Over the years that I have basked under the sun during the sweltering heat of the summer season and only finding out later on and regretting having not taken any skin protection measures, I have learned quite an important lesson. It comes as no surprise that for the remainder of the year, it becomes my ultimate goal to get that healthy, glowing skin for a perfect holiday shade before the year ends.

I'm going to review two new and wonderful whitening products I've come across that you just might need for yourself especially now that the summer season is coming to a halt. Say hello to GLUTA-C Intense Whitening body lotion and body scrub. There's also a face and body soap product but I was only able to grab these two items from Sample Room.

Gluta-C Intense Whitening body lotion and body scrub

I've been using these for a week now and let me just say that it's unlike any other whitening product out there. Since I was 15, I've been on a quest to obtain a lighter shade, not that I was particularly dark or anything. But since I practically live on a coastal area, the sea breeze and my frequent beach trips leave a lot to be desired. Armed with 15 years of experience when it comes to finding the best whitening product available to date, I can see clearly now the rain has gone what I need to do to protect my precious skin and save some glow for old age.

Awww.. that's some serious skin damage going on there, Donatella Versace. (Photo from Google)

Everything I tried before left me either sticky or icky, which makes Gluta-C the "most light weight" skin whitening product for me. It simply means the consistency is thick but it blends into, well, almost nothing. It doesn't even feel like I'm wearing lotion at all, but my skin is not left dry which possibly means the product is being absorbed into my skin. The countless other "EXTRA" or "SUPER" whitening products I've tried in the past were always so hard to blend on my skin and felt so heavy that I reckon it's like wearing a ton of body paint on my skin!

Now you see it, now you don't!

I've been using it for a week now but I won't say I'm turning into Snow White. But as far as I can tell, I'm slowly getting back my NC25 skin tone. The best part of the Gluta-C body lotion really is that I am comfortable using this lotion even though the climate is truly exasperating this time of the year and no amount of A/C really makes one forget how humid it gets in the summertime here in the tropics.


To hasten the skin whitening, I paired this lotion with the Gluta-C body scrub. It reminds me of the sugar body scrubs I've been using before I decided to try this product. It has a nice smell to it that makes your bathroom smell like it's spring time. I like it!

3 is definitely better than 1!

I think perhaps its the papaya scent that makes it smell so good that I get the urge to taste it. But no, of course, I didn't. It says it's safe to use daily but since I don't have the luxury to spend that much time in the bathroom everyday, I've been using it every other day. I like the fact that the scrub doesn't hurt my skin and doesn't disappear or dissolve in just a matter of seconds like my sugar scrubs. The granules are there until you want to wash it off. So if you feel like you haven't scrubbed enough, then you can scrub yourself all you want! Tee hee. I've only used it about 4 x and used about 25%. Apparently, there's still so much product inside the 120-gram jar that will last a month if you use it every other day. Best of all, it retails for just PHP99.75. Using this body scrub is making the body lotion glide smoother on my skin. I am convinced this is truly helping the lotion get absorbed easily on my skin, thus making the intense whitening process work really well.

Now here's my TOP 5 SUMMER PRODUCTS to stay beautiful and fresh. As I've mentioned, years of experience took place to make me come up with this list. Your body will surely be grateful if you pack up these babies inside your beach bag.


1. Sunblock. I go with SPF 70! The ozone layer isn't what it used to be. Mother Earth is is growing old. Do yourself a favor. Just don't scorch that skin.
2. Lip balm. Because no one wants windburned lips. Hard lesson learned there.
3. After sun cooling gel. People like me burn so fast and I don't look forward to sticking to my sheets at night.
4. Whitening lotion. Of course, tans fade. But why not speed up the process? And while you're at it, nourish your skin with antioxidants like Vitamin C. Fortunately, you'll get just that from Gluta-C!
5. Body scrub. Who wants dead skin cells anyway!? My current HG body scrub is no other than Gluta-C.


There you have it! I may come off sounding so vain talking about skin and all, but trust me. You don't want skin damage or worse, skin cancer. *knock on wood* Simbako! My grandfather lived by the motto and always told us that "prevention is better than cure" which is why I think it really is better to be safe than sorry. Your skin is the biggest organ in your body. *Ahem* And it's probably the first thing that people you meet notice and certainly, you don't want to give the wrong impression.

My favorite photo from our recent Kalanggaman Island escapade. (Before I transformed into a Nancy nognog.)

So before I go, let me ask you a simple question. If you can't take care of your skin, what does that say about you? :)

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Towards the end of February this year, I started using the complete line of the Celeteque Dermoscience™ Acne Solutions except the product for back acne because I'm not experiencing that anymore. I was beginning to think I'm having another go at puberty because my skin was breaking out bad. Perhaps it was because the summer season is upon us and my super oily skin really does not enjoy the humidity. My honest review of the products is as follows.

Celeteque Dermoscience™ Acne Solutions + the Advanced Anti-Aging cleansing oil I'm currently using as a makeup remover

ACNE CLEANSING GEL - Since I use this after I wipe makeup off my face with the cleansing oil, for a gel it works great at getting rid of the oil as well as whatever make-up and dirt are left on my face. It has no particular scent to it and I think even though it doesn't create foam as much as regular facial washes, in my book I really love how it cleanses my face without leaving it dry. Rating: ★★★★

ACNE CLEARING FACIAL MOISTURIZER GEL - Since it is a gel moisturizer, I'm not really sure if it moisturizes my face the way I expect it to. But I love that it doesn't make my face oily at all and leaves it matte-like. I don't have any trouble applying my BB cream after using this moisturizer. No annoying scent, too. Rating: ★★★★★

OIL CONTROL TONER - The toner stings my face especially if I just popped a pimple. For its cleaning and pore-closing properties, I don't think it does the perfect job. Actually, I don't get what a toner really does besides cleaning whatever makeup or dirt is left on the face after washing it. Some say you don't need a toner but I think if you have time for skin care at all, then I really need to use a toner, too. Rating: ★★★★

ACNE SPOT CORRECTOR GEL - This got rid of cystic acne in 4 days to a week. Not as fast as I hoped it would compared to other spot correctors I've used in the past. Then again, this may not be as strong as the others which is good. But if you want a zit gone immediately, maybe you should look further. The smell reminds me of Garnier's Pure Blemish Pen. Rating: ★★★★★

OVERALL RATING: 






I think this product is wonderful if you want to keep your pimples at bay. However, my skin is extremely oily now that the sun is really screaming summer all over the place. And after sun exposure, I broke out so bad that I think I need a stronger treatment so my acne will disappear for good. This could be hormonal also so perhaps I may need to see a dermatologist again.

Okay, time to move on...

UPDATE: July 2013

I'm back to using the ACNE CLEARING FACIAL MOISTURIZER GEL and ACNE SPOT CORRECTOR GEL because of the chocolates and peanuts I've been eating lately. Yup, skin broke out again (just a little bit! nothing drastic really) and the spot corrector gel just works like a charm. :)) So I'm happy! A few days of use and the cystic acne is gone! It's so effective and it doesn't smell like medicine at all!!! Also I can't seem to live without the facial moisturizer gel as it's the only affordable gel moisturizer I could find that's perfect for our hot/humid climate. I also like to sleep with it because I don't like heavy night creams that get my pillows all dirty. Boo! Although the rainy season is here for the next few months, cream moisturizers just don't seem to work for me anymore ever since I discovered this moisturizer gel. TWO THUMBS UP!!!

Contains Acnidol™ BG to help reduce sebum secretion in acne-prone skin and has French spring water that gives moisture to the skin by stimulating the production of skin lipids

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For 5 awfully long years, I've been trying to grow back my overplucked eyebrows. I don't know who started all this Kilay 2000 craze, but that got to me. By the time I graduated college, I had a thin line for eyebrows. It was so 1990s, I know. Remember Drew Barrymore? Pamela Anderson? Don't get me wrong because they were my idols in high school!


And ever since then, I've developed some kind of plucking disorder and I would actually berate someone when I see them with ungroomed eyebrows. I can't count the number of people (including guys!) whose eyebrows I've practically shaped and arched right so it would look more, umm, presentable. Yeah, that's just my thing. It's quite a pet peeve really. I ought to open a BrowHaus branch in my area.

If there's such a thing as a bad hair day, well, I get really bad eyebrow days! It's really annoying because these eyebrows are the reason why I'm almost always late for my appointments. So many times I've considered getting a tattoo but I couldn't go through it. What if I don't want my current eyebrow style anymore? What if my face sags and my eyebrows will end up on my forehead when I'm 60? Arggghhh! Maybe I'll do eyebrow embroidery... maybe not. We'll see.

But for now, for the purpose of this blog post, I'll show you how I managed to get my almost non-existent eyebrows to grow back in just 2 months time. I'm positive that if I keep up with this, I may never need to draw my eyebrows again and I'll have no excuse to be late anymore. Tee hee.

How to grow back overplucked eyebrows by MyMaria

Okay, let's travel back in time! Are you ready to see some comparisons? You better! Because I spent hours looking for my old photos so I can show you guys my eyebrow evolution. :)

Eyebrows can make or break your look and for 13 years, I have mastered drawing eyebrows every single friggin' day.

In March when I started treating my eyebrows, in April when I finally see some growth, and in May when I can really see more hair on my brows! WOW!

In case you're wondering, I also lost a total of 16 lbs now since I did the juice fast back in March so my face is kind of slimmer. (You can read all about it HERE if you're interested.) And since I've been living a healthier lifestyle, perhaps it could be one of the reasons why my eyebrows grew back. LOL! Anyway, now it's time for the big revelation. For less than PHP 1,000.00, I was able to grow my eyebrows in 2 months with the help of... *drumroll please* ... no other than -- REGROE (minoxidil) and BIOTIN!


Yup, that's right. Most of you already know that minoxidil (generic) is used to treat hair loss and Biotin 5mg (or 5000 mcg) is also known as Vitamin H for hair and nails. When combined, results are faster. I did my research, and you should too before starting any experiments.

Still it is a case to case basis, but it's worth a shot if you ask me. I applied the minoxidil 2 x a day, in the morning/afternoon and at night using an eyebrow brush or a Q-tip (cotton bud). Yes, I have that kind of perseverance (thank you very much). Tip: Wait at least 2 hours before you zonk out at night so the minoxodil dries up or gets absorbed and it does not go anywhere you don't want it to. You don't want to grow a beard now also, do you?

Anyway, I only used Biotin for a month since I was already seeing results in April. I continued using Regroe since I still have a lot in the bottle. I'm going to keep at it til I run out of the solution. I'm thinking perhaps in 4 months' time I won't even have to fill in my sparse eyebrows and have naturally thicker ones. Think Natalie Portman or better yet, Audrey Hepburn. One can only dream. Hey, libre mangarap man kuno! 

Thicker eyebrows can make your eyes look younger.

Next up. My lashes. See that photo above? Those are what little lashes I have + a bit of mascara that really doesn't do much for them. I'm thinking of buying this serum that's been hyped for lash growth lately but I'm reading mixed reviews. I'll do some more research. We'll see. If that works for me, I'll be sure to share my experience here in my blog.

Thicker eyebrows are so much better! Goodbye Kilay 2000!

So til then! Good luck growing your eyebrows. For the mean time, look at how thicker lashes with mascara makes eyes look better? Do follow me on Instagram if you're interested on updates regarding my eyebrow/lash project.

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