Sydney Trip Haul

Hey dolls!

Almost a month ago, I went to Sydney to hang with my sister. I stayed there for two weeks and was able to see more of the city. I also visited a few places again that I was able to see when I was there back in 2016, like a couple of museums and stores. 

I super enjoyed hanging at dog parks with my sister's dog. I really appreciate how much Australians care for their pets. As a dog mom, I wished that that's the case at least in Manila. Most of the dogs were friendly and playful and the people were nice and thoughtful. 

Of course, a trip isn't complete without "a bit" of shopping! Here are the products that I was able to take back to Manila...

Sydney Trip (2016) Haul

Hey loves!

Last April, I went to Sydney to visit my sister and attended her graduation ceremony. I had loads of fun hanging with my sis again and she showed me around the city. She took me to places that she knew I would enjoy like museums and places with beautiful sceneries where I can take pictures. I'm so lucky that my sister knows me well. ;)

She saved two days of my two-weeks-stay there to do some makeup shopping! Yippee! There's no such thing as an out-of-the-country vacation without checking out their makeup and skincare products. Haha! I have a tight budget and Sydney is quite an expensive place to shop if I were to compare it to the Philippines or other countries in South East Asia. I relied on my sister on what products are must-haves and what I should just skip or get when I return home. 

And so, let me introduce to you my new babies! Haha! 

(If I include the price, they are in Australian Dollars) :)

First of, my gift that my sis bought for me. It's like a Christmas x early birthday gift: 

Becca Resurfacing Primer

Becca Afterglow Palette

She even gave me these lovely products that smell soooo good!

MOR Trio of Treasures in Lychee Flower
This set includes a bar of soap, a perfume oil, and a hand cream.

She also gave me some of her preloved products that I happily accepted. I'll blog swatches and reviews about these soon. ;)

Husk Herbal Tea Blends in Digest

I love drinking tea so I just had to bring at least one box home. ;)

Klorane Mango Oil ($22.95) and Klorane Shampoo with quinine and B Vitamins ($10.95)

My sister recommended this hair care brand and there was an on-going promo: you get a kit containing travel-sized products when you buy two products from them

And these are what's inside the kit:

Klorane Shampoo with Mango Butter

Klorane Dry Shampoo

Klorane Conditioning Balm

Rimmel Protect Makeup Primer ($13.95) 
This is a gift or pasalubong for Liz. She'll post a review soon. :)

Rimmel Lasting Finish Full Coverage Foundation in Light Beige ($13.95) 

This is a gift or pasalubong for Liz. She'll post a review soon. :)

Lily Rose Leather Care Conditioner and Water and Stain Protection
I forgot how much these are but I remember it was more affordable compared to the ones here. We need to take care of our leather bags, you know. ;)

Rationale Sebocyte Superlight Lotion SPF50+ ($60)

I have a separate post that I'll share soon about these products.

Rationale Sebocyte Soothing Hydrogel ($60)

I have a separate post that I'll share soon about these products.

We also went to David Jones... it's like the Rustan's of the Philippines. I wasn't planning on getting anything while I was there but we were offered a free facial when we went to the Philosophy stall.

I answered some questions about my skin type and you can see on the picture above what products from the brand was recommended to help my skin get better.

As I've said, I didn't plan on buying anything but after the facial, I just had to get the Microdelivery Peel kit ($95). The kit really made my skin feel softer and radiant! 

I also took home some freebies. ;)

We also visited this very, very lovely place called MECCA Cosmetica. 

Haha! I've been wanting to visit this place since my sister talked about it whenever she buys makeup from there.

My sister booked me for a skin consultation as well as a makeover!

Pamela (she's super nice) helped me with the skin concerns and what makeup I should try. The products she picked up for me were so good and I really was tempted to get them all. I do, however, have a limited budget so I just picked the ones I liked best.

NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint ($68)

This product gives enough coverage but still gives that natural finish. It looks like my skin but better!

Just look at how awesome my skin looks like! It's like I'm not wearing foundation!

SEEEEEEE!?!?

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel ($25)
My sister sent me some samples of these and it really worked in making my skin smoother and making the dark spots on my face lighter. :)

Sunday Riley Power Couple Kit ($124)

This includes the Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment and Luna Sleeping Night Oil

My sister swears by the power of Retinol to treat our skin problems. Both my sis and I have oily, acne-prone skin and you can see on our photos how her skin has improved. She usually just wear light tint while I still had to cover so many pimples and scars.

As you can see, most of the products I bought were skincare. I am REALLY hoping that all these will help me get better skin. *crosses fingers*

I'll blog about some skin stuff I learned when I visited a skin clinic here and why I bought some of the stuff in this post. Stay tuned for that!

So what do you think of all the products I got? Which is the most interesting for you?



Cheers,

DAWN

Travel Post: Batanes

Hey loves!

I'm no travel blogger but I just have to post about my recent vacation with the family at Batanes. We don't go on vacations much mostly because of my mom's busy schedule. So we're very happy that we finally were able to go out of town that's not near Metro Manila. We always try to plan an outing but it doesn't usually push through. We suck at planning and my mom changes her mind quite often (she's a doctor and it can be quite difficult to leave her patients for a vacation). But last February, there was a Travel and Tour Expo at SMX. We were on a search for an affordable ticket to L.A. because I wanted to visit my best friend, Rica, who is currently living there. After buying a PAL ticket to L.A., we were told that local flight fares were discounted big time. How big? Well, the usual tickets for Batanes is 14k but we got ours for only Php 1.8k—roundtrip. We were lucky that there were still seats available to Batanes. Almost every flight was full already since we went during the last day of the expo. 

We're glad that there's available seats for the flight that was going to Batanes this summer because we've seen shows that featured the place and it looked so beautiful. I really tried my best to convince my mom to buy us tickets and she did!

By the way, Batanes is located at the northernmost part of the Philippines. It is made up of 3 islands—Batan, Sabtang, and Itbayat.

Shot taken at the southern part of Batan Island, Batanes.

So first tip, always try to find discounts before purchasing a plane ticket. ;) Not all local airlines have planes going to Batanes. I think Cebu Pacific can't yet. That's probably why tickets can be expensive.

Second tip, always plan your itinerary weeks or even months ahead. We had no idea what was there in Batanes and we do not have relatives nor friends who stay there. It was important that we get tour guides for the place. Also, we will be staying for 4 days and 3 nights so we need to book a place where we can stay. I heard that many travel guides get fully booked so better be prepared and book weeks before your flight.

My brother and I made some research and there are many travel packages available online. My brother was the one who did the reservations and it was under Ms. Lydia of Hiro's Travel and Tours. She was very professional and she made sure that our stay in Batanes will be fun and hassle-free.

April 6, 2014—It was around 9 in the morning when we arrived at Basco, Batanes.

It was colder compared to the very hot temperature in Manila. I think it was around 8 degrees celsius cooler.

We were picked up by Ms. Hilda, one of our tour guides during our trip. They took us to Ms. Lydia's cafe...

The place was small but very homey. It looks like a typical Filipino house. Ms. Lydia welcomed us and informed us about what our 4 days, 3 nights would be like. 

And btw, Ms. Lydia is like a superwoman. Besides managing Hiro's Travel and Tours, she also cooks for her cafe/resto and owns a tailor shop.

Anyway, we LOVE her cooking. My bro especially. He took these pics of some of the food we ate:

The pic above is candied tomatoes. Yes, TOMATOES. And they are super yummy! 

Here's us posting with Ms. Lydia. <3 font="">

The package we got from Ms. Lydia is the 4 days, 3 nights package with lodging, food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), transportation (vans and boats) and tours. It costs 11k per person. It might sound expensive but everything is already taken care of for you.

1st day—Arrival, Tour: North Batan Island

2nd Day—Sabtang Island Tour

3rd Day—South Batan Island

4th Day—Departure

We stayed at the Novita House. It's a home stay at the heart of the city of Basco. I think this is better for us compared to staying at a hotel since it's a lot quieter, we get the house to ourselves, and during late in the afternoon after our tour, we get to walk around town to shop for souvenirs and stuff from their local market and thrift shops.

Below are pics of the Novita House:

The Novita house is air conditioned with two bathrooms, 3 queen size beds, a TV, and hot and cold water for bathing are available.

So for the first day, we toured the northern part of Batan Island. I think this was the least interesting for me if I compare it to the other two days of our trip. But I was still excited and I was so amazed at how beautiful Batanes is that I didn't felt that way during that time. I think it's better to visit the northern part first so that things get more exciting because the days 2 and 3 of our trip were a lot more enjoying.

Anyway, I'll just post some pictures of the places we visited. I would rather have you experience and learn about these places personally instead. :)

And that was DAY 1!

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On our 2nd day, we woke up pretty early so that we can catch the boat to Sabtang Island. It's the island near Batan and it's population is less than 2,000.

Oh yeah, my mom didn't like the boat ride. LOL It took 30 minutes before we arrived to Sabtang Island. It was bumpy but according to the locals, it was actually a good day that day. I can't imagine what it would be like if the sea's waves were strong... 

The famous stone houses of the Ivatans! These are made out of rocks, corals, limestones and cogon grass.

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DAY 3 is all about the southern part of Batan Island.

Oooh, we were toured by Ms. Hilda (the one with the black cap) during our 3rd day in Batanes. She's one of the well-known tour guides there. Do get in-touch with her if you have plans on visiting the islands.

And we were also joined by Kuya Gerry and Ate Agnes during our tour in South Batan. It's always great to meet new friends. :)

I have to mention the Honesty Cafe. Why was it called such? It's because no one's there to guard the place. It's a store where you can get some food or souvenirs, list the items you'll take, and just drop the money in a box. You just have to be honest. Try to give exact cash since no one will be there to give change. You can always give tips. Haha! It's weird but interesting.

And that's that I guess. I took hundreds of pictures but I'll just share these with you since it's best if you can see these places yourself. I really recommend that you visit this awesome place. I believe the land is much greener during the later months of the year. We visited during April (summer) that's why the grasses were dry and brown. :P

And also, a special mention to this sign:

Can you believe, the Ivatans already have this sign even before there's cellphones and texting? They already shorten their "your" to "UR." Haha! Fascinating! You'll get to see these signs on the roads because there are a lot of zigzag parts since the place is mostly uphill, so to avoid accidents, BLOW UR HORN! Haha!

It was definitely one of our best vacations. Batanes is really beautiful and I hope more people would go there and discover how lovely it is. 

Hope this post is somehow helpful if you're planning to go there. I also hope you liked my photos and that they convinced you to visit this wonderful place!

Cheers,

DAWN