Pampered at Purple Strawberries Salon & Spa.

The new school year is almost upon us, and I, like most moms, am savoring the last few hours (barely 24 to go! ) of summer. And so before I go back to the daily grind of waking up early, preparing my son's meals, helping him with school work, organizing lecture notes, and writing reviewers and mock exams, I treated myself yesterday to a bit of pampering  at Purple Strawberries Salon & Spa.

Purple Strawberries Salon & Spa.

The spa is located at Colago Avenue, right across the Community General Hospital. Ironically, this place is just a few meters away from my son's school, but it took me years to finally come and visit. At first, I thought this was just an ordinary nail bar which offers the usual manicure, pedicure, and nail enhancements. I guess that's the main reason why I never bothered to come here despite its 'very accessible location'.

Purple Strawberries at Buena Ventures Trading Post.

My indifference changed to interest when I learned from a friend that Purple Strawberries now offers massage and body care services. My poor, aching back had long been pining for a massage, and I had been meaning to get my nails done for the longest time. And with this salon offering both nail care and massage services, it's like killing two birds with one stone. Yay!

The reception desk/waiting area.
Photo credit: Purple Strawberries.

I booked an appointment for Saturday afternoon, after Yue's karate training. I made it a point to call the salon a day before my visit, because weekends are usually the busiest days for businesses like this. Yue and I arrived a little after 3:30 pm, a few minutes ahead of my 4 pm appointment.

The Nail Bar/Nail Care area on the first floor. 

I was ushered to the Nail Bar on the first floor, where the nail care services are done. I was planning to have the massage first, then the footspa and pedicure later, but the receptionist told me that the schedules got a bit mixed-up; the couple at the waiting area had to be massaged first since they were availing the couple massage at promo rates (Php 500 from 11 am - 4 pm).

Locking in the moisture on my feet with lotion, cling wrap, and a warm towel.

The therapist who was in-charge of me that day was apologetic for the mix-up, and assured me that my nails will be dry before I get my massage. (She used a nail dryer to dry my toenails, lol). At least she did a nice job with my foot spa and pedicure. The foot spa was very relaxing, and I did not feel pain the whole time she worked on my toenails. (Goodbye, ingrown and dry cuticles! So nice to get rid of you, finally!)

The Nail Bar.

I like that Purple Strawberries has a wide selection of nail polish, most of them from imported brands (think Zoya, Orly, and the like). So don't be daunted by the rates if you see their price list. They're pretty reasonable considering the (high) quality of the brands. Aside from the regular manicure and pedicure, they also offer nail stamping, with various stamping images to choose from. I'm not really into nail art since I do house chores, plus the fact that I always wear sneakers when I'm out and about, so I chose a purple Zoya Matte Velvet nail polish instead.

Color selection for Orly Gel Nail Color.

Massages and other body care services are done on the second floor. Their body massage is a combination of Swedish, Shiatsu, and Thai, with rates depending on the duration of the service. A 1-hour full body massage at Purple Strawberries costs Php 350 - still at par with the rates of other spas here in my hometown. I'm not sure if you can request for a specific type of essential oil for your massage, but mine had a minty scent. Something like eucalyptus, which I actually prefer.

The Massage/Body Care area on the second floor.

They also offer hot compress and cupping (ventosa) for an additional Php 125 for each service. I tried cupping for the first time in my life, and oh my goodness, I could feel the months (years, even) of soreness and stiffness being sucked away as the cups were placed on my back. It felt so good! Why have I never tried this before???

The place is dimmer in actual. Very relaxing, imho.

Overall, I enjoyed the massage despite the therapist being a bit heavy-handed. I had to ask her to soften it up a bit on my arms because my skin is rather flimsy and  I get bruised easily, and it was only when I got home that I discovered tiny bruises on my left arm. Nothing a concealer can't handle, but I will most likely request for another therapist next time, lol.

Yue hanging out at the Nail Bar. :)

If you're planning to visit Purple Strawberries with a kid, you'd be glad to know that they have free wifi. Just ask the receptionist for the password, which my son boldly did, haha. This kid would be willing to wait for me hours as long as he has his phone, his power bank, and data/wifi connection.

Purple Strawberries Salon & Spa

Buena Ventures Trading Post

Colago Avenue, San Pablo City

(049) 521 2511 / (0995) 1977 037 / (0929) 2515 284 
Operating Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 1pm - 10pm 

Sneak Peek | Etude House x Wedding Peach Angel Sparkle Collection.

July seems to be a very promising month for makeup junkies like me as we look forward to the new product releases from some of our favorite Korean beauty brands. I'm filled to the brim with excitement as I give you a glimpse of these wonderful goodies coming our way!

First up is the Angel Sparkle Collection, which I'm sure will be a big hit among anime/manga fans. It's a collaboration collection between Etude House and Wedding Peach, a shojo manga adapted into anime television series which was quite popular in the late '90s.

Lily, Peach, and Daisy of Wedding Peach!

Before I got into this whole Korean drama craze, I was a huge anime fan, influenced mostly by my best friend who was an even bigger otaku than I am. We actually learned Nihongo just by watching anime, the same way I learned Hangul just by watching Kdramas. Oh, and one evident proof of my anime addiction? My son's nickname (Yue) came from one of the characters in Card Captor Sakura.

Meet Peach!

That being said, these new releases from Etude House will definitely take a toll on my wallet. I'm already a sucker for (makeup) collaborations, so what more if the products are as kawaii as these?

And here's Lily!

View the entire collection after the jump!

Sneak Peek | Laneige Summer 2016 Collection.

Gone are the gusty winds and sunny days of spring as Korea welcomes the hot and humid weather coupled with monsoon rains. Yes, it's already summer in the Land of the Morning Calm - although this may not mean much for some of us who live in the tropics, where it feels like summer all year round. But for beauty junkies like me, this is great news since the change of season equates to new beauty products. New season = new makeup collection!

Laneige Summer 2016.

Case in point, Laneige's new releases specially catered to the summer atmosphere. They're already in stores in Korea, too bad they were released two weeks after I came home from my second Seoul Searching trip! Anyway, here's what you can expect from the Laneige Summer 2016 Collection.

Sneak peek after the jump!

Nailed It! | Etude House Shining Dream Twinkle Nails.

So I just realized that it's been almost a year since my last nail polish blog post. Wha-at?! I can't believe that I took for granted all those pretty nail polishes that I've worn in the past. They never got featured in my blog, despite the countless #NOTD posts (that's Nail of the Day) on my Instagram. My bad.

While tinkering with a new set of nail polish yesterday, I made a mental note to take decent photos of the nail polish (not just my nails) and post them here in my blog. And without further ado, I present you the Shining Dream Twinkle Nails from Etude House. This was included in the loot that I received from Etude House Philippines last Christmas.

Shining Dream Twinkle Nails.

 As always, Etude House does not fall short when it comes to visuals and packaging. I can't help but feel cheery and festive just by looking at this house-shaped box. Feels a lot like Christmas, right? :)

L-R: Holy White, Holy Deep Blue, Holy Silver Pearl.

There are actually two different sets in the Shining Dream Twinkle Nails line. This is set 02 Holy Twinkle, which consists of the following colors: 2-1 Holy White, a frosted pearly white shade; 2-2 Holy Deep Blue, an 'electric' shade of blue with fine iridescent glitters; 2-3 Holy Silver Pearl, a clear nail polish with silver stars and holographic sparkles.

Yay for the labels! :)

The set also comes with a sheet of nail decals. As you can see, there a lot of stickers to choose from, each with very intricate designs. I'm not a pro when it comes to nail art, but just by looking at these silver stickers, I can tell that they'll create a lovely contrast with the blue nail polish.

Snowflakes, and then some.

Now here's the look I created using the Holy Twinkle set. I didn't use the decals, because like I've said, my nail art skills leaves much to be desired. Haha!

Winter vibe! :)

Snowflake, snowflake, I love snowflake...

If you're into nail art, and love frosted nail polish as much as I do, then I bet you'll enjoy working with this set. You can mix and match the colors and create a variety of looks with the decals. The polishes are glossy and highly pigmented, and they dry pretty fast, too. Not sure if they're easy to remove though, because I haven't tried taking mine off yet. Haha! :)

The Shining Dream Twinkle Nails set sells for Php 348 (around $8), available at Etude House branches nationwide.

Nailed It! | MUA Nail Constellation.

Remember that bottle of MUA Nail Constellation that came with my MUA Lip Boom purchase from Updated Trends? I finally had the chance to use them two Saturdays ago, during my Mum's '50 and Fabulous' birthday party.

Caviar nails!

This is my first attempt at doing caviar nails, so pardon me if what I did looks amateurish. It's the same reason why I chose to wear them on just two nails for each hand. I didn't want the product to go to waste lest I do something wrong while applying it.

Starry, starry nails. :)

Here's a description of the product as seen on the MUA website.
MUA’s amazing NEW Nail Constellation is inspired by the patterns formed into stars in the earth's night sky is a 3-dimensional extravagant nail art system you can create easily from home that leave your nails looking ‘wow!’.

These Constellation beads have a beautiful shine to them in five amazing space theme colours. They are easy to use and with them you can create many different designs. Supplied in a funnel for easy application with a re-sealable top! Using the Funnel application simply bed the constellation beads onto to a thick coat of your favourite MUA nail polish in a line design or just placed randomly.

Lovely colors, sleek bottle.

The new range comes in five variants: Pisces, Gemini, Libra, Leo, and Scorpio. I'm not sure where the other seven zodiac signs are; perhaps they'll be released as a separate collection in the future. Mine is Scorpio, as you can see. It's a combination of yellow, green, and purple beads - the most colorful combination and the prettiest in the collection, in my humble opinion.

Scorpio!

Anyhow, here's an instructional video uploaded on the MUA Cosmetics YouTube channel. It shows the step by step procedure on how to use the MUA Nail Constellation.

Just so you know, I used the Sassy Colors Iced Mocha as my base coat. It's the same color on my nails without the Nail Constellation. I applied a top coat, too, and (contrary to that comment on YouTube) it didn't ruin the effect on mine. If anything, adding a top coat made the beads adhere better and last longer on my nails. I wore them for about a week - quite surprising actually, since I did grueling housework during that period of time (ergo, handwashed the laundry and washed the dishes).

Next time, I'll just pour the beads in a bowl or a container of some sort and dip my nails into it. That way, no beads will go to waste and it'll save me time from putting back the unused beads inside the tiny jar.

MUA Nail Constellation is available at Php 300 per bottle at The Updated Trends. They'll be participating at the upcoming Super Sale Bazaar, happening on March 1-3 at the World Trade Center, so I suggest you take this chance to check out the MUA Nail Constellation and other MUA products at their stall. :)

Nailed | Sassy Colors Magnetic Nail Polish.

Forget those expensive, salon-made nail art. Magnetic nail polish has all the rage right now! There's Nail Inc. Magnetic Polish in London, there's Sally Hansen Magnetic Color in the US, while in the Philippines we have Sassy Colors Magnetic Nails Polish.

L-R: Fierce, Allure, Starstruck.

I received these as gifts from Unistar Asia Manufacturing Co., makers of the Sassy Colors brand, sometime last September. But because of my occasional break from nail polish (I gave my nails a break for one full month), I got to try these just recently.

The Sassy Magnetic Nail Polish Starter Kit includes one Magnetic Nail Polish and one Nail Art Magnet. The kit retails for Php 79.75. The Magnetic Nail Polish can also be bought individually at Php 49.75 each.

Each bottle of nail polish contains tiny metallic iron particles that creates patterns when attracted to the Sassy Nail Art Magnet. At present, the Sassy Magnetic line has twelve Magnetic Nail Polish colors available, while there are three Nail Art Magnet Designs to choose from - Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal.

I received the Diagonal Nail Art Magnet, whose design looks like this.

It looks messy, I know. 

Using the Nail Art Magnet is quite tricky because (1) the magnet is quite weak, plus (2) the nail polish dries quickly. And contrary to what's written at the back of the Nail Kit box, you (3) need a single thin coat for the art pattern to appear. The design won't be too visible otherwise - totally different from Nails Inc, and Sally Hansen, where you can apply a generous coating of nail polish and still get visible results.

When it comes to the color itself, I have nothing but praises for Sassy Colors. They're frosted, glossy, and highly-pigmented, which is the main reason why I love the brand.

L-R: Fierce, Allure, Starstruck.

 Personally, I like wearing the nail polishes sans the nail art. :)

The Sassy Magnetic Nail Polish and the Nail Art Magnet kit are now available at Watson's Personal Care Stores and SM Department Stores nationwide.