Energize, Soothe, and Relax with Amu'in

It has been months since I was whisked away to paradise with a few other bloggers to witness the new Nurture Spa. I do miss the fresh air and the food and it was my visit there that I pushed myself to living a healthier life more, which means more of the soy, granola, and hence Tara Stiles and I bonding thrice weekly and now I incorporate the Bidasha twins in my exercise routine.

Anyway, I'd like to share too my experience with the goodies I got in the bag after the trip, namely the Amu'in products whose scents I am so addicted to right now. I've finished already two of the travel-sized bottles and I am so loving them. I've seen Amu'in products whenever I visit the Echo store over at Serendra when I shop for my stock of organic products but it was only during my Nurture Spa trip that I experienced them first-hand. They come in four varieties and here I am writing this post to share my thoughts on it.

Depending on our needs and our mood, we tend to shift to different products. Whenever it's hot and sunny, we prefer lighter and more citrusy fragrances. For a night out with someone special, a mellow scent like vanilla or musk would be my personal choice. When I have a hard time sleeping, I bring out something with a tad of lavander. There are several scents that could address the needs of our minds and emotions and hence that must be the principle behind aromatherapy.

My goodies were travel-sized products from Amu'in, which feature three of their four lines: Alaga, Hulay, and Sigla.

These are so convenient travel-sizes I could tot them along with me in my purse. Oh a little trivia with Amu'in products is that their ingredients are all sourced here in the Philippines since Amu'in is committed to build the essential oil industry and support the communities producing essential oils. Lemongrass essential ils are sourced from Mambugsay, Negros. Also, a percentage of the sales of Amu'in products is donated to the communities living there in Negros.

The woven pouch that holds these three bottles is actually locally-woven fabric. "Abel" is a century-old weaving tradition in Bangar, La Union that is in danger of dying out. The use of Abel fabric in gift boxes, bags, and pouches aims to keep the craft alive.

Aside from promoting tradition and using materials sourced locally, Amu'in uses Filipino words to name their products. The name Amu'in itself is actually a Tagalog verb that means "to caress" or "to tame". Even their four lines are also named using Filipino words, depending on their use.

Sigla is a Tagalog word for "energy". If the orange labels are not enough, the citrusy and fresh scents (blend of Lemon, Lemongrass, Peppermint, and May Chang) are there to perk up the mood two to three notches higher. The Sigla line is for those who would want a healthy jolt of energy and focus for the day.

Isn't the happy orange hue uplifting in itself? The scent spells E-N-E-R-G-Y too, and the citrusy scent is reminiscent of taking a tall glass of fresh orange juice for breakfast. The body mist could be totted in the bag during a day full of energy, say I'll be doing makeup for a wedding.

The body lotion is what I use in the morning before I run off to work when I have work. The smell is pretty fresh and the lemongrass scent isn't reminiscent of cough lozenges. Plus, there's a tingly minty feeling after due to the peppermint and this could be great for hot days that make us all sluggish.

Use Sigla when:

• You have a hard time getting out of bed but need to.
• You need focus for a number of tasks during the day
• You're on the beach. Citrusy scents and sunshine give such positive vibes. Plus the mint will cool us down.
• During a post-workout shower to keep the energy up.

Winding down after a long day, the Hulay line eases tension and relaxes the body. A lot of stress sometimes couldn't make us sleep, and we all know now the importance of a good 8-hour sleep. With the warm and delicate scents of Lavander and Ylang-Ylang (which are iconic ingredients in spa products), this would be absolutely perfect during the time that we need to wind down. The word "Hulay" is actually Visayan for "relax," which this line aims the user to do, and I don't mean Frankie says Relax. :P



Lavander is such a calm and cool color to look at. The room and linen sprays would be a must-have in the bedroom especially when we need to rest after a long day at work. The lotion (above) is my nighttime lotion which I apply all over my body before I go to bed. It's not very greasy and the scent doesn't offend the nostrills, to think it's a pretty warm nighttime scent. The scent though lingers through the morning when I wake up.


Use Hulay when:

• You need to sleep and wind down after a long day.
• You get your at-home massage.
• You do meditation or yoga to calm the mind and the senses.

Alaga, which means "to care for" or "to soothe" in Tagalog is what we could use whenever nasties come our way. Depending on our needs, the Alaga line has special blends to address them whether it be aching muscles, headaches, insect bites, or dirty hands. For example, the insect repellant has citronella and peppermint to ward off bugs and insects (perfect during dengue season). The Alaga massage oil has Rosemary, Ginger, and Peppermint to warm and relax tense and tired muscles.


What I have with me is actually an almost-empty bottle of the Natural Hand Sanitizer. This 50-mL spray bottle protects ad cleanses my hands without the need of water. It smells really good and citrusy. I use this to sanitize my hands before I do makeup on my client or when I need to quick-clean my brushes. This hand sanitizer does not sting the hands since they use ethyl alcohol instead of isopropyl.


Use Alaga...

• Natural insect repellant when you would be outdoors. You'll never know what bug could bite.
• Stress Relief balm when you need a midday calming-down, say you're plugged up with meetings and deadlines.
• Hand Sanitizer for quick-cleaning before eating, snacking, or handling clients (in my case).
• Massage Oil when you need to relieve aching backs, feet, or legs.

For the romantics, Gayuma (Tagalog word for "love potion") was created to unleash and induce romance with sweet orange, cedarwood, rosewood, and ylang-ylang to put anyone in the mood for some loving. Nurture Spa uses this for the couple's massage and it's been said that some of the ingredients were used by Cleopatra to lure Marc Anthony to her. Apparently, it seemed to work. I was able to smell this and it wasn't that musky or heady. It starts out rather fresh at first and then fades to a muted musk. Ylang-ylang calms the nerves too and the woody fragrances rather attract the senses. I told them that I was quite intrigued by this line.


Use Gayuma when...

• On your next out-of-town trip with your honey
• When you want to spice things up a bit. Spray the room with the room spray, light up the essential oil, Use the massage oil as a moisturizer and get creative.

Plus, pink is such a pretty color too. Sometimes alluded with femininity, beauty and love, the pink-labeled bottles would look great on a seductress's vanity. But who says that this could only be used for couples? We could use this whenever we just want to feel sexy. Try using the massage oil sparingly or walk through a mis of the room spray. Who knows? Cleopatra's charm could work too. The Gayuma line is also a great bridal shower or affordable wedding gift to add spice to a friend's wedding night.


So there you have it. If this got anyone's interest up, you could check Amu'in products at their website. In Manila, I know they're available at Echo stores (I saw stores in Podium and Serendra). You could hop over too at Nurture Spa during one of your out-of-town trips since they're available as well there too.

[pictures of the Alaga, Sigla, Gayuma, and Hulay lines taken from the Amu'in website]