Zen Zest at 15 + My Favorites!

Zen Zest celebrated their 15th anniversary last Monday with a fragrance bar + shopping party. I'm so grateful to be part of this celebration, because I got to experience and rediscover the brand and the very inspiring story behind it.

Michelle Asence-Fontelera started Zen Zest in 2001. It was the time when she noticed how expensive imported bath and body products were, and that no local brands provided the same good quality at affordable prices. For 3 months, she trained under a chemist and formulated her own products. Her first batch of colognes, hand sanitizers, lotions, perfumes, and soaps were all concocted and packaged at home. With a capital of P350,000, she was able to open her first humble Zen Zest kiosk in SM Megamall, and earned exactly P4,178 on her first day of business.

From that one small kiosk, look how huge of a business Zen Zest now is - with over 100 outlets nationwide and abroad. They've also expanded their product line with body scrubs, home fragrances, and baby colognes!

Le Petit Souffle in Century City Mall is also quickly becoming a favorite venue for kikay events. The place is so pretty and the food is so good! I've only been to this French-Japanese restaurant twice, but it's enough for me to fall in love with it. Let the shopping party begin! 

First stop: Home scents

Aromatherapy

Zen Zest's Aromatherapy range is comprised of 3 themes: Sleep, Energy, and Uplift - each necessary to our all over well-being.

Sleep

Calming lavender and primes your body for relaxation.

The perfect winding down companion for a deep, relaxing sleep.

The night before this event, I couldn't sleep! I slept past 1AM despite my 8AM class schedule, so when I saw this I knew I had to get it. This one's my favorite variant from Zen Zest's Aromatherapy range. 

Energize

Energizing grapefruit essence recharges the body, and gets you ready for the next activity. The perfect booster for both mind and body.

I like light citrus scents, but not the too strong or tangy ones. When I first saw this, I thought I won't like it, but I ended up liking the Aroma Oil in Energize! It has a strong, piercing citrusy scent that makes me...HAPPY! It's weird, I can't explain why. I don't think I'd like my room to smell like citrus, but the small roll-on is very nice to have. 

Uplift

The perfect mid-day treat for your body. Achieve harmony for the body, mind, and spirit with this stimulating blend of orange and eucalyptus. Productivity stems from feeling good.

I'm biased towards anything with a "minty" feel. Zen Zest's Uplift range contains orange and eucalyptus oils. My sister has home service massage every Tuesday night, so I'm giving the Zen Zest Aromatherapy Massage Oil in Uplift to her. It's a nice, refreshing change to her usual Efficascent Oil. (Can't deny that spa-like feel with this one!)

Prices:

• Room Spray - P250
• Linen Spray - P250
• Massage Oil - P220
• Fragrance Oil - P150
• Roll-on - P120 

Home Fragrance

These are best-sellers in every Zen Zest store and even during the event. (I ran out of my top picks here, so I got scents from other categories instead.) The Anti-Mosquito is very practical and explanatory. Nobody likes dengue! The Cabinet Deodorizer is a winner. It takes away stuff kulob closet smell, even from your ukay finds! Nobody smokes at home, so I wasn't interested in the Anti-Tobacco variant. (I hope the smoking ban begins now.) The last and my favorite is the Kitchen Fragrance, not because I cook but because it smells like Starbucks! It's not only for the kitchen. ;) 

Prices:

• Air Purifier Kit - P1,500
• Fragrance Blend - P500
• Diffuser - P400
• Anti-Mosquito/Anti-Tobacco/Kitchen/Cabinet Deodorizer- P300 (300ml) & P150 (150ml)

Next stop: Personal scents

Eau de Toilette

Zen Zest has so many choices in their Eau de Toilette range! For the EDT, Tangerine is a forever favorite of EVERYBODY! It's a universally appealing scent. My blogger friends kept raving about it during their event, saying it's their favorite from their high school days. I might have been living under a rock, since it's my first time to smell it. MY MY! I love it as well, and I'd use it even if I'm way over my tweetums stage. REVIEW SOON! :D I also got the EDT in Coral and Cobalt (for Panda)!

Prices:

• Eau De Toilette - P230
• Eau De Parfum - P340
• Eau De Cologne - P100
• Cocktail Body Spray - P180

Classic Collection

Classic Body Spray - P200

Classic Body Wash - P140
 

Classic Body Scrub - P150

Hand Soap - P100
Hand Sanitizer - P50

Zen Zest's Classic Collection is LOVE. The body sprays remind me of their more expensive imported counterparts, but they perform just as nicely! They have a wide range of fruity and floral scents at super affordable prices. I was torn between Cherry Blossom, Honeydew Melon, and Vanilla Cream. I think I took the longest time since I couldn't decide, but in the end I got the yummiest scent in Vanilla Cream - the last bottle, too! One whiff immediately took me back to my college org room, where someone walked in and asked, "Bakit amoy cake?" Haha! 

We had a special set menu from Le Petit Souffle, too! :>

Honey Citrus Salad

Matcha Parfait & Salted Egg Parfait

Not in the photos: Carbonara and Cold Matcha Latte. The Honey Citrus Salad made me love vegetables, the Cold Matcha Latte is sooo creamy and good, and the Salted Egg Parfait is excellent! 

I had the loveliest time too because of my favorite girls! Hello, Donna, Andy, and Raych! (Krissy, too!) I missed you all. Hihi. I loved the Zen Zest event because it was a reunion of beauty bloggers. 

Thank you, Zen Zest! ♥

I'm excited to review these Zen Zest products! I still can't believe that most of their products costs just around P200 to P300. It's true, no matter how tough the economy gets, Filipinos still find the time and budget to hunt for and buy products that will help them look good and feel good. After 15 years in business, Zen Zest has already broken through the Asian market with stalls in Japan, Bahrain, and Brunei. I won't be surprised to see them in other foreign countries in the near future. Next time I'm at the mall looking for gifts, I'll drop by Zen Zest! 

What are your Zen Zest favorites? Which product do you want me to review first? :)

Facebook: Zen Zest Asia

Instagram: @ilovezenzest

Love,

Helen

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