Constant Contact

Are you a small business owner or blogger? Email marketing is one of the most important tools for providing your customers and/or followers with content and meaningful relationships. Email marketing is a way to stay in touch with your customers and provide a personal connection.

Constant contact

Technology and social media platforms continue to evolve and expand, but one thing that has been a constant platform and is here to stay is email marketing! Email marketing is essential to stay ahead of the game. This powerful tool allows you to stay in touch with your audience and allows you to connect with them straight away when you have new compelling content to share.

Providing regular updates via email newsletters and/or campaigns is a way to increase your brand recognition. A way to connect with your target audience and at the same time allows you to expand your network.

Email marketing is also crucial for increasing your web traffic. Through emails you can provide your audience with a direct link to your website. This is very effective if you have a specific campaign as you can create a specific landing page in relation to the email campaign you just sent out to your audience. You can also integrate emails with your social media platforms, boosting your social media presence and targeting your loyal followers.

Constant Contact

If you want to grow your business /blog with powerful email marketing then I would strongly recommend Constant Contact.

I have recently made the switch to their services and could not be happier. My favorite feature is that Constant Contact provides expert guidance and live support! The team at Constant contact make an effort to work with you to ensure the best results for you and your goals.

Drive engagement with every email

Constant contact can help you choose the correct template to optimize your connection with you clients and provide you with beautiful, mobile optimized templates. Their drag and drop editor is easy to use and a great way to customize your emails. Constant contact allows helps with making sure that your emails reach the inbox of your clients and nor their spam folder.

Track your success

The team at constant contact can also assist with the tracking of your email marketing. Allowing you to track when, where and on which device your emails are being delivered to, by providing real time reporting and analytics.

Free trail

Constant contact are currently offering a free trail! sign up today for a 60-day trial (no credit card needed) for all US and Canadian traffic. This is an awesome opportunity to start driving traffic to your blog and or business and make real and personal connections with your clients. Email marketing is so powerful and constant contact offers a wonderful service that drives success. Sign up here for your free trail.

JORD watch – the perfect gift

The perfect wooden watch

I am so in love with my timeless master piece from JORD! Their collection is outstanding, made by hand using raw materials and designed to perfection. View more of their beautiful designs here.

CASSIA

We so many beautiful designs to choose from I had a difficulty in choosing right away! Eventually I settled on the gorgeous Cassia design, in olive and aegean blue and could not be happier with my choice. This watch has become a staple to my wardrobe and can be dressed up or down. It really adds a touch of elegance. It has also become a new favorite travel accessory, I take it everywhere!

As described by Jord “The Cassia is a timepiece that transcends the simple categorization of a watch. Intelligent design pairs with classic styling to create a piece worthy of your wrist and welcome in your jewelry wardrobe. The full Roman numeral concave dial in the JORD collection is beautifully reflected in our domed sapphire glass. The metal and wood link interlaced band integrates seamlessly into the rounded case. The Cassia Olive & Aegean Blue is the ideal bijoux for your bohemian collection”.

Giveaway!

A JORD watch is the perfect gift for the holiday season! For family members, friends and even one for yourself!

For your chance to to win, enter the giveaway > here < One lucky winner will be chosen at the end of the contest to receive a $100.00 off gift code to spend on a JORD watch of choice, which is a pretty amazing if you ask me! Though there can only be one winner, every person that enters the giveaway will receive a $10 off gift code to apply towards a purchase of choice, so really entering is a win win. Good luck 🙂

Picnic under the Brooklyn Bridge

Parisian elegance in New York City

Spring is my favorite season in New York City. I adore the colorful blooms, happy faces walking the streets and it is the perfect weather to spend time outdoors, and adore the parks and green spaces that is in New York City. We have so much greenery in this concrete jungle.

It was an honor to be contacted by Corinne and Laéthycia from Personal attention – these incredible Parisian ladies, run a private concierge and event planning company, here in New York City. When asked if I would like to attend a picnic hosted by them, I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed, these ladies know how to throw an elegant and charming picnic.

A dreamy spring night at the Brooklyn bridge park

Personal attention put a lot of effort into making an enjoyable and memorable experience, one that I will never forget and will be forever grateful for. The weather was perfect, the location was stunning and their set up was incredible. We arrived to be greeted by the happy crew at Personal attention, who had just finished setting up the picnic, their positive energy set the scene. The setting was amazing, with a beautiful blanket and cushions to sit on, looking out to the Manhattan skyline with views of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge.

Attention to detail

The picnic was perfect. We were provided games to play (frisbee and uno) and music to listen to. The cushions and blanket were extremely comfy and made for a relaxing evening. The food was perfect, which included a cheese platter, fruit salad, a hearty salad for each of us, and delicious sparkling apple cider. The atmosphere was amazing, we spent three hours enjoying the picnic and watching the sunset over the Manhattan skyline, a perfect spring night in New York City!

If you’re looking for a unique and elegant New York City experience, look no further than Personal attention. They excel at creating beautiful and memorable events. A highlight of my time living in this amazing city.

Brooklyn bike tour

Get up and ride

Explore New York City by bike, with your guide as a local New Yorker. Get up and ride is rated as New York’s number 1 biking tour company! So I was honored to be asked to join and review one of their tours. The company did not disappoint. I love the concept of get up and ride – allowing visitors (or locals) to bike around the city in small groups and learn about the area from a New Yorker. Not only do you get to bike around, your guide will also highlight interesting facts about the area, and take you to their favorite coffee and food places! You definitely learn a lot, experience the real New York and have fun while doing it!

Bike tours

Get up and ride offer three tours:

1. The central park and more bike tour

On this tour, your guide will take you around central park and through the upper west and upper east side of Manhattan.

2. The lower Manhattan bike tour

This bike tour will take you around the charming greenwich village, the trendy lower east side and Chinatown.

3. The Brooklyn water front tour

Ride through the hipster neighbor of Williamsburg, then onto the stunning Brooklyn water front.

The Brooklyn waterfront bike tour

It was hard to decide which bike tour I would like to attend, in the end I decided to go on the bike tour in my neighborhood- I live in Williamsburg. I thought this would be a nice way to explore my surroundings via bike and as I have already biked around Central park and the west side of Manhattan numerous times I thought the Brooklyn tour would be best.

And it was amazing! Even though I live here, I still learnt a lot from our friendly and engaging tour guide. We met at the get up and ride bike store in Williamsburg, here we were fitted with our bikes and set up our walkie talkies – this would be the way our tour guide could communicate with us during the ride. It was a nice small group, with four people from Germany, a lady from California, the tour guide and the two of us. A small group allowed for a more intimate and fulfilling tour.

Williamsburg

So the start of our tour began in my neighborhood of Williamsburg, a hip neighborhood which has a great nightlife scene, with plenty of rooftop bars and live music venues, trendy cafes, chic boutiques, the cutest coffee shops and vibrant street art. We rode through the streets and the gorgeous McCarren park, stopping to see some of the oldest street art in the area, then at one of my favorite coffee shops “Devocion” here we stopped to rest, enjoy each others company and drink a delicious coffee in a beautiful setting.

Brooklyn navy yard

After our coffee, we continued on our bike tour. From Williamsburg we headed to the Brooklyn navy yard. The navy yard was once a ship yard and is now an industrial park with a mission to “demonstrate how modern manufacturing can thrive in urban America”. A highlight of our visit to the navy yard was our tour of the Brooklyn Grange – a world leading rooftop farm with a sustainability center. Here, they design, build and offer landscape services for gardens, farms and green spaces in NYC. As I work within the sustainability and conservation field, I was so excited that this stop was on our tour. The rooftop farm is very impressive, and the views of Brooklyn and Manhattan make it even more impressive! Our guide also pointed out that the navy yard also has a rooftop vineyard, which is now on my list to visit.

DUMBO – Down under the Manhattan bridge

After the Navy yard we continued on, riding through the gorgeous Vinegar hill with cobble stone streets before stopping in the trendy neighborhood of DUMBO. The neighborhood of DUMBO is now one of the most expensive areas in NYC – once an old industrial area, the warehouses have been transformed into high end boutiques and pricey restaurants. Plus the area is now known as the tech hub of Brooklyn, with many tech companies moving in. DUMBO is also one of my favorite neighborhoods because of the stunning views of the Manhattan skyline and it’s access to the Brooklyn bridge park. After learning about DUMBO we rode through the Brooklyn bridge park absorbing the cool breeze from the east river and taking in the iconic Manhattan skyline.

Brooklyn Heights

We continued riding through the stunning Brooklyn bridge park to the charming neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. Brooklyn heights is an affluent residential neighborhood with the most gorgeous brownstones. The Brooklyn heights promenade is also amazing, with great views of Manhattan and the statue of Liberty. We stopped for a slice of coal oven pizza at table 87 – so delicious. Next it was time to ride back to Williamsburg, we rode through the Brooklyn bridge park and continued on the greenway trail to return to the store.

Overall I was extremely satisfying with this tour. Biking is a great way to explore an area, and I loved how Get up and ride go above and beyond, their guides are very knowledgeable and friendly and I love how they added in coffee shops, food places, and interesting places to stop at. I would recommend them to anyone visiting (or living) in New York City. Check out there website here for more information.

Prose

Customized hair care

Personalized hair care products, including a hair mask, shampoo and conditioner. Yes please!

Prose is a hair care company that works with YOU to create products suited to your hair. Prose assigns the customer to a professional stylist to collaborate on the hair products that suit your particular hair style, how amazing is this?!

Natural ingredients

I think the concept of this company is amazing. I love that they use natural ingredients that are either organic or eco certificated. All made from sustainable resources. Plus the products are made fresh in New York City.

Using natural ingredients is so important for numerous reasons. It benefits the environment and our own health. It is so important to be aware of what we using on our bodies.

How it works

Step one:

The consultation. This can be done either online or by booking in with a stylist located close to you. You will discuss your type of hair and determine the factors that may be harming your hair, such as the local climate, your diet, your exercise habits and styling habits.

Step two:

Preferences: Here you can discuss if you have a favorite fragrances or if you would rather no fragrance. You can also request particular ingredients, I opted to use all vegan ingredients for my products. Also, if you require more volume or shine ect

Step three:

Production: The lab will produce your hair products with fresh and natural ingredients accommodating your preferences.

Step four:

Your new customized hair products are delivered to your door. The box also contains a copy of your consultation. Listing what my hair needs, my hair goals, the routine and the ingredients in each product.

Results

I am really impressed. The consultation process was smooth and I learnt a lot about what my hair needs and I can’t wait to try and reach my hair goals. I love the use of natural ingredients. The products smell amazing, feel great to apply and my hair already feels smoother with more volume.

For more information click here

Amazonliss

DIY Smoothing hair kit

So from traveling, color treating my hair and living in various climates my hair is, well not that lush. It is a mix of wavy, dry and frizzy! The only time my hair feels soft and smooth is after a trip to the hairdresser, which I cannot afford to do all the time. So I was happy to receive the Amazonliss home hair smoothing kit from Nautree professional.

Keratin

The main ingredient in this kit is keratin. Keratin is a family of fibrous structural proteins, and the key material of making hair. Keratin can be used to restore broken and damaged hair. Other ingredients include, acai extract, cacao extract and hydrolyzed protein (Rice, soy, wheat and corn).

Additional benefits of Keratin

A great moisturizing method for hair
Straightening of hair
Can prevent grow outs
Keratin adds glow, leaving you hair feeling soft and smooth

Results of Amazonliss

So what are the claimed results of using the Amazonliss smoothing hair kit?

Smoother hair
Brighter hair
Deep moisture and nutrition
Thermal hair protection
Results that last up to four months

Kit contains

Anti residue shampoo, used to open up the cuticles in preparation for the absorption of the keratin.
Brazilian smoothing, Easy application keratin treatment
Intensive repair mask, this is the closing step, and provides intense hydration and softness

Step one

Use the anti residue shampoo to wash your hair, leave the shampoo on for five minutes
Dry your hair to 85% dryness
Section your hair into six equal parts

Step two

Apply the Brazilian smoothing treatments in one section, starting from the base of the head. Continue method for each section.
Using a hair dyer set to cool, and dry each section.
Use a straighter to straighten each section.

Step three

Rinse your hair
Apply the intensive repair mask
Leave the mask on for three to five minutes
Rinse hair
Last step, blow dry your hair

Results

Did it work? Yes, after the treatment my hair felt hydrated, was smooth, shiny and straighter. However, I do have to point out that step 2: The Brazilian treatment had a strong chemical smell, and I only completed about 80% of this step as I had to stop using it. Step one – the shampoo actually smells really nice! And, step three the intensive mask works a treat.

I did see results, and this is much more affordable option to a hair saloon. I continue to use the shampoo and the intensive mask, as these products make my hair feel and look shiny and smooth.

For more information and to purchase the kit click here

Wear Pact

Sustainable fashion

Having a minimal carbon footprint is so important to me. I try to limit my environmental impact where ever and when ever possible. I choose to favor “slow’ fashion over ‘fast fashion”. Fast fashion is the second biggest industry polluter, behind the oil industry! In recent years people are becoming more aware of the drastic impact fast fashion is having on the environment, and companies have been making the move to the eco friendly movement. A movement that is trying to limit fashions negative impact on our planet.

So what is ‘slow fashion’? Slow fashion represents our social responsibility and limits our carbon footprint. By choosing quality over quantity. By being clean, using organic and natural resources, and not using harmful toxins and dyes. By being fair, providing fair working conditions of employees and providing workers with decent pay.

So how do I include sustainable fashion into my lifestyle?

I reuse and recycle my clothing. I never put my clothing into landfill. If I no longer need a certain piece of clothing I will donate it to charity. If the clothing item is not in a decent condition I will recycle this piece.
Thrift stores. I will usually buy my clothes from a second hand/ thrift stores.And, as we have so many decent thrift stores in NYC it is so easy to stay “fashionable”.
For new items of clothing, I will source sustainable and ethical brands.

Pact

I was so happy to discover Pact, a sustainable clothing company. With their goal “to create the comfiest clothes in the world without destroying the earth, or harming people” I knew I had found a great company with similar values to my own. Pact use organic cotton, this is so important as organic cotton uses 95% less water than regular cotton to manufacture. Their clothes are made with sustainable ingredients/ fibers, so don’t contain any toxins of pesticides! Pact have sourced fair trade certified factories as they care for the well being of their employees.

I was sent three pieces of clothing to review.

Black relaxed fit tee
Black lightweight eco-blend wrap cardigan
Black wrap dress

I am so impressed with the quality of all of these items. The material feels so amazing. The clothing certainly does live up to the companies motto of “clothes that don’t just make you feel, you can feel good wearing them”. I wore the tee shirt and cardigan together for a weekend trip away. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can start wearing the gorgeous wrap dress.

Pact is a clothing brand that I can get behind, their clothes are of great quality and I love their values, check out their online store here Pact

The Escential co.

Vitamin C facial serum review

I was so happy to receive the vitamin C facial serum from the escential co to review. I have been looking for an anti aging serum to help combat any dark spots that are arising. I love the use of vitamin C in this product, as it is an effective antioxidant. This serum is light weight, which I really appreciate, as it is smooth to apply and absorbs quickly into my skin. I like the packaging and the small bottle that the serum comes in, the perfect size to travel with.

I have been using this serum for a week now and I am already witnessing some great results! My skin feels a lot smoother and hydrated! I can see my youthful glow returning 🙂 This facial serum is a great anti-aging product as it acts as a light weight moisturizer that penetrates deep into the skin, keeping your skin hydrated and minimizing dark spots and wrinkles.

For best results, this serum can be used twice a day. Morning and night after cleansing and toning your face. You could also put a few drops and mix it into your moisturizer and apply this way. The scent is not strong, which is another great factor about this product.

I will continue to use this serum in my daily skin care routine, as I am loving the results that I seen so far. For more information, reviews and where you can buy this serum from please visit The Escential co. “Vitamin C Facial Serum”

Prive Revaux

Affordable designer sunglasses

Prive Revaux

“Feminist” in black and gold

Designer sunglasses at an affordable price? I have fallen in love with this gorgeous brand. Prive Revaux was developed by an elite team of entrepreneurs, creative designers and celebrity visionaries – Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson, very cool. They offer, over 100 handcrafted and polarized designer frames for only $29.95 and free shipping! This value is amazing. I adore the styles and the quality of the frames that I purchased.

Wearing the “feminist’ style. At the cutest coffee shop, Devocion in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For years, I have struggled to find a pair of sunglasses that I loved and could wear everyday, now I have found four pairs that I adore. The main purpose for me is sun protection (which is has been excellent) but these glasses from Prive Revaux has also allowed me to be more stylish and confident in my outfit choices.

So, if you are searching for great quality and great value, I recommend this brand. They have so many choices for men and women, and cater towards all styles. Click the link here Shop – Prive Revaux to browse their frames. I am already thinking about my next purchase, which will probably be “the jetsetter’ in black.

Wearing “the artist” in black and gold, at the United States botanic garden, Washington D.C.

“The supermodel”

“The artist”

Wearing “the supermodel” in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

*affiliate link *brand ambassador

SKINMODERNE++

Skin Moderne++ review

Natural skin care is extrmemly important to me, what we put on our skin affects our health and overall appearance. So I am always on the look out for a skin care regime that uses natural and organic ingredients. I was thrilled to be given a set of the “elements’ products from Skin Moderne++ check out Their website for more information about their ingredients, their awesome use of technology and where to buy these from.

Their products are all nutrient dense organic superfoods, making it the perfect natural skincare regime. Skin Moderne++ provides a minimalist approach to skin wellness. Within days of trying the products, I already found that their use of natural and raw ingredients has improved the youthfulness and overall health of my skin. These products are clean and free from harmful chemicals such as parabens and sulfates, which is so important. Other highlights include the technology which is cruelty free and innovative.

From the set, my two favorite products were the;

Red Algae, which instantly smooths any wrinkles which the combination of red algae and the amino acid Gamma Aminobutyric.
AHA/BHA, which is used to renew and refine your skin. Using the perfect blend of Alpha Hydroxy and Beta Hydroxy.

Skin Moderne++ aims to nature and protect natural beauty, and from my use I found this to be true. I will continue to use and recommend this brand to others looking for organic and cruelty free beauty that leaves your skin radiant and youthful looking. I am also a fan of their colorful and cute packaging.