Say Tioco (Lifestyle and Beauty): Embracing the Sun in Palawan with Nivea!

Summer came in early for me thanks to Nivea Philippines! I’ve uploaded two vlogs during the trip, feel free to watch them here:

Day 1: Arriving in Lagen Island Resorts, El Nido + PRODUCT LAUNCH

Day 2 and 3: Activities & Last Day in Palawan

It was early in the morning when everyone gathered up at the ITI hangar. I have never been to Palawan and it was only then that I learned that we were flying with a small plane. I was quite scared, honestly. What scared me more was when they told me the plane wasn’t pressurized! If you’ve watched my flight vlogs from Cebu, you’d know how I suffer from EXCRUCIATING pain somewhere in my brain/head whenever the plane descends. I prepared for the worst…

Upon boarding the plane, we were given candies! I met a subscriber of mine who happened to work at the ITI hangar! I regret not being able to take a photo with her, but she was so nice! I took the seat closest to the cockpit! I said a quick hi to the pilot and his assistant (who happens to be a woman! Love it!) and settled into my seat. You’ll see in the vlog how shocked I was when I learned that my seat was on the EMERGENCY EXIT SIDE. LOL I didn’t know… But it was too late to change seats!

I met a new friend, Joy from Cosmo magazine and she sat up front with me! It was fun hearing stories about working for a magazine company. Joy was a great company!

Here’s a selfie before the plane took off!

Propellers

I was able to slip in a few winks of sleep before landing, and yes, the excruciating pain happened to me, albeit I was able to survive it.

A view of our plane! RP-C2287

Locals serenading us with a song

Ten El Ni-Do’s! Get it?

After taking a car ride to the dock, we rode a boat to Entalula Island to have lunch!

Ahh…the waters looked so clear and pure! LOOK HOW GREEN IT IS!

We were all welcomed with towels, grass leis and pandan drinks.

It was nice to feel the sand beneath my feet!

After our wonderful lunch, we rode the boat to Lagen Island Resorts.

I was assigned in a room with blogger friends Julia Arenas of www.blessmybag.com and Mikki Galang of http://breakmyspell.blogspot.com/

Thank you Nivea Philippines for these wonderful treats! I personally have used and love the LemonGrass and Oil Soap (it smells heavenly!) The Intense Moisture Lotion, and the Fresh and Pure wipes, of course! I was also able to try the Moisturizing After Sun Spray that afternoon and it became an instant fave of mine.

Before the launching event, I had a few hours to kill and I went out for a little swim! (or babad—since I don’t know how to swim!)

Beautiful rooms at Lagen Island Resort

Seashells everywhere!

The launching of the new product happened in the late afternoon at the pool area.

Introducing the Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze!

If you think that tanning and sunscreen protection do not mesh well together, NIVEA SUN shows you that it can, and proves that you can freely embrace the sun, without worry or compromise.
The all-new NIVEA SUN Protect & Bronze is specifically designed to let you take the utmost delight in basking under the sun for that even, beautiful tan. You get a sunscreen that works with the skin’s natural tanning process by stimulating melanin production, all while caring for the skin with immediate and optimum UV protection in one bottle!

Alex Schwieger, NIVEA Philippines’ Country Manager, adds, “This is the first-ever sunscreen in the market that can stimulate the skin’s natural tanning process, and at the same time enhance its built-in protective mechanism because of melanin production. And we couldn’t be any more proud with this breakthrough.”

The best part is, it contains no artificial colorants or bronzing agents. Because it naturally works with your skin’s own tanning process, your tan will look natural, even and beautiful. So just go and flaunt that glowing bronzed tan as you show off your skin with NIVEA SUN Protect & Bronze.
NIVEA SUN Protect & Bronze Spray SPF20 200ml is priced at an SRP of P599.00 and will be available by February 2014 in all leading department stores, drug stores and supermarkets.

Now did that new product excite you? I must admit I’m not a big user of tanning lotions, but it’s cool to use a sunscreen that also allows beautiful natural tanning of the skin!

The rest of the night was fun, with all the Samba dancing, food, and company!

Thanks to Mark’s tips, I was able to take these photos: (who knew ISO and Shutter-something worked so nicely when adjusted well? LOL I used to not care about them and just use the auto feature of my camera!)

We had dinner at Entalula Island and the whole place looked so magical! I loved the lighted lanterns! It was a perfect time to just relax and savor the beauty of nature! I could listen to the ocean all night long.

Day 2 at Palawan! We went to visit Cudugnon Cave! Apparently, it is where birds nests (made into soup) are collected! “El Nido” means “The Nest”.

Here’s the entrance to the cave. Yep…that was it. Everyone had to crawl and slide their way through.

The beauty of the stones inside was amazing…

Fellow bloggers Martha of www.thebeautyjunkee.blogspot.com/ and Liz of http://www.projectvanity.com/

With Julia!

After Cudugnon Cave, we went to the Snake Island! I wasn’t able to take photos nor was I able to vlog but it was beautiful. Truly one of the wonders of nature! The Small Lagoon was next!

Oh man, it was the scariest (because of the SUPER DEEP WATERS and WAVES) yet most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. I was so envious of everyone who dove and swan into the waters. *Ugh… I swear I regret not knowing how to swim. The water looked so inviting. But it was too deep I was afraid I’d drown, even with my life vest on.

I went kayaking with Martha, though! Even with that, I was scared (at first). I panicked a little when we approached the waves! It was strong!!! But then again after that, we entered the Small Lagoon, and oh wow. I can’t describe how beautiful it is in there. I couldn’t take my vlogging camera with me so I just took mental images in my head. After kayaking I vlogged about how great it is to see nature’s beauty and how there really are times when we won’t able to capture those moments but have them forever in our memories! It was BEYOND beautiful.