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

Nanny Rose's Queen Bee Honey Wax Review

Hi there! It's been weeks since the last time I wrote a new post! Before I start this review, pleeease say 'Hi!' to my baby Uno right here:

Hi People! I am Uno :P

The abundance of hair all over my legs is almost the same as the amount of hair on baby Uno's little chubby paws, the only difference is he looks cute with all that hair while I just look downright yucky. So... Here comes Nanny Rose's Queen Bee Honey Wax to the rescue! Tadaaaa:

The packaging looks so cute and eco-friendly! How could you resist something like that? hihi! I've had this for a long time now and I've only used it twice. The first time I used it was on my underarms because I'm trying to avoid plucking to prevent underarm discoloration. Then yesterday, I used it again on my large legs and I almost emptied the tub! My legs aren't just large, they are HUGE. The size of my legs creates some kind of a cycle, here's how it goes:

Large Legs---->  Can't wear Skirts----> Always wear jeans ---> Jeans somehow manage to cut off my leg hairs ----> Leg hairs get thick like a man's beard ----> Has large bearded legs therefore can't wear skirts ---> wear jeans all the time!

Well... yeah I guess you know what I'm trying to tell here.

My vanity started to kick in a few months ago, and it kicked me real hard. So now, to atone for neglecting my well-being for such a long time, I'm trying to keep myself well-maintained and I did things like stop biting my nails and polish them, change my hair color, wear make-up and of course, wax the waxable parts!

I bought my Nanny Rose's Queen Bee Honey Wax at Watson's in SM North, I forgot how much this is but it's really affordable!

Here's the description:

I like the fact that it is all natural because it's made from honey and it promises to 'spruce me up in the sweetest way possible'. Lol

Inside the box is the 50g tub of honey wax, 3 reusable and washable pulls and 2 wooden applicators that looks more like an ice cream stick than a spatula for spreading the wax. I also appreciate the steps printed below the packaging because it really helped newbies like me!

LOL there are plates on the background! I took this photo while boyfie and I are eating at Barrio Fiesta, SM North EDSA

It says here that it can also be used as a cold wax but I find it really hard to spread the wax without heating it up because it's very thick and sticky. When using this as a hot wax, it says you need to heat it in a microwave for 10 to 15 minutes, but I don't have a microwave! So what I do is I boil one to two cups of water and then drop the tub in it for a few minutes until I achieve the consistency that I want. Be careful when spreading the wax on your skin because it might be really hot and you might end up burning your skin.
Here's what the tub looks like:

It really smells like honey!

Pros:

• It's all-natural!
• It's affordable
• It's effective when waxing small parts like underarms
• It's easy to use for small parts
• It smells yummy

Cons:

• Leaves a super sticky feeling after waxing because of the honey
• It's messy to use
• For large areas, such as legs, it doesn't remove all of the hairs
• The waxing pulls included easily frays at the edges
• The waxing "stick" really is just a stick.
• It's hard to spread

Will I rebuy? Maybe, but I always want to try new products so maybe I'll look for another one which does the job better. 

Overall, I think this is a good product, although I won't use this again to wax large parts of my body. I'd rate this 3.5 over 5!

Thanks for reading! Till next time!
XOXO,

Watsons Mini Haul: You just gotta love Watsons!

Hi awesome readers! The summer season is at its end and the upcoming school year is fast approaching! Gosh I'm so excited because FINALLY I am going to move out and live in a dormitory. Yeeeey! imagine that? after 4 years of college, I'm now going to live a little bit independently from my parents for the last year of my study. Well I think it's about time, c'mon I'm almost 20 years old this coming June!

I am so excited and anxious at the same time, this is like some sort of adventure to me. Thank God I found an affordable solo room, that way I can be free to do whatever I like because I don't have to mind other people around me.

 Because I was so freaking eggzoited to live on my own, I decided to visit the nearest Watsons Store here at our  place to buy things that I think I'll need while I still have the funds (I have a feeling that my budget will be tighter than ever when I start to live in a dorm). It's a good thing that the newly built StarMall here at Bulacan already have a watsons store!

The plastic bag was so heavy! >.<

Watsons is my ultimate happy place! If you're a beauty junkee then you must agree that you can find anything there for your beauty and health needs, yes??? Whenever I tell my boyfriend to go on an unplanned date with me, he already knows where I plan to go for that 'date' and he's wise enough to keep his patience while we're walking around the Watsons isles and staring at random products for hours. (as if he has a choice? LOL)

Anyway, sorry if I'm babbling again! Haha!

Well, this time I didn't bought any make-up products, I just bought stuff for my bath and body essentials. Here they are:

I absolutely love them! Especially the body scrubs and the lotion because they are in big sizes and the best thing about it is I got them all for a discounted price because they're currently on sale! Hooray for discounts! They'll surely last for months!

This is the first thing that caught my nose: (yes my nose)

Glam Works Deep Moisturizing Body Scrub in Raspberry

 I haven't tried this one yet but it surely smells awesome! It really does smell like sweet raspberries. I hope the scent lasts on the skin for hours. These are under the Buy 1 Get 1 promo for only P129.00. Super affordable, right? I've read a lot of things about body scrubs and it's ability to whiten dark spots, this will be my first time to try it. I hope it works!

Next thing that caught my nose is:

Watsons Invigorating Body Lotion in Apple and Pomegranate

I don't really know what pomegranate smells like, I have eaten a Korean chocolate with pomegranate in it and that tasted a bit weird but I liked it nonetheless. So this will actually be the second time that I'd have something with pomegranate in it's ingredient. I bought this for only P87.00 and it's a whopping 532ml! I think the original price is P100+, I'm not really sure. I super love the apple scent of this, it is so refreshing!

Next products are for my face:

Garnier Pure Active Anti-Imperfections Cooling Roll-On and

Garnier Pure Active Multi-Action Scrub

I've been meaning to try this pimple roll-on for months and I finally got around to buying it. I'm not really sure if the roll-on is in full size, it's only 15ml. I know the facial scrub is a smaller version, it's only 50ml. I actually prefer these sizes because I'm just gonna try them out first if they really work. Both has salicylic acid content and we all know what that does to Mr. Pimple. I got both of them for only P199.00!

BTW, sorry for the crappy photos! I took them all using my Cherry Mobile Flare, and well.. need I explain more?

I'll try to make a review on these items before the schoolyear starts. I know it's weird, but I'm just so excited to do my nightly regimen somewhere other than my bedroom at home. 

Have you tried these products? I'd love to hear some of your comments about them!

Till next time!

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My Bad Experience with Henna Tattoo

Hi there dears! I'm writing this post to share one of my worst skin dilemmas right now and hopefully, people who read this will be more cautious when doing something new to their skin. Last May 1, my family and I went swimming at Amana Waterpark in Pandi, Bulacan. They are known for their "tsunami wave". I think the place was okay, the  famed tsunami waves are only at the 7ft area of the wavepool so people who don't know how to swim won't actually get to experience it. There were a lot of people, especially kids and the wave pool was really crowded! We were like an army of ants welcoming the waves as it splashes through us. BUT! that's not what this post is about.. sorry if I'm babbling! moving on..

By 4:00pm, I had a shower (I've had enough waves for a day and frankly, I don't wanna get sunburned) then my cousins and I decided to have a henna tattoo! It was our first time to try it and I was somewhat excited because I really want to have a tattoo done on my neck in the future. I chose a fairy design and had it drawn on my neck. Here's a picture of it:

Not bad, right? You can still see the red ink they used to outline the drawing before applying the henna. I almost had a stiff neck because I wasn't allowed to turn my head to the right or else it will be ruined. By the way, I payed only P100 for this.

After a few minutes, the thing started to itch and it got a bit stingy. My brother and my two young cousins also had a henna and I asked them if they also felt itchy and stingy, but they said no. I thought maybe this is just a normal reaction so I dismissed my worries. As I've said, this is my first time to have a henna, and I thought I wasn't supposed to rinse the "extra" henna ink it until it gets really dry on my skin, so I decided to leave it on all night.

HOWEVER! When I woke up, I was surprised to see my nails full of henna ink. And there was only one way to describe my neck: MESSY. My neck  was full of scratches and the henna ink also spread out all around my henna tattoo. Maybe it got itchy while I was sleeping, and I unconsciously rubbed it. I immediately washed it off with soap and water. STINGY! damn, I was beginning to regret having done henna on my neck. I belatedly realize that the skin around my neck is really sensitive ever since I used Maxi-Peel exfoliant on it (the skin around it is now really thin resulting to its sensitivity).

After I washed off the extra henna ink on my neck, I noticed that my skin formed welts. It also became really red. In other words, my skin got really irritated. The henna tattoo even had scabs on top of it for 3 days! Imagine how gross my neck looked. I was unable to take photos of it at it's worst because I was so busy with my internship. Until now, it still itches. The redness and swelling subsided a little but now I can't tie my hair up because the scar that resulted from the irritation looks ugly. See:

Fairy-shaped scar!

Here's a closer look:

ewwww ;___;

Sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures, this was taken inside my room. Anyway, you can see on the second pic that there's still swelling and there's these little bumps all over it. I'm still looking for a way to lighten it up.

I've learned many things from this horrible experience, and I hope once you read this, you'll take cautions too before trying out something that will be administrated on your skin. Before trying out a henna tattoo for the first time, make sure that you are not irritated to the chemical ingredients that are used to make it. If you have sensitive skin, you might want to think twice before trying this out, prevention is better than cure. But if you really want to have a henna tattoo you might as well have it done on some other parts of your skin that isn't too sensitive.

I can only hope that the scar will lighten up. Do you know any whitening cream that is SAFE and effective?

Awesome Day at MBay Health Spa

Good morning earthlings! I should have made this review a week ago, but I couldn't find the time to blog! Anyway, last saturday (May 4) boyfie and I had a spa date again! This time we used the voucher I bought from Ensogo a few weeks ago. The deal is for a Premium Room Package for 2 at MBay Health Spa which includes 75 minutes Authentic Massage in a Premium Room for 2 persons, access to private shower, common sauna rooms, whirlpool and steam bath plus an exclusive 40% off on body scrubs! All those are valued at P2,600 but I only got it for P1,200! Its such a steal, right? So when I saw it at ensogo, I immediately decided to buy it as an advanced gift for our 26th monthsary! (yes, we celebrate monthsaries lol)

I called for a reservation like 3 weeks before our desired date just to make sure and then I called again a week prior to redemption to confirm our appointment. I even chatted with their customer service support in Facebook and asked about the promo, they were actually really accommodating in answering all my questions. We eventually decided to add P800 to upgrade our deal from a premium room to a Royal room where we have our own steam bath, shower, and CR plus it has the best ambiance compared to their other rooms.

The experience:

Finally, it's May 4! Oh my I was so excited that we arrived so early there! Our reservation was actually 1pm, I think that's their opening time, and we were there by 12:50! I didn't wanna go in before 1pm so we initially planned to walk around the area but the place is actually full of "tambays"  (oh please forgive my conyo!) so we ditched that idea. Not that we're being judgmental, but hey, it's better safe than sorry.

We went in at exactly 1pm, and no one was at their reception area, I guess because we were too early? We waited for a few minutes before someone showed up. This isn't a big deal for me actually, but I just thought to myself "why did they allow me to schedule for 1pm if they were not really prepared for a customer by that time?" Anyway, moving on... the receptionist asked for my voucher and a valid ID. Then she told us to wait at their foot spa area so we could watch TV while waiting to be ushered to our room. One of the staff was sweeping the floors there and she told us "ang aga nyo naman ma'am", I just told her "yeah, we we're scheduled for 1pm and I didn't wanna be late." If it wasn't for this, our MBay Experience would've been perfect.

The interior of MBay Health Spa looks really posh and elegant. I regret that I didn't take photos of the place. :( We waited for a few minutes while they prepared our room and the steam bath. We got the royal room 1, and honestly, the room was really gorgeous! It's totally worth the 800 pesos additional fee. But, again, I forgot to take photos! Boohoo, here's what it looks like, i got this picture from MBay Health Spa fb page:

Royal Room 1

Believe me, it's really beautiful inside! What I like about this is it has complete toiletries which includes towels, lotion, free toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hairbrushes etc. (i forgot the other stuffs! hehe) They even included a hair blower. There are two massage beds and we were given robes and shorts (in case we wanted to go outside the room). There was also a phone inside so we could ring for their services.

We opted to have a steam bath first. It was our first time to  have a steam bath and oh man! the steam was really... overwhelming! lol but it was okay, after the steam bath we actually felt refreshed and squeaky clean. We then took a bath and rang for the masseuse to start our 75 minute massage.

The Massage!

There's only one way to sum up our massage experience and it is AWESOME! Our masseuses was Miss Emma and Miss May, both of them are really skilled and professional. They did some kneading, stretching, popping, twisting, and lifting. I don't know how to put all that into words but trust me on this, that massage was worth the price you'll pay. I was utterly relaxed! We asked them what the massage was called and they told us it's their version of Swedish massage. I can only sing praises about our massage experience thanks to our skillful masseuses.

Right after the massage, they gave us these little papers where we will write on our names, our locker number and then the amount of tip we'll give our masseuse. Other people might find this disconcerting, but it's not such a big deal for me, they gave us great service after all so they deserve something for their hard work.

When they left our room, we got dressed and rang for coffee, this is part of the package so it's for free! Yey!! I'm just so in love with coffee right now. ~(o_o)~ hihi. We can stay inside the Royal Room for 3 hours including the 75 min. massage time, so we still had an hour to relax inside.

To sum these all up, I rate this experience 4.5 over 5 because boyfriend and I really had a great time! I recommend this place to anyone who would like to experience an authentic and unforgettable spa experience. Thank You MBay Health Spa! Till next time :)

Unwinding at Body Tune Traditional Thai Massage

Hi dears!~ On my first blog post I mentioned about my eggziting SPA ESCAPADE adventure and at last boyfriend and I finally found the time to have a spa together! Yey. :>

After watching Iron Man 3 (which by the way, is so awesome I almost died! >.< lol) we both decided to try out Body Tune Traditional Thai Massage at SM North EDSA. This is actually our first time ever to have a spa so we were really excited, anxious and conscious at the same time.  Being senior engineering students, we're always busy and stressed with our subjects and all our projects (imagine all that math)! I've been meaning for us to have a couples spa because I felt like I'm always tired and on the edge these past few weeks so when we had an extra time, I grabbed the opportunity.

We didn't know what to expect when we went inside Body Tune. We didn't even know the different types of massage and what it does to your body but we opted for Swedish Massage, just because I've heard a lot about it from other people who always go to spas. 

After making the arrangements at their counter, they ushered us to our room. The room was dimly lit and it has these cute little lamps on top of our lockers. It has two beds which can be separated by a divider in between if you want some more privacy. After changing into our robes and shorts, pink for me and blue for him (how cute!~), we proceeded to the sauna. The idea of sprinkling water over hot stones amuses me so I insisted on doing that task for the whole 15 mins. of hot and steaming time that we were inside the sauna. After the 15 mins. of sauna time, we took a shower in preparation for our massage. The masseuse gave us soaps and towels, male and female shower areas are separated and I assume it's one of their common areas.

That's the little lamp I'm talking about :)

Here comes the most exciting part! The massage! Yey! We were asked to lay face down on the bed, and then the masseuse applied oil on my skin and then started the swedish massage. I couldn't tell if the oil has a scent because I didn't really smell anything.The massage itself was really relaxing, I might have dozed off if I wasn't so conscious about my body. Remember this is my first time to have a massage and no one ever saw me in my undies except myself so I'm a bit hesitant with the whole body massage. After the swedish massage was our scalp treatment wherein they will put this sticky scalp cream in your head, this is my favorite part actually because the Mentholated cream soothed me. Too bad we didn't get the names of our masseuse and I think they also forgot to introduce themselves to us. After that relaxing body massage, they asked us if we want some coffee, being a coffee lover of course I said yes! My boyfriend didn't bother with it though. They went out of the room for a bit and told us to relax, when they came back they gave us two hot towels each and my cup of coffee!

Coffee, hot towels and the tip envelopes!

Because this is my first time to have a spa, I don't really have any experience to compare this with. Next week we'll be having a couples spa (again!) at MBay Health Spa, maybe after that I can make a comparison. ;)

Overall, we enjoyed our first ever spa experience! Thanks Body Tune Traditional Thai Massage.