D-I-Y Spa Party

The beauty in doing DIY pampering such as facials, body scrubs, and mani/pedi is that you can do everything on your own time and schedule. Time usually flies when I watch sitcoms while doing my facials & mani/pedi, and I prefer this to lying down for 3 hours and letting someone else do all the work. After all, the process itself is part of the fun in getting pampered.

A couple of weeks ago, 2C helped me organize my first ever DIY spa party, and here are a few things I learned from all the research, brainstorming and preparations:

Location is crucial. Sunbathing and use of sauna and steam rooms add to the activities you can enjoy together during your spa party. While in the steam room, apply conditioner or hair mask to protect your hair from the drying effects of excessive heat. I like to think of it as DIY hot oil. My favorite treatment is L'Occitane's Shine Mask for Dry and Damaged Hair.

Mimic the ambience of spas with an oil diffuser. The Body Shop has a wide range of scents to choose from. For this event, I chose Lavender Home Fragrance Oil (Php 450). Other scents range from woody to minty to flowery. Diffusers are also available at The Body Shop, tea candles are available at supermarkets and most convenience stores.

Renew & replenish. Include a body scrub option even if it's not a shared activity. I'm currently using Origins Modern Friction for the Body. Scrub onto dry skin then lather with a bit of water before washing off. This should take care of that layer of dry skin that you're not even aware of. Finish off with a heavy moisturizing cream such as The Body Shop's Body Butter for totally smooth skin all over.

Neutrogena's body scrub, available at SNR for around Php 600, is another fantastic option. Less harsh than other body scrubs, Neutrogena's scrub melts when rubbed onto wet skin. Upon washing off, the oils from the scrub leaves skin super smooth and moisturized for the next 24 hours.

Facials are super simple. At home, I prefer a 2-step process which includes a cleansing mask to get rid of blackheads followed by a moisturizing mask for pores to close off and minimize any swelling caused by digging into blackheads. For this event, I decided to just go with the moisturizing facial since we would be coming straight from the sauna & steam rooms, which should already take care of some of the impurities in the skin. For fun-flavored masks such as strawberry yogurt & black pearl, I prefer a Taiwanese brand from Sasa or Mannings in HK. Each piece costs less than Php 30.

Simplified mani & pedi. If you opt not to swim, fill the tub with warm water and a bit of baby oil for a DIY foot spa. Proceed with doing your own nails or apply nail polish on each other.

Recharge with afternoon tea. A DIY spa party could take the whole afternoon, and tea time is a great way to take a break from all the activities. In our case, we decided to go for Starbucks' wide selection of sweet and savory snacks.

Fruity, Taiwanese Style Cake from Formosa Bakery

Formosa Bakery's Taiwanese take on the birthday cake mixes fruits, chocolate, smooth & thick (as opposed to airy) icing, & gelatin in one chiffon cake. The choice of ingredients is different but interesting, and they all blend well together. The sweetness level is just right. The chiffon cake is light and not too dense, just the way I want my chiffon cake.

 Formosa Bakery is located at 518 Banawe St., Quezon City


Update: Formosa Bakery along Wilson in Greenhills is now open beside Bubble Tea & Honey Bee.

Vegetarian Cafeteria Food at Manila Sanitarium

A great place for a quick vegetarian lunch in a restaurant-like setting. Average cost at less than Php 100 per person.

Manila Adventist Medical Center (Manila Sanitarium) is located at 1975 Donada St, Pasay City. 632 5363684.

Balancing Act

Chanel's White Essentiel Nourishing Whitening Cream is by far the best moisturizer I have ever used. I know I had been rather loose with the term "best" only because there is more than one product out there that satisfies each one of us whether in terms of performance, price point, or even fragrance, packaging and brand. 

I had second thoughts about the product when I bought it mostly because it cost me a whopping HKD 765 (roughly Php 4,000), by far the most I had spent on a pot of moisturizer. I was feeling adventurous when I shopped for skincare and cosmetics that day and simply asked the sales staff in The Lee Gardens branch of Chanel cosmetics to recommend a moisturizer that (a) suited my combination skin & (b) one that I could use in hot weather. Soon enough, I found myself shelling out more than what I had budgeted for, which was around HKD 500. At its price tag, I expected a moisturizer that came in a glass rather than a plastic container and a cream so thick I only had to use one tiny dot per application. I decided to go with the product, though, since up to that point Chanel skincare never failed to deliver and satisfy.

And so with all my expectations intact, I waited for the product to blow me away day after day. The realization that my new moisturizer is in fact a super cream came a couple of months into using the product.  See, when it comes to beauty products, the worn out adage Never judge a book by its cover always applies. In this case, never judge creams on the first week of using it unless of course the product caused rashes and breakouts. Going back to the cream, I noticed only recently, that is 4 months into using the product, that my skin was noticeably glowing, smooth and hydrated. My cheeks developed a natural rosiness that neither came from being exposed to sunlight or from blush ons. The usual one or two red spots that I had grown accustomed to were nowhere to be found. The super lightweight cream that I had almost deemed not worth its price was actually gradually changing the overall balance of my skin. Now, I'm thinking about picking up my next pot to see if it will continue to work its magic on me.


Update: as of my latest purchase, Chanel White Essentiel has been renamed as Le Blanc Whitening Moisturizing Cream. Everything is the same except for the packaging which is now a glass jar instead of a plastic one.

First Essie Nail Polish

Essie nail polish piqued my interest a while back when I saw their fresh colored pastels, a breath of fresh air from the dark shades of nail polish featured in magazines and sported on many fingernails, including mine. I recently discovered Essie at Essences in Rustan's but found only a very limited number of shades that got me interested in the brand in the first place and an even more limited number of samples. Didn't matter, though, I got all excited and immediately picked out a bottle of Red Nouveau, a fire engine shade of red that I still don't have.

Essie is more diluted than what I'm used to, which is advantageous for DIY mani/pedi beginners. It makes me wonder, though, about the longevity of the polish on the nails. Additionally, its thinner composition makes the polish easily absorbed by dry nails, giving nails a matte appearance, so base and top coats are definitely in order. On the other hand, a thinner nail polish means it's quicker to dry, a plus for on-the-go ladies. Overall, I'm happy with the color and ease of application of the product.

Essie is available at Essences in Rustan's at Php 425 per bottle. As a side note, there was an abundant selection of O.P.I. nail polish in Essences sold at a lower price point than Essie and definitely way, way cheaper than their average HKD 150 (around Php 1,000) price tag in HK.

The Boracay Experience: In My Own Words

Stats: No. of times I've been to the island 1, No. of days on the island 3, Restaurants visited 5, Water sports participated in 2, Alcoholic drinks consumed 3, Clubs visited 0, Coffee shops visited 3, Photos taken 0, Unfortunate events that happened to me 4

Lodging: Crown Regency, Station 2

Coupons were purchased from Buyanihan.com for 5,444 pesos/pax, which included accommodations for 3D/2N, breakfast, boat transfer from/to Caticlan Jetty Port, and a choice between 15 minutes of parasailing or jet ski. Just a side note, for an additional round trip fee of 720 pesos per head, the hotel helped us arrange our land transfer from Kalibo airport to Caticlan. No lines, no negotiations required, zero hassle on our part. Crown Regency is the latest, still unfinished, project of the Regency chain of resorts in Boracay. While the lobby and a few buildings are ready, a good portion of the back part of the resort is still under construction. Advantages of staying here include the spacious rooms, friendly and helpful staff, and a 24-hour convenience store. It is a good 15-minute leisurely walk, though, from d'mall, but it can easily be thought of as a short workout.

Restaurants & coffee shops visited, both planned and spontaneous

I left my list of restaurants/coffee shops at home, but it turns out, none of the places I wanted to visit were super secret since I was able to hit 5 out of the 7 spots in my list just by following my friends. Here's a list of the places we got to try and a brief description/review of each.

True Food (Indian, Station 2) - Relaxing atmosphere, around Php 600/person. Patience required as food may take a while to be prepared. Sweet lassi, highly recommended. Numerous vegetarian options.

Jonas Shakes (Station 1) - Sipped from a friend's mango-banana shake, could have been a while since it was served which was why it was at room temperature. Too thick and sweet for my taste, which might be their selling point.

Fish Bar (d'mall) - Generous serving of fish & chips, just right given its 300 something price tag. Everyone did find the fish rather greasy, though. Only option for vegetarians was breakfast food.

Real Coffee (Station 1) - I had their Real Iced Coffee to go (Php 110). It was conveniently served in a re-used water bottle, the cap of which was punched with a hole to fit in a drinking straw. Strong stuff, perfect to start the morning with. A friend would later on help me pre-order their famous calamansi muffins, my only souvenir from the island. The muffins tasted like lemon squares and were dense and moist, definitely recommended. Shelf life was 3 days at room temperature and a couple more weeks when stored in the fridge.

Gasthof (German inspired, d'mall) - We just finished our first water sport activity for the day and after having skipped breakfast, everyone had a feast of grilled everything here, baby back ribs (what they're famous for), squid, fish, and chicken. I had eggplant ensalada made tasty with my concoction of chili, soy sauce and vinegar, and their chunky home-made mashed potato, highly recommended. If, like us, your room is not beachfront, Gasthof has lounge chairs for rent by the hour or free with a minimum order of Php 500.

Manana (Mexican, Station 1) - I'm currently on a Mexican food phase and was super excited to try out this place (although I was only able to match the names upon returning home and seeing my list). I had high expectations about the place since it was recommended in blogs and by friends. Too bad their unconventional burrito was what failed me miserably. The rice was replaced with cabbage, and the usual tasty beans was replaced by a flavorless red bean paste. On the plus side, the pumpkin soup was thick and not artificially tasty, and the taco served with it was perfect for scooping up the soup. 

Lemon i Cafe (d'mall) - The mango ref cake came highly recommended. As a habitual coffee drinker, I would suggest instead for coffee lovers to stop by the cafe to have a go at their super strong and super smooth coffee. Half-caf-decaf option available upon request for those who are not used to drinking strong coffee.

Cafe del Sol (d'mall) - Iced Americano, ho-hum.

Zuzuni (Greek, Station 1) - Hot off the oven, molten chocolate cake topped with ice cream, need I say more? (City dwellers can find such treats at Wicked Kitchen beside ABS-CBN.) Oh yes, their Greek food was also fantastic (according to everyone else). As for me, I had the vegetarian mousaka here which was still good even after the first few heavenly bites of creamy cheese, grilled eggplant and tomato sauce. The calamansi slush which had just the right amount of sweetness was refreshing, especially on a hot day by the beach. I had to agree that this was the best send-off lunch. 

Water sports

Water sports liaisons barked prices at us left and right wherever we went. We found out that they eventually led interested parties to one of the companies that organize all sorts of water sports in the island, so fear not. I'm not the type to balk at moderate adventures such as roller coaster rides, so flyfish was fun but uneventful especially as our batch didn't fall into the water. Parasailing was what knocked me to my knees. Let's just say that my unfortunate experience # 1 occurred while parasailing. Just a word of advise, it's completely unwise to go out to sea by mid-afternoon as the strong waves are no match even for the least seasick person. Afterwards we would be told that the best time to go parasailing was at 1pm but were not warned about the dangerously strong waves when we initially booked our parasailing at 5pm. When other plans fell out, we set out at around half past 3 on an afternoon just before a storm hit the island. Whew.

I think this about sums up my Boracay trip. After all, not many words are necessary to describe how the white sand on the island was so fine and cool to the touch that all I wanted to do was sink my toes in them, and how when it became really hot, the low temperature of the clear water cooled me off right away. If there's anything I didn't get enough of during my trip, it would have to be sunbathing, swimming and lots and lots of R&R by the beach.