Marcie Taylor

Category: Beauty and Style

  • Dantian Studio Open House Offers Wellness Classes and More

    I think the path to true wellness and health comes from a blend of Eastern and Western practices. And so I was quite happy to discover Dantian Studio in Costa mesa. I met the owner sweet owner Jaime Hynes after trying out the Far Infrared Wrap – a body wrap that uses infrared heat to relieve pain, improve skin conditions, remove cellulite,and aid in weight control among other things. I think I’d need to go back for more wraps to see any changes but I will say that the atmosphere at Dantian is definitely relaxing.

    Dantian Studio | Costa Mesa

    This Thursday, December 12, 2013, they are having an open house from 10am-7pm. There will be complimentary classes, workshops, demos and discounted shopping. I look forward to visiting Dantian again and trying some of their fitness classes and other services. The Dantian Studio open house is a great opportunity to explore all their offerings.

    Here is the schedule:

    10a.m. Pilates Mat and CrossCore 180 with Jamie Uchizono-Hynes
    11a.m. How to care for your skin at home by Esthetician, Shannon Kunishma
    12:15p.m. Soul Alignment Healing –an introduction and demonstration- by Brianna Anderson
    1:30p.m. Acupuncture Treatment consultation by Acupuncturist, David Phelps
    2:45p.m. Functional Medicine- Getting to the root of the problem by Dr. Stephanie Tyson
    4p.m. Hatha Yoga with Nichole Susi Blair
    5p.m. Transforming Feelings: Stress Busting and Hypnosis by Carlos Casados

    Dantian is a Chinese word meaning “sea of qi(chi)” or simply, “energy center.” The studio specializes in both traditional and newly emerging natural therapies with a variety of instructed classes led by industry experts including Barre, Pilates and Yoga, Chinese Martial Arts T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Taiji, and CrossCore 180 classes.
    Living up to its name as an energy center, Dantian Studio also offers nutritional counseling, life coaching, Lipomassage by Endermologie, massage therapy, waxing and facials.

    Visit dantianstudio.com online or in person at 801 Baker St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

  • Experiencing SpaRitual at Glen Ivy Hot Springs

    One of my favorite escapes is historic and beautiful Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona. So when I heard about the event to launch Glen Ivy’s partnership with SpaRitual, I made plans to be there. Any excuse to relax at Glen Ivy and cover myself up with mud is good for me. The drive to the Inland Empire from Orange County mid-week is not too bad. When I arrived at Glen Ivy at 11:00am, the place was already teeming with people.

    A room was set-up with SpaRitual’s eco-conscious product line and I received a mini-hand treatment. I love how SpaRitual is committed to providing spa and nail care products that nourish the mind, body and spirit connection and are also environmentally-friendly. They call it Slow Beauty, “where the practice of restoration and healing begins with a choice.”

    To get started, I was asked to smell 4 different scent groups made up of essential oils and bath salts, with corresponding color palettes. These were: Close Your Eyes – calming and soothing,
    with the scent of Egyptian Geranium and hues of blues, greens, violets and neutrals; Look Inside – healing and rejuvenating with the scent of Indian Frankincense and hues of browns, berries, grey-greens; Instinctual – energizing and warming, with the scent of Indonesian Ginger and hues of reds, oranges, magentas; and Infinitely Loving – settling and restoring, with the scent of Chinese Jasmine, and hues of peaches, pinks, roses and whites.

    Each nail lacquer and body care product belongs to one of these 4 groups. It was totally a multisensory experience and I chose “Instinctual” – the scent of Indonesian Ginger was too hard to resist.

    Photo courtesy of Glen Ivy Hot Springs.
    Photo courtesy of Glen Ivy Hot Springs.

    According to SpaRitual founder, Shel Pink, the partnership between SpaRitual and Glen Ivy is a natural fit since “Both SpaRitual and Glen Ivy share a similar philosophy of a holistic approach to wellness and the healing benefits of spa treatments.”

    After viewing the SpaRitual line of products, I proceeded to my favorite place at Glen Ivy – Club Mud! If you haven’t experienced slathering up mud all over your body and baking in the warm sun, you are missing out. Club Mud is California’s only therapeutic red clay mud bath. Besides its therapeutic effects (your skin feels so smooth afterwards), when you come with a friend, the experience is totally bonding. (You can see a not-so flattering mud-covered image of myself on Instagram.)

    I wish I had time for more relaxation and self-reflection and maybe some pool time but as I was trying to beat traffic, I headed home after a delicious lunch at Cafe Sole.

    The partnership between SpaRitual and Glen Ivy simply makes sense – the two companies not only believe in being green but actually practice sustainability. Furthermore, they both focus on the well-being of their clients – both inside and out.

    One of the pools at Glen Ivy. Photo courtesy of Glen Ivy Hot Springs.
    One of the pools at Glen Ivy. Photo courtesy of Glen Ivy Hot Springs.

  • Shop Till You Drop – new discount fashion stores court social media influencers

    I am a self-confessed non-shopper. I can only shop with a purpose – need a black shirt? I’ll head for the black shirts. So it was a pleasant surprise when I was invited to two shopping events recently. I may not find comfort in retail therapy but I appreciate fashion and a good bargain.

    ***

    The first event I attended was the preview for the Nordstrom Rack at the Outlets in Orange. It turned out to be a social media gathering with friends, bloggers and fashionistas. Thumping DJ music set the mood, complete with hors d’ouevres and drinks. I  wrote about it on Storify. http://storify.com/marciemarketing/nordstrom-rack-orange-rocks

    Original instagram photo by Kristin Ausk

    ***

    The second event I attended  was a pre-grand opening event at the new Stein Mart in The Market Place, Irvine. One of the cool things about the event was that there was a charity angle! Tickets to the pre-grand opening were sold at $5 each. Guests received a $5 coupon as well as 20% off any item during the event. (At Stein Mart, that goes a long way!)  All proceeds from the ticket sales benefited these local charities: Families Forward, Woman Sage, United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County and Goodwill of Orange County.

    Take a look at my Storify Post on the Stein Mart Event here.

    What these two events had in common were music and refreshments! Could this be the next trend in shopping?  Having a party atmosphere, start-up money to get you shopping (because you know you will always spend MORE ), and friends to hang out with definitely made shopping for this non-shopper, a truly fun experience worth repeating.

     

     

  • Ritual Cleanse

    Ritual Cleanse

    My first mistake was going to two parties while on the cleanse. While I never had the urge to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes nor did I have this overwhelming hunger, the party food was very tempting. But you see, the #world knew I was on a cleanse so how was I going to cheat? That’s what you get when you announce to the world via Twitter that you are going on a cleanse.

    Social Media makes you accountable. Post a status update about that new diet and your friends (or at least facebook friends) are sure to check up on you. Tweet a question or an idea and someone will call you on it. Cleansing was one of those things.. @terararestephens had talked about it then @cindywang and @thebigdebowski and I started chatting. Finally @ritualcleanse heard the chatter (or rather read it on twitter) and invited me to try a juice cleanse. Because I am a bit of a wimp, I only did it for 2 days.

    Ritual Cleanse followed our Twitter Conversation and connected with me. Not long after, I picked up my 12 bottles of freshly pressed 100% organic juices packed in a snazzy green insulated bag and was good to go.

    Since I had never done a cleanse before, one of the owners, Marra, suggested I do a “Seasonal Cleanse” which is still 6 juices like the Classic Cleanse but one Classic “Green” juice is replaced with a specially formulated blend that captures the best seasonal produce in a fresh new flavor. Lucky for me, pomegranate was in season. Yum!

    I was never hungry on the cleanse and I didn’t go to the bathroom nearly half as much as I feared. The juices were, in fact, really tasty. On that first day however, I got really grumpy around dinner time. I figured it was the lack of caffeine. After drinking the last juice of the day, I was fine. The second day was easier.

    For me, @RitualCleanse jump-started my new attitude towards health – that week I was to begin with my fitness trainer @lafitness

    In the end, I didn’t lose weight (come on it was just two days) and my hair didn’t suddenly get all shiny as some had claimed but I did stop craving coffee -which was a most unexpected and happy side effect.

    Would I go on a cleanse again? Yeah! Maybe we can do it together… Ritual Cleanse has a group discount program. Hmmm.

  • Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

    Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

    I went out and done did it. Cut 12 inches off my hair. Okay so it was months ago but I’m only posting now. It seemed more than a hair cut then- it felt to me like a major change. It wasn’t the first time I’d had short hair but this felt different – it was liberating.

    Over the last year, I was living frugally and my usual $50 hair cuts were the last thing on my mind. You see, I liked making a day of going to the salon and getting my hair washed, cut and colored – so the cost was upwards of $50. I tried a cheaper place one time and the hair dye absolutely burnt my scalp. So to save money and maybe because I was just a wee bit lazy, I let my hair grow and grow. Finally when I got tired of tying it up in a ponytail and the greys had grown way out, I decided to cut it all off. What’s more, I had decided to give it up for a good cause — Locks of Love.

    To find THE person to do the honors of chopping it all off for charity, I tweeted and posted on Facebook. A handful of salons and hairdressers had offered to do it so it was great that I had choices. It turns out, cutting hair for Locks of Love is something many salons do in fact — they cut your hair for free when you donate the locks to charity. I ended up choosing Armando – whom I was Facebook friends with even if we hadn’t met. I think we connected because I had seen some of the charitable cut-a-thons his salon had sponsored and we exchanged a few messages. Also, I had often driven by his salon on PCH. (You can’t miss it – it’s next to the Ferrari dealership.)

    I went to Armando A Joshua Christopher Salon and met Armando for the first time. He cut my hair, I left happy. I vowed to return but I need to save up to afford his mad styling skillzzz. I haven’t cut my hair since. One day, Armando, some day — I’ll be back!