Rating: 3/5
You know how certain scents trigger memory?

The Olive Dry Oil Mist of The Body Shop did just that for me. Some of my friends hate the scent but I just love it. I was not able to empty my bottle though because with this oil mist, you really have to wait a while for it to dry otherwise it may just ruin your clothes.

I can't say much about the moisturizing effects because I do not think it did much to moisturize my skin. Then again this was a time when I was swimming three times a day, one hour each.

Still, the scent makes it worth trying. The packaging used to be really nice too so though mine is almost never used (except when I want to massage my skin with warm oil), keep it because the packaging is really nice.

Born Lippy

I have been a fan of lip products for a long time now. One Christmas I was given a Strawberry flavored Born Lippy of The Body Shop. I love the scent and the texture. This is not as heavy as the Vitamin E lip balm that they have. It also comes in a round packaging. I liked the gloss it gave me however, the moisturizing effect lacked and so I did not get addicted to this gloss.

I later discovered Ilog Maria and I have been a convert ever since. Until, it was hard for me to order from Ilog Maria so now I use Kiehl's. I am planning to go back though. :)

If you love the Strawberry scent and your lips are not dry anyway, you might as well try Born Lippy. They have the yummiest smell!!!

Mask the Face

Rating: 4/5
I have not fixed the St. Ives post on the hot oil treatment and I promise to fix that hehe... It is just that I have been very busy with other personal things. Serious personal things that I am not ready to share about yet. I will soon though.

Anyway, I have been trying to post about this for the longest time. I bought my loot from Taipei long before this product came out here in the Philippines. Of course, I could not use it right away because the instructions were in Chinese *wahaha*. It's the Oil of Olay Total Effects Facial Mask. I had to research about it on the Internet and found out I was supposed to wear this for 15 minutes and that I am supposed to use this where there is no "pollution?!". It took a while before I finally used this and it left my skin fairer (which I did not particularly like, remember I am paranoid about getting melanoma from sun exposure!) and it left my skin soft and moisturized. I found out last week from a sales lady that it is better if you will use this consecutively so you can see the effects.

I am not sure if this really is the case since I only use mine when I have the time to just lie down still for 15 minutes, that or whenever I want to scare my husband off. *wahaha!* He kept teasing me about it, he said I would not need a mask for halloween if I were to wear the facial mask.

I still have some masks from my trip to Taipei, not because I do not like this facial mask but because I simply cannot lie down still for 15 minutes. I am that restless!

Come Sale-ing Away

Okay, my last post on the St. Ives' hot oil treatment was not as clear as I intended to be. I guess I was too busy that day. No, I was not drunk. :) That's bad for the skin and mine is bad as it is already *wahaha*!

I am posting today to announce that there's a sale going on all over Rustan's. This time, no need to overpopulate the top floor because the items are all over Rustan's. Their sale is from today 'til the 21st. I was a tad bit disappointed though when I found out Michael Kors and Kate Spade had theirs since January 2 so most of my crushes were gone. Perhaps for my own sake. *grin*

I saw a crushable Kate Spade that was 25% off. I resisted the urge because the discount was a little more than 1000 Php and the size of the bag is not really for me. It had 14K gold coated hardware though. I also did not like the patent leather handle. Anne Klein is also on sale, found a bag that was 6K it was nice but I did not like most of its material. The handles were leather though which was good. Fendi was also on sale, items were 45% off. Ferragamo is also on sale (just 25% off though), Tiffany & Co. is not having a sale though, boo! Once more, this is for the benefit of my savings.

Le Sportsac was on sale and there were bags that were 50 off so I got myself one *sheepish grin*. I mean, I can turn it into a diaper bag later on when I have my baby *wahaha* hubby always falls for this excuse *ssshhhh*. My 13.3" laptop would fit nicely too so that I can bring it and no one has to know it's a laptop.

There are more items on sale so if you want to find out more about the sale, what are you waiting for?

Go to Rustan's! Happy Shopping! :)

Hot Hair

Rating: 4/5

So you do not think that I am all biased with St. Ives, they do have a project that I liked. It's not for the skin mind you but for the hair. As to why I have stopped using this, I really do not know. I guess my mom just stopped buying the stuff and so I stopped using it and forgot to get back to the program when I started earning my own money.

This treatment though requires that you have more time bathing than usual. The nice thing about this is, once more, it's cheap and can be bought from supermarkets. It comes in three tubes per pack and one tube is good for one treatment so after using, you just conveniently toss it out. No need to make sure it's not dripping all over your bathroom.

While using this you will have a nice, relaxing, tingling sensation on your scalp so that you get relaxed while your hair gets treated as well.

Eyes, Eyes Baby

Rating: 2/5

St. Ives products are very attractive because they are cheap and most of the time, when you read the packaging it promises you a lot of things. I do not know if their products worked for you and if it is just my skin that is not cooperating.

I have tried the Cucumber Eye Gel of St. Ives and while it did not give me a break out, it really did not do anything for puffy eyes. It was a bit of a disappointment for me still even though I did not really shell out much. It did give me a soothing, cool feeling around my eyes though, I have to give this product at least that.

I have also tried those filled masks that you put in the ref and you put on top of your eyes, I think this worked better than St. Ives.

I have a friend who bought the same product and ended up using this product as a shower gel *hehe*, at least their products are versatile. *grin*

I still think that the best way to make sure your eyes do not become puffy after crying, do not rub your eyes, just pat your cheeks dry and wash your face after. Puffy eyes in the morning will still be puffy so make sure you get enough sleep if your eyes are always puffy whether you cry or not.

Scrubadabadoo!!!

Rating: 3/5
Since I am into talking about scrubs right now, I might as well talk about another scrub I have tried and did not like unfortunately. I do not recommend this to be applied on your skin although I know quite a few people using this. I think I had a minor breakout when I tried this and so, as a resolution, I am not trying this again... on my face. I used my entire tub on my body instead. *grin*

It's mild enough for sensitive skin on the body so you can do this every other day. It has nice round grains and the smell, though am not a big fan of it is tolerable. This has different beads so you are sure to have different levels of exfoliation.

The nice thing about this is that it is cheap and easy to find. This is available in most drug stores and supermarkets. :) If this works for your face then good for you, if it doesn't you can always use it for your body.

Written on Sandstone

Rating: 4/5
I have confessed my addiction to Lush products before and one of the products that I really loved and benefited from (apart from Dream Cream) is a a yellow soap with a lemon scent that has sand on the other end of the bar. Yes, you heard me right, sand. Not as fine as Bora's, it as fine as ground Graham crackers, it has about the same color too. I am talking about none other than Lush's Sandstone!

The soap doubles as an exfoliator, not for all parts of the body though. This scrub is particularly for your buttocks (for the baby smooth skin :) ), elbows, knees, etc.. I do not want to overload you on personal information but I find that this works. I would like to warn you though, do not overuse the soap as it can dry your skin. If you do, moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. It will leave your skin squeaky clean which to me means dry. I really observed how dry my skin felt after consecutive washes. I love, love the lemon scent though *hehe* now I know how plates feel *wide grin*!

As all other Lush soaps, this is sold by the gram and well, it's a bit on the pricey side. Then again, this is not the kind of soap you will use everyday. :)

Just a bit of trivia, in Brazil, women keep their skin soft and smooth by using sand to polish their skin. :)

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

Rating: 3/5
I have just come from a seminar and it was a bit draining for all of us *hehe*, sometimes I feel it's easier to talk than to listen. I was not born to listen, I fear. As I was zoning out of the seminar, I was wondering what I should review today. I just remembered that I also had a love affair with scrubs, well, it was more of like a fling actually.

One of the scrubs I have tried in the past is The Body Shop Almond Body Scrub. This does not have a delicious smell but it said on the container that it was supposed to be moisturizing. Scrubbing can cause your skin to dry so if your skin is already to dry, stay away first. I got this but later on realized that I should not have. I found out, after I bought it that the ideal grains for a scrub should be round, and this scrub in particular do not have round grains or beads.

I noticed that it dries my skin and I had to be gentle in applying it lest I will hurt my self. I have not finished this scrub to this day. It has been sitting in our bathroom for years now, gathering sedimentary who-knows-what.

The Mango Scrub smells delish and if the grains are round, you might want to try this out.

More scrubs next time. :)

Cheap and Chic Sunblock

Rating: 4/5
The vacation was refreshing and yet tiresome as well... I have been up to so many things *hehe* details here.

Anyhoo, because I have been moving from one place to another, my patch test on the Stri-Vectin was interrupted. I have not resumed again. Boo! I will try to get back to it tonight.

I know I have posted here my most fave brand of sun block Shiseido but before I met Shiseido, I was content with the L'oreal UV Perfect SPF 50 sun block. It is not water proof and so when you sweat it goes with the sweat. The tinted version has a dewy finish so you look a tad bit shiny but I liked the glow it gave me. I do not remember what this smells like so if it did have a scent it would be tolerable. The packaging is light and simple. To dispense, you simply have to push the container.

This sun block is so much cheaper than Shiseido but it lasts only two to three months. I cannot remember how much it was exactly but this was a couple of years ago so it does not matter.