Best of the Web Feature on Pocketchange

Hey coffeeholics! Guess what? BREW OF THE DAY got featured on PocketChange lifestyle blog - Be In Style's "Best of the Web".

Pocketchange is a blog where they cover everything from beauty, fashion and design trends to home activities like arts & crafts. One of their interesting and useful sections of their blogs is their TIPS CENTER  which have all sorts of buying and shopping tips on a whole lot of products and stuff that you definitely need. I personally like their Nail Care Tips and their Hair Care tips which I'm pretty much sure will be very darn useful. Best of the Web is one of their most popular features which comes out on a weekly series where they recognize the most informative and interesting websites.

PocketChange Lifestyle Blog

click photo to read feature

To find out that Brew of the Day as part of this feature, I was a bit surprised and amazed to be even considered to be featured in another blog. I have never been assuming of my blog. I know that there are a lot more blogs out there deserving to be labeled as part of a Best of the Web feature. I know coz I've read a lot of blogs and admire the hard work and labor they do to for their blogs. Still it just warms my heart to be noticed and read by other people. Coz yes, I do also give my best in writing here on my blog. Brew of the day is not my cash cow. I have a day job as a teacher. Yet this little hobby of mine has widened my horizons of which I am grateful. Blogging and its perks has really been a joy to me. So I'd like to say thank you to all my readers for taking the time to read or check out my posts and even comment back. I really appreciate it!

with SHOP GIRL JEN! :)

Ok now I feel weird coz this is getting to sound like a "thank you for this award speech" hehehe. Sorry about that. Forgive me if I get senti and all that. Its coz its been a year already ever since I started to become real active in the blogger scene. And I owe it all to my blogger buddy and wonderful cousin SHOPGIRL JEN. She was the one who pushed and encouraged me to get out of my comfort and safe zone and jump into this wonderful, chaotic, and astounding world of  "professional yet still personal" form of blogging. Thanks Jen.

And so here's my tribute to being featured and for what Brew of the Day has become so far. . I can't wait what the rest of 2012 has in store for us!

OOTD - Two Years and New Shoes

Brown TOP - Gifted
Black Leggings - Bazaar
Black Wedge - SM Parisian

Photography by C. Pineda

I read a blog post somewhere that encouraged me to look at my old facebook photos and albums and then blog about it. I wasn't really planning to do that but I just so happened to stumble on these photos taken TWO YEARS AGO! I couldn't resist posting it for my Outfit Diary Post. 

Oh how I wish I'm still as slim as I was back then! I still have my SM Parisian Wedges with me but I can't wear them anymore, it needs to visit a shoe doctor. hehe.

EDIT: Hahaha.. I just noticed that I wasn't able to explain away the term "NEW SHOES". I just bought a new pair of shoes for the next school year. Last weekend was SALE SALE SALE everywhere! So there I was at Landmark and saw this. 

I mean, who couldn't resist checking THAT out! So I did. 

PRETTY FLATS! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Meet my new "K" shoes! 

From 995 pesos to 298.50 pesos!

NOW THAT's a SALE! :)

 Anyway, this is just a short update on my blog. Will be posting again later tonight!

The Bioessence Experience

Last April, I received a text that surprised me. It was an invitation from Bioessence, West Avenue, offering me a free treatment of one of the following - facial cleansing, 30 minute massage, painless wart removal or diamond peel. According to the text, a friend referred me to their establishment so that's why they texted me. At first I thought it wasn't real or someone was posing or scamming me or something. But then Jen also got a similar text and then we remembered one of our blogger friends - Gel - just recently went to Bioessence. Thanks Gel for referring us coz then I wouldn't have known how amazing Bioessence can be!

When we arrived, Me and Jen were pleasantly greeted with the wonderful Biosessence staff. I immediately took a liking to the place. Maybe it was the wonderful soothing aroma or the soft relaxing music. But definitely the atmosphere also gave a posh aura and had an air that you are definitely in the right hands with the people in the room. Miss Chiez was all smiles as she toured us around the place and answered our questions. Bioessence has been around for several years already and their West Ave. branch has around more or less 20 rooms already. They had different areas for Men and Women clients.  They also had different areas for skin, slimming, and spa treatments. Here's a quick tour of the place:

Single Massage Room

A skin treatment room for facials etc.

Sauna Room for Slimming Treatment

The very luxurious Executive  Room good for two.
You can even change the lighting to suit your mood!

The Executive room has a JACUZZI (oh yeah!) coz in one of the packages
you can have a Queen of Sheba Treatment which is a Bath Milk Treatment.
Also, the room has its own shower. So you get the full pampered treatment here!
Sosyal kung sosyal! 

Hanging out at the 2nd floor lounge that has comfy couches and TV for those who are waiting.

Also at the 2nd floor is another station where the products of your treatment are  mixed specifically for you after  you are done with the skin consultation.

After the tour, I indeed had my skin consultation. Before you have any treatments at BIoessence, a skin consultation has to be made first to check what are the problem areas that needs to be addressed. Ms. Chiez brought me to the "consultation" room where she had an "apparatus" to check the condition of my skin. I wasn't able to take photos (coz obviously I was being "checked" at that moment.. hehe) but she was able to confirm what I had already known about my face - very oily, acne, scars, and dark spots. Like what I've mentioned in my previous post, I'm currently in a battle against acne/pimples. So this was like leveling up in the steps that I was taking to eliminate it. So this Biosessence experience surely was a timely thing. After confirming my skin condition, Miss Chiez highly recommended the Anti-Acne Treatment - Purifying Facial which costs around Php 1,000. I decided to not take that treatment right now but first try the free treatment that they were offering. Me and Jen were then offered not only the Regular Facial treatment (Php 350) for free but also the Diamond Peel (P 1,200). I didn't expect this additional treat so I was very happy when they did. I've always wanted to try a Diamond Peel treatment so I looked forward to it.

The Bioessence Regular Facial

So I first had the Regular Facial Treatment. I will be honest and say that it was painful. I do have low tolerance to pain though and have several deep seated dirt and acne so it might not be as painful for others. So after cleaning my face, the therapist started to remove the nasty stuff on my face. I will spare you the details but let's just say more than 15 "problem" areas were dealt with. Thank you God! 

That's a happy face right there. Yes I know it was a bloody battle. Hehe.
But it was worth all the pain. I swear! I felt.. CLEAN! Haha.
Like a whole lot of junk was cleared off my face.
Don't worry, they treated the bloody areas after. 

After the pricking process, they proceeded to the DIAMOND PEEL process. For the Diamond Peel, they used a machine that had what looked and sounded like a tiny vacuum in a pen-like instrument. My therapist assured me that my face will become brighter and smoother after this process because all my DEAD SKIN CELLS will be removed from my face. Now that sounded like an exciting process. 

The Diamond Peel "pen" was buzzing and vibrating on my face but it wasn't irritating at all.
I could feel it glide on my face and I remembered feeling excited that my face was gonna be a whole lot smoother thanks to Bioessence Diamond Peel Treatment.

A very happy, brighter, and smoother face! Yay!
No, that isn't dandruff on my shoulder.
That's the dead skin cells that were removed from my face. 

The treatment ended with a facial that helped soothe my face and tighten my pores. It was on my face for 15 minutes. Then Vitamin C cream was administered with wonderful face massage as well. The whole treatment was more than an hour but it was all worth it! My battle against Acne/Pimples is getting fiercer and I got Bioessence to thank for helping me in this area. 

Thank you Miss Chiez and BIOESSENCE for the Free Treatments and giving us a
GRAND BIOESSENCE EXPERIENCE that we won't forget!

After the whole treatment, Ms. Chiez recommended that I should get their Sulfur Soap that will help dry up the pimples and lessen the oiliness of my face. Of course removing the oily quality means that I have to also make sure that I balance it out with moisturizers. She highly recommended that I buy and use their Vitamin C concentrate moisturizer. It was tempting but still I had lots of moisturizers at home so I declined on that and bought the Sulfur Soap for 100+ (forgot the price) instead. I'm currently using it and loving it!

with the Bioessence Sulfur Soap that I bought!

Again many thanks to the wonderful Bioessence Staff for making my stay such a wonderful experience.
Yes that's definitely one way of keeping customers - the friendly and awesome service!
Thank you BIOESSENCE!

But WAIT! There's more! After this experience, we were then invited to the Bioessence Bloggers' Event - BEAUTY BREAK. So coffeeholics, watch out for PART 2 of my BIOESSENCE experience that I will share to you all next week. :) If you still are looking for a way to treat Mom this Mother's Day, I strongly suggest you treat your mom at Bioessence or get the Mother's Day Pampering Pack! Get her a rejuvenating facial plus a soap and cleanser for ony Php 740.00. VIsit any BIoessential branch now or check out the Bioessence Corporate Page Facebook   and follow @BioessencePh  at Twitter for more details.

Contest ends SUNDAY. Winner will be announced on MONDAY. Join na! :)

 Happy Mother's Day! 

P.S.

Have you joined my SATCHEL giveaway yet? IT ENDS TONIGHT! Don't miss out!