The Body Shop Pre-Holiday Sale

Ready, get set, shop! The Body Shop saves us from the holiday stress by giving us a super delightful treat - an early pre-holiday sale, which started yesterday (September 28 to October 25) in all branches nationwide!

Let's all take a look at the beauty buffet they have prepared for us! Your favorite fragrances, body butters, shower gels, hair care, and makeup products are up for grabs at super discounted prices.

Enjoy a buffet of sale items at Buy 1 at 20% off, Buy 2 at 30% off, Buy 3 at 40% off and Buy 4 at 50% off. So the more items you buy, the bigger the discount you'll get!

Giant bottles of their shower gels in best-selling scents like Strawberry, Satsuma, Moringa, and Olive are on sale at a standard discount of 40% off (even if you just buy 1 bottle). This is the perfect time to stock up!

Hard to find variants of fruity body butters such as Blueberry and Peach (which only pops out during special sales like this), plus tangy ones like Pink Grapefruit and Sweet Lemon are included in the sale! Highly moisturizing Vitamin E and Aloe Body Butters are also available.

And of course, let's not forget the Chocomania range of products, which was released earlier this year (for Valentine's Day). Check out my review of the Chocomania Body Butter here.

The entire Peach range is also on sale, including the Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Body Butter, and Body Mist. (This one is different from their Vineyard Peach range.) The Pomegranate Shower Gel and Body Polish smells nice and looks so festive in a deep shade of red!

The Body Shop's fragrances are also on sale! You can now collect the entire range of their Dreams Unlimited, White Musk Libertine, and/or Love Etc... range. Remember: the more you buy, the bigger the discount!

Various makeup products like foundation, eyeshadow, mascara, and lipgloss are also included in the sale.

Remember the Delipcious range of lipsticks and tinted lip balms? They're lippies that are made entirely from 100% food grade ingredients, and are now on sale at 70% off - a little over P200.00 a pop!

The entire Earth Lovers Shower Gel range and the amazing Body Butter Duo are also on sale!

Let's not forget their Rainforest Hair Care range - find your match as they have shampoos, conditioners, and hair butters for normal, dry, oily, and colored hair.

Here are some great skincare finds from their Vitamin E, Nutriganics, Aloe, Vitamin C, and Wise Woman range. Let's not forget the Chamomile Waterproof Eye Make-up Remover as a handy tool to remove stubborn mascara - no tugging required!

Something for the men in our lives - the Maca Root range of products are also on sale.

The ones that started it all - the Originals range! Check out my review of the Banana Conditioner here.

Wake up to a refreshing start with the Satsuma range! I love how zesty and energizing the scent of this range is. The Satsuma Body Polish and Satsuma Body Butter are must tries! If the scent fails to wake you up and make you smile in your morning shower, I don't know what else will.

If you're more of the tangy Pink Grapefruit type, you'll be delighted to know that the Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub and Pink Grapefruit Body Butter are also included in the sale. Grab both to experience fruity bliss!

Posh gift sets from their core fruity range and their fragrance sets are also on sale at 30% off!

Watch out for the weekly weekday specials, too. From Monday to Wednesday, Buy 1 and get the next item at 70% off on these items:

• Week 1 (October 1-3)- Gifts and Home Fragrance
• Week 2 (October 8-10)- Makeup and Skincare
• Week 3 (October 15-17)- Fragrance & Men's Items
• Week 4 (October 22-24)- Bath & Body Accessories

So much nice stuff to buy! It was so hard to choose which ones to get because I wanted them all! After much deliberation, I ended up getting the Rainforest Radiance Shampoo (P695.00), Conditioner (P695.00), and Detangling Spray (P750.00) for colored hair. Yes, I'm vain with my hair like that!

If these items weren't on sale, all these would have costed P2,140.00, but since I got 3 items, the entire bill was slashed 40% off = P1,284.00! Big savings, indeed!

The Rainforest range of hair care products is free from silicone, sulfates, colorants, and parabens, so they're absolutely gentle both for our hair and for marine life (as the water that goes down the drain when we shower goes to the bodies of water where aquatic creatures thrive). I'm so excited to try these out!

Aside from the Rainforest Radiance range which I picked out from the sale, The Body Shop was also super nice to include these in my loot! I've been using my favorite product from the All-In-One Makeup range - the All-In-One Face Base in 035 for almost 2 months now, and now I have a backup for when it runs out! ♥ The All-In-One Cheek Colour in 05 Bubblegum in a natural pink shade is absolutely perfect for everyday wear. This is the exact shade I would pick out among the 6 available shades. (The sweet people behind The Body Shop really know me well!) Last is the Vineyard Peach Body Lotion - smells like ripe, juicy, succulent peaches - just like the real thing! Thank you so much for these, The Body Shop!

Run to your nearest The Body Shop store to get the first dibs on their sale items! Bring your friends along so you could share the discount - the more the merrier! Don't say I didn't warn you when you walk out the store with bags full of beauty goodies. Now that's Christmas shopping made easy for you (and your wallet)!

Love,

Helen

Forever 21 Vanity Case

My previous makeup bag gave up on me after about 4 years. It was bursting at the seams and too small - no more space for new makeup. :O Last month, my sister gave me a new vanity case from Forever 21. I'm not really a fan of yellow, but look how pretty and sunny it is!

This is the exact type of makeup bag I wanted. I like the height of this one - my makeup (especially the bottles of foundations) stand upright so there won't be makeup spillage. The handle on top makes it easy to carry all my makeup in one go.

I love that it's big, but it doesn't have a single pocket or compartment in it, which could have been nice. I still love it though!

Come to think of it, I don't really have a lot of makeup. It's half full now, and there's a whole lot of room for more! ;)

Love,

Helen

Pre-Holiday Sale: Ensembles | Freeway | Solo

When it comes to Christmas shopping, the earlier the better! I'm not a fan of crowded malls and long checkout queues - things can get really crazy for last minute shoppers. One tip: Do it early, and do it smart!

Shop early with the PRE-HOLIDAY SALE of your fave brands Freeway, Ensembles and Solo! Be it for yourself or for your loved ones, you'll definitely find great deals with markdowns up to 70%OFF! Sale starts tomorrow September 27.

I'll make sure to put Ensembles, Freeway, and Solo in my "must visit" list when I head to the mall this weekend. You should too! Happy shopping! ;)

Love,

Helen

AcneCare Lactoferrin: Heal Acne From Within

Battling acne is no easy feat. I have had my share of occasional acne breakouts throughout my teenage years. I've always thought that once I hit my 20s, I would get over that stage already and start having effortlessly clear skin, but no. Maybe it's because of my oily skin, the pollution in the city, and even the makeup I use that I still get that occasional pimple. It took me lots of products (a couple of which were trial and error) until I found the skincare routine that worked for my skin.

Acne treatment usually begins with topical medications such as salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, followed by oral antibiotics, and isotretinoin (or more commonly known as Roaccutane) as a last resort (due to potential side effects and high cost).

With this, I'd like to share with you an alternative medicine that would allow you to heal acne from within, naturally. Vida Nutriscience brings to us a new way to treat acne by healing it from within with AcneCare. AcneCare is the first oral anti-acne dietary supplement in the Philippines, and what makes it good is that it's made of natural ingredients with no side effects.

AcneCare Lactoferrin

AcneCare combines three potent skin medicine to bring you Acne3 Complex.

Lactoferrin is naturally produced by the body as part of its immune mechanism. The highest concentration can be found in mother’s first milk (colostrum). Lactoferrin has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-allergic, and even anti-cancer properties. Increasing the amount of Lactoferrin in your diet targets the causes of acne from within, without the risk of triggering allergies brought about by topical acne treatments.

LinumLife* is extracted from flax, a plant rich in lignans. When ingested, LinumLife is converted into our body’s own lignans which controls the level of the male hormone testosterone, which would then lead to less sebum or oil on the skin surface.

Zinc* increases the body’s production of collagen, boosts the immune system, and controls the levels of male hormones. Zinc helps repair broken skin, controls premature aging, prevents breakouts, and lessens oil-production.

*Given that these ingredients control the level of testosterone in one's body, AcneCare can still be taken by both men and women.

What's nice about AcneCare is that since it is taken orally, it works from the inside in reducing acne not just on the face, but all over the body. It also targets body acne (like bacne) and adult acne. The active ingredients in AcneCare are clinically tested and proven to reduce blemishes, redness, and oiliness. Blemishes are decreased by 44% in as little as 2 weeks, 71% in 4 weeks, 95% in 8 weeks. When it comes to taking care of the skin, consistency is the key in order to see results.

Each bottle of AcneCare is priced at P855.00 (30 capsules) and is good for 2 weeks. You can find AcneCare in Lazada.

Love,
Helen

#MyrtleforLolita Grand Launch

When you hear the word "Lolita", what comes to your mind?

For me, it's the Lolita fashion that originated from Japan - pretty, doll-like get-ups that cute Japanese girls wear on a typical day. While the Philippines has yet to embrace Lolita fashion, a good way to ease into the trend is thru fragrances!

Last week, I had the chance to attend the press launch of Lolita, the newest, freshest line of fragrances from Beauty Elements Ventures Inc. (BEVi), which is also the makers of Kojie.san.

The venue was decorated with a pretty pink theme, and it looked pretty much like a girly-girl's debut party.

Check out this cute centerpiece that prettified every table in the room!

Before the event started, a sumptuous meal was served. Since I am a sucker for sweets, I was automatically drawn to the dessert table. Chocolate fountain, marshmallows, fruits, cheesecake squares, and a very pretty cupcake stand with pink cupcakes - the works! But all these were just sweet teasers to what was in store for us that night.

This was part of the stage display. So cute! I wish I also had this in my room.

This was the stage where Lolita's darling new endorser emerged. I'm sure everyone is very familiar with Myrtle Sarrosa, fresh from being the Big Winner from Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition 4!

Myrtle emerged from the mini-house first as a sweet lolita, with lovely blonde hair and a fluffy pink dress. After a few seconds, she did a lightning-fast costume change and came out to this sweet and simple (but definitely pretty) look!

There couldn't be a more perfect endorser for the brand than Myrtle. Throughout her stay in the Pinoy Big Brother house, she has proved that it does not only take beauty but also brains to emerge as a winner. Myrtle has so many facets of her life, as a cosplayer, host, singer, actress, and politician - a good example of a very well-rounded lady.

Lolita is actually Myrtle's very first endorsement. When asked whether she had second thoughts on saying yes to the brand, she enthused that she didn't have any second thoughts. She felt that the brand was made for her. The brand name itself "Lolita" was also close to her heart. She taught us the difference of cosplay and lolita fashion - that in cosplay you'd have to copy an anime character, but in lolita fashion you can wear whatever you want - expressing yourself thru clothes that make you stand out.

There are many different was to express ourselves, and one way I like the most is thru scents! Lolita has 6 different standout scents ranging from floral to fruity, and everything in between. For sure, there is a Lolita for every kind of girl and personality. Myrtle's favorite scent among the range is actually Cospink - and she wears this scent every time she cosplays. (I'm guessing this scent will sell like hotcakes!)

Presenting the sweetest and prettiest press kit I have ever seen! The CD looks like real candy, and there are 6 Lolita postcards in it showing the different, playful sides of Myrtle. (Watch out for my next post for that!)

The Lolita line of fragrances has 6 scents to suit your every mood:

Rouge (flirty femme)

Fantasy (fresh and breezy)

Fairy (tutti fruity)

Cospink (simply saccharine)

Cali (audaciously floral)

Chick (delicately warm)

Compared to other colognes with 2-3% fragrance, Lolita contains 5% fragrance, which makes the scent last longer throughout the wear. No need to reapply every so often, as the scents do last long. They have also used the highest quality of alcohol as part of the ingredients. Surprisingly, each bottle of Lolita has an affordable price of only P96.00/100ml bottle. Lolita is available in all Watsons, Mercury Drug, Robinsons Supermarket and Department Stores nationwide.

I will go with the in-depth description for each scent in another post, so do watch out for that. Also, do show Lolita some love by liking their page on Facebook (Lolita) and following them on Twitter (Lolita_PH).

Which Lolita are you? I think I'm torn between Fairy and Cospink. :)

Love,

Helen

Green Tea Ice Cream Oreo

My friend came back from China and got me this as pasalubong - Green Tea Ice Cream Oreos! Amazing how they come up with so many different flavors in other countries. The ones we have here are just the vanilla, chocolate, choco-peanut butter duo, and the blueberry ice cream (which was discontinued).

The cream has a cooling sensation that simulates ice cream. I like it a lot! Well, it's green tea, so what's not to like? It's really good and I wish we had this here in the Philippines.

What's your favorite Oreo? :D

Love,

Helen

Snoe Item of the Month: September 2012

Here's a quick update! Get a free sample of Snoe's Nectarine Ginger Tea fragrance with every purchase for the entire month of September. (I hope this becomes a monthly thing! Haha)

Snoe Body Ritual Recipes Scrumptious Body Spritz in Nectarine Ginger Tea

I bought my third bottle of Snoe Star Night Star Bright Night Perfecting Toner in Landmark Trinoma and got this cute little freebie! (I love this toner to bits and have been promoting it to my friends like crazy. It really is my magic pimple-zapping potion!)

Enjoy your freebies! I'm liking the zingy scent of Nectarine Ginger Tea, but sweet Vanilla Bean and Butterscotch is still my favorite. :)

Love,

Helen