Essie Spa Manicure and Pedicure at the Nail Spa

At the newly renovated Nail Spa in Shangri-la Mall, I had the chance to try the Essie Spa Manicure and Pedicure. It's basically a hand and foot spa using Essie products with a hydrating mask.

First, my hands and feet were soaked in warm bubbly water. The Essie soak had a lovely scent that brought me to visualize being in a sunny beach like Boracay. I couldn't really identify the scent and I didn't bother to ask lest my fantasy be disturbed. To continue with my Boracay-esque fantasy, my arms and legs were scrubbed thoroughly. This was a finely grained scrub reminiscent of the white sands of Boracay (hey it's my fantasy). It's not as finely grained as a facial scrub like Clinique's 7 Day Scrub (super good), but a good body scrub nonetheless. It's not a scrub for sissies and the therapists (technicians?) didn't have to scrub hard and long to exfoliate my skin. It had the same scent as the soak but don't worry, I didn't imagine rolling around in the Boracay sand - OA na yon!

A greenish clay-like mask was then applied on all the extremities and was left to do its magic while my nails were thoroughly cleaned and prepared for polish. Therapists Rose and Leona listened and cleaned my nails within my boundaries (cutting cuticles on the fingernails were not allowed except for toenails). After rinsing all the mask, my arms and legs were given a massage. It was supposed to be 15 minutes for the arms and 20 minutes for the legs but I didn't time it. Finally, the polish proper included applying a base coat, two coats of polish (I chose to have: a single coat of a beige-y sheer polish from MAC with an Essie sheer pink polish on top), and a top coat. I wanted to try the pink over beige look which I read from a magazine. The results were ok, maybe I should've chosen a slightly more opaque beige topped with the sheer pink polish for that pinkish beige effect (which I could actually just find in one bottle I suppose but gusto ko eh ;p ).

Over all, I was happy with the service. I loved the scrub the most as I now have super soft and smooth arms and legs. The massage though was ok as I have a theory that the best hand and foot massages are still from the 'massage' spas as opposed to the nail centers' massages. I also don't relax while I have my nails done. I am hypervigilant when it comes to pedicures since I developed an ingrown toe nail after a pedicure from one of the branches of a popular chain of beauty salons.

The Nail Spa still has the best manicure and pedicure in my opinion. It is their specialty and the ambience coupled with the skill of the nail therapists do make it a luxurious experience (hence the equally luxurious price). Also, I love the Essie top coat as it keeps my nails looking shiny and new even if it's more than a week (bad I know, don't let the polish stay too long ladies to keep your nails from turning yellow). They also have a wide range of top polish brands from the lates collections to choose from aside from Essie - MAC, OPI, Orly, China Glaze, Shu Uemura, Chanel, etc. I saw a lot of black, orange, and purples - maybe next time!

For more information and menu of services please visit nailspa.com.ph
(for some reason, I can't figure out how to create a link in the reviews section of multiply)


THE NAIL SPA
5/f Shangri-La Plaza
Edsa corner Shaw Blvd.
Mandaluyong City
6874991 or 6877011

PS. Forgot to let you know that since the Essie Spa Manicure and Pedicure are part of the range of premium services offered at the Nail Spa, you get a free basic nail care kit which includes a nail file and an orange stick.

Labello Sun Vs Nivea Lip Care Sun

I first read about Labello many years ago at one of the fashion magazines. The author claimed that she would hoard sticks of Labello lip balm each time she would go to Europe. So when I finally had two lip balms in the regular blue and the sun with spf 25, I was so happy. It is unlike any other balms I have tried. It seems to melt on my lips as I put it on. It was not sticky or waxy like regular chapsticks.


So when I finished my blue Labello, I started using the sun variant in its yellow case. As you can see from the photo above, the print is fading and the balm is almost gone. I was looking for a substitute when I discovered that its German manufacturer Beiersdorf is the same company that makes Nivea Lip Care. All this time, Labello's equivalent has been in my country for maybe more than 10 years! I had tried its lip products years ago but I don't remember if it had impressed me. So I decided to buy Nivea Lip Care in Sun with SPF 30 as back up when my Labello has finally bid goodbyes to my lips.
Here is the sun care variants of both Labello and Nivea Lip Care. Packaged in a white base with different shades of yellow caps, the balm's color and consistency is obviously different. Nivea has a yellowish balm while Labello has a translucent white color. The scent of both is a bit familiar. The texture of Nivea is less smooth and is firmer than Labello and doesn't melt on the lips like Labello's. Perhaps the company has adjusted its formula for tropical countries, as the Labello lip balm quickly softens in hot temperatures. Nonetheless, Nivea's lip care has improved (compared to the lip balm I tried years ago) as it softly glides on my lips unlike other balms like Burt's Bees which needs some pressure to apply. What a relief! I'm glad to have found a substitute to my Labello. I checked on the web and a stick of Labello is around $7-8 which is more expensive than Nivea Lip Care (around $2). I can't wait to try the other versions including goodnight kiss to moisturize the lips during sleep.

My Wonderful World of Colors: Mineral Makeup (MMU) 101

My Wonderful World of Colors: Mineral Makeup (MMU) 101

Gale from the beauty blog called My Wonderful World of Colors created a wonderful post for those who are just discovering Mineral Makeup like I am. Please click the link and learn.
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The first time I heard of MMUs was Philosophy's the Supernatural Airbrushed Makeup. I had wanted to try it but it was priced at around Php 2,600 (about $50+) and I didn't want to spend that much on some powder. The next brand I discovered was ID Bare Escentuals but since it wasn't available I didn't really think much about it. Although I did look it up online and at the time, I couldn't understand why everything from the primer, foundation, to the setting veil were all in powdered form.

I only got to know what mineral makeup is when I started browsing and reading through beauty blogs. From what I've read, MMUs are good even for those with problematic, acne-prone, and sensitive skin as it has no preservatives and additive chemicals. That's not all, MMU has its own application process or as I call it "MMU ritual". It also calls for a dense brush such as a kabuki or flat top brush. You then just "buff" it on instead of merely brushing it onto the face.

I have tried Monave and Lauress but my face itched. So I rested my face and stopped using them. I tried Lauress MMU today over a primer (Monistat anti-chafing gel that a lot of girls are using) and so far no itch. Maybe a primer is really all I need to be able to use MMUs. I'm still on a search for the right MMU for me that would not cause a reaction and perform just as well with or without a primer.

I Want!

This and this....


Check out other school shirts here.

Clarins Instant Beauty Perfectors Starter Kit

My recent fascination with make up has made me realize that I am not as young as I think I am. For instance, I noticed that I have more lines around my eye area and that I have a laugh line on the left side of my face that stays even if I am not smiling. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that there is a foundation primer that minimizes pores and reduces lines on the face - Clarins' Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. I wanted to have it at once but I hesitated to buy it as our local department store was selling it for about Php 2,600 (about $50 at the current exchange rate). Compared to the online rate of $28 at the Clarins website, I think it is too much considering that similarly priced Clarins products (based on their website) are priced lower. I guess these smart local distributors know that ISPT is a wonderful product that really works. So I decided to take my time before deciding to buy it here or ordering online.




While visiting our local Clarins counter, today I was glad to see my favorite SA. I wanted to know more about another product from Clarins' Instant Beauty Perfectors line when she informed me that they have a travel set of the IBPs on sale. My eyes widened when I recognized the set from their website. With the 40% discount, the sale price would be about $30- the same price it is sold at their online store (without shipping fees). Plus, they were giving away their new single colour eyeshadow as a GWP. Yay! I didn't mind purchasing the travel sizes as I wanted to try them first before buying full sizes. I didn't want to spend so much and then break out later.



The cute silver purse contained travel sizes of the following:
Instant smooth perfecting touch,
Instant light complexion perfector,
Instant light natural lip perfector,
Instant light perfecting touch,
Wonder volume mascara.



Freebie (GWP) : Full size single eye colour in 04 Lovely Rose.

I will do reviews once I have tried them all.