The Glow Up: A Pre-Wedding Cryo Facial

Did you guys know that Austin Powers is on Netflix? Honestly, it still holds up! Such a gem of a mooovie. Lol! So I watched it this week and was inspired to get cryogenically frozen myself! So I booked my first cryo toning facial at the CryoBar in Bucktown. I was not sure what to expect– I had been wanting to head to CryoBar for a while now, but the full body services are not prego-approved. When I found out the facial is A-OK– I was pumped.

It’s different from a typical facial- no extractions, and it’s quick: in and out. You can start 6-8 weeks before wedding, quite different from the 6 months before wedding with a standard facial (extractions, etc need a longer lead time to make sure you aren’t having a break out pre wed!).

Touted Benefits

Skin tightening, wrinkle reduction, and increased collagen production! Hello, sign me up! Who doesn’t want that?! 

The experience

The girls working there were very welcoming and nice, especially with my pregnancy brain (my birthday was in their system wrong twice? How? Why? I couldn’t tell ya).

You head into a room with a standard facial table with a blanket. You can have light make up on, but need to take off jewelry.

They take a machine emitting cold vapor steam and run it over your scalp, face, and neck. At first it feels really cold and weird, but then it starts to feel so good.  It was almost kind of addicting. It felt amazing! I typically hate cold–but I loved the sensation. I can only imagine how great it feels on a hot summer day!

The best part? It only takes 10 minutes. I loved that for fitting it in, but definitely not a full spa-like experience.

Cost

It cost me 20 ClassPass credits (on my plan that equals about $36) + tip. At CryoBar they price by “the chill”. For one “chill” (which could be the cryo toning facial, full body, or localized treatment) it cost $65. They have packages at discounted rates as well. First time client special is $40. I did see some better rates at other cryo spas (but can’t speak to the experience), so doesn’t hurt to shop around! Don’t forget to factor in tip, too (always go off of the full price of the service!).

Results

Afterwards, the rest of the day my skin felt tight, and good! I felt like I was glowing. To see a real difference I think I would need to see a built up response. I will definitely be heading back there soon!

Do it before the wedding?

If you are looking for wrinkle reduction and skin tightening, and it’s in your budget– 100% go for it! There doesn’t seem to be any reason that this would be problematic to do before the wedding! I would just make sure you start 6 weeks before the wedding, just in case you have an unanticipated adverse reaction! Also, if you are more concerned about skin clarity, I would recommend sticking with a standard facial.

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Have you tried cryotherapy? I would love to hear what results you have seen! Leave me a note below or on social media!

I tried Eat Purely for the first time, here's what happened.

Y'all know I find lots of joy in cooking. But cooking every day is exhausting. Meal prepping in advance is great in theory, but does not play out as often as I would like. Make enough for leftovers? Yes, great idea until your husband eats it all in one sitting (love you, boo). Then what? You don't necessarily want to blow your healthy eating on some indulgent carryout. You still want to keep "living the lifestyle" but you don't want to cook right now, dammit. Where can I get healthy delivery for dinner?

Does anyone remember Sprig? It was in Chicago a couple years ago and I was OBSESSED. It was super healthy, organic meals delivered. But they closed down in Chicago, and I cried. I don't know how it is possible they closed because I was probably single-handedly keeping them in business. I'm still so sad I still haven't deleted the app off my phone. Pathetic. I have been looking for a replacement since they closed down. Cue: Eat Purely. 

I had heard about the service a bit and I had been meaning to try it for awhile. Last week, the perfect opportunity arose. It had been a busy productive day, but no time to grocery shop. I was tired. I didn't want to go anywhere. But it was a weeknight- aka "you need to keep it clean, Alexandra". Then boom! Epiphany- I could try Eat Purely. 

Okay so what exactly is Eat Purely? From their website: "artisan chefs use fresh, seasonal ingredients to create a diverse range of restaurant-quality meals and sides. Select from a daily rotating menu of locally-sourced meals. Order on demand or schedule up to a week in advance. Meals arrived chilled so everything stays fresh. A few minutes in your oven or microwave and dinner is piping hot when you're ready to eat." 

Okay so that sounds great but is it healthy? 

"Our chefs create food that never relies on excess salt, fat, or refined sugars to taste great. We’d rather let our locally-sourced ingredients do the talking... Our vegetables are fresh and seasonal. Our animal proteins are raised, not grown. Our meals are made without chemicals, preservatives, or GMOs."

Hmmm... well this sound good theoretically. Seasonal and locally-sourced is important for produce. Interesting that they don't use the term "organic" if everything is made without chemicals or GMOs. It's great that animal proteins are "raised" but what are they really committing to? It's hard to say because I couldn't find any further information on the website. :/

At the end of the day, this information was good enough for me. Why? Because this sounds about equal to the standard I hold myself to. I try to make sure that my animal proteins are grass-fed, no hormones added, and raised humanely- but even at Whole Foods this is hard to accomplish sometimes. You do the best you can for where you are at. And its helluva lot better than most carryout. 

I went on the app and instantly found a #shedapproved* meal - an incredible looking Coconut Glazed Salmon- but alas- sold out. 

I was looking through for another option that would be comparable. I landed on the Cuban Steak. It looked great- gluten free, dairy free, grass-fed meat! And if you follow me at all- you probably know I'm obsessed with sweet potatoes. So this meal is looking pretty fantastic. Unfortunately, when I looked at the nutrition facts, it has more sugar than I would've liked. 15 grams- but sweet potatoes add sugar. The key distinction was the addition of brown sugar. Brown sugar is not #shedapproved and is in the middle of the ingredients list. Bummer. The was rice was tricky too- it seemed by the look of the photo to be brown rice- but the ingredient list said it was "long grain"- which could be both white or brown! What a conundrum. 

I order it anyway because I was very hangry (no time- for debating) and it comes incredibly fast. I think it was 15 minutes. I set the oven for 350 degrees per the "heat and eat" directions. I put foil on the top of the container and put it in the oven. I followed the directed amount of time (8-12 mins) but it wasn't hot enough. So I put it in the microwave (no aluminum foil! lol) for a minute and that did the trick.

It came in this pretty container. 

Straight out of the box, still has pretty presentation! #impressed

It was realllllly tasty and was super satisfying. I loved that there was a variety of veggies. I really was "eating the rainbow": from the sweet potatoes, salsa verde, black beans, to the parsley and pickled onion salad- we got quite a few colors/nutrients in there. By flavor alone I would definitely order again. It is definitely healthier than 95% of most takeout (please don't take that stat seriously). 

Conclusion? While I love the service and the quality of the ingredients- it is not the easiest to eat #shedapproved meals. You still have to be vigilant checking the ingredient list to see if you are eating within the elimination guidelines. It IS possible to find great healthy options, but don't just order anything off the menu. I also support this for Shed maintenance meals 100%! 

In the end, it tasted like brown rice to me, so I'm going to stick with that for now. :) 

If you do decide to give Eat Purely a try-  use my promo code for a $20 credit for you and for me! :) Promo code: ALEXANDRAS21

Hmmm looks like white rice in this photo! 

*(It was month 1 approved- soy has gluten- which makes it a month 2 nono)

**LEGIT - No one paid me to write this. I wish they did, though.**