Last Saturday, I was given the opportunity to join a sight-seeing tour by Biore Philippines. On the day of the event, I just found out that it wasn’t just sight-seeing at all. What comes with it was a brief history of the old Manila and our National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. The fun stuff did not just end there, as I was also one of the first people who got to try the brand’s latest summer-ready products! Talk about being productive and educational, yeah?
The night before the tour, I was at Kiiara’s show at The Palace Pool Club in Bonifacio Global City. I came from a 9 am - 7:30 pm shift and went straight to meet up with my good friend to go together at the event. Long story short – it was a very long day and Kiiara's set finished at around 2 am already. I left the club at around 3 am and slept by 4 am, leaving me with only 4 hours of sleep as I needed to be at the meetup place for the tour before 9 am. But you know what? No regrets at all because this tour was a breather from all the stress from work and everything that is going on with my life—but I'm not complaining! :)
First on our itinerary was Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. We were with our tour guide, Kuya Marianito aka "Mar" who is very passionate about what he does. Hey, it ain't easy to walk and guide lots of people while you do all the talking. Take note that it isn't just simple talking, as what he does is to give us a summary of our history.
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| Kuya Mar while discussing Ferdinand Magellan! |
Wherever you are Kuya Mar and all tour guides out there, please know that I appreciate you and your efforts!
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| Bioré UV Watery Face Gel and Bioré UV Perfect Spray SPF 50+ PA++++ |
So anyway, since the tour required us to walk the entire day, we needed something to protect our skin from the raging sun. That's where Bioré Philippines came in! Bioré, Japan’s no. 1 sunscreen brand, is making skin protection from the sun easier and more refreshing with Bioré UV Watery Face Gel and Bioré UV Perfect Spray SPF 50+ PA++++.
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| Bioré UV Watery Face Gel |
Bioré UV Watery Face Gel, unlike the usual sunscreens, is light and cool to the skin. It's as refreshing as water when applied to the skin, which is perfect for the summer. I like that apart from protecting your skin from the harmful UV rays, it also hydrates and softens the skin as it has Hyaluronic acid.
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| Biore UV Perfect Spray SPF 50+ PA++++ |
Now on to my favorite... When I found out about Biore UV Perfect Spray SPF 50+ PA++++, I swear, I loved it. I usually hate being under the sun, but with a product like this, I won't hate it as much anymore. This is pretty much a sunblock spray, only milder. Not only can you use this on your skin, but also on your hair and scalp! Perfect for beach trips or daily use, as it is lightweight and non-sticky. And for my favorite feature: it also controls oil and is suitable as a makeup base—definitely HG-worthy. So ladies, hoard as much as you can because this is available only at Watsons for a limited time. Take this baby home for only Php 299!
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| Dr. Jose P. Rizal's business card which was eventually used as flash cards. |
Now back to the tour... Not to seem like an arrogant, but being the bookworm that I am (I used to read a lot of textbooks as a kid until high school), I kinda knew what Kuya Mar told us during our trip at Fort Santiago. Why wouldn't I, when it was a famous place for field trips back then; plus, we had an entire subject called "Rizal" which is obviously all about Dr. Jose P. Rizal in college.
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| SQUAD GOALS BRUH |
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| The many faces of Dr. Jose P. Rizal |
But out of all the things he said, two things got stuck in my head: (1) Fort Santiago originally referred to what was inside of those huge (and old) brick walls; and (2) Dr. Jose P. Rizal is technical, our national hero, as declared in almost every textbook I used to read as a kid. But he still wasn't legally and officially declared as a national hero. (WHY PEOPLE, WHY?!)
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| Dr. Jose P. Rizal's signature on a wall |
It was a habit of mine to read history books as a kid, and now that I'm an adult, just occasionally. But it still fascinates me whenever I get to visit places like this and still learn more about our history. One thing I enjoyed about Kuya Mar's discussion was about JRP and his wife, Josephine Bracken's relationship. Maybe a few years back, I purposely read about them—Josephine's life, how the two of them met, their relationship until Rizal died, and up until her death. I was waiting for Kuya Mar to elaborate and validate what I read about Rizal and Bracken but he chose not to. Oh well, at least I know. Perhaps I was just seeking more details about that. #CHISMOSA? Lol.
On a different note, here are more photos of the beautiful Intramuros:
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| Blogger @anagon! |
Our trip was cut short as it was raining occasionally, so we went straight to San Agustin Church and Museum instead...
My, my, my... This church is such a sight to look at. The halls are all so picturesque and Instagrammable, while still looking like how churches should be. To think that this was re-built for the third time in 1586. Just. Wow.
We even got to witness a wedding happening! Just look at the setup, it looks so serene yet pristine. FYI: this is the oldest church in the Philippines. What a privilege to get married here. :)
The ceilings looked like it was patiently and carefully carved one by one, but nope. Those are actually paintings who looked like real carvings! Who knew 3D paintings started as early as the late 1500s?! Seriously, I super dig Baroque architecture because of those intricate details.
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| Bioré UV Watery Face Gel |
In between locations, I made sure to re-apply Bioré UV Watery Face Gel not only to my face but also to my arms which are directly hit by sunlight.
More photos at the San Agustin Church and Museum:
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| Spot Juan Luna's tombstone! (Clue: Leftmost, 2nd row.) |
Our third and last stop is at Lucky Chinatown Mall for our late lunch at Shi Lin...
It was honestly tiring to walk under the sun. But thanks to Bioré Philippines, our skin was protected all throughout the walkathon that we did!
Ladies, if you also want to experience uniquely light and refreshing sun protection that hydrates and softens your skin, check out BeautyMNL.com for Bioré UV Watery Gel and the rest of the Bioré line today! P.S., my favorite is their Micellar Water which effectively takes off your makeup in a few swipes. Another HG product for me. :)
For store availability, you may check Watsons, PCX, Landmark, Metro Department Stores, Cash & Carry Supermarket or check Biore Philippines at Facebook for more details. Safe travels!
