Transform your standard party makeup and get glammed up for the holidays by trying out Spotlight Cosmetics

The holidays may be low key for many of us this year, but that shouldn’t stop you from getting all glammed up for those parties, may they be an online get-together or an actual event with a few loved ones and friends. 

 

One no-fail makeup look you can try is the timeless smokey eye, which is easily achievable with simple makeup techniques using three makeup products from Spotlight Cosmetics, the new local makeup brand that aims to empower Filipinas to transform their looks. 

 

Start by applying your preferred brown shade in the Scene Stealer Eyeshadow 8-in-1 Palette (P495) all over the lid and lash line to create a smokey eye base. Make sure to blend to diffuse the edges and avoid harsh lines.  

With a Showstopper Liquid Eyeliner (P295), apply liner along the upper and lower lash line. To upgrade the look, try creating a cat eye and then top it with a black eyeshadow, making sure to diffuse the edges and blend with your brown smokey base to make it look seamless.

 

The holidays aren’t complete without a little bit of shine and glitter! For a real luxe finish, complete the whole makeup look by applying the Scene Stealer Gel Eyeshadow (P295) on the inner corners of the eyes.    

 

Transform your standard party makeup and get glammed up for the holidays by trying out the classic smokey eye makeup using these Spotlight products available on its official Lazada page (www.lazada.com.ph) and Shopee (www.shopee.ph). 

 

 

Mekeni continues its annual gift giving activity

Christmas came early for four select institutions in Pampanga as Mekeni Food Corporation employees spearheaded the company’s annual gift-giving tradition.

 

Beneficiaries from the Bahay Pag-ibig (home for the aged), Munting Tahanan ng Nazareth (for special and abandoned children), Duyan ni Maria (home for abandoned children), and Children’s Home of Immaculate Mary (home for abandoned children) received special gift packs which Mekeni employees gathered using the funds the management and they themselves raised.

 

 Mekeni continues its annual gift giving activity. Four institutions in Pampanga received gift packs good for three to six months.

 

“Christmas is all about giving but more than the gifts we have given our communities, we aspire to spread hope amidst these difficult times we are facing. We know that due to the pandemic, celebrating Christmas will not be the same this year. But we will not let this dampen the yuletide spirit as we ought to make this season more meaningful than ever,” said Mekeni’s Head of HR, Marilou Uy.

 

Mekeni has been doing this annual gift-giving program since 2008. However, due to the health concerns surrounding COVID-19, the program had to be done differently. Rather than going to the institutions and holding a program, Mekeni employees had to drop off the gifts in designated areas to ensure safety precautions can be maintained.

 

With the support of the management, Mekeni employees were able to provide joy to their beneficiaries through grocery packages that can sustain their basic food and hygiene requirements for the next three to six months. 

 

“We hope to give memorable experiences and lasting memories for our beneficiaries through our annual gift-giving tradition. But this year, despite the challenges, we go over and beyond our mission by reminding them that whatever the pandemic throws at us, we will continue to serve them and uplift the quality of their lives in every way we can,” Uy said. 

 

Apart from giving gifts to their partner communities, Mekeni did not hesitate to continue looking after the well-being of those who are beyond their circle. When disasters badly hit several places in Luzon, Mekeni employees showed their malasakit and perseverance to help the devastated communities through donation drives.

 

Mekeni employees prepared hot meals for the victims of Taal Volcano

In February 2020, after the Taal Volcano erupted, the company, together with the local government of Porac, Red Cross Rizal Chapter, and Rotary Club of San Juan del Monte, immediately went to Agoncillo, Batangas and held an outreach program for those who were affected. More than 2,000 hot meals were prepared and provided by the employees on-site.

 

Recently, food packs were turned over to the flood victims in the town of Macabebe and to the Aeta communities in Porac, Pampanga that have been hit by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. The indigenous communities were given gift packs consisting of food and other essentials. Mekeni also participated in outreach activities in Bicol by donating products for a feeding program there.

 

“Malasakit in the time of adversity is much-needed by our fellow Filipinos these days. As we ensure that our own employees and their families are safe and well-provided, we are also helping other communities to recover after being hit by natural disasters on top of the physical and economic problems that the pandemic has brought to them. We will continue reaching out to more communities to address their needs during these trying times,” said Mekeni President Prudencio S. Garcia.

 

 

Smart Omega represents the Philippines in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championships in Singapore

Smart Omega, the official esports team supported by leading mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc (Smart), will be one of the professional teams that will be representing the Philippines in the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championships in Singapore. 

Happening on January 18 to 24, 2021, the M2 World Championships will be the first in-person competition for Mobile Legends since the pandemic began. 

Professional teams from Japan, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Russia, and the Philippines will battle it out in the biggest ML competition in the world. 

Aside from Smart Omega, Bren Esports will also represent the Philippines. Both teams are members of the Smart-backed Philippine Esports Organization (PESO), the official National Sports Association that govern and develop esports in the country.

Esports athletes and management teams who will participate in the tournament will follow strict public health protocols during the games, and no live audience will be allowed in the venue to ensure the safety of the participants.

 “There are over 43 million gamers in the Philippines’ growing esports industry. This global competition would mean a lot to our mobile esports community and we could not be prouder to support our very own Smart Omega team as they represent our flag in the world stage,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, President and Chief Executive Officer at Smart. 

 “Our support for Filipino esports athletes through the years is rooted in our firm belief that our players have the skills, talent, and dedication to be at par with the world’s best players. We hope that Smart Omega can be an inspiration to Filipino casual players and fans to help them realize and pursue their passion for esports,” says Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.  

Local champs, world-class athletes

Smart Omega is composed of six (6) professional Filipino Mobile Legends athletes, namely Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-anon, Salic “Hadji” Imam, Earin John “Heath” Esperana, Jankurt Russel “Kurttzy” Matira, and Adrian “Toshi” Bacallo.

The young and talented pro team already has several awards under its belt, including multiple championships and top awards for The Nationals, Just ML competition, Juicy Legends Pro Division, and top awards during various MPL-PH Series.

Two of the players have also represented the country in several global tournaments. Kenji and Haze both won gold for the Philippines under the Smart-powered Team Sibol during the debut of the multi-platform esports category in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Haze also has the Challenger Summit Singapore Champion and the 2018 Southeast Asia Cyber Arena (SEACA) titles on his resume, among others. 

Powering esports

Smart has always been active in the promotion of esports in the Philippines. Aside from supporting Smart Omega, the telco company has also mounted multiple Mobile Legends competitions nationwide. This massive support for esports has been made possible by PLDT and Smart’s integrated network.  

 In 2020, PLDT and Smart further accelerated the rollout of their fixed and wireless networks to deliver better customer service. PLDT's fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country, is now at more than 422,000 kilometers as of November. This fiber infrastructure supports Smart's mobile networks, which now cover 96% of the population and are present in 95% of cities and municipalities. 

 As of November, Smart has also increased the number of its base stations to over 58,000, while also rolling out additional 5G base stations as it accelerates its 5G commercial services nationwide.   

 In July, the telco unveiled the nation’s first-ever 5G-powered gaming hub and hosted the first mobile phone vs PC crossplay exhibition match via cloud gaming. 

The mobile telco firm also teamed up with PESO and ESNAP to support the Philippine team to the very first Pacific Pro-Am NBA 2K20 Tournament, soon after their successful stint at the FIBA Esports Open.

More importantly, Smart also poured its support for Filipino esports athletes during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. 

For more information, visit www.smart.com.ph.

 

Moving from resilience to renaissance –UnionBank President and CEO

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) held the seventh iteration of its E-Talk Tales webinar series last December 9, wherein UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista gave an overview of the Bank’s milestones in the past year and how it went from providing help for Filipinos to survive the pandemic to creating a better digital normal for everyone.

UnionBank made headlines in May this year after being named ‘second most helpful bank in Asia-Pacific’ in the BankQuality Consumer Survey on Retail Banks that was conducted in April.

This helpfulness was evident in UnionBank’s commitment to ensuring that its essential banking services remained accessible and reliable 24/7 during the enhanced community quarantine period, a time when uncertainties ran rampant and the needs of customers could change at any time.

The Bank helped the government in the disbursement of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) cash assistance to 700,000 beneficiaries 
amounting to P4.9 billion. It also assisted partner Local Government Units (LGUs) in the distribution of cash or loan proceeds to constituents.

UnionBank has also helped countless micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) digitize amid the pandemic through its MSME platform GlobalLinker, and through MSME-leaning platforms Sentro, SeekCap, and bux, which are offered by its fintech spinoff UBX. To date, more than 27,000 online shops have already been made using Sentro, SeekCap now has more than 16,000 MSME signups, and bux has over 92,000 users. GlobalLinker's user base is also now at more than 38,000.

Another sector of society that UnionBank was able to assist especially at the height of the pandemic were teachers, with the help of its thrift bank subsidiary CitySavings Bank. To date, CitySavings has extended a total of P26.1 billion in teachers' loans, P3.2 billion in motorcycle loans, and 2.9 billion in MSME loans to beneficiaries.

And now, with the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, UnionBank has begun the next major phase in its digital transformation journey, going full-speed ahead from merely displaying its resilience in the face of an unprecedented global health crisis, toward a renaissance in innovation and co-creation.

UnionBank has been a leader in the practice of the agile methodology, which enables the Bank to react quickly to any situation and achieve innovation at a much faster rate. But the Bank knew it had to become much faster. So, to do this, the company started migrating to an even faster way of working: DevSecOps. 

Short for “development, security, and operations,” DevSecOps is an ideology that aims to integrate security into every stage of the development-deployment cycle. With this new methodology, the Bank has been able, among other advantages, to test new features that they develop much faster and deploy the said features on an almost real-time basis. Moving forward, DevSecOps will play a key role in the creation of new services for the Bank.

Aside from DevSecOps, another key element of the Bank’s digital renaissance is data science and AI. This will be implemented across various verticals within the Bank, from mobile banking to credit, from algorithms to operational enhancements, among others.

"This is really the time wherein, together we can usher in a renaissance in the area of banking and technology. It's an area where the Philippines can not only be a fast follower, but can actually be a trailblazer in the banking world,” Bautista said.

To know more, visit their official pages: 

Unionbank of the Philippines at https://www.unionbankph.com/, UBX at https://ubx.ph/, Unionbank GlobalLinker at https://unionbank.globallinker.com/login, and CitySavings at https://citysavings.com.ph/.

How to recreate Manong"s Famous Fishball Sauce to your Mekeni's Squid Balls

“Swab Taste Fishbulan” Positive sa sarap, Negative sa Dumi”

 

This photo has been making the rounds on Facebook for the past few weeks  and I’m pretty sure you’ve seen this on one of your friend’s wall, and while I do think its quite witty, I’m quite certain it could not live up to its promise of being truly “clean.”

 

Still it made me rush to the supermarket to grab some of my favorite tusok-tusok.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by lou sv (@mama_lousv)

 

Just like the adidas, Betamax, Walkman, kwek kwek, Pinoy street food will never be complete without fishballs, squidballs, and kikiam and because of the global pandemic and the lockdown gone are the days when you could just go to the street corner and buy your favorite snacks on a stick. 

 

No thanks to the global pandemic and the lockdown, even our suking manong has been practicing social distancing and we rarely see him in his usual spot. 

 

I know, you can simply go to the supermarket to buy frozen packs of all sorts of “balls,” but you have to admit, it’s the sauce that makes you keep going back to the fishball stand. There’s just something about the multiple dips that you share with the rest of the people that make that sweet spicy sauce taste different—although just thinking about it now with COVID19—gives me anxiety attacks. 

 

So in my quest to find the best-tasting street food I can cook at home, I found this BAYANI brand from Mekeni Food Corporation. It’s a new a product line that offers squid balls, chicken balls, kikiam, siomai, siopao, and even the party favorite, lumpiang shanghai. Now you can enjoy a #BayaniStreetfood feast with your family at the comfort of your home. 

 

But wait there’s more! As I promised I also discovered a recipe to recreate that special dipping sauce, I thought only manong fishball can make!

 

Here’s the recipe:

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp cassava flour or cornstarch

½ cup brown sugar

3 gloves garlic

1 small onion 

1 siling labuyo (optional)

 

Procedure:

Just combine everything in a pot

Stir to dissolve the brown sugar and flour/cornstarch

Turn the stove on and let it boil in low heat.

 

And voila! Its so easy right?

 

Now that you know how to make the sauce check out these other products of Mekeni!

 

Lumpiang shanghai

With Christmas just a few days away you might want to add these to your shopping cart because what would Pinoy Noche Buena be without lumpiang shanghai!??

 

Mekeni Food Corporation brings Bayani - a product line offering squid balls, chicken balls, kikiam, siomai, siopao, and even the party favorite, lumpiang shanghai. Now you can enjoy a #BayaniStreetfood feast with your family at the comfort of your home. 

Bayani Negosyo Partner , also known as the Bayani Product line is Mekeni Food Corporation  range of frozen street food products that most Filipinos love. 

This affordable, safe and high quality street food line, is Mekeni's way to help more Pinoys start a small business and provide means to support their families. 

The Bayani Line os subdivided into categories:

Balls

Squid Balls (P20.90 SRP for 200g and P38.25 for 400g) Tasty squid-flavored snacks made from fish and spices.

Chicken Balls (P20.90 SRP for 200g) 

Kikiam Balls ( P20.90 for 200g) and Kikiam (P40.25 SRP for 400g) 

Siopao and Minipao

The Filipino version of steamed soft buns is filled with pulled-pork or chicken braised  in sweet soy sauce and garlic. Available in 1.7 kilogram packs for only P141.00, Bayani siopao has two variants namely, Pork Asado and Chicken asado. 

It also has minipao versions in savory (Chicken asado and Pork Asado) for only P51.00 per 500g pack and sweet salted, caramel, ube, chocolate, red mongo, and Custard flavors, ranging from P62.00 to P80.00 per 500g pack.

Siomai

Mekeni's version of this Chinese dumpling is a sure hit among foodies! Available in negosyo (1Kg for only P115.00) and budget P200g for only P24.75) packs, Bayani Siomai in pork, beef and chicken can be eaten as a snack.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Party favorite Lumpiang Shanghai is one of Bayani's best sellers! Available in Pork, Chicken, and Beef with Jalapeno variants, you can get yours in 400g packs at for only P65.00 (Pork and Chicken) and P88.00 (Dynamite).

Bayani is available in wet markets, online stores, and through Mekeni's Home2Home delivery service in Metro Manila and Pampanga. 

Feel refreshed, fun and festive this Holiday Season with Colgate only at Shopee!

Give the Gift of a Colgate Smile this Season with Colgate Christmas Toothpaste only at Shopee! 

Your all-time favorite Colgate has this limited Edition, first in the World Christmas-Themed Toothpaste! The good thing is its only available this Christmas Season! Its beautifully wrapped and packaged in a red box with dedication at the back. The perfect Christmas gift to make everyone smile!

 

Buy the pack of two and join the promo #SmileStrong This Christmas, where you can win a Noche Buena package worth P2500, and donate another Noche Buena package to a family in need! :) 

                                              Colgate-Merry-Christmas Toothpaste 95g

Feel refreshed, fun and festive this Holiday Season with its refreshing “Merry Mint” flavor!  You can write your special message to your loved one on the back!

For your oral care hygiene, you can shop it here  at Colgate PH official store in Shopee!

For more amazing deals and promos download the Shopee app for free on Apple App Store or Google Play Store. 

Golden Haven is making it easy even for immigrants and residents from other countries to invest in memorial lots

Few people embody the intrepid Pinoy spirit more than Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Hard-working and selfless, they are rightly held up as the country’s modern-day heroes as they boldly venture out into the world to work so their families can thrive. For decades now, their singular drive to provide for their loved ones has signifcantly contributed to the country’s economic growth in terms of huge dollar remittances. 

The Philippine Statistics Association reports that roughly 2.2 million OFWs worked abroad during the period of April to September 2019. The Philippine government advised these OFWs to save their hard-earned money—or even better, to invest this in their provinces until such time when they can come home and retire. Doing so would help secure their families’ future and at the same time stimulate the economy of cities and towns outside the Metro.

Recent surveys now reveal that OFWs are indeed looking into solid investments in the Philippines that will provide passive income as they continue to toil abroad. There are several options for OFWs in this regard: treasury bonds, mutual funds, real estate, franchise businesses, stocks, and many more. 

 

However, one of the most stable and lucrative avenues is investing in properties that show robust value appreciation over the long term. With lower bank rates due to the pandemic and the foreseeable economic upturn, finance specialists regard memorial lots as a good place to start, particularly if these are from a highly trusted real estate developer like Golden Haven Memorial Parks. 

 

Golden Haven, a well-established memorial developer in the Philippines, is present in more than 30 major cities across the country, empowering OFWs from the provinces to build a legacy in their hometowns. With memorial lots gaining close to 20 percent annual value appreciation, OFWs, who comprise ten percent of Golden Haven’s investors, are now earning from their assets that, as of this time, range from Php 53,000 for a single lawn lot up to Php 10M for mausoleums.

 

Investors may also benefit from a plan that includes long-term maintenance, wherein funds are used for the property and for overall maintenance of the park.

 

To date, Golden Haven is making it easy even for immigrants and residents from other countries to invest in memorial lots. With online services—available through their official website—fast-tracking transactions, they only need two valid IDs to start the process.

 

Finally, Golden Haven provides different payment schemes and options that suit starting investors. And once full payment for the plan has been made, perpetual ownership is granted to them. 

 

Red Rosales, COO of Golden Haven, is understandably upbeat about all these. Although he acknowledges that OFWs have numerous choices for investing their hard-earned wages, Rosales asserts that investing in Golden Haven memorial lots as the Philippines moves toward economic recovery is the safest and wisest option. “We have consistently shown a healthy appreciation in value over the years. And for OFWs who want to ride on the momentum, Golden Haven is the way to go.”

 

Golden Haven is a subsidiary of publicly listed Golden Bria Holdings Inc., currently positioned as one of the largest real estate companies in the country in terms of market capitalization valued at more than 200 billion pesos.

LifeProof launches new cases for the iPhone 12 series

Do good and feel good with LifeProof’s latest cases for Apple’s newest iPhone lineup.

 

Protect your new Apple iPhone in a case that makes you feel good while doing good. LifeProof WĀKE and NËXT for Apple iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are available now at  with waterproof FRĒ coming soon. Each case purchased is a chance to help address the mounting issues facing our waterways.

 

“Apple innovations are renowned for helping us balance our increasingly busy and mobile lives,” said LifeProof CEO Jim Parke. “We are pleased to offer stylish, sustainable protection for your new device while helping to protect our waterways with WĀKE, NËXT and FRĒ.”

WĀKE was created to help address the growing problem of plastics in our oceans. This 85 percent ocean-based recycled plastic case doesn’t compromise on protection – meeting the LifeProof standard of 6.6 feet of drop protection. WĀKE is available in three colors and features a sleek wave pattern. 

 

Taking cues from WĀKE, the rest of the LifeProof portfolio now also features sustainable materials. FRĒ for Apple iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max is comprised of over 60 percent recycled materials and covers these new devices with 360° of protection. FRĒ’s legendary waterproof design makes sure you’re ready to work or play any environment. 

 

NËXT features ultra-slim protection with a clear back to show off your new iPhone. With an added pop of color on the sides and made with more than 50 percent recycled materials, you’ll be ready for whatever’s NËXT. 

 

In line with our corporate mission of giving back, LifeProof invites its consumers to make a difference, too. In partnership with Water.org, Coral Reef Alliance, American Rivers and Oceana, LifeProof will make a donation for every case sold to support a healthier future for our world’s water. Consumers can visit lifeproof.asia/make-waves.html to register their product and select the charity of their choice. 

 

LifeProof WĀKE and NËXT are available now and FRĒ is coming soon. 

 

For more information, visit www.lifeproof.asia and follow Tenkiebox (www.facebook.com/tenkiebox) on Facebook and @tenkiebox on Instagram for all the latest LifeProof news and promotions.

Pricing and Availability

·    WAKE retails at Php 1,990 and is available at OtterBox kiosks, PowerMac Stores and Selected Rustan’s Stores

·    NEXT retails at Php 3,990 and is available at OtterBox kiosks, PowerMac Stores and Selected Rustan’s Stores

·    FRE will retail at Php 4,790 and will be available at OtterBox kiosks, PowerMac Stores and Selected Rustan’s Stores

·     Order online from the OtterBox Flagship Store in Lazada, OtterBox Philippines store in Shopee, www.tenkiebox.com/collections/lifeproof and www.lifeproof.asia