Nivea Charina Sarte summer show

IT WAS scorching hot affair literally and figuratively as Nivea kicked off summer with a fashion show by Charina Sarte! Each piece was inspired by the Nivea colors of blue, orange and yellow.

Vaseline Men XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon Series

VASELINE Men, the fastest growing men's skin care brand in the Philippines with a comprehensive range of products designed for men like facial wash, moisturizer, lotion and body wash and Sunrise Events Inc., invite you to conquer your limits in the world's premiere off-road triathlon event with the Vaseline Men XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon Series.

Freeway

LOCAL apparel brand Freeway has been a pioneer in reintroducing the Philippine arts and culture to the new generation by using works of national artists such as Nick Joaquin, Ang Kiukok, Jose Garcia Villa, Ramon Valera, and the first living National Artist F. Sionil Jose.

Sweet Bella anniversary

WANDER Woman has a new discovery cakeshop that has to die for strawberry charlotte cake. I am in love with strawberry shortcakes but this one has this sansrival torte mixed with it and is filled with fresh strawberries.

Apart from the strawberry charlotte cake, Sweet Bella at the Burgos Circle at Fort Bonifacio makes the most tender apple turnovers. When I brought home the queso ensaymada, mom loved it so much that we had to reorder in a few days.

Close Up pyromusical

YESTERDAY, Close Up lit the sky with the launch of The Close Up Pyromusical, happening every Saturday, from February 11 to March 17 at the SM Mall of Asia.

Hong Kong party

IF YOU only have one night in Hong Kong, Wander Woman will teach you how to party. The place to go to is still Lan Kwai Fong in the Central area.

Mi Sueño bridal boutique

FINALLY, brides all over the Philippines now have a place to go to if they want ready to wear wedding gowns from leading European bridal houses. The Mi Sueño bridal boutique is at the Penthouse of the Athenaeum building in Makati where you can book an appointment to try on different ready to wear gowns with different cuts, fabrics, designs and styles.

Lure

I HAVE always been interested with beauty and skin care especially now that it seems that normal skin care is not enough to combat the aging process. So, I was elated when I got invited to witness the launch of Elure at the Mandarin Oriental hotel and I sat on a table filled with dermatologists. Elure products are based on a breakthrough lightening technology, with proven clinical results made visible and noticeable in a considerably shorter period of time.

New Year’s Resolution

Richie Coronel Santos Vice president of Cinderella, Mercedes Benz Philippine Golf Team

Caltex runs with Red Cross for training of 1 million volunteers

CHEVRON Philippines Inc (CPI), marketer of high-quality Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants, donated P1 million to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) recent Million Volunteer Run (MVR) to raise a million volunteers from each barangay in the country and train them in disaster response.

Christmas 2011

MERRY CHRISTmas to all my readers!

By the time you read this, you would have already opened your gifts last night on Christmas Eve. And in today's column, I would like to talk about the art of re-gifting. In one of my barkada parties this week, our good friend, Jessica Guevara, suggested that we all bring a white elephant gift.

Top 5 holiday treats

THIS Yuletide 2011, here are my top treats I would like to gift my friends. This year has been a year of wonderful discoveries. I got to be invited to a couple of great restaurants to try, got to sample goodie treats here and there, got to try a few of the best spa treatments and so on.

So for this week’s column, I am going to share with you my top five yummy discoveries that are perfect to give this Christmas (in no particular order).

Chocolate nights: A decadent affair

ON OCTOBER 20, fashionistas trooped to the newly opened Privé Club in The Fort Strip as Chocolate Clothing launched "Chocolate Nights", the first in a series of sweet and sexy events hosted by the most loved women's clothing brand.

Louis Vuitton opening

FRENCH fashion luxury house Louis Vuitton pulled out all the stops for the reopening of the flagship store at Greenbelt 5. The by-invitation-only affair strictly required for the guest to bring the invitation. No invitation, no entry.

Baume and Mercier

WHEN I got an invitation to the Baume and Mercier launch, I knew that I had to go. I was curious with what the prestigious watch brand has in store for. After all, the brand’s signature classic designs have always thrilled me.

Manila Hotel 99th anniversary

THE Manila Hotel, considered one of Manila's historical landmark that mirrors the best of Filipino architecture, culture and hospitality, celebrated its 99th year anniversary recently with a guest list of over a thousand very important people, academe, politicians and media personalities.

Vina Morales celebrates 25 years in showbiz

The ultra talented Cebuana Vina Morales celebrated her 36th birthday and 25th year in show business in a charity concert at the Republiq Club at Resorts World Manila which was dubbed Silver Party of Vina Morales. Her birthday concert was a huge success with special guests from the industry.

Chang Rai

ONE of my favorite places in Thailand has got to be Chiang Rai. It is in the northernmost part of Thailand and is said to be the place where the country was born. It is in the middle of what they call the Golden Triangle-it being in the border of Myanmar and Laos.

Aura by Swarovski

IT WAS a fun lunch as Aura by Swarovski, the brand’s first foray into perfumes, played host to 10 beautiful and inspiring women handpicked by the brand. Swarovski invited 10 of Manila’s inspirational ladies, women of light and love, as people like to say, to a very decadent luncheon set at one of the country’s most respected establishments, the Old Manila of the Hotel Peninsula Manila.

Czech culinary and culture festival at Dusit Hotel

AFTER coming back from a European sojourn that included the Czech Republic, I was ecstatic to find out that Dusit Thani hotel in Manila was going to have a Czech culinary and culture festival. You see, Czech Republic, especially its capital, Prague, is one awesome place that one has to see. They were able to preserve their architectural buildings, and the city center itself is only toured by foot.

The Spa

AS SUN.STAR'S Wander Woman, I am always running around everywhere-mostly at work, writing to meet deadlines, attending events, and travelling. And my refuge would be to rejuvenate my spirit in the calming oasis of The Spa.

Cebu Shang Mactan’s Acqua

A VISIT to Cebu for me is incomplete without dropping by Shangri-La Mactan Cebu. A few weeks ago, I was in Cebu but was billeted at another hotel. That did not stop me from dropping by at Acqua, one of my favorite food stops when in the Queen City of the South. Acqua is done in luxurious contemporary interior that is oozing with elegance and class.

Boystown

THE rare spirit of altruism shone brightly as Pernod Ricard Philippines Inc., the local affiliate of the world's co-leader in wines and spirits and the exclusive importer and marketer of the prestigious brand, Chivas Regal, partnered with Republiq, Manila's undisputed destination for entertainment and upmarket socialization, for a night of charitable celebration.

Movenpick

I WAS thrilled to receive an invitation from Mister Helmut Gaisberger for the painting party of Movenpick hotel and resort in Cebu. Movenpick has now taken over of what used to be the Hilton hotel at Mactan Island. The Swiss hospitality company now manages this resort and is actually the first Philippine property for the Swiss firm. Movenpick started its empire with its creation of the marche concept that moved on to being one of the famous brands of ice cream in the world and now manages for than 90 hotels all over the world.

SM Accessories launch

THE invitation alone to the launch of SM Accessories was already a harbinger of exciting things to come. It came with its own watch, with an aquamarine, tiffany blue damask patterned design inviting select guests to the launch of SM Accessories. As SM is all over the Philippine islands, the accessories line at the SM malls is very accessible.

New Zealand

NEW Zealand is a country Wander Woman would love to visit again. This is a country so beautiful that it will leave you in awe of God's majestic power in creating a world so beautiful and unspoiled.

Solenn Heusaff’s concert

SURVIVOR star Solenn Heusaff held her first concert at Teatrino in Greenhills to an intimate crowd that appreciated her fierce costumes, coupled with her sexy voice.

Swiss precision

MAKATI Shangri-La, Manila continues to delight well-traveled gourmands with authentic culinary offerings. In commemoration of Swiss National Day, the hotel recently held Swiss Made, a celebration of Switzerland’s food, craftsmanship and tradition.

Beabi

At first I thought Beabi was an imported brand brought in by enterprising sisters Willin Chan and Winnie Go but surprised to find out that is a local brand! It started out when the two sisters could not buy anything here that was versatile enough to bring to travels, so they thought of putting a brand that catered essentially to their traveling needs.

E! Philippine TV shines brightly

PHILIPPINE television got even more exciting with the recent launch of E! Entertainment Television, the world's only 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to the fabulous world of showbizness, celebrities and entertainment.