Product Review: Ni'qua

Anyone who knows me is privy to my love of bags. As I got older I put value on materials more than brands. I would rather have a bag that would last me several years than something that would start to peel, unravel or color bleed after a few months.

My search brought me to leather goods and found a good alternative to the already established brands that are quite expensive - Ni'qua. They have online presence in FB and IG but also have regular pop-ups around Metro Manila, plus they would sometimes open their physical store somewhere in Marikina for blitzes.

You can have your bags personalized - color, texture, lining, straps. They have recently also offered shoes and sandals. You should check out their website for their products.

Ordering and paying for my item was quick and easy with the help of paypal. Delivery took a few days but nothing worrisome. The bag itself is of good quality leather and I have had it for more than a year now and still looks brand new.

Product Quality: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Packaging and Delivery: 5/5

Here's my Manico Medium in Chestnut with personalized name:

Disclaimer: Please note I am not in any way connected with this brand, the online store or the delivery partner of the store and I have not received any form of payment for this review. I am a regular consumer and bought these products and services for my own personal use.

Product Review: Astrid Leather

My first order with Astrid leather was a personalized keychain for my car keys and a key holder. It was affordable, made with real leather so no cracks or peeling after a couple of months and it was very convenient - I ordered and paid for the items online.

When my key chain got lost when I had the car serviced I ordered a new one. Its classic design fits me well. Not flashy. Sturdy. Reliable. Together with my new keychain I bought several pieces for friends and family, all personalized, of course. The quality was so good I even sent a couple mainland US and Hawaii as gifts.

After that I also ordered a clutch and a bag tag for myself. This I have used for when I am traveling and I want a place where I can store my docs, passport and small items like a pen. It is quite quaint and again, timeless. There's still room for improvement on the variety of items they can offer, if you ask me. Maybe more design options? I hope they expand soon.

Overall satisfaction guaranteed is what I have experienced with all my buys at Astrid Leather. You can find them in FB and IG.

Product quality: 5/5
Product diversity: 4/5
Packaging and delivery: 5/5
Price: 5/5

Agoda: Service Application Review

I've been a user of Agoda.com since 2010, then I switched to their android app a few years ago.

I have also tried installing other apps such as hotels.com, trivago and booking.com but I keep uninstalling them afterwards. Sure I love to compare prices and read user reviews but getting too many inputs coming from multiple sources is confusing me.

With Agoda's app, I feel everything is less cluttered. The reviews are from their direct users - Agoda users like me. When you click it, you read it, you don't get transported to another website or app review page.

You also earn points that directly translates to $ savings on your next reservation and it has tie-ups and can earn you frequent flyer miles.

Best of all, no horror stories of arriving at hotel only to find out you have no rooms reserved - happened to someone I know who used another site. Even the non-refundable cancelation is easy to reverse, they have local numbers that you can call. Wait time is fairly quick compared to other customer service lines. I explained I made an incorrect booking. Was informed it was non-refundable but they would put it back as credit on my account to make the correct purchase and that was it. Took me less than 15minutes to re-do my reservation.

Overall, I only have good things to say - I've use this app for domestic and international travel, for staycations, for emergency accommodations.

Event Venue: UP Balay Kalinaw

The preparation for the little one's 7th birthday party started over a year ago. Of course, before I can decide on any supplier I need a venue first cos the supplier and possible delivery/transpo charges will depende greatly on that.

It came down to two contenders: UP Balay Kalinaw and Kapitan Moy at Marikina. During inquiries, I have to be honest that I felt discouraged. None answers their socmed accounts and I can only call during office hours which means, I am costing myself some sleep. After getting the initial capacity, basic inclusions and prices the decision ultimately came down to two things, both important to me -- the price and the parking space.

Kapitan Moy's can accomodate more guests and is nearer my place but they're pricier and they also have no parking space of their own. Guests can park at thr church grounds in front and walk over. Balay Kalinaw's rate is more budget friendly at 4.4. For the first 3 hours on the room that can accommodate 100pax and they have a small parking space in front that can accommodate at least a dozen vehicles. That is so plus points for me.

We went thrice to Balay Kalinaw's office before the event, first to inquire about availability and inclusions/exclusions and the second time to pay the DP. The third was to show the caterer the place and plan the kayout. Everything was straightforward and painless, all requests were granted during this stage. Well, maybe except for the slightly mataray na guard 😁.

Anyway, the week of the event I woke up one dat with multiple missed calls from Balay. I returbed the call and they were asking for my caterer and suppliers. I was asked to email the details and when I asked for the email address, it's the ssme one I have beeb emailing my questions to before which NOBODY answered. So apparently, if they NEED you they read it. 🙄 Seriously the obly thing I got annoyed with. There were several emails back and forth cos they needed not just the suppliers but their contact nos and all the electronic devices the suppliers will bring due to the hourly rate for each electric appliance.

As mentioned I signed up for the 3 hour rent of their biggest conference room good for 100pax. This includes 100 monoblock chairs so that's something off the list of the caterer. You can also rent the adjacent conference 2 and together it can accommodate 150pax. This also include 2hours before for prepwork and another hour after for packing up. Overall, that's 6hours foe the event and everything else. I really liked that setup vs having to do the event in a fast food with just 2 hours for EVERYTHING.

During the event, conf 2 was unused so we got to setup the photo booth in the hallway beside the balcony. We also got to put up a registration booth there. Yey for extra space. And though the place is a bit rundown, the aircon was blasting away and was so efficient nobody wanted to leave the room.

There are also multiple public transports that are available eg Jeeps from SM North, Q. Ave and Philcoa and from Katipunan. It's easily accessible from either Commonwealth or Katipunan Ave if you have a car. It is a bit hard to find if you're not a regular in UP but there are a lot of peoole to ask directions from even on weekends and it can be found via Google Maps and Waze accurately.

Overall, I had a good experience with the venue and my guests enjoyed the event immensely.

Review: Honestbee

It took a while before I tried it. My initial vouchers already expired when I finally decided to use this service. I had to buy bottles of water for the little one's birthday party and I thought this is the perfect opportunity to try Honestbee vs having to lug the water bottles around myself.

Installing the app from Google Play was a breeze. Signing up was fairly harmless. My only comment is that GPS sucks in this country, the names are all jumbled up and someone has to clean google maps up (or whatever is needed to fix the tags in the map!).

I ordered via Robinsons Supermarket. I don't mind the 99peso concierge fee nor the 49peso delivery. After all, if I picked these up myself the parking fee + gas + snacks would possibly offset me thrice as much.

Finding the items once inside the app was esy enough. There's an option to put in a substitute in case the product or brand or size you want is not available. There's also a space where you can leave instructions to the concierge. It was helpful for when I ordered some t-bone steak 😁 yum yum.

Confirmation of order was prompt. Delivery was on time! I noted the delivery time to be 10 to 11am and not 5mins past 10am the rider is already there. Payment options are so far good, via credit card or cash. You only get charged upon delivery in case there are substitution of items or are unavailable. Let me spell convenient. No more reversing charges and waiting for refunds and credits. Though I would still hope more options become available soon eg apple pay, bank transfers etc.

Overall, my experience is great that I have another pending order for the kiddos birthday.

Ease of use - 4/5 (only bec of having to find the pin)
Service fees - 5/5
Prompt Delivery - 5/5
Choices - 5/5
Payment options -4/5

Review: Ecobar Shampoo and Conditioner

I have been trying to cut out my consumption of chemically laden soaps and deodorants. The less the ingredients the better. The less the packaging the more I want to buy them.

Lately, I've been hearing a lot about shampoo bars and though I tried to see if I can score a Lush bar but I was never around the vicinity of their store here in Manila.

Enter Ecobar. I saw a contact post this and decided I will try it one day. That one day arrived the other week when my order came.

I ordered one shampoo bar and one conditioner bar. At first the smell, in my opinion, was overwhelming. Like my grand dad's old aftershave wafting through the air and then slashing through my nostrils 😂. After a few days I am getting used to it and it makes my bathroom smell really good.

First time I tried it, just 3 or so swipes and my hair had a good lather. Same with the conditioner, 3 swipes and my hair is covered. Mind you, I have really thick strands. My hair smelled wonderful afterwards. The day after my head smells wonderful still.

Just like with any change, my scalp is adjusting. It started itching the 2nd time I used the shampoo. I also noticed my roots being more oily. But, and here's the big but, my hair is softer and bouncier than usual. The conditioner isn't weighing my hair down unlike most conditioners I have tried yet my hair feels, well, conditioned.

A week and a half of use, the bars still look new. The smell is great. My hair feels good and soft and not limp at all.

Will I buy this again? Definitely. My only wish is that it becomes easier to source. There are resellers and as far as I can tell, all are online shops. I ordered my bars in Shoppee without box cos I feel I have no use for the box and will be thrown out anyway. The courier though is another monster. Plastics and added carbon footprint. So for now, I'd say order in bulk to reduce the impact. Over all though, the product is A-ok. Will go as far and claim it's one of the best, if not the best shampoo and conditioner I have tried.

Update Oct 22, 2018: I liked the combi so much I ordered a couple more from Shopee over the weekend. I am hoping I won't need to buy any shampoo and conditioner until the year ends at least and would offset the plastic and carbon footprint of this last order. So excited to try to other variants.

Packaging - 5/5
Smell - 5/5
Effect on hair - 5/5
Availability - 2/5