Great Deals! 80% on Diamond Peel (YSA Skin Care from Ensogo) and Free Load (from Embee Mobile)

Tweet Received alot of good offers and freebies lately, and I just wanted to share with the readers.

First deal - 80% OFF - Php312 for Intense Diamond Peel with Facial at YSA Skincare Center (valued at Php1560).

To get this offer/voucher, you must register at Ensogo.Com and avail of the promo. Ensogo accepts bank deposit or Paypal as mode of payment. The voucher would then be delivered upon payment. My friend has already redeemed the Alba Buffet Voucher and unfortunately it has been sold out.

Next deal - get a free load online. Just register at Embee Mobile and validate your number. You will receive a code through SMS which you need to enter on the site. Refer more friends to get more load credits. Here is the matrix:

Again, just click this link to register at Embee Mobile.

If you know any freebies, deals and contests, just let me know.

Share the love, share the blessings.

Bottega Verde: From Italy to US

Tweet This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bottega Verde. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fashion afficionados, style icons and even plain Jane's have another reason to celebrate. The famous Italian cosmetic brand, Bottega Verde has reached the US shores and is gracing every women's dresser and train cases.

Just like any other famous brands, Bottega Verde started as a small herbalist store in Tuscany, Italy and has grown as the largest cosmetic brand serving more than 6 million satisfied customers.

Bottega Verde's followers from US may now purchase items online through the all new website - http://www.bottegaverde-usa.com/

Checking the website, everything is just so enticing. It's like checking an online dessert menu, with the yummy description of each product AND the very reasonable prices (from $15 to $30 for 400ml bottle) with some at discounted price.

My current wish list is this Almonds - Milk Bath with Almonds Extract from Nature's Best section.

Mothers and doctors can attest that milk is good for our skin, and almond is the safest scent everyone loves and appreciates.

I am certain that magazines like Cosmo, Vogue and other glossy prints will feature this new wonder brand from Italy.. and I am certain some bottles of Bottega Verde would soon share spaces with my lotions, bath gels and creams.

For those who have only heard the product, Bottega Verde is offering an Italian Beauty Package which consist of Foot Mint Deodorant Cream, Cherry Blossom Body Wash and Must Rose Face Day Cream. The package is worth $24 value but the site is only asking for $4.99 shipping fee. Head to http://www.bottegaverde-usa.com/Italian-Beauty-Package.html now and request your package.

Tsoko-Nut Batirol: Another Nut to Love

Tweet Do you love Choc-nut? I do. This is the favorite chocolate snack that Filipinos working abroad miss so much. I have however discovered a new Tsoko-Nut that people would soon love and crave.

My friend dragged us all to this homey cafe in Eastwood (just next to the Excelsior tower, behind IBM building). I was all for new dishes and food so I was excited to check out the place.

The Menu - they only offer a couple of rice meals and some pastas. I tried the Rellenong Bangus and it is stuffed and tasty and is worth my money (Php115).

My friend had her favorite - Chicken Rolls. Local version of Chicken Cordon Bleu?

The new offering is Embutido with Cheese Sauce. Yes, cheese sauce instead of the usual catchup. This store specializes in giving traditional food with a twist.

Malunggay, they say is the new green wonder - the Malunggay Pasta with Shrimp is a must-try! It tastes so much like Pesto Pasta. We wonder if they had mixed Pesto in it, but I doubt since it would mark up the food costing. Pasta is less than Php150 - and we are talking about something healthy here.

We also ordered Pina-Orange Juice - big bowl at Php135. It would serve 4 full glasses with slices of oranges.

The whole place is homey, although small. There are only around 7 square tables inside, and an alfresco for smoking.

Cakes ranges from Php80 to Php120. They even serve Napoleones and Tablea Chocolate Cake. Too bad, the store doesn't accept credit cards at this time.

I would go back and try the cakes ; and make sure I have cash and my camera for more pictures.Thanks to my friend and her camera phone for the pictures!

Wishful Thinking: Walking in Boots and Coat

Tweet This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Liz Claiborne New York Outlets. All opinions are 100% mine.


Tall boots, jackets, coats and anything furry. Pieces that we love whenever Fall is coming. There is always something special about these pieces that makes one look fierce and crisp. Maybe it's time to raid the closet and bring out the old-time favorite. Or, shop for new pieces!

There is one good reason to shop - stores are holding sales and it is the time that designers are unveiling their new collections for the world to adore, and for us, women to follow. How many times have we dreamed of having our pictures printed in glossy magazines or in billboard that would cause traffic in national high-ways? Most of us are even using Facebook as our very own fashion site by updating the profile picture every once in a while to show the world that we got new clothes, new boots, or just new hairstyle.

I am one of the many who wish we have Fall or Spring season in the country - just so we have an excuse to wear killer boots and funky coats and jackets more often without people criticizing our taste in fashion. But thanks to celebrities and fashion personalities - that wearing boots and coats in a tropical country has now become acceptable.

The biggest reason to shop for new Fall clothes - Liz Claiborne is selling everything at 40% to 70% off!! I would line up to buy a sheath dress and boots that I could wear in the office and church, and probably dinner dates.

Head now to the Liz Claiborne New York Outlets and check out the nearest store in your area.

As for me, I would forever thank the convenience of online shopping and credit cards.

Princess of Coron Guesthouse: Feeling Like a Princess in Palawan?

Tweet I thought the Coron, Palawan trip would not push through, but it did and I was glad and still missing the peaceful and simple life in Coron.

My friend did all the planning and reservation and I just paid whatever amount my friend has set for this vacation.

So we flew from Manila to Busuangga and stayed in Princess of Coron. I did a research about the place but Google just gave me links to third party travel sites - and some quick notes and reviews. There aren't much pictures and info and I got a little too frustrated - (so here I am posting everything that I could remember about the place). I just have so much faith in my friend and I agreed with the place. When we got there and stayed for 3 days and 2 nights, I was not disappointed at all.

A 30-minute drive from the aiport, we were greeted by the homey place. Princess of Coron is the only lodging place which has a swimming pool (that's what they say). Not that we would prefer pools over beaches, but this adds a plus factor to the place.

We went straight to the reception for guest registration (which reminds me of an old nipa hut) and I felt like I just arrived in a relatives' house. Everyone is so accommodating and smiling, and just so happy to see us. We were then escorted to our room. Yehey! We got room at the first floor with veranda. Staying at the second floor would be fine too, but I don't want to worry about the steps and getting into the bed when we get tipsy and drunk (we tried the Coron Sling, and it was good!).

In here, we usually smoke and have coffee. Life is good!

Let's get inside the room - so there was four of us, so the couple stayed in this bed. Love the setting!

 

Foam beds but just comfy. I wouldn't mind sleeping here - I never had a decent sleep for the last 20 hours since we arrived. 

The door is a sliding glass door - we soon realized probably to keep the ants from entering the room and sharing the room with us. Not that there are ants - but for safety reasons.

Our bags were all over the receiving area of the room. Please forgive us, we were just soo tired, with no food, sleep and just caffeine.

I am very particular with washrooms.. and I like it.

Hot and Cold shower - check

Clean and spacious - check

 

There is even an extra rattan-made organizer for keeping your kikay stuff, clothes, and what-nots.

 

They installed a new design of toilet bowl. We first find it weird and unusual. You have to see it to find out. There is no biddet though, but there is the ever-reliable TABO!

We requested for an extra towel (Php20 per piece), but the room is complete with towels (one per person), 2 small Safeguard soap bars, tissue paper (for toothbrush - I am sure travelers bring their own!). ;)

The first night is peaceful and cold - there is an air-con, alright! You may choose to turn on the frame with that cascading water background music.

Breakfast is served in the outdoor dining - at Php150 per person - you may choose from Daing ng Bangus, Danggit, Longganisa, with 2 eggs (scrambled or sunny side up) and 1 sachet of coffee (Nescafe!). Extra coffee is at Php15. You may also even opt for Continental Breakfast - Ham or Bacon with bread, butter and jam and egg.

Longganisa and Egg

Daing na Bangus (Boneless)

Bacon and Egg (served with toaster!)

Ham

Danggit

The best part of is that the place is near everywhere - there is a BPI bank near the guesthouse, churches, shops, sari sari stores and the people are nice (everyone greets us in a sincere smile and hellos and good mornings). Tricycle rides is at Php8 minimum charge.

We have agreed to stay in Princess of Coron the next time we visit Palawan. 3 days are just not enough and I am missing the relaxed atmosphere of the place.

Btw, we got the room for only Php2,200 per night, and as much as we wanted to stay for another night, we couldn't. The guesthouse is always fully-booked.

The owner gave us calling cards and flyers to give to our friends. I will be posting the contact details here - I have to search my bag for all the docs and cards and souvenirs.

Two thumbs up for his lodging place!
 

For those who are asking and sending me notes for the contact of Princess of Coron, I have finally searched through my stuff, and here you go:

Princess of Coron
Nueva Street 6
Brgy 1 Coron, Palawan, Philippines 5316
Office: +63-918-695-0563
+63-908-376-4918
princessofcoron@yahoo.com
www.princessofcoron.ph

Day 5: Hong Kong Vacation: Citygate Outlet Store, Departure

Tweet Apologies.. My reviews are coming in like an installment plan. I have alot of pending reviews to write and blog about.

I have to finish my Hong Kong write-up first and hoping that I would be able to write recent entries by tom.

So Day 5 is the last day of our Hong Kong trip. I hate last days.. We checked out early and my friend thought we could take advantage of the Check-In Early Service of the Hong Kong Airport wherein tourists can check in their baggages early and can spend the rest of the time while waiting for the flight. But guess we were wrong. This service is only offered by selected airlines, and Cebu Pacific is not one of them.

So I was feeling a little hopeless and hating myself for bringing too much stuff. We planned to go back to Citygate Outlet Store to buy some more pasalubongs and bargain items. Fine. We had conditioned ourselves that we will bring our luggages until we saw the Far Eastern Lockers signage. And there was a light bulb!

Yahoo!! Far Eastern Lockers allowed us to check in our baggages in a vault-like cabinets for minimum fee of HK$30. So we checked in our bagggages and went to CityGate.

We had lunch at McDonald's yet again - for missing the fastfood so much, and I got the free FIFA glass for upsizing the fries and drinks. Months later, the local McDonald's launched the promo - but for a price of Php25! Boo.

So we strolled around again and checked out some items. The Adidas store had nice bargain stuff but I am not the sporty-type.. so off to the other stores - but didn't find much nice clothes. Coach was on sale - and I was eyeing a sling bag (my mind did a quick math - equivalent to Php6,000.. hmm.. I have to let it go, my travel sling bag is still fine and durable). My friends bought some kids shoes from Crocs which were real bargain. We bought some stuff from Taste - supermarket which sells the usual stuff plus appliances and household goodies. I bought one pack of instant yakisoba, cup of instant noodles, dozen coffee, white coffee, some chocolates, and some goodies which has Made in HongKong print on it.

Just the right time we arrived at the airport and we had coffee at Pacific Coffee. The dessert is good but not the best.

 
We managed to get the refund from the Octopus Card and I got some more coins and bills as souvenirs. Here are all the money left..

Arrived in Hong Kong with my trolley and hand carried bag, and I came back with an additional bag full of stuff from Disney, Taste, H&M, and everything Hong Kong (tour maps included!).

Now, I can't wait for the China trip next year!!!

How About A Status Update from BlackBerry?

Tweet This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

We can forever thank technology and developers for making our life easier each day. Easier that connecting with our families and friends is as easy as typing and clicking your mouse. But innovation does wonder in making social networking more convenient anytime and anywhere that we can easily update our status in Facebook and Twitter through mobile phones or Blackberry.

Bringing laptops during vacations is just an option now - to think that we would even worry about Wifi connectivity and slow broadband connections. How can we share the nice sunset at the beach, and the exotic food that we have tasted if our browser would show connection failure? We can now forget about thinkpads and just ensure that our phones are fully charged.

Boost Mobile is just one of the many companies which offers internet connectivity, and the best part is that it offers unlimited connectivity to Facebook for one price per month.Oh, how much do we love to send updates in Facebook?! I know alot of people who updates their statuses and profile pictures more often than how the current exchange rate does.

With convenience in mind, users may have the option to pay in person, online or through phone. For the busy people like I am, there is even an option to automatically send payments - either through debit or credit card. Boost Mobile even added a new service which would allow customers to add funds in their accounts through Re-Boost.


Somehow I feel that it has been a status symbol to update one's status in Facebook using a mobile phone and even a BlackBerry. Can you check your Facebook homepage and count how many friends have updated their status - and on the bottom is a small font in italics which read XX minutes ago via BlackBerry.

Maybe it's time to get a BlackBerry huh? Check out the deal for BlackBerry Curve 8330 Smartphone which starts at $149.99. It has an enhanced Mp3 player, digital camera, ringtones, full QWERTY keypad, email access, enhanced browser, 1GB card.

Activation process is as easy as clicking the link and entering the code.

I wonder how nice it is to update a status using a BlackBerry? (not that I always update my status) I wonder how many "likes" I would receive? My friends know me too well that my big bag can only handle a "mini-phone". ;)

Day 4: Hong Kong Vacation: Wong Tai Sin Temple and Macau

Tweet Let's now go to Macau! You may have had enough of Hong Kong in my 3 blog entries.

Morning of day 4, again we woke up at 6:00 AM and left the hotel at around 8:00 AM. Early to bed, early to rise.. but nope. We always find ourselves crawling into our beds for 3 days because we tire ourselves wandering until close to midnight. This is such a bad idea. We could have left earlier to explore Macau the whole day.

We grabbed some pastries from Maxim's which are all over the streets and MTR stations of Hong Kong. I loooove their chocolate cakes and cheap pastries!!

Before heading to the port station to Macau, we went to this temple that my friend wanted to see - Wong Tai Sin Temple. So basically we just took some photos and observed the devotees.

Just pray and believe.. and your wish would be granted.. 

Then we went straight to the sea port. I was running out of dollars and HK dollars, so I just used my credit card to pay for the round-trip ticket to Macau. Thank God for plastic money!

Although I am not very comfy riding a boat, I felt a little safe riding the Turbo Jet. I was not expecting that this boat would be a little too "luxurious" - but I was happy and content just the same.

We exchanged some of our HK dollars in the port terminal. You may still use your HK dollars in Macau, but Macau Mops are not accepted in Hong Kong. So we just exchanged enough money that we would use for the day.

Tip, when riding a bus, make sure that you have exact money/coins for the bus fare. The bus driver will not give any change. You just drop your payment in the bus entrance - so make sure you are giving the exact amount.

So we rode a bus to check out the place that so much reminds me of Eastwood. We had lunch at Macau Recipes Cafe after realizing we haven't had a decent breakfast yet - just coffee and some bread and nicotine. I love this place because they allow smoking even if the dining is air-conditioned. Haha

 

 

We wanted to check out the Ruins of St Paul but we got totally lost in reading the map and so we rode a cab to get to the destination. The lady driver does not know how to speak English - when we got to the place, we then realized that what she was trying to say was that the church is just walking distance from where she picked us up.

 Loving the sites and hotels and buildings in Macau. 

I feel safe riding this cab. Left-hand drive and a nice lady handling the wheels.

A must-see place in Macau: Ruins of St. Paul

I am not a believer, but these were part of history of the place.

Anyway, so we tried the egg tart from one of those narrow streets - and bought some souvenir items like shirts and fans, and beef jerky too.

We settled at Starbucks and we missed Manila - we missed having coffee and smoking and just plain people watching.

My friend's lighter made it in Macau! Yeah! But too bad, I had to dispose this in the airport and kept the one I just bought from 7-Eleven.

We then checked out the Sasa store and we had gone gaga over the stuff that they are selling. I bought perfumes and miniature perfumes (original perfumes which are sold at 45 to 60Mops).

 

It was already 8:00 PM and it has started raining so we decided to go back to the port area. We had agreed to visit Macau again. Just Macau and no side-trips.

In the port area, we bought some more pasalubongs just to dispose the excess Mops that we had. I left a 10-Mop bill as a souvenir. ;)


Pasalubong Must-Buys from Macau:

Shirts (2 for 50Mop)
Egg Tarts (not sure about the shelf-life but I didn't buy any, I was thinking of just buying from Lord Stow's).
Beef Jerky (30Mop)
Miniature Perfumes from Sasa
Taro Egg Rolls with Flossy Pork (25MOP)
Sesame Seeds Candy (20MOP)

Back to Hong Kong - dinner at McDonald's. We cannot deny that we are Filipinos - we love fastfood! Haha. No upsize, go Big Time, whatsoever - fries servings are just enough to increase your cholesterol level.

Back to the hotel to pack the things - we so hate last days.