PoshPinay

Taking a break from Boracay posts…

Limited Edition Dog Tag (Php400.00)

It looks like every one is in a hyped flurry to get their hands on these Ako Mismo dog tags. I credit it’s popularity to the fact that the demand is greater than the current supply but they really are nifty lil’ things more so when you think about what they stand for. I went ahead and bought these limited edition Ako Mismo dog tags. One for me, my little brother whose incessant nagging about the dog tags has pushed me to the brink of insanity, another as a gift for my kuya who literally wears his national pride on his sleeves, and 2 more on impulse. I’m gonna keep one in mint condition as a memorabilia of  what I hope is the beginning of a movement that unifies the Filipino people in taking an active role in affecting positive changes for our country.

Ordinary Dog Tag (Php40.00)

Since the profit of the purchase goes to charity it wasn’t a bad way to spend money. As you have probably noticed in the pictures, the limited edition dog tags are better and will last longer than the ordinary ones and since I’ve found myself with an extra dog tag I’m going to give it away. Just post a comment and tell me what your Ako Mismo pledge is. Best Answer wins!!!

Nothing says “RELAX” better than a spa and if that’s what you’re looking for its one of the very many things you can easily find at Boracay, so easy in fact that most of the time you don’t even have to go looking for it.

A typical Boracay spa can be you, the masseur, and a towel on the beach or for a considerable sum of money it can be as luxurious as an exotic message, a milk bath with rose petals and four walls. Of course there’s always something in the middle of any two extremes but I was also looking for something I’ve never experienced before.

… And like a heaven-sent I found Fotzee’s Foot Spa. I was just perfect at the time, being that my vacation was nearing it’s end I needed a way to relieve my feet of the stress (and sand) from all the walking -PLUS! my never experienced before experience.

The Pinay-French owner of Fotzee’s has recently added Dr. Fish to their menu of services (March 09). Garra rufa, better known as Dr. Fish, are imported all the way from Turkey to her trendy little foot spa in Boracay. I remembered watching a documentary a couple years back on how they provided relief from psoriasis, apparently they have since been used for other purposes too. The fascinating thing about these little dermatologists is that they only feed on areas with dead skin therefore allowing the healthy to grow. If we follow this logic, this means that most of the dead skin cells were on my ankles cuz the jumbo  nibbler shown at the bottom left picture would not let up!

Not to sound like such a girl but I sorta freaked when I saw that a couple fishes were bigger than what I thought them to be, they’re usually no bigger than my finger when shown on the boob tube. It takes some getting used to, you have to fight the urge to jump up and squeal at first but after that you start to enjoy the gentle nibbling on your feet.

After a 30 minute soak in the aquarium it’s off to these fancily decorated chairs for a soothing foot scrub.

Other than Footzee’s, I heard they had these fished at Manila Ocean Park too where you can soak with the nibblers for only Php120.00.

Foot Scrub and Dr. Fish -Php1,2000.00
Dr. Fish (30min) -Php550.00

Footzee’s Boracay Foot Spa
Boat Station 2, D’Mall,
Boracay Island
Malay Aklan, Philippines
Tel. No. (+6336) 288-4264

After eating breakfast at Real Coffee & Tea Cafe, we kicked off out first day at Boracay by walking through stations 1, ,2, and 3. That was one heck of a walk being under the sun wearing a black t-shirt and jeans and all -bad idea!   

I was checking out all the stalls to see if there was anything of interest and basically I found alot of jewelry. If you’re looking for an anklet, necklace, bracelet, earring, or ring made from silver, semi precious stones, shells, animal bones, stalagmite stones, rope, twine… I mean whatever kind of jewelry you’re looking for I’m pretty sure they’ll have it, that is with the exception of gold.

You have to be careful though because like my friend Karmina told me you could buy a Php200.00 necklace at one store and find the exact same thing at another being sold at only Php30.00.

There was  this one store that sold very intricately detailed  jewelries, hair ornaments, flasks, book marks and the likes all made from silver. I found a darling chunky ring that would have lifted loads from my wallet if I chose to buy it, Php3,700.00 to be exact but I preferred the burden of a heavy wallet so I walked out empty handed . They’re one of those stores that don’t like people taking picture of their merchandise so we’ll leave that to the imagination.

Aside from all the jewelry lots lots of shops sold beach wear clothing and flip flops. So no need to worry if you forget to pack you suit or in my case, slippers.

I didn’t really find anything to bring back home, I was going for something that you wouldn’t be able to find in Manila but being able to wine, dine, and shop just yards away from one of the most beautiful beach in the world entitles the visit to it’s own bragging rights.

I hoped to end the day by watching a Boracay sunset but as you can see in the picture, a wall of clouds made that impossible so I settled for the cool evening breeze in my hair and a cold beer in my hand…

I’m probably the only person I know who has never been to Boracay, so when the opportunity to visit this highly praised tourist destination made it’s way to my door step… well,  lets just say it didn’t have to knock.

I took this on our first day there, one of my favorite takes but still this picture does no justice.

Our arrival at Boracay was a gloomy morning, dark clouds partly filled the sky and I thought for sure that was going to rain. Things started to turn around by the time we got to the hotel though, the sun began to shine it’s savagely hot rays and Boracay once again became the island paradise that everyone says it to be.

Several months back I was browsing the web like I usually do when nothing else is worth doing and I chanced upon an article that talks about Forever 21’s venture into plus sizes. I found it curious..

It seemed strange that they dared to taint the image they’ve painted for their name. With the way they’ve been advertised who wouldn’t have it branded in their brains that Forever 21 is a clothing line for petite women and you know how size and social status go hand in had these days.  I for one try to steer away from the influence of stereo types or in this particular instance, capitalist commercialism, pardon me if I come off as a bit hypocritical but even those who recognize and acknowledge their effects can find themselves unable to resist. Getting on with my original thought, I was so off. No changes were made in the clothing line, they created a whole other brand for plus sized clothes called Faith 21 and I may be going out on a limb by saying that it was done so as not to stigmatize their reflection to the younger, hip-er consumers whose weight is proportionate to their height.. you know what I mean.

As a marketing strategy its the most cost-effective move to make. They maintain their preferred pose for the public hence preserving the general notion -Forever 21 is still for the young, hip, and socially acceptable fashionistas, but wait! If your body mass index isn’t in THE desirable range they still have something for you over at Faith21, ergo increasing profits by tapping into a previously overlooked market with out disrupting established business. I admit that there may be a chance that I’m reading too far into this whole thing but its OK because this proves that my brain still functions.

                                  Artsy Zipper Strap Portrait Tunic

With that said, Faith 21 was launched May of this year, available only at selected branches in the US. It really is hard to find plus sized clothing that don’t make you look frumpy or like you have 5 kids at home waiting for their momma, so aside from hating the rationale behind the separate “labels” and the fact that they aren’t available internationally, I will be fair enough to admit that I am digging the look.