It's wonderful to see a surge of Filipino human interest stories in international films lately. Everywhere you go, there's a Filipino story waiting to be told; our country a cornucopia of the most  fascinating people, backgrounds, and tales. Our culture is just brimming with so much color and its always a treat to see great movies give it the justice it deserves!

What I've been dying to see lately are the two international films gaining a lot of steam in the film fest circuit lately-- two distinct stories of the Filipino, but shot almost entirely by foreign directors and crew! One of them is the much talked-about "ILOILO", a heartwarming feature film debut from Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen. After travelling and collecting awards from all over the world, this much talked-about feature is set to make its special Cebu premiere this November 30 at Ayala Cinema 3!

Inspired by his true life experiences with his former nanny Teresita Sajonia, Chen's "Iloilo" tells of the relationship between a family of three and their newly arrived Filipino maid, Teresa, who has come like many other Filipino women in search of a better life. The title refers to the home province of Teresita. The Chen brothers and Teresita (fondly known as Auntie Terry) had not seen each other since 1997 until Cebu-based PR consultant Charles Lim helped find her and reunited the former nanny and her wards for the first time in July this year with the assistance of Cebu Pacific.

I really do wish Celine would leave me alone. Heck, I wish Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim and all of them would leave me alone, too! Hehehe... there isn't one internet moment where I'm not drooling over their new releases and thinking to myself, "I'll save up so I can get that next year for sure". Then "next year" rolls over, and again, I'll be like, "next year for sure"! Seeing from the dire lack of designer shit in this blog, I'm sure you can tell that that hasn't really materialized yet. Well... we'll always have next year! Lol. Seriously though, I'm still liking parody tees. They're just a tad bit more of a convo piece than your plain tees, right? 

I have to be perfectly honest with you. Aside from regular worries like paying for monthly bills, getting back into shape, and other usual suspects, I constantly think about ways of battling and reversing visible signs of skin aging. I always wake up with a slight fear of seeing new wrinkling and sagging when I check my face out in the mirror. Heaven forbid! Can't blame me though--I just turned 27, and I'm teetering between the fine line of "yeah, I still look like I'm in my twenties" to "oh Lord, I'm almost 30:((" . Being constantly under blinding sunlight, pollution, and other urban elements certainly doesn't help!

I was certainly more than glad and relieved to have received an invite from Elizabeth Arden and Rustans Cebu to spend a day with them to discuss their highly buzzed-about skincare line, the Elizabeth Arden Prevage. Firstly though, how awesome is Elizabeth Arden? Despite the surge of trendier brands, Arden stays ahead of the curve with their best-selling mix of classic staples (like the Red Door and the Eight-Hour Cream, to name a few) and exciting new formulations to keep up with the needs of their modern clientele. Being in business for over a century is certainly proof of the brand's amazing reputation!

Elizabeth Arden products in lovely jewel tones! Their packaging is too pretty to be ignored

Full-sized display of the Elizabeth Arden Prevage line

The lovely ladies of Rustans Marketing Corporation: Division Manager for Fragrances Ms Audrey Canta, Elizabeth Arden Brand Manager Gemma de Costa, and Marketing Communications Head Aireen Mayol

Gizelle, Yves and yours truly with the ladies of Rustans/Elizabeth Arden

with my two favorite event companions! :)

Sample sizes of Elizabeth Arden's best-selling lines, and a full-sized jar of Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules as our take home loot:)

Boasting of several powerful products under its belt, Prevage is Elizabeth Arden's revolutionary new anti-aging line that specifically targets many skin problems and free radicals contributing to premature aging. The flagship product in this line is the Prevage Anti-Aging + Intensive Daily Repair Serum, one of the very few items on the market containing Idebenone, found to be the most powerful anti-oxidant available. Compared to other popular other anti-oxidants like Vit. E, kinetin, Vit.C, CoQ10 and alpha-lipoic acid, Idebenone was found to be the most effective ingredient with an Environmental Protection factor of 95 over 100. It rapidly improves skin elasticity and luminosity in as little as four weeks. And the women have spoken-- studies have shown that 94% of those that have used the Anti-Aging Daily Serum saw dramatic results over a short span of time. 

It is a tad bit pricey, (SRP of the serum is as $159.00 for a full-size bottle) but I'm sure it'll be worth saving up your money for. The ladies of Elizabeth Arden were awesome enough to let us take home sample sizes of their best-selling Visible Whitening and Visible Difference ranges, the Prevage line, and a full-sized jar of their famous gold capsules. We were definitely happy campers!

Happy Sunday, loves!

Elizabeth Arden Prevage and other Elizabeth Arden products are exclusively sold in Rustans branches nationwide.

It's definitely been awhile since I posted something gratuitous here in my blog. At the moment, I somehow can't bring myself to talk about my Christmas shopping wishlist, or the shoes I bought a couple of weeks back, or what I wore today-- it's been almost two weeks and the struggle is still very much apparent post-Yolanda. Tears have been shed, barbs from dissenting opinions have been exchanged in the social networks, and countless of hours and resources have been given; and yet, we all know that we're still barely scratching the surface. I think we all can't rest until we are reassured that something substantial is really done (hello, government, I'm obvs talking to you).

If there's one thing that I'm thankful for, however, it's the fact that our iron will to serve and genuine compassion for our brethren is undeniable. The Filipino spirit is indeed waterproof, and so is our ability to lend a helping hand. Faith in humanity restored, indeed! 

Last Friday, I helped organize and co-hosted 1UP: The Yolanda Relief Drive and Packing Party at the UP Grounds. To say that the turnout was overwhelming would be an understatement! The event gathered more than 1,300 volunteers from all over Cebu, and we surpassed our goal of 15,000 relief packs by a mile. To everyone who came and contributed to the success of 1UP, to all the guest bands, organizers, and everyone--thank you to the highest level! It was an honor to have served in this event.

yay! goal of 15,000 relief packs super exceeded!

such an amazing and inspirational shot! perfectly captures the beat and busy spirit of the event

check out that loooooong line of volunteers (both from UP and non-UPians as well)

the UP Oblation looks even more breathtaking with hundreds of candles from the prayer vigil and moment of silence

different artwork up for sale from the UP-FASO and other organizations

kids also doing their part. everyone was more than welcome to join

hosting with the uber lovely Miss Cebu 2011 winner and ABSCBN TV personality Mia Ali . ugh my flabby arms. lol 

These days, I'm truly happy to see that my newsfeed is still flooded with individuals and companies determined to continue the relief initiatives they've started. I think we're making some headway in giving those heavily affected by Yolanda a glimmer of hope and optimism for their future. Hope we all don't lose momentum with giving back, especially since were quite close to the holidays.

Here are additional ways in which you can help in #YolandaPH relief efforts:

1) Movenpick Cebu's Relief+Rebuild

On November 23, 5pm at the Ayala Terraces, catch the launch of the 2013 Clean Air Concert to mark the month-long Clean Air celebration by Earthday Jam Foundation and DENR in a series of Earthday Jam concerts. The country's biggest concert for a cause is back with ethnic, reggae and alternative artists such as Bambu Spliff, Dance With Me Kris (yay!) and Kaliftra with Rivermaya, Nina, Lou and her band, Noel Cabangon and Karel Marquez. Earthday Jam Tour will also feature local non-government organization partners, DENR Cebu and educational organizations and supporters in the series of events. The program will highlight environmental documentaries, animated music videos, booths, demonstrations and trivia segments with various prizes and environmental citations. A relief booth will be available to receive donations. Admission is free!