Product: Active White Plus Bleaching Cream

Before this post misleads you, I am reviewing Active White Plus Bleaching Cream NOT as a facial product. Read on to find where I used it.

I haven't recovered from my Boracay fever so this post has still something to do with our honeymoon/wedding anniversary trip to the island. While I was searching for new swimwears to don at the beach, I was also faced with another concern. My body is not perfect and so is my skin. There are some parts that, let's just say, darker than the others. And if I were to wear bikinis, I'd risk revealing those "areas". Well, they are not really dark like gross-"ew!" dark. But the uneven color is noticeable especially since my thighs and hips are whiter than most parts of my body.

So I set out to find a solution. The first stop was Watson's Drugstore (Actually, it's the only place I had in mind). While my husband was buying the other toiletries, I was so absorbed in scanning all whitening products on display and in reading all those ingredients in fine prints until my eyes hurt. Anything with Paraben, I placed back into the shelf. I'm not really an organic buff, but I know that the Paraben is bad enough for major cosmetic industries to refrain from using it in their products. Although, the subject is debatable, I just want to be on the safe side.

Anyway, after more than an hour of reading, I finally settled on Active White Plus Bleaching Cream. The ingredients and the price looked reasonable and I assumed it's a facial product. I read somewhere that inguinal areas are as sensitive as our face so any harsh products might irritate and make them darker. So I zeroed in on products that are formulated specifically for facial use and deemed them safe and mild enough. But that's only my theory, nothing scientific nor medical, so don't quote me on that one .

Place: Hurom-Hurom Coldspring at Nabas, Aklan

The municipal town of Nabas is less than an hour away from the famed Boracay Island. But if ever you're in town and looking for something other than white beaches and night parties, you should try and visit Hurom-Hurom Coldspring Resort in Laserna, Nabas, Aklan.

Situated at the base of a mountain, the pools of Hurom-Hurom serve as large basins that collect cold and clear spring water. They even claimed that the water is clean and safe enough to drink. But I wasn't convinced.

The whole resort itself looked pristine and was able to maintain its natural charm despite the man-made pools and cottages. Entrance is only P20 per head, which I think will go to the preservation of the place and another P100 if you want to rent a bamboo table or P150 for umbrella cottages. I'm just not sure if they have provisions for overnight stays. But based on what I've seen, I think there is none. They have functional restrooms/changing rooms but don't expect much. There are also two sari-sari stores where you can buy basic toiletries and some snacks, if you forgot to bring some.

Movies-TV: GMA News TV

Looking forward to this. I am. Definitely.








Will ABS-CBN's ANC follow suit?

Update: I just learned that TV5 launched their Aksyon TV today, beating GMA News TV's kick off by a week. Although Luchi Cruz Valdez is one of my favorite journalists, I still think that TV5 has a lot of grounds to cover before they measure up to GMA's standard in news and documentary. I also wonder why ABS-CBN hasn't entered the ring yet? Network wars, as sickening as they are, always make Philippine Television a little more interesting, don't you think?

Product: Cocomo Swimwear

Less than a month before our Boracay trip, I realized that I only have one swimwear. I'm sure you'll agree with me that wearing the same bikini for 4 days would be unfashionable and um, unhygienic. I knew I need at least two more sets. I went to nearby shopping malls but I didn't find anything that I like. I also scanned Multiply sites hoping there's something that will catch my fancy. Those that did, however, were too expensive than what I'm prepared to spend.

Until I saw Beeconomic's deal of the day: for P649, one can purchase a Cocomo Swimwear coupon worth P1299. It's like a half-off deal. I took a peek at Cocomo Multiply site and thought that their products look nice. The colors and patterns were trendy and youthful. So before I gave myself a chance to think twice, I quickly purchased two coupons from Beeconomic and proceeded to Cocomo's website to place my orders.

Bondi Beach Bikini

Bondi Beach Reversible Bikini Set (Photo taken from Cocomo Swimwear)

Service: Niño and Activities in Boracay

Along with "Where to stay?" and "Where to eat?", another W-question that plagues most first-time visitors is "What to do in Boracay?"

This one was a little easy for me because I contacted a highly-recommended activity-guide in Boracay. None other than the famous, Niño and his partner Kuya Ron. They were refuted to offer the best (meaning cheapest) rates for activities in the island. At first, he was referred to as Mang Niño o Kuya Niño, so I expected he will be an older man who's seen Boracay rose from the sands. But when I finally met him, he doesn't look old, but not too young either so I started to call him just Niño. I never got to meet Kuya Ron though.

"Andito na kami sa tapat ng Yellow Cab." Meeting Niño for the first time.

Jovial, funny, animated guy, Niño was like a "kabarkada". He claimed to be honest when dealing with his guests, so when he said that the better Zorb is in Mt. Luho and the better zipline is in Fairways, we believed him. And he did offer the best rates, for parasailing at least.

Walking from Station 2 to Station 1, we passed by a number of guides offering us to do this and do that. From them we learned that the current market price for reef walking is P350/person, island hopping is P1200/boat (both the same with Niño) and parasailing is P1200/person (Niño's rate is P200 cheaper). Despite the almost similar rates, we decided to get all our activities through Niño because we feel secured and comfortable with him.