After about a week of being fickle-minded, I finally got my butt off our house to try the Lyfcenter services I was talking about in this entry. It was a week of I would and wouldn’t. Just as the famous saying goes: if there’s a will, there’s a way. I realized I had none of it the past few days – until yesterday. My friends who went there before had already briefed me on what to expect. One of them gave such a bad feedback so I kind of had a biased expectation when I got there – like a cheap car insurance

The place is easy to find. If you might not notice the sign, just look for the orange-colored signboard of Finio and you’re on the right track. Take the flight of stairs up and you’ll see the LyfCenter signboard (a friend remarked how cheap the models looked – I have to agree IMHO.) When I got there I presented the three freebie coupons I got from the booklet that I bought for 400 pesos. Since I was their only client at that time (it was 8:30 pm of a Thursday night), I was half-expecting to hear them try to market me any of their products and services but gladly, I heard of none. They let me fill-in this registration form and I waited for a few minutes in their lounge until a friendly masseuse by the name of Nancy ushered me in to a labyrinthine hallway. After about a number of turns, we found ourselves in a small room with five beds separated by curtains. Truthfully, I’ve seen way, way better massage places than this. The place looked unkempt and a far cry from the promising façade of the lounge outside. The place was warm. The aircon was not turned on and I wondered if that was because they won’t be getting much from me since I’m availing of free services. Anyway, the massage was good. I can tell Nancy knows her thing. I had a little chitchat with her and learned that she had been with the spa for 5 years already. So that’s why she knew the strokes and the right pressure. J I felt sorry that they didn’t offer me to upgrade my massage. But anyway, I’ve kept her name in mind just so I know who to look for when I come back next time. I wish it would have lasted for an hour or more since the massage was good and relaxing. I wasn’t really sure if it had been about 30 minutes already ‘coz it felt like she was doing the massage for just about ten minutes when she called it done. I was next ushered in to another room with a number of facial spa chairs. A girl (whose name I forgot) then told me to sit on this chair for my “free” skin analysis. At this point, I felt like I was robbed. I think they really do this to their normal, paying clients with or without the “coupons” I had. So anyway, the skin analysis device was nothing but a blacklight being shone on your face. Your closed comedones were supposed to light up orange while the hyperpigmented spots will remain… – uh darkened – under the blacklight. She then suggested I upgrade to one of their more expensive facials after the “skin analysis”. I agreed to make an upgrade, and so I spent 530 pesos down the drain for their pigment control facial. The girl who then entered the room introduced herself as Nurse Cherry. I figured she must be one of the hundreds of thousands of nurses, licensed and otherwise, working odd jobs that are unrelated to their college degree. She then proceeded with the facial. I slept through most of the procedure so I can’t say anything much if the facial treatment I received was comparable to standard facial treatments (use of vacuum, galvanic, laser etc) available with most facial spas. Heck, she could have skipped the mask altogether without me knowing it! All I knew was that when I woke up about an hour and more later, the treatment was done. So much for experience! K I think Cherry did her job well though, ‘coz my face felt clean and fresh after the procedure ended.

In general, everything went smoothly. I think the place was not as bad as what my friend warned me. Although the massage was good, I couldn’t say for sure if the facial was the same since I slept through most part of it. Hehe. Nevertheless I’ll surely come back some other time especially since I still have 18 more stubs to choose from.  :)

I just wish that guy (gay?) from the counter would stop shouting back “Look Young Forever, Mam!” after their clients again though ‘coz it definitely gave me the creeps!

Some were busy doing their paper and others were reviewing while music from our ipod nano blasted through our headsets when a jolly, high-pitched voice echoed through the room. He called himself Shalala (obviously, he was gay) and introduced his companion (which, on my assessment didn’t belong in the same federation) whose name I totally forgot. When his next statement was: Do you go to the spa? I knew exactly what’s gonna happen next.

He then showed us this little colorful booklet of coupons and started talking about how we might want to avail of freebies and discounts to this particular spa along Tomas Morato. I’ve heard of the spa before. In fact, I pass by it often but I’ve never tried any of their services or inquire about their services at the very least. Suffice to say I don’t know much about this spa Shalala was talking about. I browsed through their “menu” which was conveniently printed in this booklet. Shiatsu massage at 400 pesos and Swedish massage at 350? Not bad. They also offer facial services that range from 350 pesos for a basic cleaning to a whopping 1880 pesos for a so-called Cara Espanola Facial. For that hefty sum, I’m expecting you’ll come out looking like Angelina Jolie after the treatment. Hehe. They also offer slimming treatments (Aha! There’s one for my tummy!) and “infusions” which are pretty pricey at 999 pesos minimum.

I wasn’t exactly impressed with how our two unexpected guests delivered their marketing lines. I don’t think they know much about the services they’re offering aside from the memorized and practiced lines they deliver over and over again to unsuspecting people. When my friend asked what an Oxygen Bar does or what a faradic treatment was, they were stumped and changed the topic nonetheless.

Anyway, my friend and I (and a couple of other friends who unknowingly entered the Mood Clinic later) got ourselves a booklet each worth PHP 399. It already includes a Free Skin Analysis worth 300 (Although I bet my friends from Dermatology could do so much better at no cost), a Free Back Massage worth 300 and a Free Basic Facial worth 350 pesos. Aside from those, we’re also entitled to a number of perks such as a free service of lesser value with availment of any of their services. I’m foreseeing how I’d be pretty tied up to one spa for most of the time this year. So for the most part, I guess I’ll be doing a review of the services at LYFspa as we go along. No worries though. For sure, the spa addict in me would still hop around the Metro looking for steals and thrills.

Wish you’ll hop along with me.

So this is the song that’s currently playing on my itunes. I know it’s too early to play christmas-themed songs but it’s included in the new album that I recently got hold of. I just found it really funny how I knew the song and has heard it over and over again before but it was only now that I realized I didn’t really know the title nor the artists behind this hit. Hehehe. Do they still have The Singing Bee on ABS-CBN? ‘Coz I know by heart how I can never with in that game ever. I can just be absolutely forgetful. Speaking of which, this morning, I spent an extra hour in the hospital reviewing (no, not pronexin reviews) the CCTV recording of the Doctor’s Callroom where we stay when we don’t have anything to do in the wards. You see, I thought I lost Kaiser and I already searched everywhere so I thought of dropping by the In-house Security to review the CCTV. It didn’t show someone getting something from the pile of belongings that were right next to me while I slept but it did show me putting two objects inside two of my bags before I went to sleep. They insisted to help me look for my ipod in my bag and I gave in even if I had looked inside for three times already before I went looking for it in the callroom. And guess what? It was there right inside one of my bags’ pockets! How I could have missed it still remains as a mystery. But well, at least I got Kaiser back in safe hands. =D

Some people are die-hard fans of tried and tested beauty products that they don’t change brands for years – or even forever! I know of someone who keeps the same stash of wrinkle creams that work in her bag year in and year out. On my part however, I tend to switch from one brand to another because I like the thrill of discovering something “new”. But I must admit, there are just some products which I search high and low for and are permanent tools of the trade in my stash. I once blogged about The Face Shop’s Plus+ 1 Intensive Lip Care Cream which is a must-have for my forever chapping lips. Aside from this wonder lip care cream, I am also a big fan of Elianto’s Baked Blusher, specifically in Pale Pink.

This shimmery blush was first made available in 2007 but I only came across this blush when I did window shopping at an Elianto booth last year. I was psyched because of this particular shade’s natural-looking flush effect on my skin. The shimmer of this blush also makes it a good highlighter substitute for areas of the face that you want to pop out like the cheekbone and the browbone. Among the five blushers that I own, this is the one I use the most as it’s perfect for both daytime and nighttime use. This particular pan in fact is actually my third. =)

What I don’t like about this product, however, is that it easily shatters. When I bought my first pan, the saleslady told me to be careful with it since it breaks into pieces with just one drop. I accidentally dropped the blusher on the day I bought it and although the case was intact, the contents were not. I just transferred the contents into an empty mini-powder case. I also broke my second pan so I’ll no longer be surprised if I break my third soon. =)

What about you? What’s your favorite blush?

Just like me, I know a lot of women out there don’t like the sight of unwanted hair. I could not remember when I exactly first dipped my hand in a pan of hair wax but I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember. I have years of literally painful experience to back me up. But a guru, I am not. =)

One of the most commonly waxed spots is the underarm. Filipinas go crazy when it comes to unsightly underarm hair. I used to resort to shaving and plucking as soon as the first strand of my underarm hair grew. It was that time when I stopped playing jackstone while slumped nonchalantly in our cemented garage flooring, aka puberty, and the time when most pre-teens get conscious about how they look. For a time, the razor was my best friend. But, as many others have discovered as well, shaving tends to darken the underarms. (I’ve read a few internet articles claiming on why this happens but until I come across a sound explanation in my med books or journals, I’d rather shut up.) Aside from the darkening of the skin, it also appears that shaving causes more hair, and thicker at that, to grow. The itch and discomfort is annoying, hence, I thought plucking is the key.

One day, I came across a pan of warm wax in the department store. The brand was Epilin and I’ve been using it ever since. Waxing is just like plucking but you’re plucking the hair out all at the same time. Ouch! But with continuous use, you’d get used to the sting until it wouldn’t bother you anymore. Epilin, however, is not very easy to use. For one, I have to stick my pan inside the oven and wait for a part of it to melt before I can get to use it. Sometimes, it’s too molten that I have to wait for a while for it to get to a more skin-friendly temperature that wouldn’t result to scalding. That’s the tricky part in using warm wax: the temperature. As for me, I know it’s ready when the wax has a consistency of a thick syrup, meaning when the molten wax falls off the tilted wooden spatula very, very slowly. I then apply it to my skin towards the direction of hair growth, wait for it to harden… usually in 20 seconds and peel off. Back then, they didn’t sell waxing strips for Epilin so what I do is to lift one end of the hardened wax and pull it against the direction of hair growth. I repeat this twice and nothing more. The hair that is left is removed by plucking which is what they also do in waxing salons for stubborn hair.

Another product that I am a fan of is J. Tomas Skin Solution No Hair Wax Kit. I’ve been using it even before it won the Cosmo Beauty Awards in 2009. I bought my first box at The Landmark in Trinoma where I first spotted it among the shelves. I’ve now consumed three boxes of this product. =) This is trickier to use though. It’s actually sugaring and not exactly “cold wax”. It has a syrupy consistency which I apply on the skin – again towards the direction of hair growth. It comes with ten reusable strips which you put on top of the wax. What I do is to gently press the strip towards the direction of hair growth to make sure the sugar sticks to it. Make sure that the one on top of the sugar is the rough side of the strip. During my first attempt, I couldn’t figure out which one was the rough side and ended up using the apparently smoother side. I thought I wasted 300 bucks for a useless product until I realized it was the wrong side. Anyway, you’ll know you’re successful when the whole thing comes off when you pull the strip against hair growth. I use the product only for my legs. It’s best for areas with thinner hair strands like the arms and legs. I tried to use it for my underarm hair to no avail. But it’s perfect for my legs. =)

The problem with plucking and waxing is that you, most likely, would end up with chicken-like skin: rough stubbles. Hair ingrowths are also a problem. To help combat this, I scrub the areas I waxed 1-2 days after waxing to help exfoliate the skin and prevent hair from growing under the epidermis. For my underams, the usual site for chicken-like skin, I have an underarm peeling regimen which I do every three months. =) And that’s something I’ll talk about soon. =)

Hope I helped!

I’ve been doing a lot of online window-shopping these past few days in search for the perfect swimsuit for my beachscapades in April. Last year, I found such good finds at the Landmark (the place to shop!) at very affordable prices. This year, my month-long summer break starts in April and because of my very tight schedule as a medical clerk, I wouldn’t be able to go mall-hopping to search for the perfect pair in time for my love affair with the sea and the sand. So for the uber-busy me, the next best place to shop is online. So what good finds do we have out there?

First, I’ll be featuring swimwear for small-busted women like moi. Most petite girls who don’t have to lose weight for summer have small bust and only a very lucky few petite Filipinas have cup sizes larger within the B and C range.

For those small on top, you can do well with push-up, underwire, padded tops or triangle tops, the last of which look best on women with smaller breasts. You can also opt for string bikinis which are best recommended because they can be tied tight to  better fit a petite frame. For designs and details, you may opt for horizontal stripes, smocking and ruffles along the neckline which help make you look wider than you really are. And if you’re wearing patterns, look for smaller patterns and shy away from bigger ones because they will just enhance your small breasts. A perfect example is the one on the left, “Elle” from Cocomobeachwear (P1,299).  It’s a triangle string top with small patterns and ruffle details along the neckline which best flatters a small-breasted figure.
A cheaper option would be one of my faves from The Beachy Life’s Beach Deity Collection: Annapurna (P895). I just love the combination of oriental print brown and happy red. Too conservative for separates? You can also strut your stuff in one-piece cutout suits which create curves. Most fashion experts agree that small-busted women should avoid wearing bandeau-style tops. I have to agree. It flattens the already non-existent chest. LOL. Also, generally avoid vertical stripes – unless of course you want to personify Olive Oyl in bikinis.