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Riane's Review: Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub

You may be asking me, why would I review something that has been reviewed a hundred times by other bloggers?  Well, my answer would be.. “Don’t you want to read what’s my take on it?  I blog/ I’ll blog about product/s that I believe in.” So, that’s it.. Read along! J

Product Description:

Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub is a beauty treatment inspired by the most luxurious Javanese ritual called Lulur. The ritual was originally intended for the bride-to-be in order to beautify, smoothen, and whiten her skin before her wedding day.

Lulur originated from the royal palaces of Java, Indonesia and products inspired by this traditional treatment are still used by Indonesian women today.

Asian Secrets Lulur Body Scrub Variants (Available in 250g and 135g)
-Green Tea and Vitamin E
-Licorice and Mulberry
-Seaweed and Vitamin E

How did I found out about this product? Well, let’s just say that I always pass along the streets surrounding UNILAB and all their gates were all covered with Solenn Heussaff endorsing this product plus the catch phrase, “Puting Walang Tinatago”. J Who wouldn’t want that, right? Lol

I am very excited to give it a try since summer left me with uneven skin tone on arms and legs, plus, I want to improve my overall complexion.

And so I searched the web for this and found lots and lots of reviews about it.  Some were even posted last 2010 and honestly, it gave me second thoughts if I should also write about it?  What’s nice about this is that it can be found almost anywhere, drugstores, supermarkets and the like.  I bought the Licorice and Mulberry variant in 250g.

The “How to use the product” says that it should be applied on a dry skin and so I did.  I applied it all over my body, starting from my feet upwards. It says that it can be applied in areas that are prone to darkening like the armpits, knees, elbows and skin between the thighs.  The beads were fine and I find it NOT too harsh on the skin, it is sweet smelling too.  I have used it for three (3) consecutive days, as it says that it is safe for daily use.  Washing it off takes some time, if you’re familiar with Dove’s effect on wet skin, I can resemble it to that and that’s fine with me. Oh, by the way, I leave it on my skin for about 2-3 mins before rinsing it off.  After bathing, my skin felt smooth but I still applied on my favorite Dove soap in regular and applied my lotion as well.

This is how it looks like when applied to the skin.

My tub almost empty. 

I have observed that it is a non-drying type of scrub, which I love! J What I don’t like about it is that on my third day of use,  tiny red marks appeared on my right arm.  But hey, maybe I over-scrubbed a bit.  I asked Hubby, what can he say about my skin? Did it somehow lightened my skin?  He said that it is smooth and my overall complexion lightened for about 15%.  But since I cannot use it everyday because my skin tends to get red after using it daily then I am going to use it once or twice a week so that I could get rid of the impurities in my skin.

Will I be buying it again?  DEFINITELY.. For a price of P130 for a 250g, it is a steal!  The product really works specially on the smoothing part but the lightening, well, you really have to use it regularly to see its effect!

How about you, have you tried this scrub? Was it effective? Please feel free to share your experience. J

Of Damaged Hair and Reviving It Back

My recent trip to a local salon had been the main reason for my hair to be damaged.  I took their promo then, a P999.00 for a rebond of any length + hair cellophane.  After the treatment, my hair became brittle, thus causing it to break.  I had split ends and my hair became super dry and not smooth at all.  I have no choice but to cut it a little shorter.  It took me months before I realized that I think I should also change the hair products I’m using.  I bought Sunsilk Co-Creations Damage Repair Shampoo, Cream Silk reConstruct Damage Control Conditioner and Cream Silk Precision Repair Treatment (a weekly hair treatment), in hopes that I would be able to revive my hair back without having have to spend more.  

(This is me, look at the ends of my hair.. It looks dry & may resemble a broomstick. LOL)

I have learned my lesson and I think I need NOT state that anymore. J  I’ll keep you posted if all of the products I’ve stated were effective with my damaged hair.

How about you? Have you experienced the same? Please feel free to share yours and what did you do to revive it back?

Grace Island Resort, Occ. Mindoro

This’ll be my first blog ever and it’ll be about my recent travel to Occ. Mindoro last April 25-28, 2012.  This trip is actually all about business, since we facilitated a team building activity for a government office in San Jose.  We took a flight via Air Philippines 2P 0041 bound for San Jose at 5:20am on Wednesday/ April 25, 2012. Inside the plane, I couldn’t find myself to sleep even if we woke up at around 2am just to be at the NAIA Terminal 3 at least 2 hours before our scheduled flight. I peeked at the window’s plane, trying to figure out where we were. .  Are we on top of the Taal Lake? LOL.. That I don’t know.. But it seems that we were during this shot. ;)

We arrived at San Jose & were fetched by the office staff assigned.  

We stayed at Villa Paulina Garden Resort at Brgy. Bubog, San Jose.  The place is okay, since it is located along the shorelines.

 

We had a nice room, good air-conditioning, cabled channels – okay, but the water that runs through their faucets has this certain smell when you open it. Maybe because the water is somehow mixed with sea water? But after a few minutes of letting the water flow, the smell would definitely go away (or maybe you’re already immune to it? Lol)

They offer the regular breakfast, Tap-Si-Log [Tapa (beef) + Sinangag (Fried Rice) + Itlog (Fried Egg)], Bang-Si-Log [Bangus (Fried Boneless Milk Fish + Sinangag (Fried Rice) + Itlog (Fried Egg)], and the like, all served with your choice of coffee or tea.  The service is okay, the staffs are friendly & very accommodating.

For the whole solid two-days, we had full of activities that make us all tired by the end of the day. But I can say that we have learned lots of things while on it!  By Friday, we were all treated for an Island Adventure at the Grace Island Resort.  It is an hour boat ride from Aroma Beach.  

You will pass this small rock formation that has been used by the Grace Island Resort as their symbol.

When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted with a band playing diff. kinds of songs plus a cold drink (strawberry juice).  It was a very hot day.  

You can see cottages floating atop the sea water and beneath were different kinds of fishes.

Hubby & I got to roam around the whole island and what we surprised us is that there’s a sandbar.

They have mini zoo were you can see birds, alligators & monkeys.  Zip Line is also available.

The view from the top is more awesome.  The sea color had all shades of blue to bluish-green.  It is so nice that the sweat we’re having is almost forgotten.

We got to try the pedal boat and the kayak, which actually was my first! It was a nice experience.

It was all FUN! :D

If you'll plan to go here, I will be giving you some tips for you to have a more enjoyable stay here.

• Air Philippines, Philippine Airlines and Zest Air have regular flights from Manila (MNL) to San Jose (SJI).
• Check the website of the said resort for further info and if you're lucky, you might find discounts as well.
• Bring your own bottled/ mineral water.  FYI:  Grace Island Resort doesn't have there own source of fresh water in the island, all the water you'll be using were all brought to the island through containers.  So please, try to save water while in there.
• I couldn't think of anything more except for this last item I want you to NOT forget.  Bring your sunblock! :)
• And of course, ENJOY! :)