Kiehl's is on a mission to rehabilitate the Pasig River

Kiehl's, one of my favorite beauty brands, recently made us aware of the state of the Pasig River when they herded us media onto the river ferry and took us on a river cruise.

Metro's Bianca Consunji, me and OK!'s Kristine Ching

Model Isabel Roces, Philippine Daily Inquirer's Kinny Salas-Amparo,
Style Bible's Eunice Lucero and Look's Kelly Misa

The event was held to announce two things: (1) Kiehl's has just upgraded their amazing Rare Earth Pore Minimizing line and (2) they've adopted Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) as their advocacy. The KBPIP project will aim to do the following:

• Raise funds by holding an in-store auction of local artists' paintings of the Pasig River
• Collect plastic bottles and recycle them into bricks which will be used to build homes for the informal settlers along the riverbanks
• Donate P5 from the proceeds of every Kiehl's Rare Earth product
• Urge people to donate-donate-donate to the cause through SMS

Kiehl's gave us beads to create our Commitment Bag Charms--a sign
of our commitment to support the rehabilitation of the Pasig River.

The artists show us their paintings.

So how can we help?

• You can buy a painting or two! The artwork will be displayed at the Kiehl's Greenbelt 5 boutique from July to August.
• Bring your plastic bottles to the store from August to September.
• Buy Kiehl's Rare Earth products from August to December!
• Text “GIVE[space]ILOG” to 2366 for Globe, TouchMobile and Sun Cellular and 231 for SMART and Talk & Text. Each SMS automatically donates P1 to the cause.

Beauty isn't just what you see in the mirror--it has to pervade everything in our life: our homes, our relationships, our values, our work, our environment. Let's make the Pasig River a beautiful river once again!

Kiehl's Rare Earth products (Deep Pore Daily Cleanser, P1200; Pore Refining Toner, P1500; Pore Minimizing Lotion, P1450; and Deep Pore Cleansing Masque, P2150) are available at Kiehl's in Greenbelt 5, Makati.

The Beauty Writer

P.S. Read about my Pasig River trip in my blog, Topaz Horizon.

Wine treatments for super soft skin

If you think skin exfoliation is a modern invention, you'll be surprised. Egypt's famous queen Cleopatra was said to bathe in milk--the lactic acid dissolves dead skin cells. In the Middle Ages, wine was used as a skin exfoliant--the tartaric acid doesn't only exfoliate, it's an antioxidant, too.

Me, Nikki and Nicole

So when Ola Bailon of The Spa invited me and a couple of editor friends to try out their latest treatments involving wine, we said, "Yes!"

I love how bright and clean the sink area is. Enjoyed hot ginger tea here.

Vinotherapy
a slimming beauty treatment that starts with a soak in a tub of wine-infused bubble bath followed by a scrub using grape and apricot extracts then a mineral-rich body wrap.
90 minutes. P1,900 for executive room, P2,400 for premiere villa.

Verdict: Nikki loved every minute of it except that she hoped to relax (sleep) but couldn't because she had to rinse after each step of the treatment. But she was very happy with the treatment and we loved how yummy she smelled after.

The lovely Jacuzzi

Red Wine Sparkler Scrub
Treatment starts with a thorough body scrub using red wine extract then a wonderful Swedish massage follows.
90 minutes. P1,900 for executive room, P2,400 for premiere villa.

Verdict: Nicole and I think this is absolutely wonderful! Oh, I fell asleep. And I am definitely going back for more. My husband tells me my skin is so much smoother. Though I enjoyed the heavenly massage and all, what the hubby said, well, that's what sealed the deal for me. I am going to be a regular at The Spa from now on!

The massage bed. The leaf cubicle is the sauna and shower.

Book an appointment at The Spa, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tel nos. 856-5858/6868

The Beauty Writer

Lancome sale!

Remember my rave review on Genifique? Well, this July, make sure you visit the Lancome boutique in Greenbelt 5, Makati, because there will be a big sale. I'll be dropping by. Need to get a new bottle of Eua de Bienfait Clarte 3-in-1 Cleansing and Toning Lotion for Face and Eyes. It's my makeup remover and I love it super duper!

Hmm... my blog is turning into a Lancome review site! Just so you know, I am not getting paid for any of my reviews and promotions. But when I get free stuff, I will obviously blog about them more, and Lancome has been very very generous.

The Beauty Writer

And the winner is...

Kristine of A Piece of My Mind

Prize: P10,000 worth of face and body treatments
from Aesthetic Science Clinic Makati

Congratulations! Please email me at frances@topazhorizon.com so we can discuss how I'll be sending your gift certificates.

I'm super excited for you, Kristine. I just had a lovely lunch with Dr. Yanee Vasquez-Santos. She is the prettiest doctor I've ever met! She's really hot, too. So when she showed me around the Makati clinic, I was looking forward to getting some treatments because I want to be as pretty and sexy as Dr. Yanee!

The Aesthetic Science Clinic at Jupiter St., Makati, is also spankin' brand new with fabulous facilities. I'm going to be having some slimming treatments done there, too. Maybe we'll see each other there!

To everyone else who joined this contest, thank you! I'm already cooking up another contest (but in a couple of months--I'd really like to focus on reviewing beauty stuff instead of me looking for stuff to give away!). I hope you'll still join in on the fun.

The Beauty Writer