia (twitter) or online at www.getphocial.com

























Remember last week when I shared a sneak peek from the New York Botanical Garden Media Preview Day of their latest Frida Kahlo Exhibition? If you missed that post, click HERE. What you probably didn't know is that I actually spent most of that weekend there as well, first the for kick off of 'Frida Al Fresco' Evenings where you can stroll the grounds and enjoy the exhibit after hours, and my apologies for covering the weekend out of order, but I was there again on Sunday for a MasterCard Priceless Experience, a cooking demonstration and meet and greet with Chef Aaron Sanchez!

Since this is #TastyTuesday on the interwebs I couldn't help sharing about my MasterCard Priceless Experience today.

Before you say, but Butterfly 'I am not a Blogger', MasterCard Priceless Cities is NOT just for Media, Bloggers or Digital Influencers, it is for anyone and everyone who is a Mastercard holder (which I actually am, in case anyone was asking!), the Priceless Cities experiences offer a behind-the-scenes, front of the line, private experience with tickets to the most coveted events, offered exclusively to MasterCard cardholders. These experiences are definitely located in New York City where I am based, but are also available in many other major markets, you can use the locator here to see if there are experiences in a City near you.

It's no surprise to regular readers that I am a mega foodie, and I was definitely going to jump at the chance to meet Chef Aaron! He is the chef/partner of Paloma in Stamford, CT and the restaurant Johnny Sanchez in New Orleans (another one of my fave cities!), he is also the co-star of Food Network's Chopped and the host of Cooking Channel's Taco Trip and the travel-food series MOTOCHEFS.

I got there early and caught the setup process:

Mastercard Priceless NY Cooking Demo with Chef Aaron Sanchez at New York Botanical Garden
OK so maybe I wanted to scope out a plan to the best seat, but it's only because I want to get you guys the best recap coverage of course!

Mastercard Priceless NY Cooking Demo with Chef Aaron Sanchez at New York Botanical Garden

Chef Aaron's recipe called for Jicama, don't you just love action shots?




No Chef Aaron is not hiding from the camera, it was hot outside! The cooking demo was followed by a Meet and Greet with the Chef!

One of the super cute swag stations, I spot the Chef to the right!
Above: The MasterCard team was actually interviewing Chef Aaron when I nabbed this shot.


Above: While we were waiting for our Meet & Greet there of course were some eats!

Pro shot courtesy of @PhocialMedia (twitter) or online at www.getphocial.com
Above: There I am in the center getting my VIP pass signed! (Trying not to nerd out!)


Above: Thankfully a very sweet PR rep also took a shot with my camera (I knew there would be pro shots but I wanted to make sure I got an extra shot just in case!) I had to hold up my signed pass!


Above: With great food and great music, I just had to nab a shot of Chef Aaron and the event's guitarist!

MY TAKE:

This is just a part of the amazing experiences I had during the opening weekend of 'Frida Al Fresco' at New York Botanical Garden, and stay tuned this week, as all this fun coverage is leading up to something special for YOU (and that special DAD in your life!)

This was actually my very first MasterCard Priceless NY experience, and it definitely won't be my last, they provided a great experience at such a wonderful venue, and if this is a taste of what their VIP experiences are like I definitely look forward to the next one!

Chef Aaron Sanchez has a new cookbook out called "Simple Food, Big Flavor - Unforgettable Mexican-Inspired Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours' (by Chef Aaron with JJ Goode) so be sure to pick it up! If you press on the image of the cookbook below it will take you straight to Amazon so you can order it online. You're Welcome!



What is your favorite Mexican Recipe? Have you already experienced a MasterCard Priceless Cities Experience, if so which one?

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received, and all opinions are 100% my own!  I attended the Chef Aaron Sanchez MasterCard Priceless Experience as Digital Press. There is an affiliate link in this post. 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.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

It was a #Luxury and #Audio Enthusiasts Paradise at the New York Luxury #Technology Show! @LuxuryTechShow #theLTS

June is certainly a HUGE month for gifting - be it attending a June Wedding, A Graduation Ceremony or celebrating Dads for Father's Day, there will invariably be someone on your list that you are plum out of ideas in terms of what to shop for. Looking for gift ideas for the 'person that has it all' or some other hard to shop for person on your list this month? Want to send your Dad's eyeballs out their sockets and accelerate his pulse a bit?

How about new technology? How about a touch of Luxe? 

If you are shopping for an Audio Enthusiast or all around Gadget Geek, then I can assure you that the New York Luxury Technology Review has got you covered!

I regularly attend their Luxury Review Show events, but the Luxury Tech Show hadn't quite worked with my schedule until now, but with this particular show being an Audio enthusiasts 'Mecca' it was a perfect show for this #TwitterPartyDJ to attend for the first time.

In terms of the sheer scope of pictures and witty captions, I think Cnet's recap of the show is definitely worth the read so when you get a chance, check it out HERE.

PENGUIN's Organic Food Safety Checker


From the practical - like PENGUIN's Organic Food Safety Checker that helps you check for harmful elements in your daily food (this device allows you to check your groceries for antibiotics), the LugTrack which is a unique system that pairs two tags - one within your luggage and another to be installed as an app on your mobile device that then work together using a combo of GPS, GSM, WiFi and Bluetooth to relay tracking and location information of your luggage (perfect gift for a dad or grad in my opinion!), to something as '007' as The Kryptall K Phone which allows for encrypted global cellular calls, or how about not having to get up to turn the lights on or off, with Lutron you can do just that!

Lutron on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015


Is your Dad or Grad into Fitness? - You may want to consider these fitness tech toys:

CUFF Fitness Tracker


CUFF - Both Smart Jewelry and Fitness Tracker, Cuff's products have built-in sensors that can alert you that you have a phone call, track your physical activity, or even call for help in case of an emergency Your 'in case of emergency' can also be your entire Facebook network if you choose, those contacts will get your location, live audio and other information needed for them to get you help. (They are compatible with most IoS or Android devices), and it's 'jewelry box' even has a charger which will keep the battery going for seven days. They definitely need to send me these for full review so I can put it all through it's paces and report back to you!

The Peloton Bike


The Peloton Bike - I'm sure you have seen them on TV by now, but Peloton is an indoor cycling company that wirelessly streams live spin classes right to their Peloton Bikes, the interactive display on the bike shows distance, speed and calories burned. I want one of these myself! 

ProdecoTech Electric Bicycles on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015


ProdecoTech Phantom X Electric Bicycle on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015
ProdecoTech Phantom X Electric Bicycle on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

ProdecoTech Electric Bicycles Close Up on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015
ProdecoTech Electric Bicycles Close Up on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015
ProdecoTech - For those who prefer their bicycling activities with a 'view', ProdectoTech had their Electric Bicycles on display! The Phantom X caught my eye, and I took a close up just to give you some more detail.

InBody Digital Scale

InBody - This digital scale breaks down body composition by muscle, fat and water weight in less than a minute using a bioelectrical analysis method and then gives a fairly wide variety of metrics including how well muscles are developed and how much fat is stored in each area of the body and can also estimate how many calories you are burning while at rest. It can aid in targeting not just your problem areas but also in helping you personalize workouts and treatment plans.

Petcube


For Petlovers - Petcube is much like a nanny cam, except it's for your furbaby, the 10 centimeter cube provides a 138-degree wide-angle camera view so you can keep an eye on Fido from your smartphone and it also offers a two-way audio stream through it's built in microphone, not only can you see AND hear your pet, it can also hear YOU!

Home Entertainment - There was quite a bit fine Audio and Entertainment to be had including:

Panasonic Reference Class R1 Series

Panasonic - The show taught me that when it comes to Audio, everything that's old is new again, Panasonic highlighted the return of their high-end Technics brand (which I remember quite well and I am excited to find out they are back again), they are bringing back premium music reproduction over a traditional home theater experience and they displayed their Premium Class C-700 Series (made up of a Stereo Integrated Amplfier, Network Audio Player, Compact Disc Player and Speaker System coming in at around 6K) and the Reference Class R1 Series (This line includes a Stereo Power Amplifier, Network Audio Control Player, Speaker type mid-range drive unit, plus one 1-inch Dome type tweeter with floorstanding speakers and will set you back around 60K!)

Panasonic Massage Chairs in use at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

They also displayed one of their 2014 4K Ultra HD Tv's as well as their cameras (including the Lumix DMC-CM1) and camcorders! And my favorite part of their booth, the Massage Chairs! (By the way I am not personally in the photo above, as you can see guests put those chairs to good use, just a few minutes on one will make you realize just how much you need one of these in your life!) - You would certainly score brownie points with Dad if you got him one of these for Father's Day! (By the way they would totally score brownie points with me if they sent one to Ascending Butterfly's offices - you know for when we are conducting interviews and stuff!)

Harmon Kardon on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

Harmon Kardon also brought a taste of their audio lineup including the JBL Authentics L16 speaker system, the Revel Performa F206 floorstanding loudspeakers, The Omni Wireless HD Audio Systems (hi res lossless music), JBL Authentics L16 Speaker (300 watt three-way Speaker System) - if you are based in NYC like I am you can visit their Madison Avenue retail location to hear these for yourself.

Geneva Home Audio The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

Geneva displayed their single box audio solutions, on display The Model S ($300), Model M ($599), Model L ($1,199) and Model XL ($2,299) they offer FM Radios and Bluetooth Connectivity and the larger models include Apt-X support and integrated CD Players.

Fine Sounds Group  High-end Audio

Fine Sounds Group - High-end Audio offerings were on display from brands like McIntosh and Sonus Faber, if your Dad or Grad is an Audiophile you can never go wrong with the gift of Audio!

ClearView Clio speaker on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

and the system that gets 'pretty points' for most Aesthetically pleasing is ClearView's Clio speaker, featuring Bluetooth streaming support and a hidden woofer housed below the base, it retails for $349 and I am definitely hoping for a review unit on this one so I can give it an in-house test of my own as a tech show with so much noise in the background made it hard to get the nuances of this cute little wonder's sound.

Seura on display at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

Seura displayed their vanishing TV mirrors, waterproof televisions, outdoor televisions and lighted mirrors. When you want to bring your luxury lifestyle outdoors, this is definitely the brand to keep in mind! (and they do just as nicely indoors as well!)

Luxury Car at Luxury Technology Show #theLTS New York City

Cars:

Audi and BMW were giving  us all car envy at The Luxury Tech Show!

IO Hawk personal mobility device

Personal Mobility Device - Can't afford to get Dad or that Grad a Beamer? If those indulgences are not quite in your budget, perhaps the IO Hawk personal mobility device might be? These personal motorized transporters are where technology and innovation meet, it was fun watching people try these out!

Designer Richard Clarkson at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015

If funky fun touches for the home is more your speed, then the fun lighting from Designer Richard Clarkson might be exactly what you are looking for! Put this one in your bedroom and literally sleep under the clouds!

Richard Clarkson Studio at The Luxury Technology Show New York City March 2015


My Take:

The Luxury Technology show definitely offered up a little something for everyone, and I'm pretty sure any Dad, Grad or Newlywed on your June shopping list would be delighted by these innovative offerings.

And let's not forget to mention the food and amazing cocktails that was certainly over-flowing. Busy New York City based press burn a lot of calories walking around this crazy city, and we like being fed, but being massaged on top of it all may just be event 'nirvana'!

Which of the items featured above is on your wishlist?

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received, and all opinions are 100% my own!  I attended The Luxury Technology Show as Digital Press. 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.