The Cetaphil Experience

Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have already known that I recently went to The Farm @ San Benito in the Philippines for The Cetaphil Experience! Cetaphil flew a couple of bloggers from each country (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore) for The Cetaphil Experience with the winners of the contest they held in each country.

The Cetaphil Experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity which brought women from all over the region to learn more about skincare and confidence at an award-winning retreat in the Philippines. Besides being a relaxing wellness experience, it is also an empowering educational experience about skincare, with dermatologists and a life coach to support their physical and mental wellness with workshops, discussions, facial tutorial and spa treatments.

More pictures from the trip!

I didn't cover much about the workshop in the vlog because we had activities to do and it was a little hard to film while doing the activites, but let me share some of the experience of The Cetaphil Experience with you girls.

To be honest, when I first got the engagement, I wasn't too sure what The Cetaphil Experience was going to be about. I honestly just thought that it was going to be a super nua (laid back/chill) trip for us to detox and relax.. but it ended up being so much more, and I'm really glad I got to learn more on the trip which made it a lot more fruitful than the new friendships I got to forge.

On the first day of the Experience, we were split into groups and asked to come up with a commercial regarding what we though was a "Cetaphil Woman", nothing more. Needless to say, we were all stumped, but as we began to brainstorm what we thought a Cetaphil Woman was... we realised that there is a "Cetaphil Woman" in every one. All of us had a different interpretation of our Cetaphil Women, and she can be anything and everything: so our commercial consisted of us stating what our "Cetaphil Woman" was - Strong, Creative, Brave, Honest, Real.

As the workshops went on, we were asked to share our insecurities, be in it life or about our skin.. and it turns out that more than none, most of us had our fair share of insecurities - and that sharing about them really did help us to realise that our flaws make us human. In fact, while we (the bloggers and winners) were chatting, our flaws and insecurities really helped us to bond and thanks to that (and The Experience, of course) I got to make a lot of new friends from across South East Asia!

We were also asked to do a True or False exercise regarding beauty myths. As a beauty blogger, I've attended many beauty events and have listened to many talks as well as presentations about skincare and beauty in general, but through this True or False challenge, I learned that I had so much more to learn.

As we learned more about beauty and our skin, we realised that a lot of the skin concerns that we have, others have too. Don't just go around trusting the photoshopped images on magazine, (or even the selfies that we post online, after taking it 100x and picking out the best ones) because what is displayed in the media is always the best face. We learned about Skin Confidence and what it means to us, and what it means to be confident in yourself.

On the last day of The Experience, we were asked to repeat the same commercial regarding the Cetaphil Woman. Instead of taking the same approach this time, we decided to embrace our flaws, and to see others for their beauty. We stated our own flaws, and got our group mates to list a strength, to symbolize that even if you can only see your flaws (which we usually do), others can still see the strength and beauty in you. It helped us to spread a more positive energy, and allows us to bond and as opposed to being an individual, we are a group, a community.

What is a Cetaphil Woman then? A Cetaphil Woman is all of us. She is strong, confident, and happy, yet at other times she can be insecure, vulnerable, and sad. It's about knowing who you are and what you are worth - and it's more than that of the worth others give to you based on what little things they know about you. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

I know that a lot of you here reading this space are teenagers and young ladies, who might feel insecure about themselves because of various skin problems (I was there too, and am still when I break out) but as cliche as it sounds, beauty is only skin deep. Don't let someone else dictate or judge how beautiful you are just because of the way you look. Through these workshops, I really learnt how to value myself more, and to stop putting yourself down because the more you do that, the more you will continue to do that - and it's not healthy. Know that you are not proving who you are to anyone else but yourself.

At the end of the workshop, all of us left the venue with our Cetaphil Booklets, containing our takeaways from the workshops as well as the commitments we made for ourselves on this trip. I never really took the time to reflect on myself before this, and I'm really glad I made the following commitments to myself.

1. Get adequate sleep and drink enough water daily
I'm not exactly the healthiest person around and I guess this is one of the main things that I should really work on. I've been an insomniac for a long time now and besides messing with my schedule, it also messes with my skin which makes me unconfident whenever I break out. Drinking more water will also keep me well hydrated in the humid weather we have in Singapore!

2. Work harder and be responsible
I'm not going to lie - I'm a procrastinator. I have been and I think I really need to change that bad habit. :(

3. Be more positive
Growing up in an Asian household, I guess it's safe to say that a lot of us have been subjected to more criticism than praises when growing up. As we grow older, we begin to self doubt and be more negative about everything. Being more positive will allow for a better "aura" and also will let me feel more comfortable in my own skin.

4. Put on sunblock daily, even when indoors
This is something that I don't do everyday (especially on my body) because applying sunblock can sometimes be a hassle. I also have oily skin so sometimes sunblock makes me look a little shiny... BUT sunblock is soooo important as UV rays are one of the largest contributors to many skin problems (dark spots, pre-mature aging.. to name a few).

5. Properly cleanse my face and skin, and follow up with a proper regime
This is something that I always try to do, but sometimes get lazy (on lazy days I just apply Vit-C on my face) as my skincare routine has quite a few steps!

 

Thank you Cetaphil for sending me to The Cetaphil Experience!

There is a Cetaphil Woman in every woman, and there is one in you too.
Find your skin confidence with Cetaphil. Click here to get your free Cetaphil samples!