How a quick beauty staycation made me feel like myself again
Habits, no matter how mundane or seemingly insignificant they are, define our lives. We can think grand thoughts and say grand things, but what we do every single day is who we are. Probably the easiest way to turn our life around is to review our daily habits and consciously discard what makes us weaker, inefficient, or unhappy and do more of what makes us better. Well, perhaps that's easier said than done, but what works for me is reviewing my goals before my day begins and assessing my performance before I go to sleep.
"How do I win today?" is something that I ask myself every morning. Sure some things may not go as I planned, but some others do. I build on these small victories so I can launch myself to the next step. Once I'm done with my day, I like to discuss with my partner, James, about what I've achieved and learned. Synthesizing these learnings in this manner opens my mind to new ideas while keeping my feet to the ground.
March was an incredibly hectic month for me. We held the Project Vanity 9th Anniversary which was attended by 200 people! Organizing that was an incredible feat by my small team, but in the background we were also working on product development for In Her Element. That's bloody, detail-intensive, and expensive so you could imagine how stressful that was. We were also working with our clients so I was often out in meetings and pitches. All that time I was thinking that if I could survive March 2017, I will likely survive anything!
Lucky for me, Yasmine Hidalgo, Director of Public Relations of Sofitel Manila, invited me to have a quick beauty staycation at their world class facilities. Sofitel houses Vietura, an aesthetic lifestyle institute that leverages on its holistic approach to beauty and wellness, offering treatments to improve the face, body, and even nutrition level. It's bespoke beauty that goes past superficial improvements by encouraging beneficial lifestyle changes, and carefully keeping watch on a client’s progress or setbacks.
I was extra stressed last week month my skin showed it without remorse. After a quick consultation with Vietura's in-house derma, I requested for the Carbon Laser. It's a laser treatment that strips away hyperpigmentation with controlled intensity and precise degree of penetration. It helps remove solid dark spots and pigmented lesions like tattoos and birthmarks.
First, the aesthetician cleaned off my makeup and then applied a carbon mask on my face. Then she placed goggles to protect my eyes and proceeded zapping my skin with Revlite laser. It's actually my first time to try laser on my face so I was a wee bit apprehensive, but after the initial discomfort (more from the zapping sound really!) I realized that it wasn't painful at all. Imagine ants gently crawling on your skin and leaving warm tracks. The fun part is that the laser zapped the carbon mask per centimeter; it revealed brighter, cleaner skin instantly.
My skin immediately after the treatment. No redness, though the last pass of the laser gun was warmer than the first.
Over the last week, I noticed my skin has a glow and some of my smaller blemishes and freckles have lightened. There's no downtime, not even micro-peeling. The recommended number of sessions to achieve permanent results is anywhere from 3-7, depending on your skin. I want to try this again and would recommend it to anybody granted cost was no object.
After my treatment at Vietura, I hied off to Sofitel's Le Spa for a 1.5 hour massage. The suite was handsome and quiet; the masseuse was polite and attentive. I enjoyed every minute of it! Instead of listening to music, I chose to listen to my Audible book (The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi).
I felt like myself again after that lovely April afternoon at Sofitel. Honestly, I love the daily texture of my life even when the extreme stress tests my limits. Still, it feels nice to just take a break from all that and chill while working on my skin. It was exactly what I needed! Thank you, Yasmine and Sofitel, for having me over!
For appointments and price inquiries, please get in touch with Vietura at:
Tel: +63 2 551 5555 loc.1662 | Mobile: +63 917 581 3091 | Email : info@vietura.com, sales@vietura.com
Le Spa is open daily from 8am to 12 midnight and may be phone at 551 5555 Ext 1588/1587
