AMW Reviews: Pevonia Botanica Dry Oil Body Moisturizer

Good morning Monday!  I am sending all the good vibes to AMW readers so as not to suffer from the Monday Blues!  Did you have a good rest over the weekend?  

Since it's the start of the week, let's slow down a bit, I'm writing about something relaxing!  What's more relaxing than a good spa treatment?  Over the years, I've shy-ed myself on facial treatments but I wouldn't mind spending a bit for body massage!  My body longs for it especially after a week's hard work!  As my friend Bea would say: "Let's release those tension knots!"  It's an invitation I can't seem to resist!

I've tried a couple of SPAs in the Metro and most of the time, I do check what products they use on my body and most of the luxurious spas I've tried have one thing in common, the availability of Pevonia Botanica products!  Mind you, my first Pevonia experience was in Shenzhen, China! 

Pevonia says ---

Absolutely luscious, Pevonia Dry Oil Body Moisturizer indulges your skin in aromatic glory without an oily or greasy feeling. Immediately absorbed, it revitalizes and nourishes every inch of skin. Squalane, Lavender, and Chamomile synergize to deliver a replenishing veil rendering your body silky-soft with a radiant, healthy glow.

Size: 200ml/6.8 fl.oz.
Ingredients:

AMW says ---

Pros

• Spray type bottle making it easy to control the amount of product needed.

• Definitely a body oil but never feels oily/greasy.
• Smells WONDERFUL!
• Gets absorbed into the skin easily.
• Locks in moisture, my skin feels soft for the whole day!
• Gives my skin a nice radiance.
• This product contains Squalane Oil, Safflower Oil, Aloe Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Lavender Oil --- all natural ingredients.

Cons

• Price.
• Availability.

Overall

The most luxurious body oil I've tried!  For the first time, I'm actually looking forward to application as it's an overall "at-home spa" experience.  The scent, the feel relaxes me after shower.

Tips

• Best used after bath or shower.
• If you have SUPER dry skin, it's best to lock in moisture by applying a body lotion after Pevonia Botanica Dry Oil Body moisturizer application! 
• For normal to oily skinned individuals: Towel off some "excess" moisture after application.
• For someone who suffers extreme dry skin like yours truly, I transferred this product into a small spray-type bottle so I can re-apply this product on dry spots mid-day!

Will I repurchase?
Yes.

To whom do I recommend this to?
Anyone who likes the advantages of body oil minus the greasy feel!

Where to purchase and how much?
Pevonia Botanica Dry Oil Body Moisturizer costs around Php 3,120.00 (approx $72.55).  To check availability, LIKE them on Facebook or contact them at http://www.pevonia.com.ph/

Check out my past Pevonia Products experiences by smiling and clicking ---
The Spa Purifying Moroccan Mud Therapy Experience
Toccare Spa

Have you tried any Pevonia products?
Do you check which products were used on you during spa treatments?
I definitely do! :)

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

(Product received for PR purposes.  Opinions/reviews 100% mine.  Please purchase at your own discretion.)

AMW Reports: Get Belofied --- Now!

Have you "Belofied" yourself?

My answer?  "No"!  I'm definitely a sissy in terms of cosmetic surgery or even facial treatments!  Don't get me wrong, I don't judge people who go through invasive or non-invasive treatments, for me, if you have the willpower, the means and the want, why not?  But of course, for someone who's scared to go under the knife, there will always be that single moment in your life where you would wonder how you would look like if you have sharper nose, more distinct cheekbones, fuller lips, etc...  I believe a lot of you are nodding right now, wouldn't it be fun to see how you would look like with better features?

Last Friday, I learned about the Belofied App for iPhone and iPad, it's a fun and free way to enhance your features without shelling out money and best of all, it's Painless!   

The event was held at Kasbah, The Fort.  It was a first for me to dine in this restaurant and so far, I'm very happy with the food I've tasted!  After dinner, we were greeted by the gorgeous Cristalle Henares, daughter of Vicki Belo.

On a side note, most of us on the table were just staring at her!  She's definitely very pretty and have a gorgeous body!  Oh, I also asked her what foundation she uses that night, it was Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow!  I love how the foundation looked on her, flawless, very natural and clean!

Weekend Food Tripping at: Passion Restaurant, Resorts World Manila

Happy weekend everyone!  I had a very tiring Saturday!  I guess I got super tired because of the traffic!  Were you stuck in traffic just like we did?  

I had late morning makeup gig to 2 of my gorgeous clients and afterwards, we went straight to Gilmore (a super tiny version of Akihabara, Japan)  *laughs*  We needed to upgrade our 5-year old PC as it's starting to crash on me in between work!  About an hour plus later, we were able to get our newly-built PC (Mr. AMW style) and we drove straight to my mom's place as we're all meeting up for dinner at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel.  Okay, here's the ordeal, the drive from my parent's place to Eastwood took us more than an hour and we were late with our reservations!  I think we arrived Eastwood Richmonde Hotel around 8:00pm and buffet ends at 9:00pm!  Imagine, just an hour of eating, I didn't get to take pictures anymore as I was very hungry!  *laughs*

The point of my story (finally!) *hihihi* is that, I can't report much about our buffet experience last night so I'm picking up old food files and I remembered Passion Restaurant at Resorts World Manila!  I can't believe I nearly forgot about this!

It was a treat from our family friend and we dined in here last month for Father's Day!  The restaurant is known for its expensive, yet authentic Chinese dish and it will be my first to try the restaurant that night!  

**Note from me: Prices are for Small, Medium and Large orders.

Crispy Fried Chicken 

with Red Bean Sauce

half: Php558.00

whole: Php1,005.00

Okay, fried chicken is fried chicken!  I find this order to be a bit too pricey!  It tastes like regular chicken and so far, the red bean sauce was nice but not something I would crave for in the future!

Hot Prawns Salad

Php715.00/1,080.00/1,380.00

Though pricey, this dish actually warms our taste buds, we enjoyed their hot prawn salad as the prawn were really huge and fresh!  Worth every single penny paid for this dish!  A definitely must-order!

 Wok Fried Beef 

in Black Pepper Sauce with Broccoli

Php668.00/847.00/1,295.00

The beef is very tender, tasty and super juicy!  It was sliced in cubes and it was a favorite of the night! 

  

 Deep Fried Spareribs 

with Salt and Pepper

Php480.00/668.00/928.00

Since most of the people around the table ate in this restaurant multiple times, they told us that the first few times they've tried this dish was fabulous!  The most recent order was a tiny bit of a let down as there wasn't much meat on it.  The flavor on the other hand is a "thumbs up"!

 Fukien Fried Rice

Php448.00/608.00/888.00

If you dine in Chinese restaurants, most of the time, you'll give Yang Chow Fried Rice a try!  For the more adventurous diners, I would strongly suggest to give "Fukien Fried Rice" a try as the rice itself can be eaten alone as it's topped with flavorful sauce with chopped goodies (mushrooms, shrimps, etc...).   I find Fukien Fried Rice at Passion restaurant to be really flavorful and the sauce is just right to make me eat the rice on its own! 

 "Ma Po To Fu"

Stewed Bean Curd with minced beef and hot chili sauce

Php368.00/488.00/668.00

 Okay, I'm an expert tofu-eater right?  I can't really  pinpoint on how I would explain this dish!  It's not as spicy as most "ma po to fu" I've tried, the dish doesn't taste anything like the usual stewed, spicy bean curd!  I was told by my mom-in-law who tried the same dish in the restaurant several months before and she told me it wasn't as good as the first one she tried! 

 Braised E-Fu Noodles 

with Assorted Seafood

Php488.00/638.00/968.00

Flavorful noodle dish that's loaded with various seafood!  I'm impressed, it's definitely "birthday style noodles" cooked the best way!

 Minced Pork in Muy Choi Sauce

with Steam Eggplant

Php408.00/544.00/828.00

Okay, this is one favorite dish of mine but at this stage, I was stuffed!  I wasn't able to really eat a lot of this as this dish came in last!  I wish it came in earlier as this is another one of my favorite! 

Overall, dining at Passion Restaurant is a bit pricey for a typical Chinese dish-craving day!  But who can complain?  It's located at Resorts World Manila and the place was always packed with people!  The servers were pretty helpful and knowledgeable with the dishes.

The total price of everything you see in this blog post ranges around Php10,000-11,000 (approx $232.00-255.00).  Okay, before you get jaw-locked *laughs*, 12 people were fed that night and everyone went home pretty full and satisfied! 

Passion Chinese Restaurant

2/F Newport Mall, Resorts World Manila

Pasay City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(632) 908-8875

Have you tried this restaurant?
What's a must try restaurant at Resorts World Manila?
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!
Stay full!

Royal Effem Eye Pencil Review

Happy Saturday!  It's another busy day for me but I'm looking forward to it!  After a full day of hard work and duties, we'll be celebrating my mom's (advance) birthday tonight!  I booked a buffet dinner for the family and I'm quite excited not for the food but with the "bonding time"!  Okay, the food excites me a bit too!  *laughs*

I am very grateful each day when I wake up because God gave my mom a second chance, a second life!  We're seizing each day and I never forget to tell my mom and dad how much I love them ---  EVERYDAY!  Do you do the same too?  If not, well it's not too late! *smiles*

Let's talk about events, most of the time, events were held either in Makati, The Fort or Ortigas and those areas are at least an hour drive (without traffic) from my place, so getting ready will always be a rush as I don't want to be stuck in traffic!  Do I even have time to blend my eye shadows?  Unfortunately, NO so how do I make my boring eyes look at least a tiny bit interesting?  Colored eyeliners!

Royal Effem says ---

• soft texture
• long lasting even with temperature variations
• excellent glide
• perfect definition
• even, clean lines
• lines free of smearing and cracking
• intense, precise outline
• lanolin, paraffin and fragrance free formula

Tip for the Day: Top MAC Lipsticks

"What's your top 10 MAC Lipsticks in no particular order?"

The question I got from the reader intrigued me and made me rummage through my lipstick collection!  Then I realized, 10 MAC lipsticks would cost a whole lot especially if you're not a makeup artist, well you're probably a MAC lipstick collector if you  have more than 10 if not a makeup artist!  So for regular people, what are the must have MAC lipsticks or where can you start?

I can still remember my first ever lipstick from MAC which was TWIG which, unfortunately, was lost during a makeup gig *sniffles*, it was the first ever purchase that got me staring at it the whole afternoon as I took all the time to research "the best" shade for me! 

With the wide range of MAC lipstick, where can you start? 

Here's a guide on how I started with the collection, it's not top 10 but I call it my "MAC Starter Lipstick Collection".  Please keep in mind that I'm in no way a MAC lipstick expert but I will be sharing my humble opinion on my favorite shades as I use these the most on gigs!

Let's start with pinks, the ultimate blue-based pink lipstick called Pink Nouveau (smile and click HERE for review) has been used by many actresses and have been a cult favorite!  To be honest, Pink Nouveau doesn't look that good on me but, the power of Pink Nouveau cannot be underestimated!  Most of my clients look so good on this lip color!  Whether they are models or regular people, I find Pink Nouveau can flatter them!

MAC Pink Nouveau on tube

 and Swatch

Reds.  The ultimate "sexy" color that could make or break a look!  A good red lipstick will make you look hot and sexy but a bad red lipstick choice may make you look trashy!  *laughs*  Okay, it wasn't a good description but you get the drift!  There's 2 reds that I totally like!

MAC Russian Red and "Red" She Said

MAC Russian Red is a medium red shade that leans to a cooler tone.  This works so well on most skin tone but I have to stress that it takes a lot of "getting used to" to be able to pull off this shade!  (Smile and click HERE to see photos worn by different individuals including myself!)

MAC "Red" She Said on the other hand, is a limited edition shade from Holiday 2008, I can't help but include this shade as it is a beautiful deep blood kind of red!  This works so well on most of my clients who dislikes the "in your face" red lips but still make the lips pop in a non-car crashing way!  Since this is limited edition, a good dupe and a more inexpensive alternative would be the one from Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet. (Review HERE)

Left: Russian Red

Right: 'Red' She Said

What if you're not into loud lipstick shades?  What's the best lip color for everyday?  Neutrals - light pinks or peach.  There's 2 that I like to pick up for bridal clients.

MAC Viva Glam V and Sandy B

MAC Viva Glam V was one of those few purchases that took me weeks of research before deciding this shade!  I went straight to MAC Counter and got it immediately after I tested it on my lips!  This is the type of lip color that spells "Your lips but only better!"  This shade is perfect for anyone who's afraid to wear color yet doesn't want to look pale at the same time.

Sandy B, a peachy lip color with gold flecks.  I enjoy using this lipstick if I'm on a shoot that requires a healthy, bronze-y, tanned look!  This works so well on lighting and it screams "summer time"! 

Left: Viva Glam V

Right: Sandy B

Last but not the least, let's move on to people who are into dramatic eyes!  What's the best pairing to a super wild colored eye makeup looks?  A nude lip color!  Nude lipsticks aren't only there for smokey eyes but it's also a great product to "blur out" the original pigmentation of your lips if you plan to apply a light colored lipstick!  Oh, have you tried Ombre Lips?  Nude lip colors are a great base to start off your Ombre Lips creation --- let's talk more about it in future posts!  Let me know if you're interested! :)

MAC Close to Real and Yash

It is easy to save up on lipstick by using your choice of concealer to cover your lip's original color, one huge CON on using concealer on lips, most of them may dry up the lips thus settling into lip lines making the overall effect weird and "not sexy"!

MAC Close to Real is lipstick shade closest to a concealer!  The advantage of this over concealer is the appearance of peach.  Best applied on light to medium skin tone.

MAC Yash is a favorite of mine to reach out to for people with medium to dark skin tone.

Left: Close to Real

Right: Yash

Keep in mind that some of my "favorites" listed are LE (Limited Edition) but don't fret, MAC has a wide range of lipstick shades and you can always ask help from their SAs and ask for "similar shades".  They'll always have at least one!  

Most MAC lipsticks that I've tried are a bit drying especially on people who suffer from dry lips. *me!*  It helps to moisturize your lips properly while you do your makeup prior to lipstick application and top it with your preferred gloss for that extra shine!

My favorite MAC Lipstick swatches all ined up!

L-R Pink Nouveau, Russian Red, Red She Said, 

Viva Glam V, Sandy B, Close to Real and Yash

What's your favorite MAC lip color? 
Click comment and let's help our reader! :)
Thank you! :)

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!