I randomly found these Pond's wipes in S&R while I was doing my groceries. I normally avoid the beauty and body care section because the things there can get quite expensive, but this product just looked too good to pass up - especially when I saw the ingredients list!

The Pond's Original All Day Clean Towelettes (P129 at S&R) are designed to remove makeup and other impurities in the gentlest manner possible. Yeah, it's the first time I've heard of it too! As far as I know this is not available anywhere else in the Philippines aside from S&R - but do correct me if I'm wrong. 

This is a water-based makeup remover that contains extracts of chamomile, Vitamin E, green tea, white tea, and honeybush. These ingredients can help freshen up skin and improve its clarity. True enough, my face feels really nice and smooth after using the wipes! These don't sting or taste like anything AT ALL.

Pond's joined the BB cream bandwagon rather late, but they believe they came out with something that's totally worth the wait. True enough, the Pond's Flawless White and Age Miracle BB Creams (P399) did not disappoint. It's fairly good considering how much it costs.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how nice the texture of this Pond's product is! It's water-based and therefore non-greasy, and it does help brighten and even out the complexion instantly. It's easy to apply and it also dries in a few minutes. You won't even need a setting powder if you're not particularly oily, but if you want to extend the wear time then you must set it with foundation or at least a face powder.

By itself, this BB cream lasts for about 3 hours before it starts to fade. I don't like to think of it as foundation - it's really more of a skincare/ makeup base, the way BB creams were originally supposed to be.

Here's whats been happening in the beauty industry! For your information. ;)

Be Part Of The Beauty Buzz with Pond's

Visit the “Pond’s Institute” Manila booth at the SM Mall of Asia’s Main Mall Atrium and be one of the privileged ladies to experience beauty and technology when you join Pond’s beauty activities from June 15 to July 4. Get a free skin analysis and a derma consultation every Saturday and Sunday. 

The other day, a package arrived from Pond's. One of its contents was a gold box:

With a note:

I had the pleasure of meeting Angelica Panganiban in person sometime last June. I always thought she was pretty, but she's one of those celebrities that look waaaaay better in person than on cam. Her face was flawless and glowing, yet I can barely see any makeup! I've seen other celebrities before and the truth is that they really pile it on (part of the job description I guess) but Angelica's face looked very natural, as if she was born with a radiance that sets her apart from us mere mortals. 

She was very gracious and warm that night too!

Bloggers with Angelica (photo from Askmewhats)

Because of the overwhelmingly positive response that Angelica recieved as the Pond's White Beauty Naturals endorser, Pond's decided to give her followers a chance to meet her. All you have to do is install the Come Face to Face with Angelica Facebook app, nominate three friends, and you get a "personalized" video and email from Angelica. You and your friends will automatically nab a Pond's Naturals sample pack too. 

Here are more details.

There's a keen demand among women nowadays for more "natural" skincare solutions. But what do we mean when we say "natural"? Usually, a product is considered such if its ingredients are from natural and unrefined sources. For example, the ingredient list must mainly consist of water, fruit and plant extract, oils, combined with naturally occurring preservatives, humectants, surfactants, and emulsifiers (link). Natural skincareproducts do not contain synthetic chemicals.

That said, Pond's new line called White Beauty Naturals does not claim to be natural. But it does feature one of nature's beautifying agents: the Camellia Leaf. Why that particular plant? Dr. Sona Pushker, Head of Research at the Pond’s Institute says, “...The Camellia leaf extract is known to reduce the formation of melanin deep within your skin, and the proven skin lightening technology of the Pond’s White Beauty range inhibits melanin being released to the skin’s surface, reducing skin darkening and imperfections.”

Nature’s most potent skin-lightening secret! With Camellia Leaf Extract, Pond’s White Beauty Naturals works double time – it reduces the formation of melanin at a cellular level and inhibits melanin from being released to the skin’s surface, thus effectively fighting skin darkening, diminishing imperfections and delivering beautiful, pinkish-white skin.

Okay! Basically, the new line is a new formulation (upgrade?) of Pond's existing White Beauty products. What sets it apart is the inclusion of camellia sinensis, which is actually known as the "tea plant", because green tea is traditionally made from its leaves!

The first skincare product I EVER reviewed was the Pond's White Beauty cream. That was in 2008! I loved it, and I used it for two years until I switched to the Flawless White variant (more potent and slightly more expensive than White Beauty, but almost the same thing). I switched moisturizers again - I found awesome, expensive ones in the course of trying out so many things for this blog - but at the back of my head I sometimes wonder if they're better than my first love, Pond's.

Best skin ever with Pond's: A few pounds lighter, two years younger

I encourage you to click the links above because they document my long-time affair with Pond's, and maybe you'll also understand why I work with the brand. :) If you read beauty blogs, I'm sure you've already seen that there is a Pond's Flawless White Blogger Contest where bloggers and their friends document their 14-day experience using the Flawless White line exclusively.

It's a contest with a prize, so of course everyone wants to win. I think that fact may make you think that the point of the contest is undermined. You may think that our "reviews" are already compromised because of the campaign. There's a high probability that you'll be reading raves for Flawless White from all the contestants, and it may also be difficult to believe 100%.

As a beauty blogger, the only thing I can really be proud of is credibility

Trivia: Project Vanity has received 3,395 comments since it went live last year. I don't get to reply to every comment (I try though) but I read each one and I do appreciate them. I don't really earn anything significant from blogging - sometimes it's grueling, sometimes I even wonder why I keep pouring so much time on this. But when I get a comment saying this small project of mine is useful to someone, it's all worth the work.

To thank Project Vanity followers, I run contests (check out the current one for Inches Off shapewear) but winning contests are too chancy. So, I thought of setting aside a personal thank you gift to readers who follow this website regularly.