Slightly TMI, but what is krissyfied.com but a venue to overshare about my life and loves LOL one of the things I look forward to in bath times are my thrice-a-week scrub-a-dub-dub sessions with a body scrub. ( ⋂‿⋂’)

One of the most effective (and budget-friendly, yay!) body scrubs I have ever tried is the Asian Secrets Lulur Indonesian Whitening Body Scrub, available in beauty sections of department stores and drugstores for less than P150 per 135g tub. Unsurprisingly, this brand has already gained quite a following. Well, great news, the team that brought Asian Secrets in the Philippine market has branched out and developed the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub. What's more, they opened a spa specializing in facial and body scrubs!

Asian Secrets' complete range of body and facial scrubs

Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub is another breakthrough moisturizing and whitening scrub by Asian Secrets, now specially formulated for the face. It contains Bengkoang (Yam Bean in English or Singkamas in Filipino), a traditional Indonesian whitening ingredient that has natural whitening properties and can make skin look brighter and more radiant, and contains vitamins C and E which are known as antioxidants that can fight harmful pollution from the environment to keep skin healthy. Similar to the body scrub, it contains Lulur beads that gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells to smoothen and give the skin a radiant glow. It also moisturizes and leaves the skin with a light fragrant scent.

Complete menu of services

Asian Secrets Whitening Spa is located at the topmost level of SM North EDSA - The Block. I was invited to its press launch a couple of weeks ago where I was treated to a luxurious Relaxing and Brightening Facial using the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub.


The spa has a really relaxing ambiance and smells so nice that I instantly felt my stress melt away the moment I stepped inside. Although a bit small, the rooms are spacious enough and are clean with minimalist decor.


The Relaxing and Brightening Facial aims to beautifully brighten the complexion and bring back the skin's natural glow by sloughing off dead skin cells. It also relieves stress buildup by relaxing tense facial muscles and triggering lymphatic flow to cleanse the face of toxins.

After cleansing my face, my attendant used the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub on me. Unlike other facial scrubs, it was very gentle and I did not feel any sting at all. Once it was rinsed off, a facial mask was applied on my face, after which I was given a head, shoulder, and arms massage. It was the most relaxing 60 minutes of my week.


As with any other times I went to a spa for a massage, I tried my hardest to not fall asleep as I wanted to savor every moment. But then, when you are in such a relaxed state like that, there is nothing else you can do but drift off and surrender to bliss.


The best thing about having Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub available in leading drugstores and supermarkets nationwide at P70 for a 50g tube and P120 for a 100g tube is that you can have your own facial scrub-a-dub-dub me-time pampering sesh at home. :)

BUT as a treat for my dear readers, I am giving away a Relaxing and Brightening Facial session at Asian Secrets Whitening Spa in SM North EDSA to one lucky winner and her plus one! Well, whoever wins can actually use the two vouchers for himself/ herself, but where's the fun in that? Bring your mom, best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend - bring whomever you like! Check out the Rafflecopter widget below to join:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to all those residing in the Philippines, so long as you will be able to visit Asian Secrets Whitening Spa in SM North EDSA with your plus one to claim your prize. The giveaway will run for two weeks and the winner will be announced immediately after. Good luck!

There are times wherein, even without you doing anything, a moment of epiphany hits you square in the face, and clarity comes unexpectedly.

Today was one of those days.

I was on my home earlier this evening, half-asleep while listening to music, when suddenly I thought of this: maybe the reason why I am always happy is because I never run out of things to look forward to. Not that I need any reason to be happy, of course, but I couldn't help but think the two are interconnected. I don't even know what brought this brain fart out.

via

I look forward to my first sip of coffee in the morning; to choosing which clothes to wear; to getting to work early; to listening to my favorite songs; to satisfyingly completing my tasks for the day; to lunch with my favorite girls; to reading at least a chapter before turning in for the night (I'm currently reading Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and it's magical); to weekends and sleeping in; to watching my favorite bands live in concert; to catching new episodes of my favorite TV shows; to watching movies; to Catching Fire. These are just some off the top of my head.

May you never run out of things to look forward to so that your heart will always be open and ready for new possibilities. Get excited, the best is yet to come!

I am a firm believer of word-of-mouth advertising in that whenever I make a great discovery, I make sure to recommend it to everyone who would listen. Yup, I am that unapologetic annoying girl who shoves whatever she liked reading or watching in her friends' faces LOL. That is how I was able to get my friends in Elementary to start reading Sweet Valley High, Archie Comics, and Nancy Drew ;) When I first started practicing yoga back in August, I found it really beneficial for me and knew then that it is something I wanted to integrate wholly in my lifestyle so I urged my friends to go and start practicing as well.

When I received an invite from Tantra Yoga in Amorsolo Street, Makati City, I guess you can tell that I did not hesitate at all. The event was held last Monday and it's definitely one of the most interesting events I have ever attended.

Tantra Yoga offers all sorts of yoga classes - Ashtanga, Hatha, Jivamukti, Flow, Vinyasa, Power, Kids, and Kundalini Yoga. Since they also believe that wellness should be holistic, they also offer alternative healing practices such as Pranic, Reiki, and Theta healing, by appointment with certified healer masters.

They have one studio that is clean, minimalist, and flooded with natural light.

You will have to bring your own yoga mat.

Alex and I take pride in being the only two people who participated in both the morning Kundalini Yoga class with Marissa Harnhad and afternoon Vinyasa Yoga class with JP Manghi and his brother Victor. In between classes, we had our nails done at Nailsanity, listened in to a juicing and raw food preparation demo by Breville, ate a delicious vegetarian meal (and lots of apple-cinnamon jaffles hee) for lunch, and took turns posing and taking photos of one another.




Kundalini Yoga combines postures and movements with breathing exercises and mantras. The postures and movements used in Kundalini are designed to improve circulation and gland secretion, and ultimately aims to establish in the individual a well-balanced glandular system. Marissa said there are 7,500 trias in Kundalini so no two classes will be alike. For last Monday's class, our poses focused on activating the lymphatic system. One of the chants she taught us that day, Ong, spoke to me because it means "I am the writer of my own story." Meanwhile, Vinyasa is a continuous and dynamic sequence of poses linked by the breath, encouraging its union with movement. It reflects the flow of life as it strengthens the body, clears the mind, and enriches the spirit.

Victor

JP

I really enjoyed learning new things from both classes as I've only ever tried Jivamukti, Hot Yoga, and Flow Yoga before. I also appreciate that JP and Victor made sure we were doing the poses properly by helping us make the necessary adjustments. There were some poses I found difficult at first but found myself more comfortable in after they helped me with the right posture. I was stretched in places I didn't think possible, and now my entire body hurts and every little movement causes discomfort. I'm not complaining, though. I just know I need to find more time and dedicate it for practice.




Before or after your practice, you may also have some pampering done at the Nailsanity nail and day spa, conceptualized from the market's need for nail care and waxing services that offer high quality pampering at reasonable prices.

My nails were painted a pale pink shade by Essie. I missed the name but I liked it so much because it looks like a ballerina's tutu.

Before any yoga practice, we set our intentions. The day's intentions were for the healing of all beings affected by Typhoon Yolanda. I am echoing one of our classmates' Facebook post in her wishes that may our countrymen find strength, comfort, love, hope, and light during this difficult time.

Day well spent. Big thanks to Miss Marcie for inviting me in behalf of Tantra Yoga and Nailsanity! I can't wait to go back!

Tantra Yoga/ Nailsanity is located at the ground floor of MG Building in 150 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. You may call them thru 5518964 or 09178621804.

These days, people asking for your WiFi password has become almost a standard in everyone's house whenever guests come visit. Whether for education, entertainment, getting in touch with family and friends, and even socializing, a solid and reliable Internet connection is no longer a luxury; it has become an indispensable necessity. With need comes innovation. Fibr, Home’s most powerful broadband, allows you to seamlessly and simultaneously experience the browsing of multiple websites, streaming hundreds blockbuster movies on-demand from Clickplay, and watching Cignal Digital TV Channels.

Folks, you know how obsessed how big of a fan I am of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy, yes? Well, I also have a big imagination. With just ten days before Catching Fire is shown, how about we imagine for a moment that I am one of the victors reaped for the 75th Hunger Games? What do you think will happen? Do you think I will drop dead the moment the cannon is fired? Hmn, I don't know about that, because I know I won't go down without a fight. Here's what I think.

Dun dun dun dunnn...


In my fictional version of Panem, I came from District 2, the district specializing in masonry, weapon-making, and training the Capitol's army of Peacekeepers. Despite my small frame, having a lot of experience as a concrete finisher ensured I am more physically able than I look. I didn't need to work ever since I was crowned a victor during my year but I wanted to remain fit and strong - keep the machine well-oiled, so to speak. That, and coming from one of the wealthier districts with a dependable Fibr connection will give me a distinct advantage over the other returning victors.

Give me an advantage how? For one, Youtube is a treasure trove of fitness videos so I'm sure I'll have a grand time choosing which training to undergo for the day every day until we go to the arena, together with an accompanying playlist.

With Fibr, I can readily stream in Clickplay whole "seasons" of the other returning victors' respective turns in the arena to re-watch how they won and see what their specific strengths and strategies were. I can also download videos of their past interviews and victory tours to note what they like, what makes them tick, and have a general idea what their attitudes towards the Games are. After all, knowing is half the battle.

Being a Career, the other tributes are predisposed to stay out of my way, but I have a personality that can easily adapt to other people and talk coax information from them. Like a television show from Panem's olden days (when it was still called North America) named Survivor that I was able to see when Cignal featured throwback shows, the Hunger Games is a social game; it is easier to build alliances and take out the weaker ones first before we'd have to turn on one another.

Since the Hunger Games is staged each year for the entertainment of the Capitol and my survival would most likely depend on sponsors, I will need to develop my personality and win the audience's hearts. To do this, I need to brush up on what's current and what's hot in the rumor mill, maybe even memorize a popular movie quote or two. Thankfully, Fibr allows me to open and run several tabs at once, ensuring I won't have any wasted idle time waiting for pages to load.

I am also very smart and ready to do all the research and studying I can so I know that unlike Foxface from the 74th Hunger Games, I won't be fooled by some poisonous berries. Berries. Tsss.

With my skills, strength, and Fibr, I am ready to be crowned a victor for the second time. Let the third Quarter Quell begin!


Fibr is available now in over 800-fiber powered villages nationwide. Visit www.pldthome.com or call 101-FIBR (3427) for more details.

I only got to watch scenes from the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda's wrath earlier today as I finally acknowledged that no matter how hard I try to look away, this is not just a horrible nightmare - this really happened and there's no solace in trying to be as uninformed as possible. One of my closest friends I met online, Belle, lives in Tacloban and I'm sickly worried as I haven't heard anything from her until now. I am really hoping and praying that she and her family are okay.

Watching the news is heartbreaking. All those lives lost, all those dreams broken, all those families separated from one another... It was all devastating to see and hear. Nothing like a super typhoon to remind us how fragile our life is when faced with a natural calamity of this scale. Nonetheless, elation amid the blanketing grief is still evident from most of those interviewed, considering themselves lucky to be alive. There is hope, no matter how difficult it looks.

Our countrymen need us, it's time to take action.

There are several ways you can help, and the great thing about it is that we are not alone: several institutions worldwide like Oxfam have set up donation pages for Yolanda's victims. If people from other nationalities are willing to extend help to us Filipinos, why can't we do that for our own people? You may drop off your donations of clothes, blankets, food, water, and the like at LBC branches nationwide. There are also a number of ways you can donate to the Philippine Red Cross, please visit this link. The easiest and most convenient way to donate, at least for me, is by texting RED to 4143 if you are a SMART subscriber, and then the corresponding amount will be deducted from your credits. You have the option to give P10, P25, P50, P100, P300, P500, or P1,000.

Every little helps, and the smallest act of kindness can spell the difference between hope and loss of the will to go on. I should know. My family lost all our possessions on a big fire that razed through our neighborhood back in 2001 and we were only able to get by through charitable acts by friends and even complete strangers. Life has never been the same since but I am proud to say that we were able to get back on our feet and begin again.

Whatever you do,

Not to sound preachy and all, but I hope you don't hesitate when you think about donating or lending an open arm. After all, if the situation was reversed, I'm sure you wouldn't want other people think twice about extending assistance.

God bless the Philippines.

*Photos from Moonscribe

UPDATES : 12 NOVEMBER 2013

Belle and her family are safe and well, thanks be to God. :)

The loss of lives and property due to Typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda was so massive that it has captured worldwide attention. There has been an extensive outpouring of help and in behalf of my fellow Filipinos, I would like to express our deepest gratitude.

A lot of organizations have also thought of wonderful ways to contribute:

• There will be a live auction tomorrow night (November 13) at 9 PM at MadTV's official website. Bloggers United's featured bloggers will be selling pre-loved items and proceeds will go to typhoon victims. Keep your eyes peeled for pieces you can add to your wardrobe while helping our fellow Filipinos at the same time.
• You may drop off your donations at Nuffnang's HQ until Friday. You may also bring your donations to Hotel Intercontinental Manila when you attend Blogopolis 2013 #IntoTheWild on Saturday (November 16). 100% of ticket sales will be donated to the Philippine Red Cross. I am going and I hope to see you there.

From Nuffnang's Facebook Page

I just got home from watching Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila with my old housemate Asther, and we had a grand time! Thanks to my boss Jenny for giving me tickets!

Truth be told, I didn't like the Disney version of this fairy tale that much because I feel like aside from toiling for her stepmother and stepsisters and talking to animals all day, Cinderella didn't exactly have a very convincing sob story that would've made it easier for me to sympathize with her and consider her worthy of her Disney Princess-status. It's like all she did was look pretty at the ball and capture the eyes of the Prince (who didn't even know her name!); which reminds me, I also didn't know the Prince had a name, or maybe I just forgot! Meanwhile, the original version tells of the same tale, only with much more sordid details.

I enjoyed Rodgers and Hammerstein's version more because they [literally and figuratively] gave Prince Christopher a voice and built his and Cinderella's love story a more solid foundation - even though he was only made aware of her name when she was able to show everyone that the glass slipper fits her perfectly.

Karylle looked divine in her gown and Christian Bautista was fittingly charming as Prince Charming. Also, credit should be given where credit is due - everyone in the cast did such a great job that I still couldn't wrap my head around how they were able to memorize all those songs and dialogue! Unlike in movies and TV shows wherein a director can shout "Cut!" whenever someone makes a gaffe and they can shoot as many takes as they want, theater actors could never afford to make even a slight mistake. There are no take twos in theater.

I loved all of the songs they performed especially (I'm not sure if this title is correct but I hope it is) Ten Minutes Ago. Does anyone know whether they'll release an official soundtrack like movie musicals do?

Aside from being able to catch this wonderful fairy tale musical, I am also thankful that I got to catch up and bond with my former housemate again. We had such a good laugh at our recollection of memories of the time I was living independently, and it's great to know that nothing has changed - we're still the same two silly girls who love gabbing about books and TV shows and boys to one another. I've missed you, Ar, and I'm happy everything's going great with you right now!

I don't have information on until when Cinderella will run in Resorts World, but make sure to catch it when you can. It has magic, songs, and nostalgia beautifully wrapped in dreams and tied securely with wishes, I'm sure you'll love it.