I Blog, Therefore I Am.

My parents and I went to SMX Convention Center last Saturday for an expo. We were so tired from all the walking so we decided to treat and relax ourselves at Beauty & Butter, a new pampering destination for nails, face and body, at nearby SM Mall of Asia.

It's a good thing that we tried Beauty & Butter. I honestly fell instantly in love with the place. I've been to a lot of pampering spa and salon shops and there's nothing quite like it. I had Foot Spa with Pedicure and my parents had Anti-Aging Facials which is creatively called  "Those Were The Days". It was supposed to be just my mom and I but my dad also went along with us.

To make it easy for you,  dear blog readers, I listed down the top reasons why I love Beauty & Butter and why you should also check it out for yourselves.

1. Funky, retro and all that stuff.
I like the store concept behind Beauty & Butter. It's a very young, vibrant and retro place without being tacky. The marketing geniuses behind the store splendidly developed a fun place where one is easily relieved and relaxed just by entering it. It's a very well-thought of creative salon down to the naming convention of the services offered (eg. "Striptease" for wax services and "Baby Calm Down" for facial for sensitive skin).



Beauty & Butter at SM Mall of Asia

It was a very busy and stressful week at work so I was not surprised when I woke up with two annoying zits on my left cheek. I rarely get pimples nowadays so I figured that work stress is truly taking a toll on me. So I did what any sane woman would do, I booked myself a facial! I left work early tonight and had a relaxing and rejuvenating night to beat the stress away. I am not really a "girly" girl but I always give time to pampering myself by regularly getting facials, foot spas and massages.



Flawless Face and Beauty Clinic
Petron Bel-Aire Square

I went this evening to Flawless Face and Body Clinic at their Petron Bel-Aire Square branch along Makati Ave. It was the nearest branch from my office and I love that it has extended service hours up to 10:00 pm. It's perfect for women like me who cannot leave the office early. I chose Flawless because it's different from the other beauty services that abounds the metro. It's more of a medical clinic than a beauty salon or spa. For one, they call their clients as "patients" instead of customers. They also have in-house doctors whom you can consult first before availing any of the offered face, body or medical services. This is a plus for me because I'm quite iffy to try anything (even a simple cleansing facial) without a consult from a Dermatologist.

My biggest reward and claim this year (so far) was winning the Pond's 7-day Beauty Blog last July. I am not really into joining contests but there was something about it that made me do it. The novelty and excitement over winning already wore off and I actually forgot a bit about it; so I was quite surprised when I received an e-mail message from Unilever about the contest awarding.

The awarding was held at Taste Asia at SM Mall of Asia last Friday, October 3. It was a simple ceremony over a delicious lunch (the tempura of Taste Asia is really good!) with people from Unilever, their agency, and SM Hypermart in attendance. Aileen Apolo of Google Philippines and Xee, the other Pond's blog winner, were also there and I was really happy to finally meet them. I had fun and even made new acquaintances through the simple event.


Awarding with Unilever's Richie & Patrick, Aileen and SM people
I was so happy about the prizes! Since the contest and announcement happened way back in July, it somehow escaped me what I actually won. I was really overwhelmed when they gave me Php 4,000 ($86.00) worth of Gift Certificates from SM, Php 1,000 ($22.00) food card from Taste Asia, a Pond's Age Miracle Gift Pack (which I love) and a new swanky 16GB iPhone 3G! That's more than Php 50,000 worth of prizes! Not so bad for my on-line soundboard!

I would like to thank Pond's, Unilever, SM Hypermarket, Aileen (thanks also for the photo above), and to all my friends and colleagues for the support! Here's to brighter and younger days ahead of us with Pond's Age Miracle! :)

I intend to write a lengthy post about this but I am still loss for words.

I joined last month my Pond's 7-Day Beauty Blog contest sponsored by Pond's Age Miracle and SM Hypermarket (SM Mall of Asia)...and I WON! :)

Here's the announcement that was made yesterday:



Click this link to be redirected to the SM Hypermarket's blog where the announcement was made.

Thanks to Pond's, Unilever Philippines, SM Hypermarket and to Google Philippines' Aileen Apolo. Congratulations also to my fellow blogger, Xee, who won in the contest, too!

Muchas Gracias to my wonderful family, friends, colleagues and on-line buddies for the whole-hearted support! Here's to brighter and younger days ahead of us!

What a great way to start August 2008!

Aging came upon me through my vanity mirror middle of this year. For the first time, I noticed that fine lines and crow's feet were already creeping under my eyes and forehead. I realized that age is catching up on me, and I should get some NEW help since the anti-aging creams I used then look like it's not working.

I was looking for a new brand of creams when I saw Aileen's invite to Pond's A Taste of Beauty Event. I had fun at the event and, at the same time, learned more about its anti-aging product line called Pond's Age Miracle. I was wildly convinced by what I heard, so I tried the Daily Resurfacing Cream.

Here are the notes of my wonderful 7-day experience with Pond's:

DAY 1 - PEA SIZE
The first thing I noticed was its pleasant smell and shade of light pink. I put on a pea-size of cream and realized it was light on my skin and not greasy, unlike the others. I was also thankful that it has SPF, which helped me protect myself from the sun.

My good friend, Tin, and I went to the Pond's Blogger Event dubbed as "A Taste of Beauty" at Taste Asia at SM Mall of Asia last night. Tin and I arrived 8ish just in time for the program. We were immediately given roses and a trial pack of Pond's newest breakthrough in anti-aging called Pond's Age Miracle after we registered ourselves.



I often dine at Taste Asia whenever I'm at MOA so I was really amazed by the transformation that Unilever did with it. Gone are the orange walls and tables and it was replaced by pink and white sheets, cocktail tables with nice centerpieces, a Pond's Beauty Booth and a red carpet with velvet ropes and rose overdose. It was really grand!



The program was simple but fun. There were some singing, cool games and a couple of Pond's endorser-friends like Apples Aberin and Risa Samson were also there to answer questions on "beauty". There were so many bloggers who attended the event. There were so many familiar faces but all we did was smile and nod because everybody seems to know everybody and we are kinda shy. :)



The highlight of the night for me was when I had my skin consultation and analysis at the Pond's Beauty Booth. The result showed that I don't have problems concerning wrinkles and fine lines (Thank God). But the thing that I should take care of are some spots and uneven skin tones. The beauty consultant also suggested some Pond's products which would be able to help me in maintaining my skin's moisture and solve the uneven tones.



The event was also an educational one for me. I've been using anti-aging creams and serums since early this year. I had an epiphany one March morning when I realized that I should invest and use anti-aging creams NOW that I am nearing my 30's (or regret at 35 years old when I see the traces of wrinkles). I'm currently using a different brand but I've noticed that it's not effectively doing its job in the last few weeks. There were also several times when it made my face itchy. I think I need a switch and good thing I was given several information flyers and a trial kit last night by Pond's. I'm really interested in their Daily Resurfacing Cream, Concentrated Resurfacing Serum, and Advanced Microdermabrasion Kit (it's just like DIY microdermabrasion) which are all under the Pond's Age Miracle line. For the meantime, I will try the cream they gave me and will see about its 7-day beauty promise! :)

Thanks to Aileen Apolo and Unilever for the invite! We had fun!

[EDIT: I tried Pond's Age Miracle Daily Resurfacing Cream for 7 days and it's effective! View my blog entry about it here.]