I’m on a mission to reorganize my daily life!!  Can you tell?  From the time I was little, I’ve craved structure and routine, and I’m no different now.  But all of the moving and big changes that have happened in our lives in the past year have really thrown me for a loop.  I struggle a bit because I love the flexibility that this new life allows, and yet I find myself craving a daily routine.  So to start, I’m structuring the way I film and write for Glow of Grace.  Since I recently decided to dedicate Mondays and Fridays to specific YouTube tutorials and videos, I figured that Wednesday and the blog needed some lovin’ too.

So ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Wednesday Write Ups.  This will be a day for reviews of anything that happens to catch my eye throughout the week.  It will be an avenue for everything from big product reviews, like the Too Faced Matte Eye Palette, to reviews of a fun place we visited, like Gatorland.  Expect to be introduced to my favorite local restaurants, books, recipes, and people.  I can’t wait to start this new chapter in this blog’s life, so let’s just dive right in, shall we?

As the title indicates, this week I’m focusing on my favorite F’s.  The amazing facial I got the other day, and the Flik App I mentioned in my April Favorites.

I’ve been wanting to get a facial because my skin has been a bit unhappy with me for a while now.  Hormones, trying lots of new products, and switching up my skincare regimen have been the perfect, disastrous combination for constant breakouts.  So I’ve made some changes to my skincare, which I’m sure I’ll eventually share with you in some form or another, but I wanted a nice facial to really cleanse and pamper my skin.

A salon just opened near our home, so I decided to check it out and that’s when I met Elvia Reinhart, the estetician and owner of Paradise Facials.  I walked in hoping to find out some information about the facials and book an appointment, and by lucky chance, she happened to be standing up front waiting on a client.  She asked what I was looking for and explained the promotions she had going on for the month of May, then immediately took me back to her room to show me where she works, the products she uses, and get to know me a little better.  Elvia’s warm and inviting personality along with the prospect of a Lavender facial left me excited for my appointment.

Her room smelled of lavender and jasmine and immediately put me in a state of relaxation.  The facial started off with a lavender hand scrub that left my hands feeling smooth and polished, so I was pleased that my hands were getting some pampering as well.  Elvia is extremely gentle and good at what she does.  As I stated in a recent tweet, the only way I could have been more relaxed was if I would’ve stopped drafting this review in my head as I was being treated.  Ah well…’tis the life of a beauty vlogger.  My particular facial included cleansing, exfoliating, toning, mask and moisturizing treatments, and while my mask set, she massaged my hands with a lavender butter cream.  I also had her do extractions and she somehow managed to make even those seem relaxing.  She used Keyano Aromatic products, which are known for their natural and holistic ingredients, smelled amazing and left my face feeling refreshed and hydrated.

Elvia’s prices were extremely fair, but I know that spa treatments often come with the pressure to upgrade and/or purchase expensive products at the conclusion of the service.  Being well prepared for this, I was pleasantly surprised when she never once encouraged me to upgrade or purchase any of the products she had available.  This allowed me to be truly relaxed from the moment I walked in to the moment I waved goodbye with a promise to see her again.

I clearly highly recommend her, so if you’re in the Austin area, check out Elvia’s website for a full list of services, prices, and promotions.  And don’t forget to tell her that I sent you!

Now let’s talk about the app that I’ve been loving enough to mention as one of my April Favorites, Flik.  Flik was created by a baseball couple who longed to connect people through the sharing of their favorite products and places.  They created this great snapshot of Flik basics to help introduce you to this ingenious concept.

As I explained in my April Faves video, Flik is a little like Instagram meets Vine meets Yelp.  In an interactive video that is 8 seconds or less, you have to explain what the product or place is and why you you’re recommending it to your followers.  Yes, it’s a cool concept, but I think the real genius lies in the details of the app.  Here are some examples of what I mean:
– When you create a flik, there’s an easy way to search for and attach the product’s website, so that people can buy it directly.
– There’s a map that shows places that have been flikked, so finding recommendations for great places near you couldn’t be easier.
– You can create requests for specific items that are easily searched by all flik users if you need ideas or recommendations.  And if people have something that fits the bill, they can respond directly to your request with fliks of their own.
– The usual abilities to like and comment on fliks allows for personal interaction between users.

Those are just a few of the reasons why I love Flik, but be sure to go watch the flik in my favorites video if you haven’t already.  This app has been tested within the baseball community over the past few months, and will be ready to launch to the public in just a few short days.  Go ahead and like Flik on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, and I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it’s available to download!! I can’t wait to share my fliks with you and see what products and places you think are worth flikking!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first ever Wednesday Write Up, and I’ll see in a few days for Fresh Friday!

Best & Blessings,