I'm sure that many of you guys have plans to hit the beach this summer, but if you don't - don't despair! There's a lot of amazing ways to spend your summer right here in the city. You can do a sort of staycation by visiting great spas, for instance. There's a lot to explore and experience if you know where to look!

I recently discovered a place called Neo Day Spa. "Discover" is hardly the perfect word as I have seen the spa countless of times before. I pass by it everytime I go to Burgos Circle in The Fort. It looked small and uninteresting so I never visited on my own, but things are not always as they seem. I'm glad to find out upon the spa's invitation. :)

Tea bar

Inside, Neo Day Spa's ground floor looks spacious and airy. The architect made use of geometric ceilings and concrete floors to give a sort of industrial, raw look to the place.

I was thinking of putting this off since I have a few looong overdue beauty posts, but I figured, if I don't write this down now, I'll never get around to it. It will probably suffer the same fate as my Boracay trip last year - I have dozens of photos, even a video of us helmet diving, but I never blogged about it. And now I just have a hazy memory of a vacation to show for it since I left all the photos in my old Macbook.

So! Last weekend, Marco, Luis, Vanessa, and I went to Marinduque to visit Elefante Island. The solitary island houses a beautiful, Satorini-inspired resort called Bellarocca. To say that I enjoyed my stay there is an understatement! The place was breathtaking, private, warm (in terms of service), and just perfect. I am obviously running out of adjectives so it's time for a photo dump.

The only airline service that flies to Marinduque is Zest Air. It's a 40-50 minute flight from Manila.

We're here!

Bellarocca provides a 40-minute van transfer to their jetty

The last event I organized in 2010 was for a brand that's very dear to my heart. I invited beauty and fashion bloggers to experience the Asian Secrets lulur body scrub the best possible way - why, in a spa, of course! You'll remember that I really enjoyed my time at Qiwellness in Salcedo Village, so I managed to hook up the two brands for this relaxing event.

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Happy bloggers!

It was a very casual get-together as bloggers lounged in the soft white chairs of Qiwellness. I just gave them a short introduction about how lulur is part of an ancient Indonesian beautifying ritual for brides.

Everyone is rushing for Christmas by now, what with all the shopping, cooking, gift wrapping and parties. I know I'm stressed! So, I thought to have this little giveaway for all Project Vanity readers out there. I want you guys to relax and take a breather. I'm giving away three GCs from Qiwellness Spa that entitles the bearer to a 90-minute signature massage of his/her choice: Qitranquility, Qivitality, or Qireflexology.

You're getting not one, but THREE Qiwellness GCs. Since Christmas is a season for giving, I want you to give two other friends/family members a relaxing afternoon at the spa.

Here are the mechanics:

1. Like the Project Vanity Facebook page.

2. On your personal profile, paste this and tag the names of two friends: "I want to take @____ and @____ to Qiwellness spa for a free 90-minute massage. Visit this link for more details: http://www.projectvanity.com/projectvanity/2010/12/13/contest-alert-win-three-qiwellness-spa-gcs.html" 

This is what your Facebook entry should look like:

More than a month ago I visited a spa in Makati called Qiwellness. The spa distinguishes itself from others all over the metro because of its focus on centuries-old acupressure combined with modern massage techniques. The spa's clean, elegant minimalist interiors are very relaxing, a quiet retreat in the middle of a bustling city. Of course, it helps that the spa is located in the more "genteel" part of Makati, just besides Picasso Suites in Salcedo.

The waiting lounge. They serve tea once you're settled in.

I decided to try out their latest treatment called Mother of Pearl (P1,680 for 90 minutes). It is supposed to smoothen and brighten the skin with the help of exfoliating sea salt and a body polish/wrap made entirely of powdered pearls. Yep, you heard that right! Powdered pearls! I wouldn't know if the pearls are real or pure, but the very idea tickles my mind. Just the thought of being wrapped in pearls is priceless.

Ingredients

Beauty blogging has allowed me to reach out to women who want to be more beautiful but just don't know where to begin. Thus, when Asian Secrets asked me to run a contest for them, I was ecstatic! Not often do I get the chance to work with a great product as well as help new people through it. 

After announcing the winners, I set about purchasing and booking P40,000 worth of prizes. Here's my post with pictures of the winners and what they got! This post is about Kirby's makeover.

I was really excited about meeting the bride. I wanted to find out more about her and her wedding plans! Kirby is actually a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who is now taking Law at the University of the Philippines. Her soon-to-be husband is a scientist. Talk about intimidating!

I paid a visit to Makati Wellness Studio after I went to the Paul & Joe private sale. Thanks to Google Maps, I was able to find the place and was delighted to know that the spa is just a short walk from The Prestige building. Once I stood on JP Rizal corner Antipolo St, I got a bit lost as I didn't see anything that looked remotely like a spa. Fortunately I saw a big sign that points to where MWS is - apparently it's upstairs atop Chowking, unmarked except for the sign.

The spa is clean, cozy, and welcoming. The services are very affordable (starting from P119 with the most expensive treatment at only P800), perfect for women on a budget. Of course, don't expect high-class, chic interiors - the floors are made of wood and is quite thin (you will hear every single footstep reverberating) and the treatment room looks a bit crowded.

Feet/leg treatment area

Super comfy chairs

I had the Coffee Facial Treatment (P499), Diamond Peel (P799), and Foot Spa (P299).

If you've been following my tweets then you know that last week was an extremely stressful week for me. To be quite honest, I hate being busy. That's why I took the freelancer route but alas! Reality does not agree with my theories about it. That's why when I got an invite to try Mandarin Oriental Hotel's Thai massage last week, I couldn't wait for my appointment! I was sooo looking forward to a couple of hours just lying face down, eyes closed, my mind completely blank...you get the idea.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental is currently hosting a renowned Thai masseuse based in their sister hotel in Dhara Devi, Chiang Mai. Aside from taking part in the Thai Festival, Treen Paleeriam is here to train the hotel's spa staff. He's only going to be here starting today (May 31) until June 7, so if you want to experience an authentic, world class Thai massage, you better book him!

I was given the option of a Traditional Thai Massage or the indigenous Lanna Massage (natively called Tok Sen). The Tok Sen used to be popular in Northern Thailand, but has since been practiced rarely. Being the curious cat that I am, I went for the Tok Sen.