Saturdays give me a special bonding time with my family, and when there’s a moment to spare, I also like to spend it learning new things, going for some precious ‘me’ time and catching up with friends.
So this is what happened one Saturday when I went to the Physiogel Beauty Experts Circle event at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Makati. Over tea, coffee and pastries, we got to know about how to take care of our skin – to my mind, our body’s most precious resource. Take it for granted and for sure, you will regret it coz nobody wants to look 10, 20 years older than their age 
The highlight of our afternoon tea was a make-up demonstration by RB Chanco, sought-after make-up artist to the stars like Kris Aquino & Bianca Gonzalez.She taught us about how to transform yourself with proper make-up application. It’s a tedious process but worth it!
Though I really don’t like going to social events these days, I appreciate going because I get to chat and laugh with people I rarely see, like good friends Earl Bracamonte and publicist Angie Limbaco, who invited me in the first place, hahaha. Tourist tip: the rooftop Oz Bar in Holiday Inn, with a view of the swimming pool, is worth checking out!
The afternoon enlightened me on the fact that we shouldn’t ever, ever scrimp on our skin care. Physiogel is a tad more expensive than the ordinary cleanser or lotion we find in the grocery shelves, but it is also the No. 1 prescribed by dermatologists, according to the Philippine Medical Data Index 2012.Just look for these labels enclosed in all their products: hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and fragrance-free.
Anyway, a lot of my fellow mommies are already familiar with this brand since we use it for ourselves and for our babies. I’ve used Physiogel Cream and Physiogel Lotion on my toddler Lucia to protect her from diaper rashes and also to moisturize her skin because of the heat and humidity in this tropical country.
The benefit of Physiogel Cleanser as a make-up remover was something I’ve discovered only recently, since I’ve used other labels. It’s formulated for dry, sensitive skin with gentleness that is next to water, with one of the least irritation potentials. Before retiring at night, I just apply it on the face and wipe off with tissue. The best thing: you can use it even without water, for those days when you’re feeling tired, lazy and can’t get up from the bed
From the official literature:
“Physiogel has the revolutionary Derma Membrane Structure (DMS) Technology, which resembles the natural building blocks of the skin to effectively help repair the skin barrier and prevent moisture loss.
Conventional moisturizers may only mask skin dryness to give skin transitory moisture; moisture that can be washed off by rinsing or washing. Physiogel, however, moisturizes by mimicking the natural lipid composition of the skin and keeps it hydrated for up to three days, even with washing or bathing.”
Physiogel is a product of Stiefel, a GSK company. For more information, visit www.physiogel.ph/ or www.facebook.com/PhysiogelPH
One fine Saturday, I had a “prettify your brow” session at the Benefit Brow Bar. This bar is found where Benefit cosmetics are sold…in this case, their newly-opened branch at the Mall of Asia.Just to disclose: this session wasn’t sponsored, hahaha. I just have this thing about fixing my brows all the time. I believe that the right shape (or arch) does a lot in enhancing one’s appearance, so that one can actually look younger or older. Luckily for me, my brows aren’t too thick or too thin; they’re just right to highlight my face and give it some definition. I would surely hate it if they’re too sparse and looks artificial with just the line of a pencil to show where my brows should be, like I see in some women.
Anyhow, because of my busy lifestyle, I often just have it shaved at the friendly neighborhood salon….no time to pluck or have it threaded either. The visit to the Benefit Brow Bar was a project I’ve been eyeing for a long time as I’ve never done brow waxing and tinting before (the tint is for lightening the color of your brows to match your hair color, for instance). The whole thing cost me P850 but as you can see in these Before and After photos, am quite happy with the results …..
I love it that my new trimmed brows are lighter and not as black. Also, the fact that it was waxed means the hair on my arches will not grow as fast. My session ensured that stray hairs will only appear after about three weeks, and I’ll just have to pluck them. With a shave, regrowth is easily seen after one week.
Anyhow, ever wonder how the Benefit brow stylists do it? It looked easy. They used a ruler in measuring the distance from your nose to the brow, and they used this as a guide in determining the shape of your arch. They drew on the brow area, and the area that fell outside the border is the one that’s going to be waxed.
For brow tinting, they used this cream-like solution which are left on the brow area to absorb. The longer it’s left there, the lighter and more brownish the color of your brow.
That weekend, there was a line of people buying or were curious about Benefit’s line-up of beauty products. I really dig the packaging/designs on their products!
My twin daughters patiently waited while I got my brows fixed…about 45 minutes. Hmmm, i think I’ll bring them to the brow bar soon too. Apparently every weekend, Benefit counters have spa party themes…. they serve stuff like lemonade, cookies and candies for the customers..all for free! So my tweens were not totally bored.
I also got a free makeover from a genial attendant named Amy. It was fun discovering the Benefit products that she used like High Brow and the boi-ing concealer to hide my eyebags…ugh.
Here’s the Benefit Brow Bar price list:
Find this cosmetic brand on Facebook: /benefitcosmeticphilippines
Am a certified Dove user and I love their new video reverberating with the soulful singing of “Peek a boo, I see you!”
I love the contrast between young kids who are candid with the camera, and adults who don’t want to have their pics taken with their hair in disarray and such. The campaign teaches women to appreciate their own beautiful selves. Your charm lies in being the natural you!
Watch this:
Join the conversation at #MyBeautifulSelf
Or say what you think at www.facebook.com/dove
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. ~Kahlil Gibran
I’ve been using BB (blemish base) cream since 2010 but with all the emerging talk about a new product variation, decided to switch to CC (color control) cream in March this year. This was via the Chanel CC Cream which I bought for HKD400 (approximately P2,000) at the Chanel cosmetics counter in Hong Kong International Airport. I have to admit this is a bit expensive, but nothing can prevent a girl from ever trying something… tee hee. The last time I checked, Chanel CC was still out of stock in Rustan’s (where it retails for something like P2,850) but am seeing cheaper offerings from brands like Tony Moly & Nature Republic in local stores for less than a thousand pesos.
First impressions: Chanel CC is the nicest-smelling of the creams I tried! It’s light on the face with a matte, powdery finish that blends easily with my skin. I use it these days as a liquid foundation-cum-concealer and it’s enough to get me through the day with minimum touch-ups. I like to think am blessed with good facial skin but more of my friends seem to be noticing how it’s glowing. So the effect must be positive
Chanel CC (or Complete Correction, as the box says) comes in a 30ml tube and is Made in France.It has an SPF (sun protection factor) of 30 which means it’s good enough to protect one from the sun. Am interested with Chanel’s claim that they formulated this product to address “the precise needs of Asian women in terms of flawless skin.” So if you’re Caucasian or some other, I doubt if this would work otherwise.
I normally squeeze a pea-sized amount on the back of my left hand and proceed to apply the make up by putting dots on certain points of the face and spreading it out.Chanel recommends using your fingertips (a clean one, of course) rather than a foundation brush. Because am a no-frills lady, I find the whole process laborious but worth the 10 minutes it takes me each morning.Afterwards, I finish off with a pat of powder foundation (spell la-bo-rious!)
Some of the ingredients that Chanel has listed for its CC cream are the following: cornflower water to soothe sensitive skin; hyaluronic acid to retain the skin’s moisture levels; the Rejuvencia ingredient which is derived from a marine micro-organism to prevent against “external aggressions” (whatever it means) and SPF 30/PA+++ sun filters to block UVA-UVB rays that cause aging.
I have to admit that I tried this CC cream just for kicks and out of curiosity. Though I feel it’s lighter on the face than the last BB cream I used. It also seems to pose a better skin care promise and higher sun protection factor.
The only thing working against the CC now is its higher price, so that if you’re happy with your BB cream, you probably won’t budge. But your guess is as good as mine that CC cream will be the next wave in make-up and maybe BB will just become a memory (until of course CC is bumped off by DD or whatever they invent next
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