My Experience With Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub

Due to heaps of procrastinating on my side, it is only now that I would be able to write a review for Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub. To date, Asian Secrets has 4 body scrubs and 2 soaps under its belt. I was able to try just 2: Green tea + Vitamin E and Licorice + Mulberry Leaf extract. Today, I am going to review the Green tea + Vitamin E variant.

Blurry photo, sorry :( Label says "Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Body Scrub Javanese Beauty Ritual with Green Tea and Vitamin E. Dermatologist-tested. Hypo-allergenic"

I already did a review of Purbasari Lulur Mandi Whitening + Vitamin E and explained how lulur scrubs are supposed to be used in Java, Indonesia. The Purbasari brand is imported from Indonesia while Asian Secrets is a local brand, methinks (please correct me if I'm wrong) which in a way is good since the concentration would be more suitable for our skin - although I don't think there would be any difference. lol. Just saying that the Asian Secrets brand is more targeted to a Filipina skin.

As with any other scrub, you apply this all over your body especially on dark areas such as underarm and groin, knees and elbows. This should remove dead skin cells to soften and give way for skin renewal. Rinse with water. Asian Secrets lulur scrub is recommended for daily use as opposed to a regular scrub which should only be used 2-3 times a week.

Anyway, as for the consistency (creaminess and "scrub" particles) Purbasari and Asian Secrets are just about the same. The only difference is the smell as Asian Secrets is better. Price is also the same for the big and small tubs which is 130pesos and 80pesos. Both brands are available in most supermarkets but Watsons particularly carry these brands.

 

As with Purbasari, I've been using this on my face hoping to erase fine lines and whiten dark spots. I know it's kinda silly to be using a body scrub on my face but hey, it's working for me! Although I should warn you that I am also using other things on my face and not just this so please consider before doing same. 

As for the whitening part, Purbasari was able to whiten them for me (as I have used that brand before this) and from "Purbasari white", I am not seeing any further whitening on those areas but thankfully, the lightened areas were maintained. As for new scars, this is where you'll see the Asian Secrets effect as they were visibly lightened in a little over a week - a great improvement if you consider the natural skin lightening time of months. lol. What I noticed with lulur scrubs is that they were able to make skin healing time faster - I have skin allergy and very prone to cuts and bruises which takes time to heal. Lulur scrubs are not drying, this I love. You can even go without applying lotion after lulur scrub as its moisturizing effect lingers. Asian Secrets was able to tame my skin allergy too, unlike other scrubs which aggravate - and sometimes, trigger - the condition. I sure am buying more tubs of lulur, in fact, I'm already onto my next tub which is the Licorice + Mulberry Leaf extract variant!

Cheers! :)

Finding People With Zaarly

Ever heard of Zaarly? I’ve stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago and it really looks promising to me – especially FOR SUPER BUSY MOMS actually. A few months ago, I was able to pull off a successful 1st birthday party for C, with just two weeks prep time. Earlier this month, I found myself helping my sister with her 18th birthday which was quite a big party, complete with dancing dragons and such. On both occasions, I found myself fighting allergy attacks days before the said events and nursing flu the next day so I say that while events are fun, it can be stressful too. I would say that my secret weapon on both occasions would be by using local contractors – that is, only those from within the area where the event would take place. Doing so effectively cut down my cost and saved me the time and trouble contacting supplier when need be. Zaarly would have come handy had I met him earlier!

Zaarly, in a nutshell, connects you to local people offering services – or needing services, if you happen to be the one offering services. What’s great about Zaarly is that it’s proximity-based, meaning their apps are designed to help you be visible within your area. For example, if you are from San Francisco and you would like to find a personal trainer, all you have to do is login to your Zaarly account and type personal trainer san francisco, type in the amount you’re willing to pay for this service and wait for bids. Bids are people within your area offering such services. Your ads are placed realtime therefore you should expect bids from San Francisco personal trainers just minutes after posting! It’s that easy.

Speaking of san francisco personal trainer, I really need to start working on those post-pregnancy fats! C is already a year old and yet I still look like 6 months pregnant! :(

Anyhoo, back to Zaarly; I’ve seen some local pages for it already – that is, Philippine pages so I really have good vibes for Zaarly. Zaarly could easily be Philippines’ Craiglist, if things go well. It could also be a good place to post ads for your homebased business ventures, methinks.

Zaarly has apple app available on itunes, free to download. Cool!

Cheers!

Thanks Fofo Kids!

My Facebook page was still in its infancy when a post was shared on our wall. It was an invite to come give a shot to an ongoing promo for their shop's launch. There wasn't much to do to join: you just have to like their page, fill up a form and guess the exact date of the launch.

Honestly, I don't really join each and every contest that comes my way. Some of them are too complicated to join and others require too much effort on my part (yup. lazy me) So I just go with the ones that are reasonable and fun. Fofo Kids' promo teaser, on the other hand, was really cute so I joined.

I asked the hubby to give me a number off the October calendar. He gave me 25. I went with 23. lol.

Lucky I listened to the stubborn me, look what it brought me:

Lucky number 3!! :)

Yey! Me and the kids were sooo excited! So just imagine our joy when this came in the mail:

No, not Perry the Platypus! :)

One look inside the loot bag and I knew there would be trouble, especially when all 4 of us were present upon opening of the package. *well, I tried to delay it but them 3 were not going anywhere, literally following me wherever I went*

So I opened - and braced myself for the onslaught!

They came popping out one by one!

Beanies!!

While taking photos of these beanies, the other Fofos were already getting dizzy being passed and grabbed, pulled and fought over. Poor Fofos!

Personalized letter from Fofo Kid's main man, Francis. aww.. :)

Boris on C's head ^_^

Stuffies for R ^_^

Say hi to the gang! Cutie keychains! ^_^

I so love the keychains! ..but the hubby beat me to it, he was already delegating these cuties to his key collection while I was busy negotiating with the kids about who gets what. lol :)

The stuffies and the keychains squeak, much to C's delight. 

These guys indeed made my day! Thanks Fofo Kids! Thanks Francis! ^_^

Check out Fofo Kids' Facebook page to know more about the Fofos. I heard their family is expanding soon so stay tuned :)

btw, those keychains are handcrafted. awesome right? Check out TheHappy Qwiirty on Facebook! :)

Cheers!

Gagay's PageRank and Birthday Thanksgiving Giveaway!

If you are into blogging, you know how nice a FREE 1 year domain hosting can get! Here's your chance to save a year on your blogging life! Join now :)

Without much ado, here are the exciting prizes to be given away.

* 10 Page Rank Shirts

* A total of $360 PayPal cash

o 1 winner – $100

o 2 winners – $50 each

o 4 winners – $25 each

o 4 winners – $15 each

* 5 1-year Domain Hosting

Thanks to the sponsors:

AirForce Blogger | Best of Riyadh Saudi Arabia | Brenna Speaks | Cee of Every Thought Counts | Cooking Games | Cooking Games for Girls | cooking games for girls | Cosmo Girl | Credit Card Informations | Culture Medley | Daily Snippets | Diamond Rings | Dinampo Family | Earning Online Moolah | Eat, Drink, Blog | Engineering Vault | Essay Paradise | Eye for Fashion | Fashion and Technology | Feeling Traveler Aketch | Fishy Talks | Food and Style Online | Foodies Galore | FREE Travels and Tours | Gagay.MD | Genny Speaks | GEORYL | Hands Full of Life | Hearts content of a mama | Help Articles | Here,there and everywhere | His and Hers Tech | Impulsive Shopper | IMRIZ.connected | It's all about me, Mommy Kat | Jefrox News | Joeyboy | Kwento Ni Toto blog | Life According to Me | Live The Green Life Today | Love home grow garden | LOVEs Haven | Make Money Online | Make More Money Online | Maxi Trips and Tips | Me the Woman | Mommy Gagay | Money Talks | musings on meanderings | My Little Angels in America | My Piece of Mind | My Thoughts & Ideas | Nerisa Farm | Oh Gosh Gulay | Our Love Story | Pinay Mommy Online | Pink Cigars | Pink Memoirs | Pinoy.MD | Praise And Worship Song Lyrics and Chords | Proud Mommy of Three | Rainydazeee | Raya in Thailand | Samut-Sari | Shengkayful's Fashion and Lifestyle | Simple Happy Life | Stylish Voyager | Solitary Wanderer | Solid Hosting | Stay at Home Wife and Mother's Corner | Tech At Hand SEO Tips | The Coffee Chic | The Hippie Mum | The jolly toes | The Misis Chronicles | The Packrat Wifey | The Philippine Travelogue | These and Those | Tinkerputt's Turf | Travels and Leisures | Travels Here and There | Travels, Trips & Vacations | Travel Photolog | Travel Yums | Walking News Paper | Web Strategy | Weighty Matters | What's Inside Joahna's Heart

Just click on the badge to know more about this giveaway and how to join!

Cheers :)

La Senza Outlet Store At Paseo de Sta. Rosa

I'm not really sure if it's indeed a La Senza outlet store or if they are considered as one, all I know is that there are rows upon rows and drawers upon drawers of La Senza goodies from tame PJs to seduce-your-man sheer lingeries selling at 40, 50 and 70 % off. For me, that officially makes it an outlet store. lol.

The confusion starts here:

"Bench Depot"

So if I enter this store, I expect to see all things  Bench right? Well, not in this store. Lookiee:

La Senza

Charles and Keith

KidConnection

Celio

Mothercare

There were other known brands that I wasn't able to take pictures of as I was trying to be very discreet about the act. lol. I didn't want to call any unwanted attention so very sorry guys :( I pretended to be texting and finding a mobile phone signal just so I can take fairly good photos of the place. lol. Not that I was sure they would throw me out if found taking pictures but I was just trying to be on the safer side. I'll try to get some more pictures next time.

It's a one stop shop in there, seeing all those popular brands side by side selling at awesome discounted prices! I say, best to start your Christmas shopping here! There's definitely something for everybody, even for the baby! :)

Note, this store is somewhat hidden, I discovered it by accident actually. If you'll come from the front (if you see Starbucks, Pancake House, Adidas, etc, then you're in front), you have to walk a little further going in (arrow straight) then cross a two-lane street until you find the garden-slash-park as it is somewhat in the middle - the center being the roundish, open air garden. From there, turn your head to your right. If you somehow end up out back where The Beauty Bar, Payless, Nike are located, walk a little going in, no more than 20 big steps until you find the garden then face left. You'll be able to spot it from there.

Paseo de Sta. Rosa is a commercial and lifestyle center located at Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. Map here. Website here. Major Brands/Institutions: Nike Factory Outlet, Nike Park Outlet, Marks & Spencer Outlet, Debenhams Outlet Store, Mizuno, Nine West, Gap & Banana Republic Outlet, Aerosoles, Payless, Speedo, Adidas, All Flipflops, Crocs, G-Force, Rudy Project, Bench Depot, Levi’s, Café Breton, Starbucks, Kanin Club, The Old Spaghetti House, Pancake House, Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, Shakey’s, Racks, Razon’s, Ryuma, Yellow Cab, Mecury Drugstore, National Bookstore, Ateneo Graduate School of Business

It's worth a visit especially if you are on your way to Tagaytay (30mins from Paseo de Sta. Rosa) Enchanted Kingdom is about 10minutes away sans traffic. lol. :)

Cheers! :)

My Gorgeous Pink Cheeks' Second Anniversary Giveaway!

Yey! Bec of My Gorgeous Pink Cheeks is giving away these awesome goodies and I'm definitely joining! Bec's not only a blogger whom I closely follow but we've exchanged quite a few comments here and there and aside from wanting everything in her giveaway bag, I am doing this to show my support and love! Happy anniversary sis! :)

I spy NARS @.@

This giveaway is internationally open so anyone can join! This giveaway will end on December 25, 2011 at 12:01 am EST. Plenty of time to join! ^_^

Click here to know more about the giveaway and to join: http://mygorgeouspinkcheeks.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-gorgeous-pink-cheeks-second.html

Cheers! :)

C's First Baby Steps! Yey!

Finally! After months of practicing and waiting, he's finally walking on his own! I'm so proud! *teary eyed* ^_^

What's This Baby Doing?

That's my son watching a how-to-make-a-Serenitea-milk-tea video. Counting how many times a day he watches that video, I wouldn't be surprised if one day he serves us milk teas mixed by him. lol :)

justmesharing. :)

Bench Pook-A-Looz Alcogel Liquid Hand Sanitizer is *love*!

I'm not a fan of alcogels - the sticky, antibacterial gels that are quite popular these days. I even have several Bath and Body ones that I only use when it's absolutely necessary. Honestly speaking, I feel a little dirtier when I  use them, like I really need to find water and soap ASAP! so there's no point in using them, me thinks.

So while doing my usual supermarket strolls, I came upon a "eureka" moment! Why not try those liquid ones, the ones that come in spritzers. I remembered seeing them in supermarkets but didn't give them much thought those times (as I imagined they would be sticky too) Now, I am more than ready to try them.

My first hunting trip wasn't successful. Smell is number one for me as I will be using the product on my kids so it should be somewhere in between mommy and kiddie friendly smell. I saw a couple of Bench liquid hand sanitizers but there were only 2-3 variants to choose from so I decided to pay Bench a friendly visit :)

Pook-a-Looz. sooo cute! ^_^

I fell inlove with this baby the moment I sprayed this on my hands! The smell is never overpowering but it has moderate staying power (prolly 2 hours) Never sticky when applied and best of all, it's not drying. It fits perfectly inside my bag since the bottle is slim and small. It's now a mainstay in my bag! soooo cute! ^_^

Pook-a-Looz Alcogel Liquid Hand Sanitizer with Moisturizer, Php39. There are 3 Pook-a-Looz colors to choose from. Green is  my favorite! :)

..Of Regrets And Decision Making..

"there are things I miss", you said. "But if I didn't have you, I'd miss more"

~David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel

I just finished reading David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary and this line has struck me the most. This was asked by the boyfriend (I assume, as there was really no reference in the book as to whom was speaking at the moment) and for a minute there, it got me thinking: hell yeah, that's exactly what I've been meaning to say but couldn't find the words for!

..and this is not only for my partner, but also for my kids. and for the things I chose and decisions I made. Lastly, for the person I choose to become.

Last night while listening to the radio, the DJ was giving advices to a girl who has gone left the house and her kids behind. She had no qualms about being separated from the kids though. Her only concern was about her hubby of 8 years having a girlfriend at the  moment. I won't comment about this girl but I am sharing today what the DJ said:

"When I make decisions, I always try to see myself 30-40 years from now and think, would I regret doing or not doing this?.." 

As a mom, my life is always riddled with minor and major issues needing quick and final decisions. It can be as simple as changing diaper brands or as big as opening a new business but I find that the end results almost always feel the same. The frustrations, the joy, they are always of the same degree so it is important that in that "quick and final decision making" moments I make sure that I won't ever regret my decision, now, tomorrow or even 30 years from now.

justmereflecting.

Food Stop: LZM Restaurant's Best Fried Fish Ever!

My hubby is a fierce Instagramers so upon seeing Miss Tintin Babao's Bangus post, he was intrigued enough to try the place. That Bangus post has brought us here:

ZLM Restaurant Solenad branch

I was hoping we would visit the Tagaytay branch but we were a little pressed for time so we went to Solenad-Sta. Rosa, Laguna instead. I honestly think I could work as an ambassador  for Solenad as I've been blogging about their place eversince! ZLM Restaurant in Solenad II is just beside Frutti Froyo so it will be hard to miss plus there's always a clamor outside their door - a clamor of families waiting to be seated or served. This alone can tell you how good their food is!

Lucky us we didn't have to wait long. These are what we ordered:

Fried Boneless Bangus 350pesos 

The bangus was so big it could feed 4! ..and yes, that must be the best tasting bangus I've ever tasted. It was not deep-fried crispy but the marinate worked wonders.

Half rice is Php 75, good for 2-3 persons

Beef Kare kare Php430

That's a big bowl of Kare kare too! In this place you get everything supersized! Too bad, no room left for their Bulalo, I heard it's also good. Oh maybe next time? :)

I highly recommend this place, good food, warm, friendly service (even the manager - owner? - gamely went out of the resto just because the little boy cried everytime their eyes meet. lol) This place is, hands down, 5 stars out of 5.

Btw, their Tagaytay branch can be found at Magallanes Square. 

Cheers!