Craves: Ilog Maria

I ordered my second batch of Ilog Maria products last Sunday and hopefully will receive them within the week. However, even with said order, with how much I enjoy the products I got from them last time, there are a bunch of products from their catalog I'm keen on trying that I haven't ordered. Maybe I'll get to visit the farm one of these days or one of the peeps I know will and I can give them my shopping list.

My wish list from them are as follows:


Propolis Bath Salts (lavender), P104.50
I know I can use the fine salt in our pantry for my at-home scrubs but these use salt from the Dead Sea. I know it's kinda stupid because a scrub is a scrub but there's no beating the price compared to similar products found elsewhere. Actually, the same thing could be said for all of their products. Of course I'd pick lavender. I need the calming effect.


Royal Jelly Hair Oil, P121.00
My hair is generally uncontrollable, except for right now as I don't go out of the house, so I tend to haul on hair care products.


Sting-Less Mosquito Repellant, P77.00
It's dengue season. I would have ordered this already if I were to go out more but since I'm stuck in the house till the end of next month, what would be the point?


Aromatherapy Oil (lavender and citronella), P99.00 each
As mentioned, I always prefer lavender scents. I'm choosing citronella as well for the insect-repelling properties.


Leather Balsam (S), P88.00
I'm not sure I need this. I'm just dreaming of buying an LV bag and needing this. Wishes!!!

Honey Face Scrub, P154.00
I haven't bought this as I'm not having a lot of problems on my face right now (other than big bags under the eyes) but I'm guessing that once I go back to the polluted outside world, I'll be needing a good face scrub.


RJ Face Oil, P121.00
RJ Honeymilk lotion, P132.00
RJ Cleanser Moisturizer, P88.00
I'm vain, so yes, I want these. But then, I don't need these. So it's a toss-off but this is a wish list and I can list anything I want.


Virgin Honey, P330.00
You're not supposed to eat them but I so want to.



Propolis Cider Liniment, P104.50
I don't have a lot of aches and pains. Ok, I have a persistent back ache from my bad breastfeeding posture, but I can deal with it fine. My hubby, however, has a very bad knee. This could help.

Gadz, I'm shallow. I might as well post my By Nature Wish List next.

Images are from the official Ilog Maria website.

Brain Drain: By Nature Balm of Butter and Baby Salve

I am currently loving these products and would like to share how I'm using them.

Balm of Butter

• As a stretch mark cream

Unfortunately, with the marks I have, it'll take more than a few weeks for these to fade.

• As a facial moisturizer before taking a bath

This is so effective my hubby swears I don't have forehead wrinkles anymore. I know he believes it because he actually tried it on his face. It's not easy to wash off with his soap but my clear soap washes it right off and leaves it silky soft.

• As a lip balm

I'm kind of lazy so I used it as such one day. This was effective for me and worked better than the By Nature lip balm. It tastes kind of funky but it isn't so bad if you think about the main ingredient being Cocoa Butter.

• As a base for a salt scrub

I rub this all over my body, wet myself with a bit of water and rub fine salt all over. This actually beats more expensive salt scrubs for effectiveness on my skin.

Baby Salve

• For boo-boos

It generally works unless it's an engorged and enflamed, then something stronger is needed.

• As a facial moisturizer

I like to use this after taking a bath and before going to bed. Lighter on the skin than the Balm of Butter and yet effective. Great for wrinkle prevention in spite of having no sleep.

• As a lip balm

Yes, it works but it tastes too funky with the lavender scent. Not recommended for that unless you're desperate.



Initial pictures from the official By Nature website.

Love: Ilog Maria Propolis and Beeswax Lip Balm, Honey Propolis Shampoo and Soaps

My lips have been chapped since forever. I've been told to lick my lips for being so dry back in grade school and considering how old I am, that's long enough for me. It's not like I lack water. My hubby used to think I drink too much liquids until he realized that it's one of the reasons I'm so moisturized all over. Suffice it to say that though I finish up loads of bottles of water that our refrigerator is empty of all water bottles in half a day, I'm still very much dehydrated in the lip area. And no, I'm not constantly in an air-conditioned room either.

Because of said lip condition, I tend to hoard on lip balms. As of the moment, I've got about 7 around the house. Or more. I try a whole lot of them and is generally happy when my lips get moisturized for a while. The moisture doesn't last very long on me and generally, if I put lip balm on before going to bed, my lips are dry like the dessert by morning.

The Ilog Maria (IM) lip balm has a very inspiring effect on my lips. Just a tad of its minty and not so oily formulation and my lips actually get moisturized. And it really lasts. And to top it off, I've got this cut in the center of my lower lip that never seems to heal completely from years back and it actually doesn't feel sore anymore and feels very much healed. I swear by this. As of the moment, with this thing, my lips actually feel like it's supposed to.



I generally am trying to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate in my shampoo because my hair is already thin enough and I expect it to get thinner with the post-natal hormone thing. With all the bad stuff being said about the bubbly chemicals, I'd rather just stay away from it.

I can't say anything about the effects of the IM shampoo on my hair. Just for having no SL's, I'm already liking it. For being cheap enough at a big family size, is another. I guess I should at least say that while I was brusing my hair earlier, it does seem shinier and healthier than normal. I'm loving the shampoo for its smells though being minty but not cold to the scalp. I'm just shallow like that.





I only bought the mini sizes of the soaps but I'm already thinking about getting the big ones because they don't dry my hands even though I keep washing them with the IM soaps. Also, they smell great. Yes, shallowness rules forever in my world.

Images are from the Ilog Maria official website.

Love: The Face Shop Aroma Therapy Facial Cleansing Salve

I like putting on make-up. I hate taking it off. Especially mascara. There are a lot of make-up removers out there but it was hard to find one to love. After all, you are trying to find something that will take your mask off to the world, and potentially dry your skin out in the process.

I’ve tried cold cream when I was young. I just didn’t get it. My skin didn’t feel all that clean. I also tried cleansing oils and they might have removed all the makeup but they felt oily and once I found out about mineral oils, it horrified me how I finished off two and a half bottles of that thing. I was going to take the plunge and buy myself another cleansing oil, this time made out of plant oils with the main ingredient being olive oil when I found the cleansing salve.

The packaging wasn’t that impressive. It was this oily-looking solid salve inside a large pot. But I got hooked with the words lavender and jojoba. I love the smell of lavender and I know my skin loves jojoba oil. So with fingers crossed, I went out of the store, withdrew some money, got back and paid at the counter.

I scooped a little bit of it and spread it on my face. It felt really greasy but it sure did melt that make-up. I washed it off with water and lo, the water washed all the grease off. It didn’t feel oily at all afterwards. It didn’t feel dry. And the face was clean of all the make-up. That is really good product. And at half the price of the cleansing oil I was planning to buy originally, a steal.

As you can see, the product has already hit pan. This is not because I use a whole lot but my hubby has started to use it as well. Not because he likes to use make-up but because it has gotten rid of his peeling skin. I have no idea what his skin condition is but his skin peels off like yuck everyday. Before he took a bath one day, I asked him if I could try putting it on his skin, as the product is so oily it might actually work and wow, it did.

I was surprised when I saw him putting it on his skin himself every night and letting it sit for 5 minutes before washing it off. Not only does he not have that peeling anymore, he’s got less acne and blackheads. I gotta start putting a fence around him before someone steals him away.

Haul: The Body Shop Buriti Baby and By Nature products

I like to use baby as an excuse to get some retail therapy done.



During my random forays into The Body Shop, I saw the mini set of Buriti Baby line on 70% sale and went yay inside. The set included a shampoo, a body wash, massage gel and body butter. It’s packaged inside a cute mesh bag that I’ve reused for one purpose or another. I’m really happy with the set as it has no sulfates, ptalates and parabens and that’s a wonderful thing for babies.



When I found By Nature, a little bell tinkled inside of me and I wanted to buy everything in their 100% Natural Product line. It took a lot of self-control to limit my first haul to baby products and just one bar of soap. I’ve already shared my love for the soap and baby salve and would just like to introduce the rest of the haul to the world. Aside from the Baby Salve, the haul I got consisted of White Salve and Baby Oilotion. Both of these are safe for babies to use and are already inside the diaper bag so that his mommy will not be tempted to use them on herself.



Truthfully, I got myself a pot of lip balm as well aside from baby stuff but I’m always on the lookout for the perfect lip balm as my lips are always drying out, from what, I don’t know. I think it’s ok but just ok. The ingredients are great but I’m not in love with it. My lower lips are still dry as ever after application. Even with all the good organic oils, beeswax and vitamin E, my lips are dry as ever afterwards. I think I need some lip exfoliation. And it doesn’t have any flavor as it is 100% natural and is safe to get in contact with baby skin, therefore, it tastes as it is, of organic oils. No love. No hate.

Love: The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Polynesia Monoi Body Balm

Whatever part of the world you may be from; there is always something to keep skin soft and supple. In this part of the world, we like to use virgin coconut oil (VCO) and espouse on all its good qualities. Aside from being a good oil that the skin absorbs without clogging, it is hypoallergenic, antibacterial, antifungal and all that jazz. Therefore, whenever there is a product with VCO in it, I know it’s good and when it’s on 70% off, I know it’s a God-send, especially with stretch marks everywhere.

The Monoi Body Balm smells like the monoi flower, which I don’t know what but it smells really good like sampaguita. Whenever I put it on me, the whole room smells of it. It doesn’t reek, just smells flowery good, and despite being pregnant, I love it.



As other people may notice, body butters from The Body Shop may smell good and gives a lot of love to the skin but they tend to be really heavy. This particular balm isn’t. I used it on the hottest of summers and I didn’t feel hot and heavy from putting it on, despite being pregnant and overheated. In spite of being light on the skin, it’s one of the most moisturizing products I’ve ever tried. This, my friends, is love.

Initial image from The Body Shop website.

Haul: Ilog Maria

I came across Ilog Maria while I was searching for baby balms I can use for any possible future boo-boos of the coming little one. Their propolis ointment was recommended by some sites. Generally, reviews have been positive for the other products as well and their prices looked reasonable so I decided to get myself a new haul last week.

I signed up on their site, logged in and was able to order immediately. I waited a bit and got the total price including delivery charge. Even with the delivery cost of P150, I think I got myself a good deal at paying only P690 total including delivery. I waited another day and when I got back to the office, got their confirmation that they have everything I ordered on hand and ready for delivery, including instructions for payment. I delayed a bit on the payment as I was a little confused over their schedule and got a bit busy over life. I chose bank transfer and emailed a picture copy of the deposit slip. It took a day and a half after to get the delivery confirmation but once I did, I got the haul the day after.

The haul consisted of (from upper left clockwise) feminine wash, patchouli essential oil, propolis ointment, shampoo, lip balm, lavender soap and milk and honey soap. The packaging is very simplistic but who cares about that? Ok, I care about packaging but considering that the prices are less than a hundred each, I can’t really grouch about it much. The smell, though, I like. They’re not too strong, which I prefer, and a bit floral. I haven’t used any yet but I’m looking forward to ordering again. I hear their throat spray is wonderful and hubby tends to get a lot of cold sores.