sorta kinda swimsuit review and new pegs

While blogging for my next travel throwback, I got distracted with I Love Koi's post on Facebook of their new swimsuit. Alam nyo naman ang lola nyo, nataranta na naman! The next thing I know, I am stalking Anemone's and I Love Koi's Facebook accounts. But before I share to you my bets, let me tell you first why I dropped Nudo and Soak from my go-to bikini boutiques. Remember I used to love them too back in November?

Soak. The reason is as simple as they do not have my size. Small is their smallest size and even if their swimsuits come  in stylish designs, I will never sacrifice good fit and comfort over style. I haven't tried buying from Soak though so I won't be able to tell you whether the quality of their products are good or not. 

Nudo. Well, they do not have my size too but aside from that, I am also not impressed with their quality. I tried buying one from them for my Boracay trip last December. It's a pleated high waist for P1250. It's a lot cheaper than Anemone or Koi but that doesn't mean it can go away with it's low quality. We can actually buy swimsuits for less than a thousand from department stores - Sassa, Angel Fish etc. or from Folded Hung but they have good quality. Going back to the Nudo swimsuit I got, its fabric is coarse and the worst, you can hear the stitches breaking while you wear it. Kaloka!!

but still, thank you Nudo.  :)

Anemone. Quality comes with a price most of the time. I got two pairs last November and while it hurt my pocket big time, I am so happy with my purchases. I got my dream pair - Mystras Ruffled Bandeau Top for P1495 and Mystras Thick Tie Sides for 1395. I also got another pair - Neon Coral Ruffled Bandeau for P895 and Neon Coral Ruffled Hipster for P795. I altered the latter to my liking, removing the ruffles on the sides. Hihihi. One thing I noticed as I alter my bottom is that even the thread used in stitching is garterized. Obviously the reason why the stitches do not break as you wear 'em.

my dream pair back then ♥

the bottom came with ruffles on the side
I hated it, I removed it! :P

Now here comes my new dream pair from Anemone. I wasn't able to get it the last time so I just have to include it again on my wish list. Di masamang mangarap! {Kahit walang trabaho :P} Riviera Bandeau Top for P1395 and Riviera Ring Hipster for P1295.

I Love Koi It's a blessing in disguise that I discovered this after our Boracay trip; right after actually. I could have gone so confused and crazy if I happened to know about this prior to the trip. I guess it's safe to say that they have the most stylish designs. I have yet to buy from them to find out about the quality. Meanwhile, here are my picks - available ones only.

so stylish at P2280

Normandi
designed by Patricia Prieto too, P2280

and finally.. the one on my facebook timeline!
P2280 also for a pair

I Love Koi

1) The Ramp, Crossings Trinoma Mall
2) Complex Lifestyle Store - Eastwood Mall - Level 2, Eastwood City Brgy. Bagumbayan, Quezon City (+632) 7092183
3) Complex Lifestyle Store - Alabang Town Center - Level 2, The Garden Alabang Town Center Alabang, Muntinlupa City (+632) 5564296
4) Complex Lifestyle Store - Festival Mall - Level 2 , Wing B Festival Supermall Alabang, Muntinlupa City. (+632) 8368113
5) Showroom (near Greenhills, San Juan) - email info@shopatilovekoi.com for exact address and directions
6) Weekend Bazaars - location announced through their website, facebook, instagram and twitter accounts

CEBU
1) Hot Pink Lingerie, Ayala Center

 *branches of the other swimsuit brands on this post.
**photos/branches grabbed from their facebook accounts.

***washi tapes downloaded from pretty-ugly.me, direct download here. :)

ELSEWHERE

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Bloglovin'

day4: beach boom booms

day3: got inked xD

Day 4. Long story short, the boat operations resumed late not allowing us to catch our flight back to Manila. You know what happened next. We had to book another flight and the cheapest we found is on the coming Saturday. That made our trip extend for 3 more freaking days. Hahaha! We also had to extend our accommodation in La Carmela but this time around we gave up the executive room to cram ourselves in the standard room. Seven people in one room. You bet we all got closer after. Haha!

All the chaos happened after our breakfast, which by the way, was at La Carmela again. Thank God I had the liberty to choose what to eat. Complimentary breakfast no more, at least for me. I had ham and cheese sandwich for P95. I also asked them to wrap an egg sandwich, P85, for my baon in case we made it out of the island. Well, we didn't. 

After we have settled everything, we went out to the beach again. What else we're supposed to do, huh? Still no water activities, thank you sooo muuucch Pablo {the typhoon}. So we spent the entire day beach bumming!! It was my sunbathing day two. Now stop wondering why I went home super dark. 

What made my morning though was the indian mangoes and alamang, of course. Alamang, malamang. Hehehe xP Three mangoes for P45. I won't tell you how many I devoured. But sure, I went crazy over it!  I even bullied Job to buy more. And now I'm craving for it again. Baaadd. O_o

me, my camp and my mangoes

While I'm busy with my emo time, everyone else was busy with their own lives - playing frisbee, skimboard, doing headstands and burying themselves in the sand. Ruel even found new friends in the form of the skimboard gang. So to make the most out of them, we ask one kuya to take our group picture. He obliged instantly and even took generous shots. Ayan ha, next time bring your tripod guys! :P

rare chance of a group photo

Then came a random guy with a paddle board. Rent na naman sila, pambihiraaaa! Ruel, Monique, Dwin and Job went paddle boarding while Ken, Mark and I fooled around. Lotsa goofy photos that's for me to keep. I mean to hide. Hehe.

And since again, there's nothing much to talk about, let's talk about my swimsuit. Monique and I kind of invested on swimsuits prior to the trip so I only wanted to share. Got it again from Nothing But Water, another Anemone swimsuit for around P1700. Other brands that carry fashionable pieces are Soak and I Love Koi but I haven't bought anything from them though 'cos I only got to visit Nothing But Water and Nudo prior to our trip. Let's buy from them soon? :D :D

fooling around with Ken

We also met Kuya Ace then, one of the guides in Boracay. He toured us for "free" and helped us find a place to have lunch for the day. Ayun, sa Mang Inasal bagsak namin. Hehehe. So much for all the effort roaming around Station 2. I had chicken inasal and iced tea for P124. Budget meals forever because we're running low on funds, well, except for Ruel. 

Come night time, we went to Station 1 just for the heck of it. Malayo-layong lakaran. We had dinner at a random carinderia. I had beef mechado and rice for P81. But maannn, they have the best chocolate peanut shake. It costs P110, P30 shy from a Starbucks drink, but it's really worth its price. Take it from me!

 

before heading to Station 1

On our way back, we saw the famous Jonah's fruitshake and decided to give it a try. I tried they chocolate peanut shake too as according to them, it's a bestseller. It's for P110 by the way. The verdict? I love my first chocolate peanut shake better! Looking at the photo below, the one in garapon xP is from the carinderia while the one in plastic bottle is from Jonah's. Shake overload for the night!

shake overloooadd

We then opted to take a tricycle back to La Carmela. It's either we take a tryc or gutom ulit kame pagbalik. Hehe. Back in La Carmela, we rearranged the room strategically to fit seven people. 2 double beds plus one extra mattress. Go figure!

day5: helmet diving and parasailing ♥ 

ELSEWHERE

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Bloglovin'

day2: banana boat and atv

day1: let's fly to boracay

Day 2. We all woke up early, perhaps unconsciously excited for the activities that await us. We had two complimentary breakfast for each room from La Carmela and we took turns in availing them. We ate breakfast at around 8 am. I had corned beef, egg and rice. Absolutely nothing special. I didn't even finish my food. Pfft! Complimentary breakfast indeed.

goodmorning, Boracay

After brekky, the guys were quick to explore the place. Monique and I, being the girls that we are, took some time prepping up. When we went to the beach, we saw the guys busy with frisbee and skimboard. As expected, Mark was busy taking photographs. Which brings me to my point.. For the record, he was our official Boracay photographer. 

The entire morning was spent taking pictures! You can't blame us, it was our first morning in Boracay and we  were still in awe with the place. Speaking for myself, another reason would be because I love my outfit so much. Yes, girls will always be girls.

I love my trousers :')

Eventually, I gave up with the pants to make way for my swimsuit. Remember I went gaga for this pair? It's an Anemone Swimwear from Nothing but Water and I got it for almost three thousand pesos. It's classy anyway and I'm pretty sure it will last for several summers. Although I'm pretty sure too that no matter how I defend it being classy and all, hindi pa rin lulusot 'to sa nanay ko. 

thanks Mark for these :)

my favorite shot, obviously ♥

And of course, there are group shots. Readers, all three of you, meet the Badj Gang! Short for Badjao because almost everyone's dark. Not to discriminate or anything. There is totally nothing wrong or bad with being dark-skinned. Just thought I need to clear that one out.

more of us

For lunch, we went back to Andok's. It was our official food sponsor for the trip for obvious reasons - it was affordable and we were lazy to look for some other place. This time I had quarter chicken and rice plus mais con yelo again all for P113. We were crazy after that dessert, most especially Mark. We should have counted how many glasses of mais con yelo he was able to knock down the entire trip.

Then it was time for the most awaited activities. To our surprise, they only had Banana Boat, ATV and Zipline at that time. Typhoon Pablo was approaching then and the operations of the other activities had stopped. Funny how the bad news changed Monica's mood drastically. She wanted to try Parasailing so bad. Pero ganun talaga, ang mga bida, nagpapaapi muna sa simula. 

Not having so much choices, we availed of banana boat first. It was for P200 each for 15 minutes of water fun. It was actually my first time to try the said activity. I had the chance back in 2011 at Puerto Galera but it was the time of the month so there's not so much I can do aside from die of envy.

woot woot! banana boaaattt!

The sharing of experiences after the banana boat ride was hilarious. It would be too much though if I share. What happens in Boracay stays in Boracay. ;) But just the thought makes me laugh inside.

We took some rest and freshened up before the next activity which is ATV. No one really bothered to give Zipline a try in Boracay. Definitely.Not.In.Boracay. It's just everywhere. So anyway, at around 3 pm, we were off to try ATV. It was P400 each for an hour of freaking ride. What the heck really if you don't know how to drive. Hahaha! I was with a guide all along and all I had to do was to control the speed. But no, I won't make it a goal to learn how to drive. Not yet. Or maybe not in forever. xP

no more ATV for the rest of my life

By sunset, Mark, Juvani, Dwin and I found ourselves taking silhouette shots. I do not know where the others are at this point but what I know for sure is that it's hella fun to take this kind of shot. There's always a first time. I am obviously amazed. Can someone please explain scientifically how silhouette shots happen? Hahaha!

sunset fun

At around 7 pm, we had dinner at La Carmela. It was a buffer dinner for P275. Mediocre, I should say. Despite having a good number of choices, none impressed me. Tara, Andok's na lang ulit! 

boriiinnggg

After dinner, I met my classmate back in college, tatay Joemar. I forgot to mention in my previous post that Ruel, Monique and I also met him during our first night and we got McDo treats from him. Thanks, tatay! :) This time around Ruel bullied him to buy a pair of light poi. I tried it too and got hurt several times in the process. Haha! It was fun though. A never ending firsts within a day. ♥ 

poi dance with tatay

We then headed back to La Carmela for some drinks then dozed off. xD

That's about all for tonight. My sister is making me sleep now 'cos we'd go jogging tomorrow morning. I mean later. Eeeepp! Got to hit the sack!

day3: got inked xD

ELSEWHERE

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Bloglovin'

swimsuit hunting in this time of the year, really

All the while I thought my next blog post would be our Calaguas Trip. Meeh, I was wrong. Rather, I'll be sharing photos of swimsuits I've been gushing about the whole day. You won't believe how addicted I am.  There are three brands I'm currently stalking - Anemone from Nothing But Water, Soak and Nudo.

Let's begin with Anemone. This is my favorite brand so far. They have the prettiest prints and styles. Only that it's the most expensive among the three. Good quality definitely comes with a price. 

My dream swimsuit.  It costs around P2800 for the pair. Expensive, I know. I almost bought it the first time we went to Nothing But Water, Galleria. Good thing I was able to control myself because at it's price, it's something I really should think about. 

Monica's bet. Posting it as well because I somehow kinda like it too. P2600 for a pair. Who thinks we should get them? Help us decide. :)

Moving on, next to Anemone is Soak . Cool styles for a lower price. I haven't seen their store but we are scheduled to do so as soon as our payroll accounts get replenished. I can't wait, seriously. 

Sailor Bandeau for P1800. Unfortunately, 'Small' is their smallest size. I can only hope and pray it fits me well. I'll find out few days from now. Can you guys cross your fingers for me? 

Costa del Sol Ribbon High Waist for P1650. Just because I want to give high waist swimsuits a try. I love its colors too but my evil sister said it reminds her so much of Hulk. Whatever! 

Tory Ruffled Bandeau for P1750. Perfect for flat chested girls like me. Ruffled tops tend to make your chest seem busy that they will no longer notice your lack of.. uhmm.. gift up there. Haha! 

Lastly, Nudo. I've been checking out their Facebook account but none has caught my fancy yet. We also planned to visit their boutique come payday. Swimsuit hunting in November. A little difficult but nevertheless fun.

BORACAY, here we come!! :))

Anemone

Robinson's Galleria, 3rd Floor

TriNoma, Level M2

Soak

CABANA, 2nd floor of Nail Spa, 109 Gamboa St. Legaspi Village, Makati (5 min. walk from Greenbelt 1)

Retail Lab, 2nd fl. Archaeology Wing, Powerplant Mall Makati (beside happy lemon)

Nudo

Robinson's Galleria, 3rd Floor

Greenhills, 3rd Floor

*All photos grabbed from their accounts

ELSEWHERE

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Bloglovin'