Sunday, May 25, 2014

Wen Cleansing Sweet Almond Mint Conditioner Review

Hey Coffeeholics! Say goodbye to your ordinary shampoo and say hello to a new kind of hair cleansing product -- the Wen Cleansing Conditioner.


Yep, you heard me right. CONDITIONER. With the Wen Cleansing Conditioner, we're gonna skip the shampooing part and just use it. Now in all honesty, I was reaaaally skeptic about this. Coz, I have OILY Hair (gah.. I know right. Not only my face but my hair too!). Its especially oily at the crown area. And based on experience, using conditioner during summer is a bad baaaad idea (oiliness to the highest level). To top it off, its a whole lot worse if I skip the shampoo part and just use conditioner. The best description I have for my hair would be the "basang sisiw" (wet baby chick) look. Haha. But I have heard of cleansing conditioners before but never tried it. After reading the description, I decided to give it a try.



Most shampoos have harsh detergents and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates which make the hair dry, faded, dull, lifeless, and frizzy. Chaz Dean, a celebrity-stylist based in the USA in cooperation with Guthy Renker (makers of Proactiv Solution) worked together to formulate a new concept in hair cleansing, WEN® Cleansing Conditioner. It is a 5-in-1 formula; this one product takes the place of your shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. It cleanses hair thoroughly but without lathering and without all the harsh ingredients that may be found in ordinary shampoos so your hair is left with sheen, moisture, manageability and better color retention.

I am quite aware that most shampoos have harsh chemicals and partly I fear that is the reason for some of my falling hair. So indeed I have been on a search for high quality hair cleansers. I was surprised and pleased to find out that Wen Cleansing Conditioner works in 5 different capacities. I really really wanted to try and see how it would affect me! So I took a BEFORE shot of my hair before I used the Wen Cleansing Conditioner.


 

*sighs* Yes I know, my hair is sadly very dry, frizzy, and the color quite dull. This is the normal state of my hair. I haven't been using conditioner coz its summer hence the additional dry look. Obviously its been a while since I had my hair colored. So I thought I'd stick with the feeling "ombre" hair. Anyway, so that's the sad state of affair BEFORE using Wen Cleansing Conditioner.


So I followed the instructions on the back of the Wen Cleansing Conditioner sachet which was to:
  1. Thoroughly wet and rinse my hair with water. 
  2. Apply Wen Cleansing Conditioner on the palm of my hand and rub together.
  3. Apply evenly from the roots to the ends of the hair, making sure that it is completely saturated with the cleansing conditioner.
  4. Add a splash of water and gently massage hair for 1-3 minutes.
  5. Leave on at least 3-5 minutes for maximum conditioning. 
  6. Rinse hair thoroughly and completely. 
For best results, Chaz suggests you cleanse, rinse, and repeat. You can also apply a small amount of the Wen Cleansing Conditioner from mid-shaft to end while hair is still soaking wet. It acts as a leave-on conditioner as you do so.

A small amount of Wen Cleansing Conditioner that I used for my hair. 

Here is some of my notes and observation about the product and the "cleansing" process:
  • The conditioner's consistency is paste-like in texture.
  • It has a nice minty feel and fragrance.
  • Because I had thin long hair, I only needed to use a little bit more than what is shown on the pic above.
  • Yes, I did the whole palm rubbing procedure. 
  • I ran my fingers through my hair and massaged my scalp. 
  • I waited it out in the prescribed amount of minutes. A total of 8 minutes before I started rinsing it out. 
  • I also made use of the "leave-on" conditioner function of the product.

So after the whole process and letting my hair dry, this is how it looked like AFTER using Wen Cleansing Conditioner:




After ONE use of Wen Cleansing Conditioner, I noticed the difference! My hair was more light, airy, and silky. It did NOT feel dry at all! Yes, there was still a bit of frizz but not as horrible before. One other noticeable feature is that my hair looks ALIVE! hehe. Yes, my hair is no longer dull but vivid with color again! Yay! Here's a side by side BEFORE AND AFTER pic. On the LEFT side is the BEFORE pic and on the RIGHT side is the AFTER pic.

                                     
 
 

 
                                  BEFORE                                             AFTER

Based on the photos, you can definitely see that the prominent effect after 1 use is the vivid color of your hair. Which is good! I know that having colored hair is part of the reason of its dryness so having it vivid again is a good sign. 

Plus it did a good job in cleaning my hair. There was no "sticky" or "oily" feel to it after using. After a few hours after I cleaned my hair, so far so good. The crown of my head was not oily thank goodness. So for me, it does what it claims to do! 

For me personally, I think after a more regular use at a longer period of time will help you achieve that celebrity hair feel! hehe! Yay! Personally though, I found myself using the product every other day.

Anyway here are the key ingredients to the Sweet Almond Mint Variant:
  • Aloe Vera Gel: soothing, healing, moisturizing, anti-fungal, antibacterial properties. 
  • Glycerin: provides moisturizing benefits is one of the best known humectants and has natural moisturizing factors.
  • Chamomile Extract: calming, soothing, with antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties. Also used for dry, flaky skin. 
  • Cherry Bark: brings out the color, shine and softness in all shades of natural and color-treated hair. It will help manageability of hair.
  • Calendula Extract: helpful as an antiseptic, healing wounds and reducing inflammation.
  • Rosemary Extract: It stimulates hair growth and fights scalp problems. Helps with premature baldness. Has amazing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties. Is a tonic, astringent, restorative herb.
  • Cetyl Alcohol: A fatty, moisturizing alcohol used as an emollient, emulsifier, thickener and carrying agent for other ingredients. Derived naturally from coconut. 
  • Panthenol: acts as a penetrating moisturizer. Plumps & moisturizes hair shaft to make it appear thicker, reduces split ends, smoothes skin and strengthens hair as it seals in moisture.
  • PEG-60 Almond Glycerides: with anti-irritant qualities, it contributes conditioning and glide to hair, as well as a conditioned feel to skin.
  • Menthol: has a local anesthetic and counter-irritant quality. Can also reduce itching and tenderness.
  • Sweet Almond Oil: excellent emollient, high in protein and fatty acids, ideal in the treatment of very dry, chapped skin. Having antiseptic properties, it heals and nourishes as it moisturizes the skin & hair without leaving a greasy residue.

Here are the Key Ingredients of the Pomegranate Variant
  • Pomegranate Extract – Has anti oxidant properties comparable to wine or green tea. It is also incredibly hydrating.
  • Hydrolized Soy Protein: Protein derived from Soya beans. Increases strength and manageability
  • Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice: Healing, moisturizing, anti fungal, antibacterial properties.
  • Rosemary Extract: Amazing antioxidant properties, stmulates hair growth and fight scalp problems.
  • Chamomile extract: Calming, soothing with antibiotic and anti inflammatory properties. Also used for dry and flaky skin.
  • Marigold Extract: Helpful as an antiseptic, healing wounds and reducing inflammation/
  • Menthol: Has local anesthetic and counter-irritant qualities. Can also reduce itching and tenderness.
  • Wild Cherry Fruit Extract: Soothing and anti inflammatory

So coffeeholics, if you are interested in buying the Wen Cleansing Conditioner, just drop by any of these stores:
  1. Selected SM Department Stores (SM MOA, SM Makati, SM Southmall, SM North EDSA, SM Megamall)
  2. Proactiv Branches: a) GF, Glorietta 2 (b) 2F, Trinoma (c) GF, Marquee
  3. Door to Door Delivery Hotlines

    • Landline: 729-2222
    •  Globe Provincial: 1-800-8-729-8888
    • PLDT Provincial: 1-800-10-889-4444
    •  Mobile No.: 0917-801-8888


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Open Snap Philippines - A Must for Foodies

OpenSnap Philippines is here!
Hey Coffeeholics! How is your summer so far? Who did some food tripping during the break? (raises hand.. haha) Everyone loves to eat and I bet (just like me) you take photos of your food as well.


One of my cousins and I would joke, "Pinakain mo na ba phone mo? (Have you fed your phone already?)" referring to me snapping a photo of the dishes at a restaurant where we were eating. Well my dear co-foodie, I found a better way of "feeding" my social media feed with pictures of food through this amazing brand new mobile App here in the Philippines called OpenSnap!


Yes, eating has somehow evolved to a social/technological experience as well with the advent of smartphones and the internet! haha. Yes, I'm sooo guilty in that aspect of taking photos of food and sharing it on my social media accounts. I can't help it! I love to share to my friends and to the world (chos! haha) about a particular food that I've tasted, fell in love with, and want other people to experience it as well. Now thanks to Open Snap, it will make "sharing the food love" so much better.


At the launching of OpenSnap where they explained what OpenSnap is all about and how we can easily use it on our smartphones!

OpenSnap is a revolutionary mobile application for iOS and Android smartphone and tablet users where they can find popular restaurant spots through food photos uploaded by friends and families. It is the first & unique food photo app in the Philippines and Asia that allows users to create personalized food albums & share their dining experience with friends and families wherever and whenever!



Connected to the OpenRice database, OpenSnap allows users to locate over 1 million restaurants in the Philippines and in Asia, share dining experience, and identify OpenRice members, as well as Facebook friends and Celebrities. It allows Filipinos to enjoy local and  worldwide cuisine on their fingertips with the support of advanced i-cloud technology.

Food that we ate at HEAT Edsa Shangri-La Plaza Hotel
The soup was the best! Loved it!
OpenSnap offers a user friendly and convenient approach to creating one’s own food photo albums, photo sharing, hash tag locations, photo filtering and use of stickers in photos.  OpenSnap users can also tag their friends in their photo uploads, as well as share the information to their personal social networking platforms, such as, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Weibo.

Here's some tips in taking photos for OpenSnap:

The  major  features of OpenSnap include:

1. Use food photos to search nearby restaurants - Users can search nearby restaurants by browsing photos uploaded by friends. It helps you to save the time to locate alternate dinning locations while lining up long queue at the designated restaurants.



2. Create and share your personalized restaurant albums - OpenSnap provides users with personalized restaurant albums and easily share their dining experience wherever and whenever! Users could check the restaurant details by clicking the food photos, with more supplementary information for a perfect dining experience.

Just started my own album. You can also add friends and like their photos.
Add me - kaisensei. :) I will follow back!
3. Browse  over 1 Million restaurants in Asia - OpenSnap has an advanced search function to reach out dining photos and restaurant information of  other Asian regions such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and HongKong.



4. Photos come with a wealth of information – Each food photo provides the user with restaurant address, map, contact details, reviews and comments.


And that's one of my photos on open snap! I ate at Cafe Adriatico at Gateway Mall Suites with my family. That's where we celebrated Mother's day. :) The food was awesome! And yeah, looking for what to eat in the mall or the nearby areas was so much easier when we used this app. Its very very useful! So not only OpenSnap becomes your personal food photo album and social media sharing tool, but its also an app that will help you when you make some of the most difficult decisions ever that you have with your barkada:  "Saan kakain?" or "Kahit saan na lang?"



Hehe. Your problem will be solved with this cool app. Wala ng away away. hahahaha. The app is available for android or iPhone users. The only thing I noticed though that it's mostly available for the latest android versions. They are still in the works in making it available for lower android versions (like for my phone. haha! I used my sister's ipad for my opensnap account). Thank you very much OpenSnap for inviting me to this event! Hope you all have a "full" summer! :)

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Bloggers United & Sunsilk Summer Fair May 2014

Hey Coffeeholics! Its already SUMMER of 2014, and you know what that means.. Bloggers United 7! :) I'm a proud BU Attender since its first installment. I've attended BU 1, 3, 5, and 6. And can't believe how quick time flies now it's at its 7th! The last 2 installments has been super fun for me coz I was also able to be part of the BU Team. 

The BU7 Team. Yep that's me on the upper left side next to Ana and Jen. :)
Yep, being part of the team is quite some work but we do try our best so that you guys can have an awesome time during the bloggers united event. So yeah, expect a jam packed day full of fun, shopping, and spending time with your fave bloggers. Yes chos. hehe. So are you going? To go to #bu7xsunsilk SUMMER FAIR for FREE, read until the end of the post. :)


Experience the biggest and most exciting Bloggers United yet on May 10 at the Metrotent Ortigas, as the team partners with Sunsilk for the grandest SUMMER FAIR ever!

Now a biannual tradition for Manila’s top fashion & beauty bloggers, the Bloggers United 7 x Sunsilk’s SUMMER FAIR will feature 50+ bloggers’ booths where your favorite online style icons will be selling affordable pre-loved and brand new items, as well as sponsors’ booths who each have their own exciting promos & gimik. Aside from this sought-after shopping experience and meet-and-greet, Sunsilk brings in more fun and adventure to the event with game booths, challenges, a pop-up salon, and other surprises for you and your #SunsilkHairkada.

Get in for free by bringing a 180mL Sunsilk Pink bottle. No bottle? No problem! You could still buy tickets at the venue for P100. This is just a 1 day affair, so don’t miss it! See you there! J

In Partnership with:

CO-PRESENTERS:

MAJOR SPONSORS:

MINOR SPONSORS:

MEDIA SPONSORS:


For more information and updates, follow BU:
Follow Sunsilk:

Official Hashtags: #BU7xSUNSILK 


NOW ITS TIME TO JOIN AND WIN A PAIR OF BU7xSUNSILK TICKETS!
Yup, I will be giving away a pair of tickets to 5 people!
So if you join, you and your friend get free passes. :) 
All you have to do is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter.
Winners will be announced on this blog, on twitter, and on FB on May 9. 


Don't miss out in the fun, great deals, meet & greet bloggers, and yummy food at #Bu7xSunsilk #Summerfair on May 10. Hope to see you there!