I have to say, I was beyond ecstatic when Unilever Philippines asked to whisk me away on a weekend of limitless possibilities, especially when I found out that it was going to be held at Pangalusian Island Resort, El Nido, Palawan! It’s the newest and most luxurious resort in El Nido as of date, and even Conde Nast has rated it as one of the top destinations of the world! I have soooo many photos and stories to tell you, so allow me to do so in a series of posts, starting with this one!

Before the trip, I got this personalized care package sent to my house with my initials on it! I packed them into my suitcase right away, just because I thought they were super cute! Well, I really got to use them, and you’ll soon find out why! The next day, we flew via private jet (Island Transvoyager Inc.) to the beautiful island. I was so happy to be seated by the window! You can only imagine how many stunning photos I took of the island from up in the sky!

We landed in a small strip of land in an isolated island in El Nido. Nothing was there except a little hut where people who were about to board could stay in. Then we rode a one-minute jeepney ride to the bridge, crossed it, rode another one-minute bangka ride to a speedboat, and we were finally on our way to the very exclusive Pangalusian Island Resort.

I couldn’t help but snap away at the beautiful view while I was on the boat! It was paradise. Beautiful clean waters in green and blue, surrounded by large rock formations and mini islands. There was only silence and the sound of the boat making waves on the peaceful waters. The sight was so magnificent, I was speechless! I just couldn’t take it all in- I was in paradise.

As we approached the island, the Pangalusian staff, together with Unilever’s personal care team greeted us and made us feel instantly welcomed. We even received personalized fans together with our welcome drinks! Everything was really taken care of.

I shared a massive beach villa with one of my blogger besties, Laureen! I was so happy to be roomies with her because we got to catch up and do all sorts of girly things together! And if Unilever hasn’t been pampering us enough, when I got to the room, I had my own personalized beach bag, a welcome note from Apples Aberin (Unilever’s PR head), bottles of refreshments and cookies and the best part- my own coffee machine! #LifeIsBetterWithCoffee

Our villa was so huge that we had a bed in the main room, one in the terrace and another one in the bathroom! Plus, because we had our own private beachfront, we had beds on it too!

Everything was really prepared so well! We even got a bathroom already filled with supplies! We had Creamsilk and Dove on our showers, Vaseline and Rexona on our vanity table, Ponds, Close Up and Perspondent on our sinks and  few other things in between!

The first thing on our agenda for the day: Lunch. To start the whole experience, CEO Peter Cowan, VP for Personal Care Gina Lorenzana and PR head Apples Aberin shared a few words on why they thought having this first ever PC summit was important. Unilever has carried brands that have been with us for decades and have shaped our lives and our parents lives in the field of grooming. They’re a brand that cares for the users: developing formulas catering to each individual’s needs and finding ways to keep everyone feeling their most confident.

Unilever Philippines CEO Peter Cowan with Apples Aberin

Laureen Uy and Raymond Gutierrez

My seatmates for the afternoon: Catriona Grey, James and Phil Younghusband

After lunch, we went on a discovery tour to five different pavillions, each one representing a brand. The first one was Tresemme, and Lourd Ramos showed us how to achieve runway hair styles with the use of simple salon grade products from Tresemme!

Next up was Dove. Dove is really all about finding the beauty in yourself, being natural and relatable- or simply put, being your best beautiful self.

We then went to the Vaseline pavillion where Laureen showed us a few ways to stay stylish under the sun this summer- hats, sunnies and loads of Vaseline sunscreen!

Fourth up was the Rexona booth where Phil and I had a tongue twister battle! Rexona’s main advocacy is to Do More, and Phil certainly proved that he could when he beat me! It’s his darn accent that makes him speak faster than me! lol

Lastly, we headed to the Close Up booth where we got to see all the music and memories Close Up has brought to the Philippines, including my personal favorite “Close” by Paolo Santos! DJ Mars Miranda then fired it up for us to get us hyped for the Close Up Summer Solstice happening this Saturday already! (see you there!!!)

All that and it isn’t even all of Day 1! Stay tuned for my next post to experience this beautiful journey with me!