Experience Proactiv's Refining Mask

Hey Coffeeholics! Its been a while. And yet despite the weeks.. my battle with acne is still ongoing. Its really "jahe" and annoying when I can't get a proper face shot because of a huge zit. Ok fine, lets make it plural.. ZITS. Ugh.

 

Yes its the black marks that you can see on my cheek. I've tried to cover it with makeup but still its visible. Its such an eyesore. I'm not sure if its because of lack of sleep, detox, or hormonal reason behind it. Nevertheless, its there and sometimes its really cramping my style yah know? So when I found out about Proactiv's Refining Mask, I got intrigued. I've tried all sorts of pimple/acne products but so far, Proactiv has been the only one with guaranteed success. So I was glad to be able to try it out for myself.

 The Proactiv Refining Mask

The Proactiv Refining Mask is a rinse-off mask that perfectly complements the Proactiv 3-step Combination Therapy System by reducing redness and inflammation associated with acne. It
comes free with every purchase of Proactiv 30-day or 60-day kit.

The Proactiv Refining Mask has a powerful concentration (6%) of antibacterial sulfur - a proven acne-fighting ingredient; its vitamin-enriched formula helps give you a brighter, younger looking complexion. It refines texture and tone of skin and pores appear smaller.

 The Proactiv Refining Mask Key Ingredients:
1. Vitamin E
2. Vitamin F Complex
3. Tea Tree Oil
4. Geranium & Lemongrass

It also contains Kaolin clay which helps absorb excess oil. It has Vitamin E, a potent antioxidant that protects skin from free radicals and soothes and nourishes the skin. It has Vitamin F Complex to help retain skin moisture. The tea tree oil in this mask provides antiseptic and cleansing properties, while the geranium and lemongrass extracts provide overall skin conditioning.

So if you have been using the Proactiv Combination Therapy, this Proactiv Refining Mask would definitely be the perfect complement for deep cleansing and to help minimize the pores. Who doesn't want to have supple looking skin and reduced appearance of pores besides me? I want smaller looking pores and I wanna say goodbye to skin breakouts. The advanced microcrystal benzoyl peroxide in the Proactiv® 3-Step System kill acne-causing bacteria while the glycolic acid and other exfoliants reduce excess oils and dead skin cells. Then the Proactiv Refining Mask deals with the inflammation where it reaches deep into pores to help reduce the redness and the swelling associated with a breakout. (YAY!) It clears away the small impurities that are still sticking on the skin pores after doing the three steps.

 

So of course with all these wonders mentioned, I just had to try it. All the instructions on how to use it are on the labels on the box and tube packaging itself. It is very easy to integrate the Refining Mask in the Proactiv® 3-Step System. Here's what I did.

Step 1: First, cleanse face with Renewing Cleanser. 

As you can see, to make cleaning faster and better, clear your face from any stray hair by wearing a wide hair band. Or for some just tying your hair will do. It will make cleaning so much easier and faster. I washed my face with warm water as well. 

Proactiv Refining Mask

Step 2: Apply Refining Mask to dampened skin. 

Ok here's the deal. According to Proactiv, you may use the Proactiv Refining Mask on your whole face or on acne affected areas only. Since the Proactiv Refining Mask is recommended to be incorporated with the Proactiv® 3- Step System, it is advisable that you apply it on your whole face EVERY DAY only during the first week. Then afterwards, you can use it 3 times a week for maintenance.

This was taken when I just applied the still wet Proactiv Refining Mask on my damp skin.
As you can see, the product that I applied was a bit thick. 

If you read the label, it advises you to just apply the Proactiv Refining Mask on the areas with acne. I've tried using it on the whole face. But mostly I've been using it on affected areas only as seen above. I've been using the Proactiv Refining Mask as a spot treatment and only for 2-3 times a week. Please take note that when you apply it on your face, you can really smell the sulfur (I sneezed a couple of times) and as it dries on your face you can feel this tingly sensation. 

AFTER 10 MINUTES:
The Proactiv Refining Mask drys up and leaves a chalky like coating on the areas applied.

Step 3: Leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with water.

 After Step 1 and 2,  leave it on for 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. 

WARNING: Excessive usage such as leaving it on for more than 10 minutes is not recommended as some people may experience hypersensitivity to sulfur.

Step 4: Follow with the Revitalizing Toner and Repairing Treatment.

After washing off the product from your face, you will definitely feel that your pores have tightened and the skin is now more soft and supple! You can say goodbye to oily pimply skin.

With constant use of the Proactiv Refining Mask after the Renewing Cleanser, you should see a progressive improvement in your acne and a reduction in facial redness due to the antibacterial properties of the sulfur, the drying action of the kaolin clay, and the skin - soothing formula.

The sulfur in the Refining Mask is an important ingredient in Proactiv® Combination Therapy® because it helps reduce the tender redness associated with a breakout. Sulfur is also a mild, natural antibacterial and a keratolyic agent which helps reduce acne bacteria and unblock clogged pores. The white kaolin clay also present in the Refining Mask, helps absorb excess oils, improves the look of pores and creates a smoother, more matte and calmer complexion.

The Proactiv Refining Mask can be your solution to the Zit Wars! When I used it, my pimples dried up. Yay!

Here are some other important things you should know:

1. Have a big pimple and you need to an important event that week? Or did you just had another breakout? Well, you can use the Refining Mask nightly for a week just like you did for the first time you used it. 

2. Make the Refing Mask Treatment as STEP 4. Use it as a LEAVE-ON Spot Treatment to the problem pimple OVERNIGHT. You will see a big difference on the following morning.

3. The Proactiv Refining Mask is scientifically proven and has been used by millions of customers
worldwide, including athletes, superstars, and ordinary people. Its ingredients are carefully
developed to complement the Proactiv 3-step system.

4. It is convenient and easy to use. It can be easily applied and rinsed off with water while other masks can be sticky during application, can be time-consuming and can be very messy. It also effectively reaches all parts of the skin and penetrates pores unlike traditional facial sheets.

 

5. It is economical. It comes FREE with any Proactiv 30-day or 60-day kit, and one tube can last for a month. It can be used as your regular mask, and doubles as an emergency blemish treatment too!

So what are you waiting for Coffeeholics? Its time to take action and say goodbye to acne. Get this Proactiv Refining Mask for FREE as you purchase the Proactiv 30-day or 60-day pack. Visit http://my.proactiv.com.ph today! 

6th MegaBrands Sale on Oct 4-6 up to 70% Off

Hey Coffeeholics! SALE ALERT next week! Don't miss out on the 6th MegaBrands Sale  that will open on Friday to Sunday, October 4-6, 2013, from 10AM to 9PM, at the Megatrade Hall 1, 2 & 3, at the 5th level of Mega B, SM Megamall. 

Following its five successful annual staging of this event, MCT Events Management offers the 6th edition of the MEGABRANDS Sale. The three-day event showcases more than 200 known brands, both local and international, under one roof. Awesome right? 

Get ready Coffeeholics and shop til you drop as all you shoppers from all walks of life will surely enjoy HUGE discounts on great selections from shoes, bags, men’s and ladies fashion, sporting goods and accessories, personal care, eye wear, time pieces, and other specialty items. Special discounts and promos also await shoppers on gadgets, gizmos and other tech brands. Participating companies and well known brands will hold inventory sale or end-of-season sale. The Event is open to shoppers looking for great bargains before the Christmas season sets in. So better check this out for your advanced Christmas shopping! Pasok sa budget!

Over the years, this Event has established a growing market of loyal shoppers, and has always been one of the most anticipated annual events.

Shoppers will enjoy up to 70% discounts from participating brands like Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Cole Hann, Crocs, Levis, Dockers, Vans, CMG, Oakley, Figlia, Sanuk, Ellese, Tomato, Carlton, Elle, Slazenger, Yonex, Wilson, Victor, Nike Golf, Ogio, Bridgestone and many more.

RCBC Bankard, still the official bank partner of MCT Events for this event, shall treat its credit cardholders with 0% interest for up to 12 months. There are also special giveaways and freebies for those who will sign up and apply for RCBC Bankard credit card during the event.

As usual, admission is free and all major credit cards are accepted. Before the Christmas Shopping RUSH begins, make your way to the 6th MegaBrands Sale. You’ll be surprised that with the wide array of choices, you can find something that you’ll need long after the Christmas is long gone. 

So Coffeeholics! Are you ready for some advanced Christmas shopping? Mark your calendars now and don't miss out on this huge sale! Help spread the word to your friends and family by following these steps:

https://www.facebook.com/events/430631780381470/

Step 1: Click the link above then click on "Join" at the top of the page.

Step 2: Click "Invite Friends" at the top of the page and select your friends.

BE UPDATED:  For more information about the event, call MCT Events Management at 502-1546 or 399-2935, 643-5490, 576-6362. You may also follow through Facebook Fanpage: www.facebook.com/MCT-Events-Management or in twitter: @mcteventsmngmnt for more updates on this event.

Special thanks to these media partners: TipidPC.com, Manila Times, Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic, WhenInManila.com, PinoyBestDeals.com, 88db.com, ManilaReviews.com and 

Brew of the Day - kaisensei.blogspot.com.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Weight Loss, Juicing, and Joe Cross

Yes its been a while coffeeholics. Its funny how life sometimes catches up and takes a grab at you.. firmly and makes you rethink a lot about oneself. Yes, its one of those phases. Work plus a lot of personal life required me to take a breather from my net life. But no worries. I'm back and so happy to share to you the good stuff that has been happening in my life.

  

First of all, I'd like you to meet my breakfast and sometimes my dinner. This glass bottle filled with Green Juice and another filled with "Red-Orange" Juice. YES! I have finally succumbed to the juicing trend after a lot of promptings from my mom. Actually my mother really influenced me to get into this program because it worked for her! She stumbled upon Joe Cross and the wonders of juicing and when I saw her lose more than 20 pounds, I was convinced. I had to try this.

 

OOTD - NestleActivE Event last July 

Top - Thrifted

Black Tank and Denim Shorts - Greenhills Bazaar

Shoes - SM Parisian

Necklace - Bloggers United Haul

I haven't been too happy with my body weight lately. This year I hit my all time high. Eating became my comfort zone which led to me being overweight. I know that some people have embraced their body type and are happy with it. Kudos to them. I admire them for their stand and for their ability to embrace who they are wholeheartedly. I tried to do that to myself as well. To be happy with my current body type. I tried. I adjusted. I even tried to overcome my fashion challenges with my body type. But I still wasn't happy.. maybe because I've been lighter before and I knew that with much endurance, discipline, and motivation I can go back to my that weight. So I haven't been happy with my excessive weight gain. These past few years I've tried all sorts of diets and weight loss fads like Atkins' diet and drinking Slimming Coffee to help lose weight around 2010.

My before and after photos during my slimming coffee phase. 

The BEFORE was taken December 2009 and the after was around April 2010.

Surprisingly, the slimming coffee did help me lose a lot of weight. But I stopped coz of palpitations and constant headaches. I feared that it might not be healthy. I lost 20 pounds but gained it all back and more after a year. You see, the slimming coffee suppressed my appetitie but I wasn't able to replace it with good eating habits. It was really frustrating for me when my weight yoyo'd back up. And to my horror, it became worse than before.

My Fitspiration:

I want to get healthy. I want to look better. I will eat right. I will exercise.

I will earn my body.

But now I've become serious and I've decided to change. I will do it right. I need to. I need to face the truth. I'm not getting any younger, my eating habits are not good, and I was gaining more weight then I was comfortable with. My mom, Joe Cross, and juicing changed all that. It gave me the glimmer of hope. I learned with the right food, the right attitude, and the right determination -- it was still possible.

Meet Joe Cross. He too came to a crossroad and decided that he had enough and wanted to change. And thanks to him and how he lost weight.. a lot of people including my mom and I were inspired as well and is gradually losing weight. He is the guy behind the autobio movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" Watch this trailer about his journey of overcoming his weight problems.

This is not an endorsement. This is a life changing realization. I want to change. And this man has inspired my mom and I believing we can achieve a "fitter" and "healthier" life. My mom has already lost 30 pounds as of now. This was the biggest weight loss she had for years. Following the "juicing" diet as advocated by Joe Cross wasn't easy. We had to change our mind sets. Willing to go the extra mile and do it deliberately. It wasn't perfect. There were days we cheated. But still we were losing weight and got encouraged.

Karen Davila interviewed Joe Cross here in the Philippines.

Watch this video to understand more about why we should "juice". I learned a lot!

To be honest I haven't totally followed the Reboot Diet as recommended by Joe Cross. But with my mom's guidance and encouragement and super effort to make those yummy healthy juices, its been a success so far. For those wondering, I will post more about this some other time. This is so far my menu during the day - I've been having the Green Mean Juice (usually cucumber, celery, apple, ginger, malunngay, pechay or some other leafy veggie) and the Carrot-Apple Juice in the mornings. These juices are all pure juices from the fruits and veggies bought from the market. My mom buys them then juices them using her Huron Juicer. Its a slow juicer but really extracts a lot! This is what I drink in the mornings.

 

I eat lots of fruits - apples, melon, and bananas.

I eat lots of cooked veggies and fresh salads.

This is now my "rice". 

During lunch, I usually eat a LOT of veggies (cooked or salads) and some meat (fish, chicken, or pork). Dinner is usually veggie salad or juice. Sometimes I have meat. Do I still eat rice? Yes, I still eat rice. Even though I know its carbs that make fat -- I still acknowledge that I still need carbs in my body so sometimes during lunch I eat 1/4 cup of rice or even less (like a spoonful or two). It wasn't easy at first to stop eating rice. But if I wanted a slimmer body, I had to learn to give up on some things to attain something better.

I've been on this semi-juicing diet for more than 3 weeks now and can happily say that I already lost almost 10 pounds and losing inches around my waist. Yes to no more bulging tummy for me! Next step will be exercise exercise and more exercise that will go with my juicing diet. I'm happy with my progress so far. I don't feel depressed and deprived. I love and enjoy what I'm eating. I'm excited to see the new me very soon. And I want to make this my lifestyle. I'll be honest. There are times I still crave for chocolate, cake, and all the wonderful sugary stuff. I decided instead of being grumpy and deprive myself. I will satisfy myself with one bite or one taste. If have strong willpower at that time and avoid it altogether, yay for me! If not, I'm not gonna go wallow up in self-pity and guilt because of it. I'm trying my best. Its not going to be a perfect smooth ride but I will get there. I'm changing my bad eating habits with good ones.

I found a bit ironic though that once I started dieting, some people think that it is their duty to inform me that a) I'm doing it wrong, b) it won't work, c) I'm not losing weight at all, d) say all sorts of stuff that really puts me down. I know some people mean well. I understand that and try my best not to get affected by the discouraging negative words that they are saying. Some people also make fun of me and my diet and happily predict out loud to the whole wide world (meaning everyone in hearing distance) that I'm not gonna stick to this diet, will not make it, and will not believe that I'm really earnest in this. Sometimes I do get discouraged. I hate hearing stuff like that. Like I'm not having a hard time already and those fantastic words is like the most things I want to hear. NOT. It hurts but I have learned to ignore those words as well. The above poster was a good reminder that I should learn to ignore stuff like that and work harder and not give up.

Positive Words Make A Lot of Difference. :)

So yeah, if you know me personally, I would really appreciate it if you would say encouraging words instead. If what you wanna say is just going to be negative and discouraging, do me a big favor by keeping quiet and not saying anything instead. I'd rather hear silence than discouraging words. Thank you for your consideration. As to the people who have been very supportive since Day 1, THANK YOU. Your encouraging smiles, your positive words, and your belief that I can go through with this has meant a lot to me. Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy it makes me that you noticed my progress in making myself more physically fit. Thanks. :) hihi. :)

I may not be there yet but I'm closer than I was yesterday. Thank you God. Thank you Mom. Thank you Joe Cross. I can do this. Yes coffeeholics, this has been quite a personal post. If you read this up to the very last sentence, I thank you for your time. I will be updating this blog with how I'm going so far with this journey and the things me and my mom did to get there. Hope you all have a great week!

Giordano Denim Now and Denim Forever

HEY COFFEEHOLICS!!! 

We all know that fashion trends come and go, right? But only one thing remains constant: DENIM!

(Yes to denim! :) Its a staple for EVERYONE right? Its really rare for anyone to NOT own any denim piece)

Since it was invented in 1853, the sturdy fabric has been molded into different fits and styles – bellbottom, boot cut, bleached, washed, colored. Ha! I remember during high school, "FLARED" denims were the craze. All my denims were flared or "boot cut" (of course! haha!).  And unique to the denim is how it flatters every person who wears it, from workers to rock stars, cowboys to celebrities; it’s the ultimate staple apparel. True to its long and rich history, the denim jean is designed to last forever.

In celebration of this classic material, Giordano Philippines launches “Denim Now. Denim Forever”. Can be worn by anybody in any season for almost any occasion, the raw and colored denim offered in the collection is available in different fits and styles.

“Denim Now. Denim Forever” underlines the material’s sturdy yet comfortable characteristic. “Compared with last year’s denim collection, this year’s pieces are different in terms of fabrication, thread and pocket design. The styles now have a higher spandex content, thus allowing more movement for the wearer,” said Ella Santos, Giordano Philippines Denim Category Buyer.

In this collection, Giordano highlights the classic beauty of raw denim. “The dye is expected to fade gradually with continuous washing. This is one of raw denim’s unique characteristics and it must not be considered as an imperfection,” Santos said.  YES for faded denims right? :)

Giordano raw denim jeans come in two kinds of fits and styles: tight tapered and slim tapered for men, slim tapered and skinny straight for women. These pieces are also designed to adjust to the wearer’s shape and size, acquiring a more personal fit.

Colored denim jeans are the ultimate expressions of fun, comfort and style. Similar to Giordano’s legging jeans, the spandex content in these pieces allows wearers to move freely and comfortably. The jeans are available in eight different colors – classic black, washed red, oxblood, mustard, blue turquoise, navy blue, dusty white and dark denim – in skinny tapered for women and tight tapered for men.   

Pieces from the Giordano’s “Denim Now. Denim Forever” are available in all Giordano stores nationwide at an affordable price of PhP999, starting August 23 until mid-September. 

So get on the Denim groove and drop by Giordano nearest you. Happy Shopping! :)