i don’t think the timing could have been any better to enjoy a beauty day at the ricky reyes one-on-one salon in frontera verde. i was having a terribly hectic and nerve-wracking week, i needed the pampering and the relaxation in a salon more than anything in the world.
ricky reyes, beauty expert and entrepreneur extraordinaire, got beauty bloggers together to spend time in his salon for a beauty day where we enjoyed hours of nothing but indulgent treatments and pampering experiences.
we had the choice of many extensive treatments from his exclusive salon menu and we can choose as many as we wanted, as much as we can handle.
some of the services available. for a more comprehensive list, you can visit their website or the salon nearest you.
i chose the hair booster, a hair spa specifically formulated for treatment of falling hair (i have mentioned in a previous entry how i’ve been trying to address my hair fall problem).
the hair booster uses special treatments that contain malunggay, chock-full of calcium and other beneficial elements, known best for properties that promote growth and strength. along with the special mixtures, the service employs a thorough scalp massage and a specialized brushing technique to encourage good blood circulation.
a creamy mentholated substance is applied to the scalp and massaged thoroughly
the first of two creams used for the hair booster treatment
special brushing technique involving two oval shaped brushes.
jill of kikay exchange had the hair manicure, highlights and a haircut. keep posted on www.kikay.exchange.ph for reviews on these services!
hair manicure sounds threatening... but its benefits will make you want to go for it!
hair treatment was applied meant to clean hair of impurities and make it sleek and shiny
while our hair absorbed the treatments, we were invited to join ricky reyes himself for lunch in the salon. so for the first time, i was able to take part in a lunch table with people in hair masks, towel turbans, hair color and so on.
we all had lunch looking like this
in good looking company: lunch with ricky reyes and other bloggers all in hair treatments
our hair were rinsed and blow dried after lunch. others had more treatments and haircuts.
haircut by ricky reyes
preparing for highlights. strands of hair are pulled through small holes in this plastic cap.
bleach is applied to lighten the exposed hair strands.
the hair booster made my hair softer, more full-bodied and bouncier. hair strands were de-clumped (for lack of a better term) and flyaways were minimized.
it was great hair day!
every girl could use a beauty day like we did! visit your nearest ricky reyes salon to indulge yourself in these fabulous hair treatments.
of all the mascara rankings, i would trust splendora.com’s. they tested 50 of the most well-known brands (categorized into drugstore and department store brands) and came up with the best five of each category, along with runners-up.
i would rely on the system of splendora because they employed a methodology to be more unbiased and more, well, scientific, with the results.
from splendora:
Splendora’s Mascara Challenge was not paid for or sponsored by any outside party. Our results are totally unbiased and based on months of research by expert beauty editors of different ethnicities, eyelash length, and brand preferences.
To truly test the quality and wear of each mascara, Splendora editors applied a different mascara to each eye, then rated their findings based on the following qualities:
Splendora editors did not share their results with each other until the end of the test period. They each shared four out of five top mascara choices. The fifth mascaras were chosen in a mascara deathmatch of the remaining bottom five.
splendora’s best drugstore mascaras
runners-up: cover girl lash blast, max factor 2000 calorie, maybelline intense xxl, physician’s formula lash-in-a-tube
5. cover girl volume exact
4. rimmel lycra lash extender
3. maybelline full n’ soft
2. l’oreal volume shocking
1. maybelline define-a-lash
It was clear from the very first application that this was a special mascara. It was love at first sight of our lashes. We tested D-A-L against other more expensive mascaras and it blew them out of the competition. The rubber, flexible wand allows for great coverage; no clumpy brush or smudging as you apply- seems to keep the mascara from drying out too quickly. The best thing about this product is that it provides amazing coverage even though it doesn’t look like a lot is going on the wand. Separates, lifts, darkens and has a perfect consistency–not too wet; not too dry.
i was fortunate enough to receive two maybelline d-a-l’s from an aunt in the states. i asked a maybelline frontliner if they will be introducing this mascara to the country, she said she isn’t sure. i really hope it gets here and gets here soon.
top photo without mascara. center and bottom photos with two coats of maybelline define-a-lash (i don't use eyelash curler).
splendora’s best department store mascaras
runners-up: clarins wonder length, gicenchy eye fly, guerlain maxi lash, laura mercier thickening and lengtening, m.a.c. plush lash
5. christian dior diorshow
4. lancome definicils high definition
3. ysl volume effet faux cils
2. trish mcevoy high volume
1. chanel inimitable multi-dimensional
Like our drugstore pick, Chanel was a clear winner with all of our editors, making it into the number one spot on every list. From the elegant packaging (shorter than most mascaras making for an easy fit in your makeup bag) to the flexible, non-clumping rubber wand, we chose this product above all others because it lifts, lengthens, and darkens without creating an overly heavy look. We also liked the consistency of the mascara that didn’t go on too wet or dry out after months of use. After dozens of uses, the wand remained relatively clean while still delivering a perfect amount of product to the lashes. This is the best all-around mascara that is perfect for daytime use and can be applied heavier without clumping for a more dramatic look. Outstanding!
that’s it, i’m getting the chanel inimitable. doesn’t take much to convince me to get a good mascara.
check out the feature: http://www.splendora.com/best_mascaras/best_of_splendora_top_ten_mascaras#content-jump
thank you very much to everyone who participated in the pure fiji contest! we would have loved to let many people experience the hydrating body lotion, but there could only be one winner…
congratulations,
merriane kris!
you win a pure fiji coconut milk and honey hydrating body lotion! please expect our email very soon.
please keep posted for more giveaways in the future. you just might be the next lucky winner!
thank you, everyone!
watching the state of the nation address briefly today made me think more about fashion than the actual state of our nation. loren legarda went backless for the second year in a row. pia cayetano had a severely modern bob over her stylish gown. i thought jamby madrigal’s baro’t saya was rather safe and audrey zubiri’s modernized version of the same style was my favorite.
i apologize for being socially unaware and for appearing callous. this is, after all, a very superficial blog. i don’t think i have the chops to pull off a political commentary.
anyway, so i was watching the sona on tv as i packed my belongings, preparing for our impending migration. and i was just overcome by a sharp feeling of melancholy. suddenly, filled with patriotic pride, i wanted to have another opportunity to wear the philippine terno.
i’ve worn the philippine terno only once in my adult life. only during the 2001 buwan ng wika in the school where i used to teach. it was a long dress that dragged on the floor and was the most electric of electric pinks you could ever lay your eyes on; it also had a wide panuelo in stripes of the same pink which i folded into a triangle to wear around my waist. it was a filipiniana costume my tita wore to japan as a national representative in the 80′s, so what can you expect from a dress that came straight from a decade of blinding colors? nonetheless, it was one of my most memorable outfits, it was stunning in a literally dizzying kind of way.
another chance i got to wear filipiniana, though not the terno, was on a regional awards ceremony we held for the company i used to work for. our region was then well known for taking costumes and themes very seriously, so we actually went out of our way to rent dresses for the event. for the memories alone, it was worth every penny.
trying on the dresses in the staff house on the night before the event. and just being silly.
photo op before entering the function hall
white philippine terno with corset-type bodice
yellow terno with ruched bodice and the traditional barong tagalog
baro't saya with panuelo
with our travel plans now coming together, i’m beginning to feel a premature homesickness growing in the pit of my stomach, which i’m afraid will hit me like a brick when we’ve actually flown off the ground. now i want another opportunity, another event that requires me to wear filipiniana, particularly the philippine terno. is that strange?
philippine terno and baro't saya designs by casa del shai. www.casadelshai.wordpress.com
filipiniana gown by edgar san diego
gown from mquin. www.mquinred.blogspot.com.
since i missed the chance to participate in santacruzan this year, is there someone out there who would like to invite me to a buwan ng wika celebration in school next month???
one of the dresses in the fw08 couture show of chanel. looks very like the terno.
first off, i like jersey material. jersey knit, that is, not cotton. i have a ton of tops and a number of shift dresses in that fabric.
strangely though, i couldn’t stand wearing jersey when i was pregnant, especially jersey dresses. i had some issues with dresses that clung snugly onto or skimmed along my hips and thighs. which was a minor challenge since fashionable maternity dress choices in fabrics other than jersey were not easy to come by.
aside from that, i thought jersey was too casual for work or strictly formal affairs, and i didn’t want to be an “exclusion” to the rule just because i was pregnant.
one of the more apparent problems i encountered with maternity dresses not made of jersey is many designs seemed so dowdy and, well, exaggeratedly wide. of course, i understand the rationale behind making these dresses bigger, being fabrics that don’t stretch, but i hope retailers keep in mind that maternity clothes are not tents. an expectant mother would love to feel sexy now more than ever.
so if you are like me as a pregnant shopper, you might want to check out www.apeainthepod.com, one of my favorite maternity sites that offers styles such as these fabulous maternity dresses:
flutter-sleeve dress in silk and chiffon
sleeveless white dress with collar and pleats in sateen
ruched empire waist dress in denim
kimono style dress with baroque print
formal dress in velvet
sleeveless formal dress in charmeuse
work wear in knit and tweed
all photos lifted from www.apeainthepod.com.
a timeless literary classic, a fantastic computer game with old school roots, a cartoon series with a cult following, and a comic book character who deserves a movie of his own.
vicarious living couldn’t get any better than this.
1. alice in wonderland directed by tim burton
when i found out last year that my favorite fantasy story was going to be recreated on-screen by tim burton himself, i thought i was dreaming. when i found out that johnny depp is playing the mad hatter, i had to pinch myself. my cinema dream has finally come true.
does anyone know who would provide the musical score for the film? i certainly hope it’s danny elfman, the usual composer for burton films. he’s the only composer in the universe who can capture burton’s vision through music.
2. prince of persia: sands of time produced by jerry bruckheimer
from the mega-bucks producer of swashbuckling adventure epics comes another game-to-movie production in prince of persia: sands of time. the game has come a long, long way from the pixelated adventurer we have known and loved in our bulky pc’s.
jake gyllenhall plays the smoking hot title role (orlando bloom was once rumored to play it). and you have to admit, gyllenhall does look persian. wait, the prince of persia is persian, right? it’s not just a figurative nationality for his figurative title?
3. the last airbender directed by m. night shyamalan
one thing shyamalan has to be grateful for is the loyalty of his raveous fans. no matter how badly his movies are criticized, his followers would still troop to the cinemas to patronize his work. personally, i still think he is a genius. so despite the heated controversy behind the casting of the last airbender and the predictions that it will be a flop like dragonball z, i am still beyond myself with excitement to see this movie.
ok, i admit, i agree with the arguments offered by the detractors of the movie’s cast and, being asian, even sympathize with many of the fanatic haters. but please, imho, noah ringer is a dead-ringer for aang. ok, bad pun, but you know what i mean.
4. deadpool produced by lauren shuler donner and marvel
after his turn as a villainous assassin to wolverine’s hero, deadpool finally gets his solo movie. and about time! the “merc with a mouth” will bear the movie title and reports claim that the movie is going to be faithful to the comic books this time. meaning, no more weapon xi, as shown in the x-men origins. which, i suppose, means the deadpool movie will not be taking off from where wolverine left. i sure hope this is true.
ok, so we’ve seen ryan reynolds play deadpool in x-men origins and many have been convinced that he can carve a place in the comic-turned-movie genre. do you know that he is rumored to also play the title role in the green lantern movie? which means that, like his co-star halle berry, he’s another talent who gets to portray characters from marvel and dc. fanboys, please verify this rumor…
this is robyn, my little 20-month-old.
say hi, robyn! hi, everyone!
many people say she looks like a cartoon character. she has been compared to the powerpuff girls and puss in boots from shrek.
but her looks have been compared to dora the explorer most. friends and family who look through her pictures quickly remark that she looks like dora. when we take her to malls, random strangers would actually stop to say she looks like dora.
well, now that i think about it, she does have the big eyes, the small mouth, the brown complexion and the helmet hair like dora… and now that it has occurred to me, i believe i would like to dress up my little girl like her cartoon lookalike. i think that would be hilarious.
of course, i could just get the costume and dress her up like this:
but i think it would be cooler if the ensemble is not exactly the same as dora’s. in fact, i would prefer some vintage details (it’s my fetish du jour, vintage vibes) in the outfit. so here are the things i would love to get for her:
deep pink "girls rule" shirt from junk food. awesome vintage wonder woman print!
red gym shorts with white details from gold rush
red striped shorts from gold rush
with that shirt and either of those shorts, my girl would look like someone straight out of the 70′s!
as for the socks and shoes, i would prefer to switch their colors: white for the socks, yellow for the shoes.
lettuce-edge white socks from nordstrom
vans "big school" yellow toddler sneakers with velcro straps
and here are the absolutely non-negotiable items in the dora ensemble:
it's backpack and map! yay!!!
i wonder if they sing too? (backpack, backpack! i’m the map, i’m the map!)
say bye, robyn! bye, everyone!
one of my favorite stores is definitely just g. i am largely attracted to the brand because i like the interior design of their stores more than any other’s, even if their items are primarily geared towards a much younger market (i am, though, an avid customer of their sister store, gingersnaps). their designs, whether interior or rtw, have an eclectic vibe which is, quite strangely, relaxing and calming to me. they freely use pastel and muted hues against stark whites and accents or heavy outlines of black and bolder colors. they use vintage elements, many of them victorian and pop art, and put them together in ways that scream modern. i may not be in the age bracket of much of their creations, but i would really love to wear their accessories.
just g. flagship store in sm north edsa
clothes and shoes display in the flagship store
i am crazy about that wall treatment
i could seriously go for their accessories
latest branch they opened is in the northwing of sm cebu
if that open armoire is for sale, i'd buy that too. come to think of it, also the dress forms.
just g. branches and in-store locations. update: cebu branch already open in sm northwing.
all photos lifted from www.justgfashion.multiply.com.
we’d love to let one lucky reader luxuriate in the moisturizing properties of pure fiji’s coconut milk and honey by giving away one hydrating body lotion!
coconut milk and honey hydrating body lotion (www.purefiji.com) click!
Discover the South Pacific secret for beautiful skin with this nourishing lotion. The exotic blend of coconut milk, raw honey and exotic nut extracts contains a rich source of natural anti-oxidants and a bounty of nutrients to revitalize, moisturize and balance the skin. This fast absorbing formula is enriched with pure Royal Jelly, also known as one of nature’s prime nutrients, to enhance elasticity and skin tone. (www.purefiji.com)
to join, simply leave a comment on this entry with the following details:
for a list of and details on these products, you can visit the pure fiji site or read the previous entry:
pure fiji: bath and body (click!)
join now for the chance indulge in the benefits of coconut milk and honey! contest will run for seven days (until july 27, monday). good luck!
winner will be determined through raffle. contest open only to residents of the philippines.
with so many spa products, whether manufactured from homes, chemical labs or industrial plants, springing from nowhere these days, i thought i would never get excited over bath and body products anymore. until i tried pure fiji.
along with the famed fiji water, pure fiji products are garnering worldwide attention for their luxurious benefits for the body.
here are five of my favorite items from their line of bath and body products (all descriptions and photographs lifted from www.purefiji.com) :
coconut milk bath soak
Luxuriously smooth and creamy, this hydrating coconut milk soak contains a bounty of nutrients essential to the support and good health of your skin. Fresh coconut milk with a blend of exotic nut oils rejuvenate, nourish and rehydrate dry skin leaving it supple smooth and revitalized. Add 1/4 cup to running water and relax on a wave of island magic.
coconut sugar rub
Use in the shower after cleansing for a natural exfoliation and moisturizing treatment. From the pristine environment of Fiji, comes an extraordinary moisturizing body treatment. Coconut sugar scrub with fresh sugar cane crystals, contains naturally occurring alpha hydroxyl to gently buff away aging skin cells, polish your skin clean and unclog pores. Added to this is the deep moisturizing richness of a blend of cold pressed virgin coconut oil and exotic nut extracts to nourish, moisturize and protect your beautiful skin – leaving it glowingly healthy. Ideal for all skin types. This generous 16 oz jar will give 15-18 treatments. Natural skin care – The Pacific way.
exotic bath and body oil
For centuries Pacific islanders have used a blend of virgin coconut oil and exotic nut extracts to moisturize, nourish and protect both skin and hair. This nourishing blend absorbs quickly and will rejuvenate, replenish, hydrate and nourish your skin. Use as a massage oil, bath oil or daily moisturizing treatment.
spa soap
A gentle, long-lasting creamy soap hand made from fresh coconut milk and a nourishing blend of exotic nut extracts. Generous amounts of virgin coconut oil and natural glycerin produce a luxurious, rich lather and is an especially mild cleanser for the entire body. Feel clean, invigorated and refreshed.
hydrating body lotion
These nourishing blends of exotic nut extracts blended with fresh coconut milk rapidly hydrate, nourish and protect your skin. A complete bio-network of essential nutrients and vitamins for your skin’s daily requirements, adding vitality and softness. Absorbs quickly and keeps skin hydrated.
pure fiji spa products available in the following variants:
coconut, mango, frangipani, gingerlily, passionflower, pineapple, starfruit, coconut milk & honey
contest coming soon, so keep posted on this blog for a chance to win pure fiji! (open only to philippine residents)
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