Working a full time job, writing two weekly newspaper columns, trying to maintain this blog, spending time with people in my life, and traveling all bring me joy and satisfaction, but sometimes, my energy levels can no longer keep up. After two activity-packed weeks in London followed immediately by a full week of work, I needed to stop and do nothing.

So I did nothing except loaf overnight in an air-conditioned hotel room, watching TV and Netflix, leaving the bed only to have a cup of coffee or tea, take a shower, have dinner and breakfast, and pamper myself. Here's what I had with me:

I've been using The Body Shop body butter in whatever variant or fragrance for years; this one is Olive. The lip balm is Cherry, while the body scrub is Pink Grapefruit. I've been patronizing The Body Shop since I was 15 (half my life now) and these three in particular - the body butter, lip balm, and body scrub - are never absent in my personal care arsenal.

The soap tin is a souvenir from Marseille, France, which I discovered during my trip there in 2016 is a region very known for its soaps. I bring this little memento with me wherever I travel because plastic ones are usually super bulky or might break. And this design is prettier than anything else I've seen in stores, so.

The Origins Clear Improvement mask is a favorite of mine; I talked about it as one of my favorite products of 2017.

The Hiddencos Korean sheet mask came from a box sent by Althea Korea, one of my go-to sources for having all the bestselling and latest K-beauty products delivered from the skin genies in Korea straight to my doorstep. This mask smells exactly like a latte; good enough to eat (or drink)!

Benefit Cosmetics' Browvo! conditioning primer can be used on the brows to prep before makeup application, but it didn't work well for me that way (it tended to clump with foundation), so I use this every night on my brows. This is pricey (I bought it for P1,600) but it's the only brow conditioner that makes my sparse eyebrows fuller, compared to at least two brands of castor oil that I've tried.

Xlash eyelash serum is developed in Sweden and has become recently available in the Philippines. Find some incredible Before and After testimonies and find out more about this lash lengthener on xlash.com.ph. If you're convinced and want to try it for yourself, get a 12% discount when using the code JOANNAXLASH upon checkout, on top of free international shipping!

This jar of La Mer was generously sent to me by Shop LCP and Zee magazine. Yes, it's nothing short of miraculous. Yes, it costs about USD200 a jar. I kept it in the fridge at home to keep it fresh while using up my other opened products. You do only need a little at a time, and you can see and feel the effect immediately. But yes, USD200 a jar.

And here is what the bed looked like before I melted into it and messed up the tight, pristine tucking:

Grateful to Quest Hotel and Conference Center on Archbishop Reyes for such a cool, clean, and comfortable stay. I would highly recommend it for the location (just across Ayala Center Cebu), excellent service, and awesome breakfast buffet at a seriously competitive price. Book directly with the hotel at questhotelsandresorts.com/cebu.