National Museum of the Philippines and Getting There by Train

When we first caught wind of the free admission to the National Museum, we made plans to take advantage of this offer before it expires at the end of June.  But like the great procrastinators that we are, we were only able to get there at the very last day of June.  And we were late.  And they were about to close. Hahaha! I had expected to get there earlier but I had an errand to run.  The train did make the trip faster but we hit a snag when it was time to choose what station to get off from.

After writing this post, I checked back on the National Museum's Facebook page and they've made the announcement that admission is now permanently free.

So if you want to see paintings, sculptures, half a fountain, and more paintings from different time periods in Philippine history, the National Museum is the place to go.

Getting to the National Museum by Train:

1.a.  Get on the MRT along EDSA.  If you have a stored value card, load up on credits because you're boarding two trains and it's just much easier to not have to load up on every station.  You may find loading machines that are broken or can only accept coins so when you find a station with plenty of available machines, consider that a manna from heaven and load up.

     1.b. If you're closer to the LRT Line 2 (Purple Line) that plies the Santolan to Recto route, you can get on that instead.
     1.c. If you're closer to the LRT Line 1 (Yellow Line) that goes from Monumento to Baclaran, you can get on that and skip to step 3.

2.a.  Get off at the Taft Station.  Because you should, since it's the last station.  You can pass through the mall or the walkway around the mall to get to the LRT platform.  Oddly, I've been asked a few times by fellow commuters for what direction they should take if they're going so and so.  Well, probably the direction where there isn't a fence blocking the train.

    2.b. If you're on the LRT Line 2, get off the Recto Station. Then walk to the LRT 1 platform. Just be sure you're on the ride side of the platform.

3.  Go to the LRT Station and board the train going to the United Nations Station.  

4. DON'T MIND THE SIGN INSIDE THE TRAIN TELLING YOU THAT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IS AROUND THE CENTRAL TERMINAL STATION.  Seriously, we tried that.  Getting off there involves getting down the street and being confused over where you are and where you're going.  I think that sign was put up by a troll because I don't see how necessitating people to maneuver through traffic, cross the streets and then doubling back is a better option for the commuting tourist.

5.  Get off on United Nations Station. We didn't try this but I think this would have been a better option because it just seems easier.  You're going to cross a few streets too but it's easier to see where you're going.

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Just to give you a heads up, when we went there the entrance closest to the park was closed due to renovations so we had to go around to the entrance facing Padre Burgos Avenue.

Review: Olay Regenerist Miracle Duo: Pre-Essence + Micro-Sculpting Cream

5 NIGHTS TO STUNNING YOUTHFUL SKIN.  Redefine the meaning of "Beauty Sleep".  Unlock the secrets to skin's natural repair rhythm.

At least that was the claim on the card that came with the box of Olay Regenerist Miracle Duo we got from the BDJ event I went to last week.  Recent commercials market these as part of a 5 Night Ritual so here's how it went for me.

What's included.  The box contained full-sized samples of pre-essence and moisturizer.  The Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream is a 50 g tub of moisturizer that on the box says

helps renew skin's surface layers revealing youthful look + Hydrates to help plump skin

The Olay Regenerist Miracle Boost Youth Pre-essence is a 40 ml liquid that, with the cream, supposedly

provides  more actives to penetrate into the skin.

Well, that doesn't say much doesn't it.

Packaging and first impression.  The pre-essence comes in red transparent bottle, which I think is plastic because I dropped it, freaked out, and was relieved that there wasn't any crack on it.  It has a dropper dispenser that you only need to unscrew to get a dose of the product.  I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't seen a bottle like this before, but I love this bottle.  It takes the second-guessing out of  how much product you should use.  Once you unscrew this, your dropper is supposed to have one dose of the product.  Instructions on the back say that you need two doses of the pre-essence for every application.

The moisturizer comes in a screw cap bottle.  The consistency was a little too watery for a cream.  It could be potentially messy if you're not careful.  On the plus side, a little of this cream goes a long way.

After the initial use.  My skin did feel different after using it overnight.  My skin felt tighter, plumper.  It felt like my skin cells were bursting.  After bathing in the morning, that smoother feeling didn't go away.  That's a big plus for me because that makes me feel like the moisturizing effect actually lasts.

After the 5 night ritual.  Overall, I did notice a difference in how my skin looked.  It didn't look as dull as it did prior to starting this ritual.  I think it even gave my skin a bit of glow.  I hope I'm not imagining things because I definitely like the effect.

As somebody with oily skin, I always find my skin glistening like a frying pan when I wake and a few hours after bathing and moisturizing.  With this, I noticed that my skin was less oily than usual.  I'm assuming it's because my skin was hydrated enough that it didn't have to produce as much oil to compensate.

Verdict.  I think this is great product to have.  I only read the directions on the box before I used it so I was pleasantly surprised that it did give me the plumping effect that it promised on the box.

The biggest deterrent for me to actually purchase this in the future would be the price.  More than Php3000 for both is a little steep, because I'm broke, especially since the pre-essence looks like it won't last more than a month.  The moisturizer will probably last more than a month though, so you might end up buying more pre-essence than moisturizer in the long run.