Samantha Rene Vallarino Levinson

Barcelona Hotels

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 04:39:31 -0800

Almost all of these are in the Eixample area. If we went the Eloise route and stayed there for over a week you'll see an ! next to the name. They are ranked in order from our favorite to least favorite, we're always trying new ones so keep checking for updated rankings. Next up: Granados 83 (Again!)

1. Claris Hotel and Spa !

Wonderful hotel to live at, extremely accommodating, tiny gym but has everything you need, great rooftop restaurant, good breakfast, excellent room service waiting in room for late arrival, daily flowers, great lobby space

2. Granados 83

The suites are incredible, two floors, and private pools...what more do you need!

3. Read More

Empties

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 02:59:37 -0800

An offshoot of Sent by Sam, these are quick reviews by Sam and Miky of the products we've finished. All these products are coupled with lots of work by great professionals, but skincare is our ritual these days and what we do in between visits. We will review products that are empty, show you what we're currently using, and update as we finish a product or throw something new into the line-up. We do lots of research but are not professionals and nothing we dispense is medical advise. Please share your feedback on the products OR recommend us new ones to try! We'll be linking where you can buy these products in Europe BUT if you're purchasing in the US or somewhere else please just ask and we'll try to help.

Products in Rotation (not in order)

Masks

Morning Routine

Evening Routine

Skin Care
$ Under 20
$$ 20 to 50
$$$ 20 to 70
$$$$ 70+

Cleansers

Caudalie Make-Up Remover Cleansing Oil

This product did not irritate or dry us out and was very gentle on the skin. We don't know it's efficacy towards removing makeup, we used it in the morning as part of a double cleanse.

Wouldn't repurchase unless all our products were confiscated at TSA and we had to do a French Pharmacy haul

Skincode Clarifying Wash

We picked this up on...Read More

Say Samantha Sent You

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 15:12:54 -0700

Self-Care

*Services in Budapest are rarely walk-in, make sure to have an appointment well in advance

**Many places are cash only, even those that take card expect tip in cash so always have some cash handy

***I try to do 10% tip if I like the service

****This list is from my own personal experience and is not exhaustive AT ALL, if you have someone you LOVE for any of these categories please comment or write me so I can check them out!

Manicure

In terms of finding this, this was the toughest. The women at the mall were quick, but not great, and consistently rude, I accidentally went to a sex shop where she tried to file off my gel polish until she went from nail to skin, and everywhere else didn't seem interested in my business. Manicurists do well in the sense that there are no shortage of customers, now I smile knowingly when I'm getting my nails done and someone walks in asking for an appointment right then and there.

Andrea Modler does a great gel polish, has amazing google translate skills, and is efficient. If she's not available you can go to her colleague who is also good. She works out of Beauty Corner (you can't find online but it's right next to Wasabi on Jokai Utca)

A-List Pest and their sister salon next door do solidly great manicures and pedicures, I'm there once a month and haven't had a bad experience yet. You're paying a bit more because they're English speaking and in the heart of the tourism district, but they have a loyalty scheme and you can use Szep card.

Pedicure

In Pest, there is no standard pedicure and nobody is going to have the attached chair with foot bath and massage...Read More

Online Workout Reviews

Mon, 04 May 2020 07:31:13 -0700

When I moved away for college, one of the things I most looked forward to when I came home on breaks was the mother daughter time my mom and I would spend while working out. At the beginning it was going to the Gold's Gym near our house and hardly working on ellipticals next to each other, we then progressed to Hot Yoga as the beginning of the boutique fitness craze began, and we landed on Orange Theory Fitness as our go-to. We loved the heart rate monitors and would push each other to work harder as well as the strength exercises that really grew our muscles. My mom would go 2-3x a week and progressed from walker to jogger then runner and she built enviable abs for any age (a few years ago in Greece, Nathaniel turned to me and goes 'Does Mom have a 6 pack?'), on breaks I would join her and we kept up this routine even as I moved out of the country. We knew the OTF method well enough that on family vacations we would run ourselves through similar intervals on the tread and floor.

COVID-19 swiftly put an end to knowing when we'd work out together next, my mom's weekly OTF, and both of our overall sense of movement and activity. Simultaneously fitness streaming became huge and we're probably right now in the next era of fitness revolutions. My mom and I decided to try each free trial available for the duration of the trial and then decide which workouts we'd invest in subscribing to. It's a fun project for the both of us, we commit to seeing each other on Zoom everyday which means we're talking more than we have in years, we're sweating together, pushing each other to power through, and we're experiencing real results.

I figured we'll share with you our brief thoughts on each streaming platform and you can see at the bottom what we have left to try...if you see something missing please comment so we can add it! I've made the list chronological based on when we did them.

*Maybe it's useful info I'm in my mid-20s and my my mom is in her late-50s,...Read More