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.

Criselda's sells a lot of perfumes and scents…read more Coming from the escalator in Shoppesville, you'll spot this shop right away. It's filled from floor to ceiling with different perfumes, colored bottles and some bins of vitamins. To save time and also so that you don't buy out the entire store, know before hand what perfume you want to buy. Better if you know the name, know how the bottle looks like and are kind of familiar with the scent. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount especially if you're buying a lot of perfume. The last time I bought perfume from this shop, Miss Guada helped me choose. I hope she's still there. Ask for her just in case.

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!

My friend who has been living in Paris gave me some tips the other day on how to be a Parisian in…read moreManila. She gave me a checklist using her haughtiest voice- "First, be a snob. Think that you're better than everyone else. Secondly, wear red. It creates attention and makes your skin tone look luminous (Not for morenas ladies!) and lastly, dab on perfume. Dab it throughout the day and splash it all over your room. It doesn't have to be French perfume, just make sure it smells like Paris" My initial reaction was -Mon Dieu! Ooh la la! Nicole Papa! Du vin, du pain, du Boursin! Admittedly, I never dreamed of being a Parisian, nor did I dream of being one, I did take her 3rd advice into consideration though- to make my room smell like Paris, specifically, pastries from this city. So I set out for Mia's Home Fragrances to find myself a suitable scent. It didn't take too long for me to find the right one. The shop has a wide range of fragrances all sold at low prices. That evening my room smelled like meringue, crepes, cookies and croissants- and my Parisian points went up a notch.

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.

Love it looking forward to use this app wisely I love doing…read morebusiness and i think it would help me a lot

If you're trying to find a scent that you wish to be your trademark...too broke for signature…read morebrands...disliking of conventional scent chain stores...go hipster and walk towards Arctic Rituals Fragrance Library! They have quite a good collection of scents for both men and women, although some of them are recognizable from other brands and not too unique. However, if they are a collection of these scents, then it is a great place to find what you want! After finding a scent, either remember it and buy from that fragrance store somewhere else, or better yet, use Arctic Rituals as a testing point if your chosen scent would work out for you. And hopefully, you stick to them. Why? Their products are not below standard, they can actually match other brands. I recommend the following for men: Ivy League: Heartthrob Game Time: Invincible Game Time: Varsity Date Night: Icebreaker Nature Trippin: Blue Ocean Date Night: The Chase For the ladies: Game Time: Muse Gourmet: Nectarine Blossom and Honey Feels Like Home: Baby Powder Nature Trippin: Cherry Blossom Just remember, my sense of smell is different from yours!

If you ever want to find your own personal scent, I think this is a good place to start. You…read moreprobably won't find any of the big name perfume brands here so don't even look. I'd probably categorize Arctic Rituals as having two kinds of scents: stuff that smells like it was inspired by certain things... and stuff that smells like other stuff. See, they have scents like vanilla ice cream and coffee which really does smell like whatever's on the tin. As much as I like my colognes that smell like dessert, I do enjoy their colognes that smell like actual cologne. They have your typical floral scents and you have other things with names like Gin and Tonic and Stiletto. Their colognes are also of fairly good quality. Their scents don't fade quickly and last a pretty good time. Another good bit is that you don't get the rubbing alcohol-like undertone that some independent perfume makers usually have. 

I don't know why, but my wife has a love affair with Bath & Bodyworks' hand sanitizers. She has a…read morepile of these things at home and every time she has extra money, she buys one or two more bottles at Vitamix, located at the second floor of Glorietta. Sometimes, when I head to my favorite comicbook place, she would ask to be left at the kiosk to take a look if they have new stocks of her favorite Warm Vanilla hand sanitizer. I understand her tendency to hoard these things because she does not only use them but she also gives them as gifts to family and friends. Just the other day, she again asked me to buy a couple of hand sanitizers from Vitamix. When I went there, I realized that the kiosk doesn't only sell hand sanitizers. They actually have other Bath & Bodyworks items such as lotions, colognes, and hand soaps. The funny thing is all these beauty products aren't even their main business. I didn't notice it before, but their bread and butter items are actually imported herbal supplements and multivitamins. Now I know why they are called Vitamix.

I went with a friend of mine once in this place called Vitamix because my friend wanted to get a…read morespecial kind of supplement he needs to take alongside with him constantly working out. I got dragged to go here and well in this place you will see a long of products that are of herbal foundation (meaning they are all healthy herbal supplements). They are definitely all imported products and for the ones who go here regularly it is not pricey but for someone like me, I found it to be pricey. As from the herbal supplements, I notice they have a lot of Bath and Bodyworks products like body sprays, hand sanitizers, hand soaps and lotions. If I went here during my phase of hoarding Bath and Bodyworks products (years ago), this place would be my best friend! You know what I find a bit weird? They have bread and butter products which is so far from the beauty and healthy products! Overall though, this place could help you especially if you are into herbal medications.