Good morning mi lurves! We’re a few hours away from this year’s Philippine Blog Awards night and am very proud to say that for the first time, am actually red carpet ready! Am not wearing anything extraordinary tonight (in fact, am just wearing a black top from Bo Couture, denims, and black pumps) but am all too concerned about my skin and hair since they’re flaring up like crazy the past 3 weeks. Stress has finally taken a toll on ‘em such that my face looks rather dull and my hair’s dead limp. Since my extra busy schedule won’t allow me to hit the spas and get me all primped up, I’ve decided to take two Saturdays off to just pamper myself back to tip top shape. So yes, in other words, I’ve DIYd to death again.

Last Saturday, Mother Goose and I did our nails, road tested two PCA Skin products, and wore facial masks. A little over a month ago, the Beautynomist and I quizzed this hottie about skin care and mineral makeup:

Grilling Dr. Hayden Kho Jr. of Belo Medical Group!

He mentioned that we need to continuously hydrate our skin to prevent aging. Key product to look for: hyaluronic acid. I got myself a pair of falsies from The Face Shop when I chanced on this mask:

YAY YAY YAY

It cost me only Php65 so I bought 2 so that mom and I can try it. On with our mini facials, we first cleansed our face with PCA Skin’s facial wash for oily/problem skin*. It was fragrance free and lathered quite nicely. Patting our skin dry, we checked for tightness or irritation…nothing. We followed it up with PCA Skin’s smoothing toner. For a pretty potent solution**, it smells (as funny as it may seem) like water! There’s no tightness nor redness too so we went on with our facial mask application.

Me smoothing toner on mom’s face

Guess who!!!!

After 15 minutes, we removed the masks and pat our skin dry with a towel (package says you’re not supposed to rinse the residue out). Was there a dramatic change? None. It felt rather relaxing while we had them on though.

Fast forward to yesterday, here’s what got me busy:

Mom and dad went out on a date last night hence she’s not able to try this Php 1299 microdermabrasion set from Pond’s. The kit promises the same professional microdermabrasion experience when used 3-4 times a week over 2 weeks. Here’s how I used it:

Wet face and Polishing Applicator

Squeezed this much polishing cream directly onto the Polishing Applicator

Made fun of myself massaged over my cheeks, chin, and forehead (avoiding the eye area) for 45 seconds

I rinsed out the product while in the shower and applied this treatment on my hair after towel drying:

This baby keeps my hair from getting all fried up. A 500ml bottle will set you back about Php 735 (wayyy cheaper than getting all worked up in a salon!). I can’t find our hair steamer (hahaha our house is like a salon I tell you!) so I just covered my hair with a shower cap. I also cleaned the Polishing Applicator while I was at it and stored it here to dry:

Post microdermabrasion, I applied the Post-Treatment Glow Enchancer. The result:

Glow! Glow! Glow! But seriously, it didn’t irritate my skin like how Avon Anew’s Microdermabrasion cream did. My face doesn’t feel baby smooth yet (let’s see if I get anything close in 2 week’s use) but it did make my skin look less dull. I rinsed my hair an hour after product application and it’s shining like crazy without hot hair drying.

So there you have it! That’s how yours truly primped up for the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards night. BryanBoy’s one of the judges tonight and am curious how’s he preps up for an event like this. Cross your fingers with me that I can corner him!

*An aloe cleansing gel created with higher percentage of AHAs for problem skin that effectively controls oil production and blemishes. Ideal use for face and body. Source.

**A lactic and citric acid soluciton helps refine pores and remove superficial dead skin cells, leaving the skin smooth and clear. Most appropriate for normal to oily skin types. Source.

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