Date Day 1: Bannaple Pies and Cheesecakes Foodtrip

Hello people! This is gonna be the first one of my "Date Day" posts! It's something me and J came up with where we'll share to you some of our unforgettable travel experiences and gastronomic adventures, and we'll also write about our pursuit of awesome entertainment and non-boring activities as well.

Before this, I also planned to write about our "Spa Escapade" but since having a couple spa on a regular basis isn't exactly budget-friendly, we just decided to write reviews about the restaurants we dine in, the movies we go to, and other stuff we usually do on our dates. So here goes the first one, hope you enjoy it:

November 11, 2013
Date Day 1: Bannaple Pies and Cheesecake @ SM North Sky Garden

i didn't mean to include ate in the picture! *laughs*

That's what the Bannaple place looks like at SM North EDSA. Last week, when J and I passed by this place, it immediately caught my attention because it was the first time I saw it there so I think it just recently opened and second, I am so loving the exterior design of this place! It looks so cute! The interior design looks like my dream doll-house too. lol! The chairs, the charming lamps and the sky blue-white color combo just beckons me to dine here and made me crave for sweet pies and cakes!

Of course, I had to tell J! I didn't exactly told him that I wanna eat there, pakipot ng onti. HAHA! I just said "I wonder if they serve good food there..." He got the point of course. lols

So yeah, to cut the story short we went there for lunch today. The waitress gave us their menu before going in. Take a look at what they have for your tummy:

Note: Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, it seemed fine while I was taking it :(

Wooow look at the pricetags!  We're both not picky when it comes to food and we're used to eating at carenderias and food stalls in front of our school so we don't really consider this resto budget-friendly. Our concept of budget-friendly food ranges from Php20 to Php150 haha! But still, it's good to try out new things once in a while, or in this case, taste new flavors every now and then for the sake of our palettes. :D

Here's what I ordered:

I heard my tummy growl out the word "YUMMY"

I ordered the Hearty Heavenly Breakfast (Php190) for lunch. I love breakfast anytime of the day. ^o^
"Hearty Heavenly Breakfast: Succulent glazed porkloin hamsteak, paired with our parsley egg and a choice of pesto bread or seasoned garlic rice"

First of all, the servings are huge! I was so full after I finished this meal! So how does it taste? it tastes great actually. Just look at that honey glazed pork! The balance of sweetness and saltiness is just right. Honestly, the eggs tasted a bit bland, I would've liked more saltiness in it. The garlic rice is cooked perfectly. Overall, I enjoyed my meal. :)

Here's what J ordered:

It looks so delicious ~(o_o~)

Bacon Fried Chicken Steaks with Milk'shroom Gravy (Php190): crisp chicken fillet smothered in a creamy milk and mushroom gravy, topped with yummy bacon pieces: served with corn relish.

I can see why he ordered this! IT HAS BACON! haha. He loves anything with bacon. I'm pretty sure that if he made a list of the Top 10 things that he loves most, bacon will hover between the 3rd and 4th place.lol
I tasted this too! I love how creamy the gravy is and the chicken is still juicy inside. Of course I didn't get to taste the bacon bits, those are all his. I think he enjoyed this meal naman. 

For the drinks, we ordered Iced Latte (Php105) and Iced Choco (Php100). Both drinks tastes good, I just don't think that they're worth the price.

Iced Choco and Iced Latte ^^

There was a guy beside our table eating a pie with banana fillings! It looked great, but when I looked for it in their menu, it wasn't there (boohoo). I later saw that it was on display at their counter, it's called Banoffee Pie and it looks sooo yummy so I ordered that too! I forgot how much it is but I think it's around Php100. However, we we're so freakin full after our meals that we weren't able to eat it so I just had it wrapped for take-out.

may I just tell you how i love paperbags <3

It got ruined, I think I jolted the bag while we were travelling :(

Banoffee Pie ^^

The pie was yummy! I love it! The sweetness of the bananas are not cloying, the pie crust tastes great and the whip cream is heavenly! This pie makes me wanna try every other pie that Bannaples has to offer. haha

Overall, we spent Php680+, but it's all worth it. We enjoyed the meal, and of course, we enjoyed each other's company. 

I'm looking forward to the next Date Day post ^^ 
What restaurants or fun activities can you recommend? Please leave a comment!
Till next time reader! xoxo

To find out more about Bannaple, visit their site: http://www.banapplekitchen.com/Banapple.html

Something New

Hey there! wow I am always neglecting my blog nowadays :( I am just soooo busy that I couldn't find the time to blog. Anyway, I've decided to go all white with my theme to make my posts look clean. It's easy on the eyes, no? I changed it because I thought "Deym, my writing style is weird and so noob-like, I need to at least make the background look a bit professional." *laughs* :)

I am basically making this post to serve as a checklist for the reviews I need to write and for the things that I literally need right now.

So what are the reviews that has been pending for months now? A lot! But here are the things that I may possibly write if I had the time:

• Las Ventanas, Tagaytay Review: J and I went to Las Ventanas last October 23 pa! So that review is definitely long overdue now. lols
• Garnier Pure Active Anti-Imperfections Roll-on: my go-to spot treatment whenever my indomitable cystic zits attack.
• Essence Soft & Natural Long Lasting Foundation: one of my favorite foundie ever, it provides great coverage!
• Aido Lipsticks:  They are ridiculously cheap so I bought 3 of them! haha! I had to stop my self from buying all the shades. 
• and I also want to show you my clothing haul from Divisoria, oh man the shopaholic inside me just powers up whenever I go there! Everything is affordable, you just have to exert extra effort to find those with good quality ;)

The list just goes on and I don't have the patience to write them all so yeah, I'm lazy.

Next list is for my skincare:

• Moisturizer: I need a moisturizer for oily and sensitive skin, do you know any? I have fine lines already and I'm just 20y.o! But whenever I try to put on moisturizer, I always wake up with a new pimple on my face. :<
• Toner: I'm always trying different toners but I still haven't found my HG toner yet
• Tea Tree Oil: because I heard they're great for drying up pimples :">
• Bleaching cream: for dark spots and beyond. wooohoo!

Well, that's basically everything I need to buy for my skincare. It's the time of the month again when we girls can't help but wish that we're a boy. Oh God, these mentrual cramps are killing me and to make matters worse, my skin has been acting up lately and my indomitable pigsa-like pimples are spontaneously popping up all over my face, boohoo :<

And lastly, I thought of doing something new with my blog. Me and J are gonna... *drum-roll* ...write about our adventures! (a.k.a. 'dates'). Well yeah, I know some of you may think "blah! we don't care about that" but meh, I'll still write about our dates anyway. *evil laughs*. Please don't judge yet, it won't be about the cheesy and vomit-inducing corny stuff we do noh! You see, J and I loves to eat! And we also go to movies a lot and try out new things so basically, we'll be writing about food, entertainment and travel experiences and then I'll label them "Date Day #__" hihi :3

So that'll be all, btw, do any of you know how to make a freakin header??? Look at my pixelated header! I've been trying for hours to make a decent one but still no success. :'( Please teach meeeeee!

Till next post reader, thanks for reading!

Backpacking to Tagaytay: Hotel Dominique Review

Hi there! I'm back, hooray! So today I'll be reviewing the hotel we stayed at while we were in Tagaytay for 2 days and 1 night. :)

Because of the loooong weekend, J (my boyfriend) and I decided to have a quick getaway to Tagaytay last Tuesday (October 15). It's a spur of the moment trip and both of us don't know how to get around Tagaytay because it's actually our first time to go there without a guide. Luckily, we have a voucher I bought from CashCashPinoy for a 2 days and 1 night stay in a Superior Room in Hotel Dominique so we didn't have to worry where to stay for the night :)

I already forgot how much the voucher was because I bought it 2 months ago, but I think it's around 1,500 to 1,800 pesos, that includes 2 days and 1 night stay in their superior room with your choice of twin bed or queen sized bed, free breakfast for two and use of hotel facilities.

Hotel Dominique is not hard to find, it's just along Aguinaldo Highway, in front of Collette's Buko Pie & Pasalubong, and before Olivarez Terminal. It's actually on the wrong side of Tagaytay, the side which has no scenic views of the Taal Volcano.

 Here's what Hotel Dominique looks like:

Front facade of Hotel Dominique

It may not look much when you judge it from it's outer facade, but you'll be surprised how nice it is inside the hotel. There's a homey country feel to it that I really like.

How we got here: We boarded a DLTB bus at Buendia (near the LRT Gil Puyat Station) and asked the conductor to drop us off at Olivarez Terminal in Tagaytay (fare from Buendia to Tagaytay: Php 83.00). You'll pass by Hotel Dominique before getting to Olivarez Terminal, but since we didn't know it's exact location that time, we just asked the conductor to drop us off at Olivarez terminal and from there we walked back to Hotel Dominique.

Travel Time: We left Manila exactly 10AM because that's the trip schedule of the bus and we arrived at Tagaytay by 12PM, we encountered no heavy traffics therefore we can assume that travel time may be around 2 to 3 hours depending on the traffic.

I planned to drop off my heavy bags at the hotel before touring around the place but we arrived here earlier than we expected and we weren't allowed to book earlier than 2 o'clock :( so anyway, to while away the time, we went to People's Park first. You can take a jeep from Olivares Terminal going there, fare is Php 17.00.

I took this picture while we were at People's Park or Palace in the Sky:

I don't know what this place is, I just took a photo because the buildings really look cute hehe :P

I realized one thing: it's hard to go on a trip without a tripod or without someone who likes to take pictures! haha we were not able to take decent pictures of us together because we were too shy to ask strangers to take pics of us lol

What we think of People's Park:
 Well, we think it lacks the upkeep that it needs. :( It's sad to see a tourist destination which looks like it has been neglected ever since it was built and this place really looks like that. You can't help but think that it only has a few years left before it turns to a haunted mansion, or in this case, haunted palace. :\

Anyway after feeling sorry for the neglected structure called Palace in the Sky, we went to Picnic Grove (just a jeep away), here you can ride horses or go on a picnic (hence the name) with your family or your friends. You can also try the zip line or just simply enjoy the scenery of the Taal Lake. But meh, we didn't do any of that! we just sat there and stared at the Lake because I was tired from all the walking. Haha killjoy much :|

View from Picnic Grove

The time passed by quickly and before we knew it, it was already 6 o'clock and all I wanted to do was to rest! My gosh, Picnic Grove has so many stairs that I felt like half the fats in my body burned the 2 hours that I was there. :\

We ate dinner first before going back to Hotel Dominique, I wanted to try the famous Bulalo of Tagaytay but it is expensive! haha I guess I'll just try that next time when I have P1,000 budget for dinner.

Moving on, the check in process was easy, we were asked to present our voucher and an ID, the receptionist also made me sign something I didn't mind to read and asked for a security deposit fee of Php 500 which is of course refundable upon check out. Then one of the hotel's staff led us to our room which is located in a small building (of about 4 storeys, I guess? I'm not sure) inside Hotel Dominique.

The Room: the room was enough for two persons but I find it spacious enough. The furnishings are nice and simple, the room is not that big but it's clean and it also smells fresh and and it doesn't look cheap which is a plus factor for me! It also has a veranda which I really liked! If you like to see pictures of it, you can message Hotel Dominique on Facebook and they'll send it to you.

The toilet and shower room is okay too, it's not spacious but again it's clean and that's all that matters to me. haha! They'll provide you the basic toiletries: shampoo, body wash, toothpaste and toothbrush for two persons, soap and two towels. They have a heater too, and for a place as cold as Tagaytay, a water heater is a must!

We requested for a room that has a queen-sized bed, it also has a A/C, small TV and coffee making facilities, I wish I knew this sooner so I could've brought 3-in-1 coffee mix with me :( I love coffee any time of the day. The bed was comfy and the sheets and pillows were fluffy and clean. These are some of the important things I look for in a room, I couldn't care less if there's no TV in a room, as long as the sheets and pillows are clean and fluffy, I'm good. :D

I guess the walls are not completely sound proof, I can here doors slamming somewhere near our room but it's not such a big deal for me. I slept comfortably cuddled with J :3

Here's the view from our veranda:

6:00 in the morning! oooohhhh love the fog! :)

around 9 AM

The houses you see in the picture are one of the many Casitas of Hotel Dominique. They also have cabanas and suites which are located in the same building where the superior rooms are. The place looks like a mini village and has an abundance of greens! I totally love it. It feels welcoming :)

Hotel Dominique also has a small pool perfect for a mid-noon swim:

To start our day, J and I ordered American Breakfast. Actually we have 3 choices, but J told me to pick the most expensive one haha so we both chose the American breakfast over the other two.

BACON = LOVE

You can also choose between hot coffee, hot choco or tea for your drink

<3

We broke our fast 9:30 in the morning even though we woke up as early as 5:30 (we were a bit busy... *ehem* hihi). After eating, we just relaxed and got ready for the travel back to Manila.

Overall, our first Tagaytay trip was fun and worth it. We didn't do much of the sight seeing but that's ok because we'll be back here at Tagaytay on October 23 (we'll be at Las Ventanas naman *excited*).

For a spur-of-the-moment trip, this is surely one of our happiest travels ever.

If you're interested in Hotel Dominique, see their website here.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

September: A Month Full of Life Lessons

Hi reader! What a melodramatic title for a blog post huh? Anyway, I was gonna make a product review but I couldn't get past my sadness right now so instead I'm gonna dedicate this blog post to life. I hope you don't mind me getting all maudlin today, after all, a sorrow shared is half the sorrow. :) For those of you who are interested in this story, please read on, you may learn something from it... But for those who aren't, it's ok, this is gonna be long anyway. Here it goes...

September hasn't been kind to me so far. If you've noticed, I rarely write blog posts, it's because I'm always busy with school. I try to exert all my best efforts to get a good grade specially now that I'm about to graduate. So it totally broke my heart to see a failing grade in one of my subjects. It's like all my effort went down the drain. I cried really hard, not because I failed ( I know I can make it up next time around), I cried because my parents were really disappointed in me. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever cried because you know you've failed your parents? :(

I learned a lesson from that experience, but I didn't expect there will be a greater and more important life lesson to learn the week after that...

Have you ever met someone who- no matter how far you've drifted apart, no matter how long you haven't seen or talked to each other- will always have a place in your heart? Too cliche? yes, but it actually happens in real life. I know so, because I happened to have met someone like that. :)

Backtrack 7 years ago (*cue the misty background and instrumental music*) we were in high school and I- and the 40 other students in our class- had a classmate who was really fun to be around with. Even if we're not that close, I still considered him as a friend. I also happen to like him a bit too. The reason for all my kilig moments back then. He was my crush from 1st year to 4th year high school, and even after that, (before I had a bf) I still had that special feeling for him. That was what I meant with someone who'll always have a special place in one's heart.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY over that infatuation. I love my boyfriend very much and I know he's the only one for me :) There's a reason why I'm sharing to you all this puppy love nonsense.

So why am I telling you this boring and cliche teenage story?

Because that guy, who was a great classmate and friend, died of Acute Leukemia yesterday, September 16, 2013.

Based on Netdoctor website, Leukaemia, or blood cancer, is a disease of unknown cause where the bone marrow produces large numbers of abnormal cells. This means that the normal marrow is pushed into smaller and smaller areas, which results in fewer cells being produced. Acute leukaemia is rapidly progressive if not treated and involves more immature cells. It develops rapidly from the earliest forms of cells in the immature bone marrow cells (blasts). It requires urgent medical treatment but is generally responsive to chemotherapy. (Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/leukaemiaacute.htm#ixzz2f8RvcANe)

The news of his death really shocked most of his friends. Even if we are not that close anymore, I still cried because the world just lost someone so kind and good. You know that feeling when you are not in close terms with someone anymore but you know that the world is still a better place knowing that he/she is around? That's exactly how I feel.

I can't imagine the sorrow that his parents and his girlfriend is feeling right now, if that happened to me... If my boyfriend passed away, I wouldn't know how to move on... If I had a son that would pass away at such a young age, I wouldn't know how to overcome the grief.

So, I said I learned lessons from these sad events, right? What are those? Of course, I learned to push even harder and to set higher goals for myself. I learned to value my parent's trust because it is not easily earned.

But most importantly, I learned that life is a blessing we must treasure everyday.

When my grandmother passed away last 2004, I learned that you must show someone how much you love them before it's too late. I learned  how to be vocal, to drop all the reservations I have when expressing how I feel and to never be ashamed of these feelings because we never know when the chance to say these feelings will be taken away from us. From then on, I have always worn my heart on my sleeves. I tell my parents how much I love them every time I had the chance. Of course, I never missed the chance to tell my boyfriend how much I love him with all my heart and soul. With the recent death of a friend, that lesson became deeply rooted in my heart and in my mind now more than ever.

To my other half, Jaime, I know you're gonna read this. I love you Jai, with all that I am. Today, tomorrow and for always.

So... these are my thoughts right now. If you've made it to this part of the post, then WOW I am really impressed with your patience and I truly hope you got something out of reading this. :)

Life lesson are sometimes learned the hard way, you get to experience it first hand. You either let it break you or make you.

Yea, life screws us all, fate is playful and unpredictable, but God always has a plan for us. Keep the faith.

In Loving Memory of our Classmate and Friend, Levy Bagunu. (December 2, 1992 - September 16, 2013)


till next time dear reader,

Bench Pretty When Pinched Cheek & Lip Tint Review

Aloha pretties!


I've been neglecting my blog for more than a month now and I've got a pile of stuff that I wanna make a review about! :<

Anyway, I was at Bench yesterday to add some more bra in my closet. While I was paying for my purchase at the counter, I finally saw their cosmetic products there at the cashier table! I've heard about Bench lip and cheek tints for years but I never saw them until now. IDK if I'm just blind or what. @_@

So, I convinced myself that I need a new lip tint, I really need one or else my lips will fall off, and (impulsively) bought myself some much needed Lip and Cheek tint! Tadaaa:

I know right, it looks like black ink in a cute bottle but the color is actually a very dark red when you look at the bottle, almost like violet. The SA said there are two shades, Red and Pink. I got the Pink shade because when I swatched the red one, it looked like violet on my skin! >.<

 What I hate about this is the applicator:

The applicator is the same as the brush in nail polishes! :( I find this really hard to be applied evenly especially because it has a watery consistency. I'm not so sure if I should dot or swipe the tint, sometimes I end up with too much liquid on my lips. lol

For Paraben-haters out there, take a look at the ingredients to check if this is for you:

This baby is packaged in a ziploc which I think is too big considering the size of the bottle.

Here are my final thoughts:

PROS:

• Pigmentation is quite good, 3 dots of tint is enough to make your lips look naturally flushed 
• Affordable! This is only P180.00
• The packaging feels sturdy
• You get a good amount of product that'll last for about 3 months

NEUTRAL:

• It has watery consistency. I'm not really particular about the consistency of the products that I use, but I prefer something that wont slide off the minute I apply it.

CONS:

• The smell! It smells like chemical, plastic and cough syrup. It's bearable but it would've been a hell of a lot better if it doesn't smell like that.
• The applicator. I'm more used to doe-foot lip tint applicators because it helps me apply the tint precisely. Whenever I use this tint I always imagine that I'm applying nail polish on my lips. Mehehe~
• Not long-lasting. I have a habit of biting my lips and this lasted for about 30 mins on me, but hey, that's my fault right? I literally ate my lip tint.
• It's a bit drying, like every other lip tints I've ever tried.

Time for the photos! I am warning you, my lips are gross especially when it's alone in a picture (alone as in without it's buddies, the nose, eyes, ears, meh :\ you get what I mean?)

Ok, so here are the swatch on my hand:

  

The right swatch is one swipe of unblended tint, you can see it's reddish pink and again I put on too much liquid. Once you blend it however, it turns into a light pink color (left swatch).

Here's the product on my lips. BTW, I initially didn't want to do this but I thought it best for you to see it's performance on real lips because the back of the hand is not really the same as our lips right? hoho :$

Here is the BEFORE photo:

what are those white stuff O_O

 I know, the facial hair and all those eeky stuff is gross. If I didn't know this was my lips, I'd think this was a man's! HAHA

After 1 swipe of the tint:

So... It did color a bit, my lips looks naturally pink here (or not?). I guess too much of the product ended up on my pinkie finger because I spread it using my fingers! Medyo unhygienic hehe

After 2 swipes:

wow. I never thought my lips would look like man-lips in a picture :))

Ok, two swipes and a very pink pinkie finger later, I achieved the pigmentation that I liked. Yey!

So, overall, I think this is an OK product considering the price that you'll pay. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. I rate this 7 over 10! ;) 

Thank for reading!

 

July BDJ Box Unboxing: I was WOWed!

Hello there beautiful! Time flies really fast huh? It's already July. I just turned 20 years old last June 29! Hooray (teen no more awtsssu </3). I have been EXCITED for the month of July because (1) my Boyfie's birthday is July therefore FREE FOOD! Yey~ and (2) I am subscribed to the July BDJ Box and it is my first one everrrrr! ommogosh!

mehehe!

Yesterday, July 20, was an awesome day. It was my BF's 21st birthday so we watched Pacific Rim at IMAX theater in SM North. It was his treat, and daaaaaang I really enjoyed it because it was my first time watching a movie in 3D.

BUT I'm sorry if I'm babbling again, so while we were inside the cinema, my aunt texted me that a "box" was delivered at their house and it was for me and that it has a set of Dove products in it! I knew it was my BDJ Box, I didn't expect it to arrive so soon, I thought it would be delivered at the last week of July so imagine my excitement upon reading that text! If I could've flown from SM North to Bulacan, I would gladly spread my wings and fly on full speed just to get my hands on it as soon as possible.

Moving on...

(2 Hours of travel time later)

Tadaa:

TWO BOXES! I was AMAZED! When my aunt said that it has a set of Dove Products, I imagined that the BDJ Box itself is full of Dove products, I never expected it would be two separate boxes. I was jumping up and down, srsly.

This is exactly how I looked like. ♥

 So, lets get to that unboxing part!

Here is the content of the Dove Box:

So much win!!! ~(O_O)~

Amazing right? I immediately thought "dito palang bawing bawi na binayad  ko"

What are the contents?

• Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Shampoo, 180mL Php 106.00 (x2)
• Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Shampoo, 180mL Php 108.00 (x2)
• Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Treatment, 200mL Php 235.00
• Dove White Beauty Bar Moisturizing Milk Soap, 135g Php 52.50
• Dove Whitening Original Anti-Perspirant Deo Roll-on, 40mL Php 83.50
• Dove Whitening Original Anti-Perspirant Deo Spray, 169mL Php 170.00

       TOTAL:   PHP 969.00 !!!

I love the fact that all these Dove products are for damage repair and whitening. I'm not going to lie, I have discolored underarms because of plucking and my hair is not in a perfect state right now so these will really help me, assuming they work (I hope they do!)

Moving on to the cute BDJ Box!

"What matters most is how you see yourself."

Who wouldn't agree that this month's BDJ box is one of the best BDJ Boxes ever, right??? Look at all those stuff!

What's inside that amazing box of happiness?

• Beach Hut Sunblock  Php 399.00
• Too Cool for School BB Cream (sample) Php 219.00
• Enchanted Eyeshadow, Pixie Dust Nude Eyes Php 179.00    
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter Php 525.00     
• Foot Appeal Mask Php 279.00
• Sure Slim Voucher Php 1,500.00                         

TOTAL:    PHP 3101.00

Overall, the July BDJ Box amounts to Php 4070.00! And even if you don't count the P1,500 voucher for Sure Slim, all of these still costs Php 2570.00. That's almost 5 times what I payed for. Wow! I am really, undeniably surprised! Mehehe~

This month's theme is Top to Toe Pampering and Redefining Beauty, and obviously the BDJ Team amazed girls all over the country again, this time including me! Yaay :")

Time for a group picture:

Ohhhlala~

I can't wait to road test all these goodies! The best thing about this is that I got everything on my wishlist! I've always wanted to buy a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter because of the great reviews about it so I can't wait to use this one. I hope the shade will show on my already violet-pigmented lips. (yes i have brownish violet lips and I don't even smoke! Yuck right?) I wish I knew how to put on eyeshadow or else I'd have to give away that Pixie Dust Eyeshadow from Enchanted. And! the beach hut sunblock expires on 2016 so I'd just save that one up for next summer's swimming outings. Hohoho

Fortunately, I didn't go grocery shopping that day because I'm running low on shampoo and deo, now I have those yeeeey! That hair repair treatment has been bugging me for months, I knew I needed to have those for my damaged hair and now here it is and it's Dove! Omygosh >___<

I SUPER LOVE YOU RIGHT NOW BDJ!

I'll post review here soon if I ever find the time. Thanks for reading!

XOXO,

Touch of Grace Spa & Wellness Center Review

Hi there! It's been so long since the last time I wrote a new blog post! Now I'm back with another spa review. Yeyyy! Obviously, I'm still pursuing my adventurous "Spa Escapade" (adventurous escapade? does that sound a bit redundant? oh well.) This time, I decided to have some relaxing time at Touch of Grace Spa & Wellness Center which is located along Scout Gandia, Kamuning, Quezon City.

I found out about this place through female forums giving out recommendations for Couple Spa dates. What got me hooked about this place is that they give you a chance to exclusively use their jacuzzi, steam bath and shower for 20 minutes. I've been interested about this spa ever since I read about it however I was a bit hesitant to try it because I don't know where Kamuning is let alone find Scout Gandia. But now, I am truly thankful that we went to this place because the experience was totally worth it.

What are my first impressions upon seeing the place? From the exterior, it looks just like a cute house albeit the round signage in front where you can read the establishment's name. The inside looks really cozy and peaceful, unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take pictures of it because we went straightly to the wet area! But if you wanna see their place, you can visit their facebook profile here: Touch of Grace Spa & Wellness Center.

What about the facilities? I just LOOOOOVE the jacuzzi! Oh my gosh. It's my first time ever to experience a jacuzzi and I was so excited, I love the bubbles that seems to massage my back as I lay there. I even told my boyfriend to get me one of those someday when we have our own house! lol. I might just keep coming back to TOG just to go dip in that pool of bubbles :3

jacuzzi with bubbles! ~(o_o~)

Aside from the jacuzzi, they also have a steam bath (left side of the pic) and shower (right side of the picture above), but I didn't really used the steam bath. We are not actually fond of steam baths because it's hard to breathe while being smothered by so much steam! So we're happy with just the jacuzzi alone.

How about the staff? The staff are okay, especially Miss Gladys who had the patience to answer all the questions that I asked her through text (I think I was really being pertinent). She's one of the nicest staff I've ever met, I don't really know what her job position is. Our masseuses were also friendly and they made sure that they are putting the right amount of pressure with each stroke. I forgot to tally how many times Genesis (my masseuse) asked me if "okay po ba ang pressure ma'am?" lol

Tell me more about the whole experience! Right after we filled out a form, one of the staff asked us to change our shoes into the white slippers that they provided us. Then they gave us our locker key and led us to the room where the jacuzzi, steam bath and shower is, I don't really know if this is the VIP room, but the massage beds are in a separate room. They told us we can use the facilities for 20 mins. I was expecting that after 20 mins they would go back to the room to tell us that our 20 mins is over but they didn't so I'm pretty sure we stayed inside for about 30 mins. or more before we willingly dragged ourselves out of the jacuzzi for our massage.

The massage was nice, it was sleep-inducing and I loved the unscented oil that they use which feels so warm on the skin. It was really relaxing. Our masseuse also made sure that our privacy was maintained because they really took great care when moving our towels through the massage so as not to let us be "exposed". :) The massage was more of rubbing and palm pressing the muscles and pressure points than stretching and popping joints so if you're a person that prefers this type of massage then this is for you! However, I'm a person who prefers an invigorating massage rather than a sleep inducing one (because I don't really sleep through these things) so this massage experience is really nice but maybe I'll try another type when I visit here again.

Anything for my tummy? They will offer you iced tea, hot tea or hot coffee after the massage and then they'll leave you to rest although they didn't really tell us how many minutes we can stay inside the massage room.

How much must be my budget? Ms. Gladys told me through text that the Couple's Package 1 costs Php949.00 which includes two 1 hour Body Massage with VIP room and exclusive use of the facilities for 20 minutes. However, when we paid at their reception area after the massage, the amount we paid for was Php1,190.00. I didn't bother to ask why the price increased, maybe it also includes the tips for our masseuses because they didn't give us tip envelopes? Or maybe our extra time at the wet area had an extra charge? It's not much of a big deal for me actually.

UPDATE!
There seems to have been a misunderstanding regarding the price of the couple's package. Here's a copy of the reply I received after making an inquiry:

From that text message, I assumed that the Couples Spa Package 1 costs P949.00 so I was a bit surprised when I payed P1,190 at the counter and I assumed (again! I'm becoming assuming!lol ) that the tip for our masseuse was included already on that price. So, to clear things up about the price of Couple's Package, Ms. Gladys sent me this message on facebook:

"This is Ms. Gladys of Touch of Grace Spa. Thank you so much for having a relaxing spa treatment with us last June 21, 2013. It 's our pleasure to serve you with our best.... I would like to apologize regarding our misunderstanding on the Couples Package rate. Please allow me to correct it, the P949.00 rate was for our Father's Day Promo which includes 1.5Hr Body Massage and Facial Treatment valid for single person. P1,190.00 for our Couple Package Rate that includes 2 1Hr Body Massage with VIP Room. I hope you could visit us again whenever you have time soon. Thank you and God bless." 

Thank you Ms. Gladys for explaining things out! More Power and God Bless you as well. :) I can't help but feel guilty that we didn't give tips to our masseuse! oh well... :<

Sorry for the crappy photo! I was in a hurry when I shot this -_- It says "You are about to experience the Touch"

To sum this all up: What I liked most about Touch of Grace Spa & Wellness Center is the fact that you get to use their facilities exclusively for 20 mins. for a reasonable price! Plus, the place and the stuff smells clean and relaxing. I'll rate this experience 4 out of 5 and we might visit them again next time.

Touch of Grace Spa & Wellness Center offers a wide array of high-class and signature services other than body massage. Text them at 0927-220-9070. :)

Till next time! xoxo