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!

Some signs that tell you your skin is improving, apart from being complemented by others, are being able to get out of the house bare-faced and being confident about having your picture taken even without makeup.

My macho pitbull, Maxx, wearing my laboratory glasses

I'm now able to go out of the house (to review school, to my home-care patients, and for errands) without having to put powder on! I must confess that I never dared step out of the house without dusting powder on my face. 

Also, I no longer frown at the camera if I'm not wearing my thick liquid foundation. I worry less about how I'd look like in photos without all that heavy makeup.

Maxx took up acting skills some few months back

he's waaay better than local actor, Aljur Abrenica (sorry, fans)

Again, my skin is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from perfect. But I'm loving the big improvements it has achieved to-date. Good skincare line + a good derma = better skin!

Skincare products I use:

AM: Acne Soap (from derma)

      : Clinique Toner 2

    : Hamilton or Lab 46 sunblocks (used interchangeably depending on how oily my skin is; Lab 46 not              recommended o dry-skin days)

PM: Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil (on commute days or if makeup was worn) OR kojic soap (from derma)

     : I alternate Pond's Cold Cream to make sure I don't finish up my Shu Oil too fast (haha, I still don't have anyone to buy for me from Duty Free)

     : Local Obagi every other night (glowing solution>retinoic acid gel alternated with glycolic cream>brightening cream 

     : Clinique Turnaround concentrate on non-Obagi nights

     : Acne lotion, spot treatment, if pimples come up

Frequency of Derma Visit: from twice a month ---> bi-/tri-monthly visits :)

Improvements: skin clarity, texture and tone; pore size (not dramatic though); post-acne marks/blemishes; acne scars are present but their discoloration has diminished hugely therefore seem invisible and shallow; occurence of cystic pimples on the Tzone and cheeks; amount of oil on the face (I shifted from Clinique toner 3 to 2)

Points of Improvement: complete removal of acne scarring that becomes obvious under certain lightings

What do you do when you suddenly see that you're a few more weeks away from needing to purcahse a new bottle of your favorite serum? I am running out of my dependable instaglow solution, the Clinique Turnaround Concentrate! And what could be better than successfully spending that extra moolah (on shoes!) I alloted for this??!!

I am ranting because I have already fallen in love with how this serum finishes silky smooth on my face at night. It does not cause redness or dryness which spells out perfect for my combination skin. All I need is 1 pump of the Clinique turnaround concentrate in the evening (I have a small face) for me to wake up to a softer and more radiant skin.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate, 1 oz, @ Clinique counters
(Trinoma, Rustan's Shangri-la, Rustan's Makati, Gateway)

The pump bottle dispenses the necessary amount of product I need to cover up the entire face. I noticed how this serum improved my skin's clarity within a week's time when I first used it. 

On more humid Manila nights, I feel that this product can stand as a good moisturizer for oily and combination skin types. On hotter mornings, its silky texture prompts you to use it as a primer. 

If there's something you'd be booing about this product, its the Philippine price (3000php for 1oz; half a year's use for me) and the presence of 3 -cones in the bottle (dimethicone, polysilicone-11 and peg-10 dimethicone). Surprisingly, despite my negative reaction to -cones, the Clinique turnaround concentrate never broke me out. It only gave me good skin I loved to look at and touch.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate, 1oz, P3000 in Pinas; 39.50 in the U.S.

Must raise funds. This is among the skincare products that worked for me along with my local obagi. But on a brighter note, not having this around will put the Clinique Turnaround Concentrate to test on the longevity of its positive effects on my skin.