I'm alive and baaaack from my 5-month long hiatus (long and tiring story...) and I can't contain my excitement on getting back to blogging and reading my fave blogs!

Over the course I've been absent from the blogosphere, I haven't stopped thinking about the stuff I wish I could share with you. Now that I'm finally and officially back, let me give you a rough picture of some of the beauty products I've been crazy about these past months. Presenting...

Six Products I Like So Much (with a short intro/ review about why I love each):

1. Relumins Advance White Oral Whitening Formula. Finally, an oral glutathione that doesn't make me too yellow like tathion 307. I've been on it for a week now and I have to say I'm quite impressed with the effects.

2. Avon Skin So Soft Lotion (especially the soft & white with marula variants). After basking under the summer sun from previous vacations, the intensive whitening lotions from Avon have aided me in evening out and actually improving my body's overall fairness. 

3. Tony Moly Acerola Sheet Masks. My cheeks have gotten so annoyingly dry lately and these sheet masks have done a good job in helping me wake up to better-looking skin. Too bad these red packets are almost always OOS in stores :(

4. Banana Boat Sport Sunscreen SPF 110. My second most awesome purchase for the summer. I use this for the face during trips to the beach and it has never failed me. Proofs in a lengthier review to follow!

5. Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation. I've purchased this last year, loved it back then but failed to blog about it. I'm still very much in love with it now especially since it fakes a fresh face in this sweltering heat. I top it off with Joppa MMU in Grecian Gold to improve its hold.

6. Clarisonic Mia. I consider this my best beauty purchase for the first half of the year (review coming up!!!). It just really works for me and the results are instant: I get cleaner, clearer and healthy-looking skin after using this. I use the Mia with Clinique liquid facial soap/ Neutrogena Mulberry Ultra Foam Cleanser and with the deep-pore cleansing brush head.

If you are keen enough, you may have noticed how these product faves are mostly about keeping the skin fair. I noticed that too just now and I don't have a damn good reason why. I will be reviewing each of these products in detail very soon and perhaps by then, I can tell you why I'm such a whitening whore!

Do you still remember how you get all giddy and sunny whenever school field trips come up? Last August (late post, I know!), I was reminded of that good old feeling as I counted the days to hopping on a big bus that will take me to Avon Philippines' Plant in Laguna --- my first beauty field trip experience!

Along with other bloggers, I had the chance to tour Avon's cosmetic and skincare plant. I knew all that excitement showed up when Shen uttered how much I look so geared up for the usual school field trip!

Some of my seatmates on that day --- Shen, Krissy and Kira

Clockwise: Huge mixers, digital message board welcoming bloggers (and shouts out the team's daily production goals), and the tidy production unit



Lipstick maker --- I wish I had the guts to break the rules and move a bit closer to take super proximal shots of how the lip products are injected into the metallic pink casing. It felt surreal that I witnessed how it's done.

Watching from a distance: pressed powder and cologne processing units must be germ-free at all times!

Among the field trip's highlights was the launch of the brand's Skin So Soft improved products. Apart from the new packaging, Avon now has marula, argan and babassu oils as ingredients in their popular body care line! More about these wonderful bottles in future posts.

Marula oil- for whitening

Argan oil- for added moisture

Babassu oil- for tightening the skin

What struck me most about that day was Avon's way of empowering its employees (and I can hear the kikay in me dying as I should be most excited about the cosmetics being produced & assembled!). Apart from the big bosses being truly inspirational when directing their people, empowering signs and posters were plastered everywhere to remind everyone about the greatness of committing oneself to a noble vision.

The environmentalist in me was so happy to see these posted inside the comfort room

The men and women of Avon are Good Morning thinkers. Whatever the time of the day, they greet each other with "Good Morning!" aiming to boost mood, morale and camaraderie. I secretly guessed it's their least effective way of empowerment but boy did I feel good after several good mornings & warm smiles! I now think that the good morning principle may be a perfect plan to revamp most of our local government offices' aura.

My first ever beauty field trip made me wish it wasn't the last. I can never look at compacts, lipsticks, lotions and beauty whatnots the same way again knowing the kind of devotion and hard work people put into a product.

photo from Hazel of http://dressmeupbuttercup.tumblr.com
(I'm the one wearing a gray statement tshirt, jeans and white flats. With my BIG backpack on me, you can definitely tell that I'm all geared up for this field trip)