Pampering your feet is a must, especially after standing on them the entire day. And with all the walking we “dakilang alalays” aka medical clerks do, feet pampering becomes an essential if not a requisite.

I received a text message from my ex-roommie Mela this afternoon asking if I was free for pedicure and dinner. It was the perfect moment. We were from duty the previous night and a few hours relaxing our tired feet is the cherry to cap our duty. But imagine our dismay when we discovered how the three affordable salons near our place along E. Rodriguez could not feed our needs. While we were walking, we chanced upon a tarpaulin advertising a new place offering foot and body massage services at such a very, very friendly price.

The place is called Feet Galore Spa which is gps systems-friendly located at the 2nd floor of Dona Anita Bldg along E. Rodriguez Ave. in front of St. Luke’s Medical Center and Burger King.

The place is new – barely a week old – according to the front desk attendant whom I surmise to be the owner. The ambiance is so relaxing that I’d really want to doze off while plopped on such a comfy chair if only I wasn’t very ticklish. Mela and I availed of their foot scrub which came with a pedicure. Their foot scrubs come in three variants: peppermint, strawberry and milk. I was told most of their guests prefer the peppermint scrub which the both of us tried. The service lasted about an hour and a half as my attendant, Joyce, very carefully scrubbed my feet (she was too careful that I honestly think she could have scrubbed my feet harder than she did). I was told that their pedicurist wasn’t around so what they’ll be doing after the scrub is only to push the cuticles and clean my nails without removing toenail ingrowths. Good enough for me as I just had a pedicure exactly a week ago. There aren’t much nail colors to choose from but it didn’t matter since we’d be wearing closed shoes most of the time. What delighted me was the massage part of the foot scrub which bolstered my desire to try their other body massage services in the future. I can’t vouch much for their services as I’ve only tried their foot scrub but their pocket-friendly price and accessibility alone is enough for me to come back for my weekly feet spa-mpering.

Wanna try their services? Visit Unit 211 Dona Anita Bldg. E. Rodriguez Ave. QC or call 466-0861 for inquiries. Say “hello” to them and don’t forget to drop my name (Marinel) or mention my blog.

Services:
Foot Scrub (Choice between: Peppermint, Strawberry and Milk) 199
Authentic Thai Foot Massage 199
Traditional Foot Massage 199
Foot Reflexology 199

Body Massage:
Head and Shoulder Massage 149
Swedish Massage 250
Shiatsu Massage 250

Manicure 70
Pedicure 70
Manicure and Pedicure 120

I just finished reading a thread from Candymag’s teentalk (yes, I know I am way past my teenage years LOL). I must say I am pretty amazed at how “knowledgeable” teens are nowadays when it comes to beauty and skin care. But then it also alarms me at the same time; because admit it or not, what they “know” is most often courtesy of Google whose reliability has always remained to be in question.

Having recently finished my rotation in Dermatology, I’ve come to appreciate a lot of facts and health and beauty practices which I weren’t fully aware of before. That is despite my addiction to googling the worldwide web. I must admit that what I’ve picked up from my 15-day stint as a pseudo-Dermatologist will never come up in any Yahoo or Google search. In fact, the actual experience of handling a patient beats the millions of search queries that these engines will harvest for you at any given time.

Perhaps what bothers me most about what I’ve witnessed to be going on online among many women is how the practice of self-medication has become more rampant than before. And for that I point the accusing finger towards Mr. Google because of his ability to come up with results from Medicare supplement to the latest fad in skin whitening. Don’t get me wrong. Internet results are not necessarily evil; but misleading advertisements under the guise of reliable medical information are and I sure hope that internet users have high enough IQ to know how to spot a fake from the real deal.

I’ve realized that Dermatologists in practice are losing in the battle against non-medical people peddling their skincare goods online. It’s actually a double whammy. For one, they lose potential patients. Second, they become the option of last resort of patients whose problems are even worse than how they started from trying various products without knowing their drug interactions. I’m a witness. Most of the patients I’ve seen would claim to have applied certain lotions, medications and ointments they could not even read. For me, such practice is the same as taking medications without knowing what they’re for. Perhaps most think that the harm would be less since they are topically applied. They have entirely forgotten however that the skin is virtually the largest organ in the body with a huge potential for systemic absorption.

I wish people would be more vigilant not only on the price tag of the goods they see online but moreso on the indications of their use; because no matter which way you look at it, they’re all drugs and just one and the same banana.

I can’t wait to share this very good news. The scorching heat of March – a prelude to the fast-approaching summer – has finally caught up with The Landmark. Affordable bikinis and tankinis are now up for sale at The Landmark department store where you can snag a pair at less than 500 pesos! Beat that! I was so excited to spot the almost exact pair of bikinis that I had in mind while I was browsing through their racks and because they’re dirt-cheap, I was so tempted to buy not just two but three pairs for myself. However, I still have to attest to the durability of these bikinis as this is my first time to buy such great steals off their racks:

Both of these are padded, fully-lined and made of 80% Nylon and 20% Lycra from Thailand. What’s so great about my new buys is that they come in different sizes unlike the ones I bought last year at Tomato which was free size (Luckily the ones I bought were a perfect fit!). Always, always remember though to check the sizes of the ones you’re buying before you head for the counter. I almost went home with a medium purple triangle top instead of a small one.

I’ve been looking high and low for affordable bikinis for my coming trip to Bohol and Cebu. Sadly, not a lot of boutiques have released their swimwear collection already (Naf-Naf and Folded and Hung, to name a few). And although they were carrying nice swimwear, not a single one of them – not even the ones at Rustans fit what I had in mind. I’ve also scoured most online stores in multiply and even ebay in search for the bikinis that were meant for me. What caught my fancy were the number of multiply stores that offer Made in Thailand swimwear which are often on a pre-order basis. You can get a pair for 650 to 800+ pesos at retail price (I bet you can even ask for a discount if you’re buying wholesale). Most of them, however, come in free sizes which was what exactly stopped me from placing my orders online. I wouldn’t want to end up disappointed that the pair I bought online wouldn’t fit my petite frame. Actually, I found a good sale off ebay just yesterday (a lovable pair of string bikinis in hot hot red!) but the auction ends just 4 days short of our flight to Bohol. Disappointed as I am, I didn’t end up bidding for it since I’m highly dubious that the pair would arrive on time. This is why when I got to The Landmark this afternoon, I felt like crying tears of utter joy! Finally! My long search is over! And like a cherry on top, I didn’t have to break my piggy bank for these! What a very nice end-of-school gift from Kuya Jess, don’t you think?

So what are you waiting for, girls? I bet you can already hear the splashing of the waves like I can. It’s beach time, hunnies! Happy shopping!

I’ve already forgotten how it feels like to stroll nonchalantly in a mall. In fact, I can’t even recall when was the last time I entered a mall without papers to think and readings waiting to be finished. This afternoon, I tried to relive those carefree days once more. Actually, I did have an agenda but besides paying our apartment’s phone bill, the day was actually stress-free and the afternoon’s long enough to be spent bumming at home so I decided going to the nearby mall is the best way to kill the time. As if it wasn’t much of a temptation, I uncovered an unused gift cheque my mom gave me more than a couple of weeks ago hidden in all those stacks of paper. I used to be a real shopaholic. Armed with my mother’s credit card, I used to buy things that I wanted (but don’t really need) the moment I lay my eyes on them and find them cute. I’ve since changed when one morning I accidentally peeked into a billing statement and got guilty of how much money I’ve been spending on unwanted stuff. That’s when I started budgeting and planning how I spend my money – or rather my mother’s. I still go on binge shopping though, especially when I’m mad or down in the dumps but I’ve been more careful about things that I buy. Never did I imagine though that all those cutting costs I’ve been doing in the last year would make me a thrift shopper ‘coz I found myself actually spending more than an hour thinking of what to buy with the gift cheque I had in hand. If it was a year ago, I’d walk happily away with a new pair of bikinis especially since we’re going on a swimming trip on Sunday but right after I spotted a good pair, I started to think twice and asked myself if I really badly needed a new one. It’s not as if the place we’re going to is a beach where people would care less of what you’re wearing but a pool, and a public one at that could have eyes that are more judgemental and harsher regardless whether you were the one in the proper attire or not. To cut the story short, I didn’t buy the bikini and opted for make up and a cover-alls instead. I know, they don’t exactly sound like i need them badly but at least they’re a little towards the positive end of the “usefulness” spectrum than an overpriced swimwear. So once again, my mind won over my heart. I went home so happy and contented that I even made an entry proclaiming to the world my victory over another needless spending…

*silence*

Or probably not. *sigh*

I love pampering myself. After a long week’s worth of lectures, patients and papers galore, I always look forward to the weekend and what pampering treatment I’d get for myself. I am a self-confessed spa fanatic. I love getting a nice, long massage to relax my tired muscles. For me, the very first sign that I am under stress is when my upper back (the Trapezius to be more precise) starts to get really sore and hard. And when it does, I go straight to one of the spas that litter the metro.

Last night, I was supposed to be at the Cinemalaya with my blog friends but Bee decided it was a night that the two of us should be spending together. He bribed me with a dinner date and a free spa. It was actually the third time he brought me in to get a nice massage. We were supposed to go to Spa 168 where I’m a regular client (I brought him to the place a few weeks ago) but there were no parking spaces available so off we went to Excelsior Spa just across the street. I’ve tried that place once and the massage that I got there on that first time still tops my list (but that was last year and I forgot to note who gave me the best massage of my life). The price for their Swedish massage had increased from 380 to 400 but I don’t really mind because the staff were very accommodating anyway unlike in some spas that I’ve been to that literally would leave you clueless and alone (I’ll blog about them some time soon). The massage was relaxing but I thought there was nothing much special about it. I wonder though if it was because I wasn’t as super stressed out unlike my usual trips to the spa or the masseuse wasn’t as good as the others.

The place is a lot smaller than the other spas I’ve been to and I feel it was rather cramped. The ladies’ area consists of two showers, one toilet and a small sauna. The common massage room is located upstairs. I don’t really recommend the place for first-timers or for the more conservative types because you share one big room with three other clients and there’s really no privacy at all. No divisions to hide you from the other clients. Not even a curtain! When the place is fully booked, it gets a little cramped – what with 8 people inside the room. The toiletries, towels and robes were clean and fairly new and the locker room lady is really accommodating and would assist you with your needs. Having someone to assist you is a MUST in every spa. Especially since not every client knows what to do and how things go about inside the spa.

The verdict for this trip?

I’m giving an extra because it’s free.

…my hair that is!

I’ve been pretty much annoyed by my hair lately because it seemed as if it has a life of its own. The right side is flying away no matter how short or long it is. It hasn’t always been this miserable though. I remember how Pauee and I once were the luckier girls in class for having long, silky and beautiful hair without even trying. Those days, it was our good friend Cathy who had major problems with her hair. Yes, the beauty-title holder and environmental advocate was once teased for having hair that’s flying towards just one side. Now, it seems like my karma has finally found its way to me. The sad part is, I can’t have my hair cut until two weeks from now when my cousin finally weds her legal husband in church. The gown she had made for me would look really perfect with long, curly hair and so I must stop myself from itching to the salon in the next few days. However, being such a sissy, I know that with that wedding aside, I’d think twice about having my bra-length hair chopped off to something as short as this:

That’s Yoon Eun Hye looking great in a short ‘do.

Anyway, I still have a couple of weeks to decide whether I’ll have the guts to have my much-awaited make over. My boyfriend had his long hair cut short recently and he looked a whole lot younger again! If I don’t want to look like a an old manang right next to him, I should be getting my butt out and heading to the salon soon. Yes. As I’ve been saying over and over again, judgement day comes when the wedding’s done and over with. After all, there’s no more stopping it anyway. The party invitations are out.

So, think I can sport this look with ease?