Naiholics Pampering for a Cause As It Celebrates National Pampering Day

Last October 17, 2017 from 10 AM to 1 PM,  all Nailaholics Nail Salon and Spa branches nationwide gave out free pampering service (choices: manicure, foot spa or foot massage)  during the celebration of its  2nd National Pampering Day, in partnership with the most beloved nail lacquer brand in the world, OPI.

Although it was a weekday and there was a nationwide jeepney strike, it was still a huge success as there was a long line for the free service.  Well of course... it's FREE and FOR A CAUSE!  Yes, aside from getting free service, you also get to choose which of the  3 beneficiaries you want to support.  I chose World Vision which supported the rehabilitation of Marawi City.  Other two options are: Save Philippine Seas and The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).  I just felt that the situation in Marawi City is more urgent.

I was one of the firsts in SM Manila.

DEADSEA MUD MASK DETOXIFYING FOOT SPA

Actually Nailaholics has 3 kinds of Foot Spa.  All of them start with  a foot soak with lemongrass oil and tea tree extract.

Next step is the scrubbing off of dead skin.

What will be applied is what will vary.  Since I chose Dead Sea Mud Mask, I was scrubbed with dead sea salt.  Maybe for effect, it was color green.

Then, it was wiped neatly to prepare for the next step.

Mud mask was applied all over my legs.  It had a cooling effect.  It was left for a few minutes before it was also wiped off.  I  can now feel my skin so soft and moisturized.  The cooling effect also made me feel refreshed and relaxed.

PEBBLE BEACH STRESS RELIEVER BACK MASSAGE

Since I wanted a wholesome pampeing experience, I also availed of the Pebble Beach  Back Massage.  It cost me 440 php for 30 minutes.  I'm amazed that at the height of 5'6 inches I actually cause lay down and fit there.  What a genius space saving bench convertible into massage bed.

My massage therapist Gina was very courteous.  Although the menu indicated dry massage, she offered me to have it with oil so I agreed.  She also asked me my preferred pressure.  As usual, I liked it hard.  You may be wondering why I am having a massage in a nail spa.  I  just wanted to try to see if it had advantages over a purely massage spa and it did.  Since they have not been massaging all day, you can count on their full strength and dedication during your massage. 

Aside from the free service, they also offered the Argan Oil at 50% OFF so you know what happened next... how can we resist such a huge saving right?

Thank you  so much Nailaholics for the pampering treat!  Hope to join again next year!

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice: Summer-On-Go with Gretchen Ho, Laureen Uy, LA Aguinaldo and Jeron Teng

Summer is here and CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice, the world's number 1 drink brand from Taiwan is out to bring that summer goodness all-year round with Summer-On-The-Go for Filipinos-On-The-Go.

I haven't tried CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice so I'm so glad to join in the summer fun as they opened in my home city at SM City Manila. 

The staffs are all smiles and ready to serve!

Team Gretchen

Joining us on the exciting, fun and free summer season are CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice's brand ambassadors Gretchen Ho, Laureen Uy, LA Aguinaldo and Jeron Teng who played with fellow bloggers in a searching game.

Team Laureen

Team LA

Team Jeron

Team Jeron won the game.

Winners

Then the four shared what's a summer-on-the-go for them...

And, of course, their favorite CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice drinks.

Gretchen Ho Shares Her Love For CoCo

Gretchen Ho, Laureen Uy, LA Aguinaldo and Jeron Teng lists down their favorite summer activities.

Gretchen Ho, Laureen Uy, LA Aguinaldo and Jeron Teng  and their favorite drinks with CoCo Team manager Larry Evans Tan

Lemon Calamani with Aloe

Lemon Calamani with Aloe is athlete Gretchen Ho's drink choice.  She shares that she enjoys the citrus delight of this dirnk and always drops by CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice with her family to grab some of this as much as she could.

Passion Fruit Tea Burst

Passion Fruit Tea Burst is fashion blogger Laureen Uy's choice with fresh passion fruit and jasmine tea topped with peal and coconut jelly.  This serves as her day-ender drink after a busy day of traveling and other activities. 

Lemon Dunk

Being an athlete, Jeron Teng shares that he doesn't have the luxury of time as he is busy preparing for his basketball games and routine exercises.  The Lemon Dunk gives him the extra jolt he need to be as invigorated and spirited throughout his day.

3 Buddies

3 Buddies is LA Aguinaldo, model and host, cool down-drink his gigs and appointments.  It is a very heavy black tea-based drink filled with pudding, pearl and grass jelly.

Green Tea Yakult

While, I'm no celebrity, I'm going to share with you my favorite refreshing summer drink choice: Green Tea Yakult.  How about you?  What's your summer-on-the-go drink choice?

Our Doggie Divas Fashion Show Experience at SM Manila

I previously mentioned about the Doggie Divas Fashion Show (see separate entry).  It was our first time to join a fashion show so we woke up early to groom Lychee.  She had a bad hair day.  But that won't stop us.

Kurt Grooming Lychee Upon Arrival

Me and Lychee Before the Show

Each contestant walking the red carpet

Host talking to the partcipant

We arrived at the venue at exactly 2 p.m.  We were given a button pin with number 20 on it.  We were shocked to see many dogs there.  There were 35 contestants.  Most of them had their custom-made gowns and costumes.  Compared to them we were under-dressed.  Especially since we just bought Lychee's dress the day earlier at Tiendesitas for a measly 200 php. =p

Carribean Themed Chihuahua

      While waiting for the registration to be completed, the host was asking questions among the audience.  Kurt was raising his hand knowing all the answers but unfortunately he was never called.


At 2:30 p.m., the show started by parading the contestants around the upper ground floor.  Lychee was so happy to roam around at the mall.  While most pets wanted to be carried, Lychee was enjoying her walk.  As we returned to the event center, the three female judges were introduced.  They were judges chosen among the sponsors.  A brief information was given about them such as their profession (unrelated to dogs) and whether they had pets.


The participants were asked to walk along the red carpet and place their dogs at a table by the end for photograph.  Participants were divided into batches composing of five dog owners each.  Since we were number 20, we have at the fourth batch.  At the end of each batch, a spokesperson from the person discusses their products.  While waiting for our turn, Lychee kept rubbing her face trying to remove her big red glittery bow.  People wanted to take a picture of her but Lychee was a hyper dog so it was quite difficult to make her stay in one position.  Kurt also did not manage to take a single photo of us durign the show for the same reason.=(


When we were called, she walked straight to the table.  I place her their to have her pictures taken.  There were around 8 photographers.  I glanced at the judges but there weren't looking.


Soon, the participants for the guardian and dog category were called so we walked the carpet again.  After that it was the pair dogs turn.  After 30 minutes, the judges announced their decision and awarded the prizes.  As expected we didn't win anything.  The show ended as scheduled at around 5:00 p.m.


We quickly exchanged our button pin for our Alpo giveaway.  All contestants should have one but some of the contestants didn't get a chance to claim theirs because of the insufficiency of supplies.  Some of the contestants went home even before the giveaways were given.  (Probably because some non-contestants were given some)

Doggie Diva Winner

2nd place for Doggie Diva

3rd runner up for Doggie Diva

2 chihuahuas in similar dresses = best pair winner
(funny because we almost bought the same buy 1 take 1 for 300 dresses at Tiendesitas!)

2 chihuahuas pair up close

Mask man + Kid with wig = Guardian and Pet Winner

All 7 Winners

After the show, it rained.  Lychee loves the rain so we walked on the way home.  She had mud all over her feet so when we got home, we had to bathe her again.  It was a tiring day.


Overall, we are probably not for the fashion show type.   We didn't want to overdress her because we were too worried that it would make her feel uncomfortable.  We realized that Lychee will always be cute in our eyes.  It doesn't whether she wins based on others judgment.  To us, she will always be our "Doggie Diva."

ChickChat's Weekly 1,500 php Gift Certificate (GC) Giveway!

If you've previously read our dining experience at ChickChat (see separate entry) and want to try them out for FREE?  Then join ChickChat Asia's Weekly 1,500 php (3 x 500 php)  Gift Certificate Giveway!

The promo starts on May 23, 2011.  (Not stated until when) Winners will be announce at their facebook page every Mondays. 

Promo Mechanics:

1. Email your dining experience and what would you like to see them doing in the near future at enquiries@osforiente.ph
2. Place your name and contact information on your email
3. To double your chances: Like ChickChat Asia Fan Page and post your thoughts

With 3 x 500 php gift certificates, you could taste most of their dishes already.  Their dishes are so affordable that for 1,500 php worth you can avail of all the food choices you want.   Of course, I joined too!

Since our previous visit there are now new releases which we have yet to try.  Below are some of the food which has caught my attention.  What about you?

 
ChickChat
2nd floor of SM Manila, right across SM Appliance Center

Take Out at ChickChat Affordable Singaporean Casual Dining Fast Food

Last night, my family spent some time shopping at SM Manila.  They noticed this new restaurant and decided to try it out.  It's named "Chick Chat".  They called me and asked me what I wanted to order and I told them to just surprise me.

Chick chat's take out packaging was pretty nice.  They had this white paper bag.  The food were placed in boxes.  They brought home a Cereal Chicken (worth 99 php) and Singapore Chicken Rice Box (worth 79 php) and their left over of the Crispy Jacket Fries.

The Cereal Chicken with the sauce and rice was placed in a rectangular box.  As I opened the rice, it was fragrant and shiny.   As I took a bite at the Cereal Chicken, it was crunchy and tasty.  It was like a crispy fried chicken but covered with oatmeal.  The chicken meat was tender and juicy.  It goes well with the sauce too.  When I ate it with the rice, it was so delicious I had to taste it again only by itself.  It had a taste of chicken broth.  But there was something else.  Perhaps it was pandan leaves and some type of oil.

The Singapore Chicken Rice was placed in a typical chinese take out box.  I had slices of chicken and some lettuces and tomatoes.   As indicated by the color, it was soy based.  It was delicious.  It even tasted better than the Cereal Chicken.  It also came in the same fragrant rice.

The Crispy Jacket Fries were like normal fries except it had meat floss (ma ho in chinese).  I liked it! Perhaps because I've loved eating meat floss since I was a kid. 

 

 

Overall, the meal was great.  It was delicious and very affordable too.  It was even cheaper than most fast foods.  Their concept were good.  Their dishes were unique and the rice that goes with every meal was superb.  We will probably dine here and try out other dishes in the future.  Hope they continue to produce more dishes so we could have more choices.

ChickChat
2nd floor of SM Manila, right across SM Appliance Center