oilily opens in sm megamall

Matchy-matchy mavens of the north rejoice! Oilily has opened a branch closer to you to fulfill all your print-coordinating fantasies.

Unlike its Greenbelt branch (which I blogged about HERE) which is more of a pop-up store, the Megamall boutique has its own space so you can shop the popular Dutch brand's durable and whimsical designs in comfort and ease:

The new store carries their full range of bags, accessories, colognes and many others like baby bags, handbags, school bags, lunch kits, cellphone and tablet cases, umbrellas, wallets so you can enjoy the same print for a cute and kitschy seamless look.

The water resistant material also makes it a perfect match for busy people during these rainy months. I've had my Oilily bag (see here) for about a year now and to this day, it still looks new.

For more info on Oilily Philippines and their products, connect with them socially on Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

Win a Nina Ricci La Tenation De Nina Gift Set

how to stand out on homecoming

Lady In Red.

Out of all the other colors in the world, why red?

Black is a strong color and so is white but no other color has the power to catch attention as much as red.

It's the color used to symbolized victory, power, love and so many other powerful emotions.

With all these at your disposal, why not harness these strong characteristics to draw attention to yourself on one of the most memorable nights of your life...Homecoming.

Nobody attends homecoming night to be regarded as a wallflower. We all want to leave a strong impression on a night that offers so much promise.

Make shopping for the perfect dress less painful by narrowing down your color choices and just concentrate on picking a silhouette that works perfectly with your body.

Channel Blake Lively's awesome style with this scarlett stunner from iHomecoming.com that only retails for $119.99:

If you prefer to go for a sweet yet sexy look, why not go for these mini babydoll dresses with an open neckline. This kind of cut flatters all body types by making you look longer, leaner and taller. Having just the right amount of embellishment keeps things classy and perfect for a formal affair.

For an all-out showstopping look, opt for a solid floor-length gown like the one above. It's a timeless look that will never age so you can proudly show-off your homecoming photos even decades from now.

For those who want something a little more practical. these lace dresses are a perfect option which can also be worn to cocktail parties and dinner dates:

There's a lot of beautiful red homecoming dresses to choose from, make sure you choose one that you're comfortable and happy in so all you need to worry about on this special night is having fun.

Backless in Old Town

Although I love this dress to death it's hilarious to see how people react to it. Because the back straps are so tiny and my hair kinda covers them, people behind would constantly catch up with me to make sure I'm not topless. You should have seen the relief in their eyes! xDD

Can't wait to repeat this experiment while it's still hot outside :)

I'm wearing:

Dress  - Sheinside

Bag - The Leather Satchel

Sliders - Choies (on a huge sale!)

Jewelry - Asos and H&M
Necklace - ByInviteOnly

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la tentation de nina giveaway

Do you remember my post about the launch of Nina Ricci's new perfume?

The La Tentation De Nina? You can read more about it here

It really is a pretty and magical fragrance and special thanks to Prestige Brands and Nina Ricci, a lucky reader will get to share the exciting essence of La Tentation with this pretty La Tentation gift set.

The gift set includes a pretty blank page journal with some poetry inside + a beautiful La Tentation De Nina silver necklace.

To join this giveaway, please fill in the Rafflecopter form below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you and good luck :)

CPK national pizza day - buy 1 take 1 pizza!

I had the best time yesterday at CPK's Greenbelt 5 branch for a preview of their upcoming National Pizza Day this August 13, 14 and 15, 2014. Yup, 3 days!

National Pizza Day coincides with CPK's anniversary in the Philippines. Do you know that they've actually been here for 17 years already? National Pizza Day was first introduced last 2012 as a 1-day affair. Lines were always extremely long from opening to closing. No pizza-loving Manileno wanted to be left out of the awesome Buy 1 Take 1 pizza deal.

To solve the dilemma and to give others more chances to enjoy this special once a year treat, California Pizza Kitchen Philippines has decided to extend National Pizza Day into a 3 day event where customers get a FREE Traditional Cheese, Original Pepperoni or Italian Sausage + Pepper pizza for every regular pizza they order! Even better? The offer is also good for Take-Away! Time to schedule a yummy pizza party just like what we had yesterday!

During an intimate event yesterday, me and 12 other bloggers had our fill of endless cocktails and pizza for a good chunk of the afternoon and well into the night.

Even during non-events, an hour is never enough for a visit to CPK.

I always, always have to have my favorites...a full course meal which starts with their Barbecue Chicken Salad (yummmm!), Santa Fe Pizza, Chicken Alfredo Pasta (+more, more, more) and now that I've discovered how equally delicious their cocktails are and how awesome they taste when paired with pizzas, I'm pretty sure my visits are going to extend a couple of hours longer than usual. ;P

Last night, we were able to try all 15 pizzas on their menu (whoopee! always wanted to do that!) which led me to discover some new favorites...

Yes, I still love my Santa Fe and Barbecue Chicken Pizza (which is often imitated, never duplicated because of CPK's super secret barbecue sauce which is just heavenly in the mouth :P) but I'm willing to put those two on the back-burner for now in favor of the "Untraditional Pizza". It's just cheese and tomato goodness from beginning to end.

Okay, I had 9 slices last night and a good chunk of that portion was Untraditional Pizza slices with Cholula Hot Sauce drizzled on top. That alone has to speak for itself (don't judge :P)

I'm sorry if this post might seem overly patronizing but I really, really had an awesome time last night and CPK has always been (and still is) one of my MOST favorite restaurants in the world.

They have the best crust and their pizza is just really and totally out of this world delicious!

Which is why you definitely shouldn't miss this year's National Pizza Day!

Don't forget to save the date!

CPK National Pizza Day 

August 13, 14 and 15

At all CPK branches located in Greenbelt 5 with contact number 4017160, Power Plant Mall 8953447, Alabang Town Center 8505771, TriNoma 9013881, Eastwood Mall 5845150, Promenade Greenhills 7257377, BGC 6683912, Mall of Asia 8238291, Harbor Point, Subic 0472511084
or call 287-8888 for delivery

And lastly, make sure to connect socially with CPK Philippines via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@CPKPhilippines) to get first dibs on exciting promos

myra holistic skin care - how to get "lit from within skin"

Skin.

More than clothes, shoes and bags, what we all want is healthy,glowing skin. Am I right? No matter how pretty your clothes and bags are, if you're looking haggard, not even the most expensive purse can improve your look.

So how do we achieve youthful glowing skin? 

Have you noticed that no matter how much creams and moisturizers you lather on on a daily basis, there are still days when your skin tends to look dull?

That's because it needs more than just topical solutions. Your skin is an organ and just like every other organ in your body, it needs a full-round of care to function properly and look its youngest.

Here are some tips you can follow to achieve healthy, glowing, youthful skin that looks "lit from within":

1. Sleep - it helps your skin cells regenerate and your facial muscles relax. To avoid feeling sluggish in the morning, set your alarm at a multiple of 90 minutes because this is the length of an average sleep cycle. 
2. Exercise - regular exercise improves blood flow which helps nourish skin cells and keeps them vital. It also helps carry away waste products including free radicals. It's like a deep cleanse for your skin but from within.
3. Hydrate - drink LOTS of water, add a lemon wedge or a splash of fruit juice if you're not a fan of flat water.
4. Eat Well - eating well helps nourish the skin by providing it with vitamins and nutrients it needs to repair and rebuild damaged cells.

And lastly, take Vitamin E to ensure that your skin stays healthy and bright. 

This is where the heart of Holistic Skin Care is.

We are exposed to uncontrollable free radicals that damage our cells on a daily basis. This results in tired looking skin that looks dull, dry and aging. To fight the damage, repair our cells and protect the healthy ones, we need Vitamin E. But our body doesn't naturally produce it, we need to take a powerful supplement that's also easy on the wallet like Myra's Vitamin E supplements.

A bottle of Myra's (synthetic) Vitamin E that's good for a month only costs P241.50 while the Natural Vitamin E variant will only set us back P354.90.

Not bad, right?

So when caring for your skin, remember this simple formula:

creams and lotions + healthy lifestyle + healthy cells = healthy, youthful-looking and glowing skin!

Find out more about the #TuloyAngGanda movement by connecting with Myra Philippines via Facebook, Twitter (@MyraHolistic) and Instagram (@MyraHolistic)

home decorating - umbra shift

Great industrial design. That is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Umbra.

I have long been a fan of the brand so I was especially excited to check out their new Umbra Shift collection which was created in collaboration with some of the worlds best designers like Lukas Peet, Paul Loebach, MSDS, Fugitive Glue, Hlynur Atlason, Philippe Malouin, Harry Allen, Albert Lee, and the Umbra Studio.

The pieces on display include objects that these designers would personally want to have in their own homes.

After a successful run last May 26 at the 26th International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York where it bagged the Editor's Award for Best Accessories, it's now itme for us to enjoy these beautiful creations at the Dimensione store in BGC for 2 weeks (July26-August8).

What I love about Umbra is that they are able to transform everyday utilitarian pieces into works of art that you can display proudly on your counters without it looking like clutter.

Take for example that brass thing below that looks like a bangle but is actually a bottle opener!

Why not?

And those hanger chairs which are reinforced with steel and can carry up to 300 pounds but at the same time remain sleek and look gorgeous hanging on a bare wall when not in use. Perfect for small spaces.

There are so many other unique pieces to be found at the exhibit and some of them were even created right here in the Philippines! Pretty cool, huh?

Check out more of Umbra via their website: www.umbra.com or you can also visit www.umbrashift.com

samsung kidstime + author's award contest

When it comes to kids and tablets, I am torn. 

As much as possible, I would like my daughter to avoid them so she has more time for physical activities and interaction. However, because of the current state of our culture, I can't entirely cut it out of her life.

Also, when used the right way, tablets can also be great teaching tools.

I have pondered on purchasing those slightly cheaper tablets that are created specially for children but often decide not to because I find them to be a waste of money. They don't grow with our children, the technology is often mediocre and when your kid grows out of it, it's basically as good as techno trash. 

Which is why myself and most other parents out there (I believe), settle for regular tablets for our kids or in some cases, share their own with their children. It's more practical and cost efficient. Just download some kid-friendly apps and you're good to go.

But the problem I find with that arrangement is that with the good and economical also comes the danger of our children spending too much time on senseless games and the risk of them encountering more adult-oriented material.

If you want your tablet to be a safe haven for your children, a device which helps them grow rather than stagnate, the new Samsung KidsTime app is worth checking out.

The KidsTime app was created by parents for parents. Despite making a living in the tech world, they also don't want their children to grow up solely with just memories of  endless hours on their tablet. They addressed this issue by creating an app which is not only 100% safe but also educational and most importantly, FUN for kids.

Before handing the tablet to your kids, you can set a timer for how long they are allowed to play on it. Once the time is up, the screen locks and they'll need to input a parent code to continue on playing.

This feature is also great for multiple-child households that share tablets, no more fighting! :)

They can create their own character that saves their progress so they can return to the skills they were previously learning each time.

This also allows parents to monitor the tablet activities of their kids with a special option that is exclusively available to KidsTime.

The app itself contains 35 eBooks, most of which are popular homegrown stories from Adarna House publishing.

It's also packed with numerous games which teach your child Match, Reading and Comprehension. I tried them out and I am happy to say that they are quite entertaining and totally unlike the free downloads which give you very limited access.

In line with this new app comes the Samsung KidsTimeTM Author’s Award.

The creation and launch of Samsung KidsTimeTM Author’s Award, in partnership with the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2014. Here in the Philippines, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) led headed by its chairperson Flor Marie Sta. Romana Cruz, will lead in identifying ten potential award winners, who will each win USD 20,000 and will have their winning submissions featured in Samsung KidsTimeTM for a year.

Participation is open to authors or publishers across the Philippines and South East Asia and will run until end October 2014. For the Philippines, the Author’s Award will be issued to 10 winners and valued at USD 2,000 per award.

Winners will be announced in November 2014 and the winning submissions will be promoted and distributed on Samsung KidsTimeTM in Southeast Asia for 12 months. More information can be found at the Samsung KidsTimeTM website. 

Samsung KidsTimeTM is currently available for all users of Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 (7.0”), GALAXY Tab 3 Lite and GALAXY Tab 4 (7.0”) and will soon be available for other Samsung devices.  

 

Samsung KidsTimeTM is now available for download for free from Google Play.   In the Philippines, the app comes with a  free 1 month subscription to over 30 kid-safe apps and eBooks. In the Philippines, parents can upgrade to a monthly subscription of Php 199 that will give them unlimited access to all Samsung KidsTimeTM content.