Tucked away in the innermost crevices of the second floor of Shopwise Cubao is Fragrance Factory…read more Passing by its posters near the walkalators, you'd hardly notice it walking through the Shopwise-SM bridgeway, and would unlikely bother to even really give the place a look, but it does have hidden gems for the more astute shopper. If you have the chutzpah to make your own scents or cologne, then surely this is a place you should visit. They have all the necessary ingredients for you to concoct your own fragrance (or approximate those of more recognizable brands ;) ) to use in perfume, hand sanitizers or whatever else you can come up with, to give as presents or giveaways. But to those who don't have such lofty goals, they have stuff like liquid dispensers or spray bottles that have their own everyday purposes, or essential oils to use for your own linen spray, diffusers, or air fresheners.

Even when you're a few feet away from the store, you already know you're there-- your olfactory…read moresystems are going haywire because of the sheer mix of scents in the air. Was that raspberry? Lavender? Green tea? Coffee? All of them, would be the correct answer! I used to just ignore Lush while walking around MOA, because really, anything that smells that much might not be too good... but recently, I've been seeing these bath bombs around Tumblr and decided to give them a try-- and where else would they have it but in Lush? The staff at this branch are very helpful, and don't really offer you too much so that you're overwhelmed (and I dislike stores that try to sell as much as possible). They answered all my queries about the bath bombs and I finally got home to try out two of their scents. Let me tell you know that I've never experienced anything as magical as a lush bath bomb. (A trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is about the only one that tops it. And then again, that's Harry Potter.) As soon as I dropped the bomb in the water, I was treated to a sight of dizzying colors as the bomb spun out glitters and stars, coloring the waters blue, pink and yellow-- reminiscent of the starry night sky (as what it says on the tin). Believe me when I say that the moment I soaked into the tub, I've never felt more than a space-fairy-princess-out to conquer the world-- just as soon as I finish this lovely bath with melting exfoliating stars!

I LOVE LUSH!!! I usually go to their Glorietta branch because it's where my favorites are always…read moreavailable. You gotta try their amazing soaps and bath bombs to products like Buffy, Ro's Argan, Rub Rub Rub, Ocean Salt and their solid shampoo bars. It's a bit on the expensive side for bath products but believe me, you'll love it!!! Btw, they're temporarily located at 158 Designer Blvd. The staff in the MOA branch are very accommodating and helpful. Just don't be intimidated and ask questions so that they'll be able to guide you better.

The Souq Organics carries unique organic beauty and wellness products that you can't find anywhere…read moreelse. These are high-grade, natural products that range from hair and body oils, to hand soaps, gels and lotions, shampoos, conditioners, even insect repellants and lip balms. One of their most interesting products I think is this coconut oil-based mouthwash. It's apparently one of the bestsellers and is one of the most used up testers at the store so I guess a lot are curious too, haha. They have a dainty little sink in the middle of the cozy store where you can try out all the products. They just have all these unique personal care items and others (even home care stuff. Even tea!) that don't come at you by means of brand name. In fact I'm pretty sure many of us haven't even heard of half these brands. They speak more on their natural, active ingredients that work, so they're carefully curated cult brands from Morocco, France, the UK, Australia, and yes, also artisan stuff from the Philippines. It can be a little pricey but these would definitely make great gifts for your girlfriends, your titas, your mom.

LOVE this branch because they often have stock of the popular items I can't get a hold off OR when…read morethey don't have the item/s I want, they ACTUALLY contact you to update you not like the others that pretend or forget, huhu. There's only 2 sales ladies but they do their job well and they're very accommodating and nice. Not a lot of people go here too so you don't have to worry about long lines or having tug-of-wars with other customers, haha. Big fan of Lush's advocacy on being eco and animal friendly and using all natural, organic ingredients. Their products are pretty rad too. I have sensitive, oily skin and I regularly use their "Coalface" (charcoal soap), "Herbalism" (herb facial wash), and Mask of Magnaminty (deep cleansing mask). LOVE! They are a permanent part of my skincare routine. Their bath bombs are the bomb quite frankly and they sell some makeup as well. I love their color essentials/supplement which acts like a BB cream. Decent coverage and great for your skin. Makes my skin soft and supple and my skin can actually breathe. Tip! Buy them during sale season so you get 2 for one price (buy 1 take 1).

If there's one thing I noticed about this store is that the distinct smell you will experience! You…read moreknow there's a Lush Store because you can strongly smell soap! The smell is so strong I could smell Lush from half a mile (I think)! And of course, when you enter the store expect to smell the different scents. My favorite purchase here is the soap that is used for the hair. You see, I have such oily hair and so when I discovered the Shampoo Bar - it's literally a bar of soap that is a substitute for shampoo. I always get the Jumping Juniper which helps control the oiliness of my hair. It's this purple circular bar of soap which gets a lot of soap suds! It's amazing how it helped my hair a lot. Aside from it being amazing, it smells good also! I love how there's lavender and lemon oil so your hair is assured to smell good! Aside from Lush selling soap bars, it also sells liquid body care such as body washes and conditioners! Don't be overwhelmed with the stock of soap they have in the store - just ask help from the saleslady.

Ever since I was in high school one of my sisters kept telling me that I should learn to tidy…read moremyself and clean myself up. She told me how important it was to keep myself looking and smelling fresh. Of course I didn't pay attention. Being the bullheaded kid that I was I didn't pay her advice any real attention. At least, up until I got older. Eventually, I began to value cleaning up after myself and making myself smell good. The Fragrance Factory is a good store for me because it saves me time from having to go from one boutique to another to try different scents. Their line of colognes and perfumes are of the more expensive branded variety. There's so much in their collection that I usually don't have time to go through them all. Price is okay, it's the same kind of price that you'll see elsewhere.

If you are looking for party favors and souvenirs to give away for your event (wedding, debut,…read moreparty, etc.), one of the best ways to let your guests know that you appreciate their coming to your party is by giving them colognes or perfumes in small bottles. I have seen it in different parties before, and I think it's always nice. The little bottles of perfume smell really nice most of the time, and some of them are really close copies of the original ones. I once received a small token, which was a cologne bottle that smelled exactly like Davidoff Cool Water. On another instance, I got Issey Miyake. You can find great ideas on cologne and perfume party favors if you go to Chemworld Fragrance Factory. Here, everything is sold in bulk. You can select from their variety of scents (with specific scents for men and for women), and then buy it in a small bottle that can then be used to fill smaller, gift-sized containers. You can also buy the small spray bottles here, too, and they come in plenty of designs. You can even work with their staff to mix and match the scents together to create your special blend, especially if you have a preference, so that you can make the scents more personal. Whether you are looking for gift or giveaway ideas, or if you want to maybe make a business out of scents, Chemworld is a great one-stop shop. The staff is friendly, and they are attentive in answering questions about their products.

I'm not really a perfume connoisseur nor am I the type to experiment with my scent every so often…read more I'd like to think I've found my signature scent (or scents because I have three favorites) already. But I like perfume. I like that every interestingly designed bottle is a gateway to a whole different world, a world made up of all these different notes - patchouli! Vetiver! Tuscan leather! Basil! Art of Scent ushers you into these wonderful, wonderful worlds. It feels like you've stepped into Willy Wonka's swanky-fied factory but instead of chocolates, you get scents! Scents of all kinds, brands and combinations, laid out in an enticing way that even the most anti-perfume person will somehow want to spritz on everything on display!

Going natural seems to be the latest trend in body and skin care. One of the emerging brands in the…read moremarket is Zenutrients. Its products are not available in supermarkets like Human Nature. However, it has kiosks located in several malls. Having visited several malls all over the city, I've seen a number of its branches. But, the store where I usually buy my Zenutrients products is the one in SM Masinag. Located in Rizal but just a short jeepney ride from Marikina, SM Masinag is the branch nearest my place. To say that the price range of their products is cheap or expensive is quite difficult. It seems the affordability depends on the product that you want to buy. There are some cheap finds like the eye cream which costs only around PhP 300. I consider that affordable because eye care products, except Garnier Eye Roll-On, is already in the PhP 800 to PhP 5000 range. My favorites, however, are the Gugo Shampoo and the Gugo Conditioner. The regular size is less than a hundred (around PhP 75-85, if I remember correctly), but the big size is at PhP 900. The size is really big yet I can buy a big drugstore brand shampoo or conditioner and it wouldn't cost that much. But, I have to attest to the quality of both Gugo Shampoo and Gugo Conditioner. I bought them at a time when my hair was quite stiff and dry. I've tried several brands but only Zenutrients gugo products were able to alleviate the problem. If you have budget, you can go for the big size. But, if you just need a hair-saver, you can buy the small size and, in the succeeding months, alternate it with your other shampoo or conditioner.