Welcome to the third of my birthday weekend posts! Yes, my birthday was last February, and yes this post is long overdue. I actually am amazingly backlogged as far as my blog posts are concerned, which only means you’ve got a lot to look forward to from me in the coming weeks. Always look at the bright side of life, right? So my birthday celebration started with a Friday night dinner date with Mr C at Cafe d’Asie in the Bellevue Hotel. The night of my birthday was spent with friends, watching Razorback live at SanMig Alabang.
The next day, Mr C, the kiddo and I went off on a sunny Sunday Tagaytay adventure. Our first stop was the Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm for my supply of soap. I have very sensitive skin with a dash of eczema, and so commercial bath stuff don’t really agree with me. I discovered Ilog Maria soaps through my former boss who swears by it, and after my first few bars, which she gave me as a present, I was hooked. Apparently my dad is familiar with their products too, and has often visited the farm on his Tagaytay motorcycle escapades. He keeps a bottle of their liniment in his bathroom.
It was our first visit to the bee farm, and I’m proud to say that we didn’t get lost! It’s very easy to find, specially since they posted directions on their website. It was an easy drive (for Mr C, I sat in the passenger seat, tweeting while we were on the road), made even more enjoyable by the amazing Sunday playlist of Jam 88.3. I have to say as a side note that I’ve been really enjoying the music from this station lately. I listen everyday, on my way to and from work.
When you enter the Ilog Maria compound, you need to drive a few meters down a dirt road going towards the shop. As soon as we got out of the car, the little guy and I went straight for the store while Mr C looked for a parking space. It’s a small place with just a few shelves, and I was surprised to see a lot of people there. Within minutes, Mr C joined us, and after one quick look around the small room, the boys got bored and decided to go out and explore. I, on the other hand, picked up a wooden bucket to carry my goodies in, and started going through each individual item on the shelves.
Good for stimulating circulation and relieving headaches
And Sandalwood and Honey Soap
Lavender, Rosemary, and Kalamansi, Ginger and Honey Soap
I was intrigued by the Propolis Gold which is supposed to be a powerful antioxidant, but ended up not buying any because I wasn’t sure I was ready to put it into my body. It says on the Ilog Maria website that you should take 1ml of this with a glass of water everyday before breakfast. You can up the dosage to thrice a day if you are sick. I think for now, I’ll just stick to green tea for added antioxidants, and paracetamol, cough syrup and a strong dose of vitamin c for cough, colds and the flu.
While I happily browsed through everything from candles to essential oils, and various hair and skincare products, my boys went off to explore the grounds. I took a few photos while trying to look for them after i was done shopping, but some of these shots were borrowed from Mr C’s camera.
The Ilog Maria Farm utilizes natural energy sources as much as they can
Let me end by sharing my great-smelling honeybee loot from Ilog Maria. I’ve already gone through most of them. Guess it’s time to schedule my next visit !
I like the shampoo because it smells so good. It works better for me now that I have short hair, and I can use it even without conditioning. When my hair was longer, I had to follow up with a commercial conditioner because my hair would get sticky and dry after rinsing. Although it does say on the bottle that you should rub calamansi juice on your hair afterwards to condition, I just never got around to trying it. Something about bringing calamansi slices to the bathroom, and rubbing them on my freshly shampooed head of hair just doesn’t appeal to me.
I had high hopes with the Royal Jelly Facial Oil, but unfortunately I got really red-faced and itchy after the first use. I tried again to put some on my face a few days later, after the had irritation subsided, but my reaction was the same. I decided to give it instead as a gift to my sister in law together with the Liniment, which was our original pasalubong. Too bad. I really hoped I’d be able to use it.
Oddly enough, although I had apprehensions about using the Cleanser & Moisturizer after the rash incident with the Facial Oil, it has been serving as a good makeup remover for me. It takes a few swipes to remove my eye makeup, but the rest of the stuff on my face comes off with ease. Like the rest of the products, it smells really good. The only downside is it’s a little messy to use, and, at least in my case, you end up using a lot of cotton. And then you’re left with an oily film on your face after, which is something I don’t like. In the end, I’d still choose my makeup remover wipes over this product.
Now, the soaps and the ointment, I totally swear by. The ointment has replaced calamine lotion as my go-to product for bug bites. I do get to use this a lot because both my son and I are prone to mosquito bites, and when we get them, they are humongous! The ointment really helps relieve the itch and redness from the bites. As for the soaps, my favorite so far has been the Lavender, followed by the Milk & Honey. I probably won’t be getting the Orange Zest soap anymore next time because I find that I don’t really like the scent of orange mixed with honey. I’ve yet to try the Rosemary. I’m saving that for last.
After Ilog Maria, we checked in at Discovery Country Suites, where we were to spend the night. I was able to score a great overnight package on Deal Grocer, plus a free room upgrade from the hotel! Happy birthday to me indeed.
Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm
Silang Cavite
info@ilogmaria.com
www.ilogmaria.com
Much love and happiness,
i want the pure honey unlike i bought last time in your store-it’s not 100% pure honey. coz when i got from ref. its so very hard nag change ang color. – tumigas na sya- ang pagkakaalam ko kahit nasa ref sya ng ilang buwan or umabot ng taon di sya titigas at stable parin ang flow nya with spirit & bubbles. ( thats the real honey i know). i ask the girl in your store she said do doubt its pure honey.When someone ask in your store , just tell the truth, sayang po kasi yung pera at pagod- dinayo pa namin to. nagpabili ako ng honey sa tatay ko sa bicol -ayun pure honey tlga-no doubt. – with spirit pag binuksan, masakit sa ilong pag inamoy at maraming bubbles kapag inapside-down ang bottle.
Hi sorry this is not my store. You can direct your complaint directly to Ilog Maria.
My group was just there and we were really dismayed at how they displayed their products…..in direct sunlight and heat. What was more flabbergasting was the fact that their product literature specifically states for Storage : OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT and HEAT.
When we called the Shop girl’s attention to the fact that their products were displayed in DIRECT SUNLIGHT and HEAT, she did not pay attention to our admonitions. Since our counsel was ignored, I decided to write my comments on Ilog Maria’s site. However, the reply of Mr. Joel Magsaysay was “Product replacement and turn over is always done every half of the day.” I think that that is most incongruous to their Storage Instructions.
Then today I used their massage oil. Oh my!!! The floral scent was just way too overpowering. I started sneezing and sniffling. I told my masseuse to stop using the Ilog Maria Massage Oil and we resorted to using the Spa’s regular oil.
I bought a variety of products amounting to almost PhP3K. I haven’t taken any product that needs to be taken orally because of fear that their products may have broken down and its efficacy may have been compromised because of being subjected to direct sunlight and heat.
Hi there! Sad to learn about your bad experience with Ilog Maria. I personally love their soaps and find them to be smell really clean and fresh. I use the propolis ointment too and the liniment, but that’s about it. Like I mentioned on this post, I wasn’t all that happy with the shampoo, facial oil and the cleanser/moisturizer. To be honest, I’ve never tried the massage oil because I don’t get massages, but now I’m curious as to how strong the smell actually is.
You were right to point out the issue of the products being exposed to direct sunlight and heat, and I now wonder why their management allows this. I feel they ought to do something about it. As for the quick turnover of items on the shelf, sure they can say that, but we consumers aren’t assured that this really is the case. All of a sudden I’m extra happy that I decided not to try any of their products that have to be taken orally. I remain skeptical as to the health and medicinal benefits that they supposedly have. I also never ingest anything that isn’t BFAD approved, and I’m not sure if these products have been properly tested.
I would go back for the soaps though. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Thank you for your very understanding response. You understood the predicament we thought should have been addressed ASAP.
I think I’d like to ask them about this too on my next visit. Hope I remember! 🙂
I have Ilog Maria stuff (gifts from friends) but haven’t visited their place yet. Funny, kasi I think it’s near our farm! Anyway, sounds like a good birthday! Mine is coming up but have no plans yet 😉
Oooh you have a farm in Tagaytay? What do you have there? Yes, I had a spectacular birthday. I’m sure you and T are gonna end up doing something great for yours. Looking forward to reading your post about it! 🙂 Happy birthday in advance!