Seer uhm...

Rating: 2/5

I tried this for three days and ended up getting a breakout. Now, I do not know if it was because of the excessive eating of mangoes because a Vietnamese friend said mangoes is a "warm" fruit hence, eating so much can cause you pimples, or if it was because of soh much stress in my previous trip that I got so much pimples. They were just popping everywhere. I stopped using this after three to four days I think.

Something that might have also caused it is the other serum that I used it with. You see, I ran out of my day moisturizer so I thought I could be a smarty pants and experiment and use the two moisturizing serums together. You must be saying what a dumb thing to do that was, so to be fair I plan to give this serum another shot. I am just gathering up my courage again. :)

This is a very light serum, it does not feel greasy at all, if anything, it really feels like water. The skin absorbs it right away. After which you can apply your moisturizer. It has no overpowering scent, it is virtually scentless or my olfactory sense is not working anymore. Packaging is very optimal, it does not even have a cap. It has a pump that you can lock so this will allow you to travel with it. It does not spill as well. Because it's a pump, it's pretty economical, just be sure that when you pump it the bottle is angled otherwise the serum drips all over the place. :)

My Murad derma recommended this to me two years ago, when she said that my skin is dry already from all the swimming that I was doing. I did not try it two years ago but bought the product and decided to try it just now. This is very pricey. It cost me 2K++ two years ago. *gasp!* I know, what was I thinking?!

I am not trying it out in the next 21 days though because I just got in to Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair Concentrate and I do not want to get in the way of its wonders.

Yesterday, I bought two beauty products. One of which, I am very, very happy with. The other, I will get to try today. I will be writing about them next time though as I need to get moving. Gotta work. :)

Balm, Balm, Balm

Rating: 5/5
I have been given a Murad Soothing Lip Therapy tube last Christmas for some services I have availed of in Murad. I just started using it last month and I must say, I am loving it. I like it better than Kiehl's granted that Kiehl's has SPF 15 and Murad does not.

I am not using the balm religiously but when I do get cracked, dry lips, I apply this tube of yellow gunk and voila, the following day, my lips are unbelievably smooth again! It's like magic. I like the formula because it's light. My lips get rashes. Yes. I know, I am weird like that but this formula does not cause me to rash so it's good enough for those who have sensitve puckers! Yey!

It does not have a scent and you can layer on top of it lipstick because when you put it on it's like a clear gloss.

The packaging is light and when you press it, it dispenses just the right amount! I am in love with a balm yet again! It's perfect for our rainy season when we tend to get cracked lips!

No Good Block

No not sunblock, site blocks.

I have not been able to blog because blogger.com was blocked from our office. After five requests, they have unblocked blogger.com *yehey*! And soh, am back! :)

I am happy to share that my skin is back to normal. In fact, I just had a Vitamin C facial at Murad just the other day and I was just told that my skin was a bit dry but apart from that there is nothing wrong with it.

The facial technician gave me a massage and my shoulder really hurt as she gave me a massage. She said it was because I am soh stressed. She thinks it's also the reason why my skin and even my lips (in spite, tons of water intake) are dry.

I love the smell of Murad facial during and after. :)

I think it's really a good deal to buy so many at once because you get to have a good price, it's almost less than 1K per facial.

I decided to give my husband one of my facials and eye treatments and he enjoyed it. I am not sure if his skin had adverse reactions yet but this morning, his skin had some pimples. I will check again later and update you. :) Next time, I have to ask the Murad people as to what type of treatment they gave him.

Tonight I might have a Lush bubble bath so I will tell you more about it later on. :)

I have also been doing fun runs lately. I am still at the 5 KM level. Hopefully, I will be able to move on to 10 Km someday. I have lost half an inch around my waist so I think it's good exercise. :)

Beauty Within

Sorry about slacking but I was away for a while because I had to attend a conference in Thailand, an hour from Bangkok. I spent my first three days there and my last three days I spent in Bangkok.

Knowing that I will be exposed to the sun most of the time and knowing that my skin will burn under the sun from walking too much, I brought along my Shiseido SPF 50 PA+++ however, I was to lazy to use some for my body *hehe*. I was assured though in knowing that I took a capsule of Murad's Pomegranate capsule that is supposed to enhance my skin's natural protection. Now whether it did work or not is not very obvious to me yet. One thing is for sure though, I will give it a shot.

After binging before, during and after my Bangkok trip, I think I have to hit the gym again and maybe the pool. Yep, after so many months of abstinence, I think I am hungry for chlorine again...

Hmm... I have to find all my swim gear. :)

Murad Facial

Rating: 5/5

Before I got married, I was so worried about looking good and so I decided to have facials. My face was a virgin. All my life I have been afraid of facials. I was afraid that I might have breakouts after I go to a facial session. I looked around and ended up at Rustan's Heaven on the Fifth. I surveyed all the places there and ended up choosing between Clarins Institute and Murad. Clarins was more expensive and the names of the facials were not very specific about the procedure unlike with Murad that explained what the facials were for and the potent ingredients. Plus, Murad's facials were cheaper.

They have existing packages already so I got that one for 6K, I think I got 7 facials and 2 eye treatments for free. I also got a nice 3-piece kikay bag which I find really useful for overnights for free.

During the course of my preparation for the wedding, they gave me first an AHA treatment which was for exfoliating the skin. The following week I got Vitamin C treatment for sun damage and for skin renewal as well. The following weeks were all Vitamin C. After that it was once a month. I got so used to the relaxing treatments that I missed my treatments after the first four weekly treatments. I wanted to come back right away but after the weekly treatments you are supposed to just have monthly treatments. I should have gone back already but I have not yet because I have been too busy. Now I go every two months.

They have a more attractive package now than when I got another package.

FACIAL TREATMENT PACKAGES
Vitamin C, Clarifying Enzyme, AHA Sensitive and AHA All Skin Types
Packages:

Service	Regular Price	Package Price	Savings
4 Facial Treatments	6,800	3,900	2,900
7 Facial Treatments	11,900	6,000	5,900
14 Facial Treatments	23,800	11,000	12,800
2 Redness Facial	3,800	1, 900	1,900
2 resurgence facial	3,800	2,400	1,400
2 Murad Classical	1,800	1, 100	700
3 Facial Treatments (AHA)	5,700	3,600	2,100

The ambience is really nice and the technicians are very gentle... well except for the part when they are cleaning your skin of white and black heads. :)

I have not experienced adverse effects while going through the facial. Also, they have a resident dermatologist who is available on certain days whom you can consult for free.

A treatment usually lasts an hour.


The telephone numbers of Murad are the following: Direct line: 816-1806 or Trunk Line: 813-3739 loc. 266

Hydra Complete Me

Rating: 3/5
When I bought an Idealist and ANR Eye Recovery Complex, I got for free two jars of Hydra Complete Multi-Level Moisture Creme, one small and one big. This smelled great and felt fabulous on my skin as I apply it. The texture is just wonderful. I wish I could say the same about the long term effect though.

The thing is, it did not do much for my dry skin. When I went to Murad, which I will also blog about next time, to have my skin checked by a resident dermatologist, she said that my skin is a bit dry. I knew that too, since the lines were starting to appear and I just turned 28! Okay, so maybe, partly I am to blame for not drinking enough water...

The nice thing about this product though is that it does not make my face shine like a greasy plate. Plus, it feels like it gets absorbed easily by the skin because the skin does not feel greasy for a long time. I apply sun block after moisturizer and after this, I can almost immediately get the sun block on my face.

I used this moisturizer on my wedding day and my makeup did not melt on my face though it was a really hot day. My face remained dewy.

The packaging is a jar which some people might find unhygienic. There are no special paraphernalia for applying this so essentially, you just stick you fingers into the jar and apply the glop directly on your face.

I did finish up my stock before I switched brands. I actually planned to get the very same jar when I considered the price. *grin* And of course the not-so-dramatic effect. And once more, my expectations were a tad bit too high for reality.

Result: Change was not very noticeable. Skin was not oily at all.