Rainy Day Gear at SM Kids Fashion

It's been raining off and on these days and when I took out the kids' rain gear from last year, I realized they have outgrown theirs, it was time to get new ones.

I didn't want to spend so much for something they won't be using the entire year. Besides they grow so fast, I thought I'd check out the kids section of The SM Store for affordable ones, and I found the cutest rain gear there, on sale pa!

These jackets are Php399.75 a piece, but with a further 20% off when I bought.

I liked the J. Crew crewcuts-ish vibe of this one (there's a navy and white version too!)...

That I ended up getting one for Xavi, and the pink and white polka dot version for Berry.

There are bigger sized versions for kids ages 7 and up at the girls section too. I love the sweet, pastel colored ones on the left.

Spotted seriously fun rain coats at the characters section too - they had Batman and Superman raincoats! This is for when the kids need superhuman protection from sudden downpours. Ahihihi. 

Is it weird I want it to rain a bit, just so the kids can finally wear their new rain jackets? Heeheehee.

Gingersnaps Pluggies Snap. Share. Win!

Have you given in to the Gingersnaps Pluggies craze this summer? Well, it gets better!

Gingersnaps wants to see how creative you and your kids can get with your Pluggies. Like Neva aka Manila Mommy & her boys:

And Michelle aka My Mom Friday and kids!

Fun no? Show @gingersnapsph what you've got on Instagram! Don't forget to tag @gingersnapsph and use the hashtag #gingersnapslovespluggies.

What's best, if you are one of five winners chosen for your creative approach to using those Pluggies, you get to win Php1000 in Gingersnaps GCs. That's enough to buy a couple of their super soft t-shirts, or an outfit na! Woohoo!

For more about the contest details, see here:

Terms & Conditions:

1.) The Gingersnaps Pluggies Contest is open to all Instagram @gingersnapsph followers and residents of the Philippines only. 

2.) Each participant is allowed to submit one (1) entry. 

3.) Contest Period: May 1-31, 2015. 

4.) Five (5) winners will be selected by Gingersnaps Philippines management. 

5.) The winners will be announced on June 10, 2015. 

6.) Prizes are final and not convertible to cash. 

7.) Employees, officers, affiliates, member of the immediate families (up to third degree of consanguinity) of Il Coniglio Bianco Corp. and its group of companies are NOT eligible to join this contest. 

8.) This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.

MFO's Verdict On: The Spectra 9 Plus Rechargeable Breast Pump

I've tried manual breast pumps, electric breast pumps, and just recently, the Spectra 9 Plus Rechargeable Breast Pump, thanks to Mi'Ann Reyes Oblea, my friend and founder of BabyMama, the go to site for everything a mom needs to breast feed.

The Spectra 9 Plus is the latest addition to BabyMama's formidable lineup of affordable, quality breast pumps, all of which have been received with rave reviews, from moms who have successfully produced a lot of milk, they can even afford to donate dozens of bags at a time.

If you read the stories of the breastfeeding moms in BabyMama's Facebook page, you'll see how powerful the right attitude and the right tools are when it comes to breastfeeding. So inspiring.

As for my verdict on the Spectra 9 Plus? Find out below ;)

The Product: Spectra 9 Plus Rechargeable Breast Pump

The Product Origin: Made in Korea

The Promise: Ultra quiet. Rhythmic suction. Long life span. Massage mode and variable suction settings. May be used for dual pumping. BPA Free. For the full product features, click here.

The Spectra 9 Plus Rechargeable Breast Pump comes with an instruction booklet, 1 pump unit, 1 adapter, and two sets of tubing, back-flow protectors, breast shields, valves, bottles, bottle covers, nipples, bottle caps and disks

Put to the Test: Both my manual breast pump and electric breast pumps require some bit of assembly as with this rechargeable breast pump. In that sense, I spend about the same amount of time setting up for a pump session.

The back-flow protector on this one is not bulky at all. It looks like a UFO disc actually.

Composed of three parts, it's quite easy to assemble and disassemble.

For obvious reasons, using this is less tiring than using a manual pump. I just place the breast shields on my boobs, press the power button, then the massage button, and I'm good to go.

To start expressing, I just press on the massage button again. I adjust the suction speed via the + and - buttons where it says vacuum. The LCD Screen tells you what mode you are in (massage vs expression), the vacuum level, and has a timer and a battery power indicator as well.

The pump unit fits into my palm, and is about the size of a 3x5" index card

Size wise, it is so compact and handy, that I do not have to sit down and prop my pump unit on a table to keep it steady.

That said, it is very convenient to use. I can pump while sitting on the couch, while on the La-Z-Boy, even while on the bed, sitting against the headboard. As long as the unit is charged, I don't have to plug it into a socket while pumping.

It's super quiet too. I can pump anywhere, any time, even late into the night, when everybody is fast asleep, and no one would ever be bothered by it.

Passing the Verdict: This is a definite BUY. Price, Power and Proportions wise, it's a win-win all around.

Practical Tip: Because of the Spectra 9 Plus' small size, and the fact that it supports all voltages and currents (it may be plugged into a 110V plug in the US and 220V plug in Europe and Asia, 50/60Hz), this will be coming with me when we travel, that's for sure.

I can even fit it in my coat pocket if I wanted to. With the bottles and other parts, they can all fit in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. It's that tiny. But despite the diminutive proportions, this rechargeable breast pump has plenty of power.

Another thing, the bottle is freezer-ready, so there is no need to pour out the contents into a milk bag or another bottle if you so choose.

The bottle cover converts to a regular bottle collar, so you can just easily insert the nipple through it for a feeding.

Price: I am super happy to share that this one is super affordable at only Php9,000 and it does the job just the same as my Php30,000 electric breast pump.

I pump about 10 oz of milk (both breasts) which is just about as much as I would get from my electric double breast pump.

Point of Sale: Order the Spectra 9 Plus online at http://www.babymama.ph/. BabyMama also sells various breast pumps, lactation aids, milk storage products, spare parts, books and journals. 

You may also visit the BabyMama Store at 1006 Burgundy Place, B. Gonzales Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Open Mondays to Saturdays, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

For inquiries and updates, visit the BabyMama Facebook page, HERE or call +632 435 7943.

Chichi Mary Summer Finds + MFOSS15 Coupon Code

For an avid shopper and mom of a little girl, there is no greater satisfaction seeing these dresses online at Chichi Mary Boutique and gleefully adding them to my shopping cart: 

 Room Seven Dwars Dress

Stella Cove All Across The Universe Slipcover Dress

And of course, having them reach our doorstep a day or two later, ahihihi. Seeing the fabric and prints look as pretty as I imagined? Such joy.

The shoe section is a delight too. Cienta shoes from Spain is a new addition to Chichi Mary's roster of stylish children's brands.

this Cienta comes in sparkly purple, pink and red

Of course, Berry loved these glittery Mary Janes at first sight!

If you'd like special pieces for your little girl, that won't be as easily found, Chichi Mary, purveyor of pretty little things, is your best bet. I always look forward to when Mitshi uploads her new season collections each time. It's almost like uncovering little treasures.

Shop Chichi Mary at www.chichimary.com to see for yourself. And don't forget to use coupon code MFOSS15 to get your 20% discount. Chichi Mary ships worldwide!

Coupon is valid only until April 28, 2015. Use it! Buy everything you want and abuse it! ;)

When Chic Hits The Fun

We all live such busy lives, that sometimes the lack of time takes the fun out of shopping and dressing up. 

Thankfully, online shopping keeps me sane. It's a great way to de-stress, and even the mere act of browsing online late at night, when everyone in the entire household is asleep, is so relaxing. 

So when Chin Joson of Chicify invited me to be part of Chicify's re-launch, it felt like a siren call. So enticing, and yet potentially dangerous. It was like walking into temptation central.

In a Chicify bib tunic, during our shopping party. One of my fave easy, slip-on pieces

For one, our goal was to fill Chicify with brands and products we would personally vouch for. Great finds, curated selections, so you don't have to sift through shit.

Second, Chin and I got to design the clothes we've always wanted to wear, but couldn't find elsewhere, or at least, at pocket-friendly price points. 

Third, we had a ton of criteria: The clothes we make had to be easy to slip on, comfortable, and made from quality fabrics. 

But they also had to fit well, and had to have the ability to make us look like we made an effort to dress up, even if it only took us five minutes to get dressed.

True enough, I ended up buying most of the clothes we designed for Chicify. I'd try them on and fall in love, and never want to let go. Maybe it's self-love? A subjective appreciation of our work? Or healthy narcissism. I don't know. All I know is, I can practically live in these clothes, not just this summer, but the whole year round. 

1) The best-selling Chicify culottes. We are obsessed with culottes. Obsessed.  They're just so easy to wear, makes us look instantly stylish, and is so perfect for summer. This is version 2.0 and we've had to re-stock this because the initial batch sold out quick! Currently available in white...

and chambray.

Instead of wearing jeans, I'd wear these chambray culottes, and they're just so perfectly breezy! My friend Maymay says she loves to wear this to work, especially during summer, because it is so forgiving in this heat. Let's put it this way. Culottes vs Skinny Jeans under the scorching summer sun. What would you pick?

2) The Shirt Dress. It was love at first sight for my friend Karrots, that she wanted to buy the sample I had at home. I was planning to send it back to the office, but when Karrots bought one, and wore this exact same shirt dress with black wedge sneakers, I decided to keep it for myself. Ahihihi. When I spotted these old school Nike running shoes, BOOM! Bagay na bagay.

But pair it with pumps or ballet flats, and they're work appropriate in an instant.

3) The Painter Dress. Inspired by a painter's smock that you button all the way at the back, this is the everyday dress version. Rendered in navy linen and also in chambray, they look so mahal that it looked right at home at homme et femme in Shang. But mind you, it's just Php1,699. Where to find a heavy linen dress for Php1,699 pray tell? At Chicify, saan pa.

4) The Donya Dress. Technically, it's called the Tunic Maxi, but once worn, it has this magical effect of making me look tall, and Donyatique.

If a dress can make you look like you lived in a private island 165 out of 365 days of the year, or at least in a rambling house with a huge pool and a cabana on your sprawling backyard, you've got to believe in magic.

Lucky for you, I don't need to tell you how you and this magic dress can find each other. In a world that's full of strange brands, you've only got to believe in magic. Something's stronger than the moon above. 

Because it's magic when you and Chicify fall in love.

Promise. Cross My Heart. I don't want to die, but lightning strike me for telling a lie.

MUJI Launches Cotton Denim Series this Summer

If there is one fabric I can’t get enough of in my closet, it’s denim.

With three kids, anything denim is my default piece. It’s hard wearing, comfortable, and has the ability to make me look pulled together because it hardly creases.

It’s so easy to take care of too. Just throw it in the wash, and it looks brand new again. Actually, the older and more faded it gets, the better it looks.

As if denim can’t get any better, MUJI takes denim to a whole new level with the use of 100% Organic Cotton as a sustainable initiative, a conscious move to care for the environment.

All that without compromising comfort and style. I played dress up with a couple of pieces from the collection, and they’re just love. Love. Love.

MUJI organic cotton double gauze dress, perfect for shuttling the kids around to their summer activities

MUJI denim pencil skirt, and a crisp white shirt, casual but polished enough for meetings 

 MUJI stretch boyfriend jeans and striped button down shirt, for running errands

The beauty of MUJI denim is that the fabrics are exposed to less color treatment and minimal wash to maintain their best, natural state and keep their true color and shape.

Oh, and one more thing about denim? Even if it looks great in its minimal state, it is also such a fun piece to dress up, and I can really inject each piece with my own personality.

A casual, minimalist look with pops of red

A summer in the city inspired look

Pieces from the MUJI Cotton Denim Series are so versatile, and are designed to complement other pieces to fill a mixed bag of stylish combinations, from denim on denim to the classic match up of jeans and a crisp white shirt.

That said, come on over to MUJI this month. Get 25% OFF on any DENIM for every garment purchase. Promo period is from March 6 to March 31, 2015.

In the Philippines, MUJI is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) - a member of The SSI Group,Inc. Muji is located at Bonifacio High Street Central, Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center, Greenbelt 3, SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing and Ayala Center Cebu. 

Photo credits: Camille King of Camille King Photography

Shop SSI Stores, Online!

Back when I was in high school and college, my favorite place above all was the mall. Ahihi. 

So, you can just imagine what online shopping has done to my life. It has brought temptation right to my doorstep. Eeep!

I mostly shop US online stores, and a few homegrown sites like Chicify, Elin, Seek the Uniq, Ava, Taste Central and such. But I've found another locally based online store to add to the list - www.ssilife.com.ph, and it's not just any online store.

It's like an online mall of SSI brands!

Crazy good right?

Of course, I shopped it already. Bought a tea scoop, the crowd-pleasing TWG Silver Moon tea to serve to guests at home, a bottle of balsamic vinegar and a stainless steel funnel from O & Co., and of course, my ever trusted K-Palette eyebrow liner from Beauty Bar.

Buying is so easy. As with the typical online store, I just registered to create an account, browsed the site (they do need to add more brands and products to the merchandise mix), added my choices to cart, checked out, inputted all pertinent information, paid and received an order confirmation. That's it!

In two days, I received this well packed box...

So well packed, all the items were individually bubble wrapped inside.

And when I opened each one, each was so pristine, it was like I shopped and chose the items with care myself. Love, love, love.

With most of the SSI brands under the ssilife.com.ph umbrella, customers have the option to purchase online, or browse online and purchase offline in stores.

Says Anton Huang, President of SSI Group, Inc., "We are the only e-commerce participant that is able to implement an omni-channel apporach, where are bricks and mortar will complement the online shopping experience of our customers and vice versa".

In this day and age where "customer experience" happens to be the retail buzzword, SSI is definitely on the right track, with a digital shopping experience like no other. Especially as there are more SSI brands to be added in the following months.

To shop SSI stores online, visit www.ssilife.com.ph

MFO’s Verdict On: Lactacyd Cool & Fresh

I’ve been a Lactacyd user for years now, and I’ve always used this:

So it was with a bit of befuddlement when I couldn’t find it in my usual grocery store some weeks back. 

Instead, I was faced with a full range of product variations – Cool & Fresh, White Intimate, Revitalize, Lactacyd Protecting (the Original, re-packaged), and All Day Care – as in this package I received below: 

But hey, no complaints here! I actually am welcoming the new product line-up, because Lactacyd’s line of feminine hygiene products isn’t as clinical as it once was. It’s actually going the way of Lactacyd Toddler Tubs, which has an element of style and fun to it. The type where you’d actually look forward to bath time, because it’s such fun to use.

I’ve tried every single bottle I received above, and while it would take prolonged use to confirm the youth-reviving and whitening effects of said variants, and I can already vouch for the protecting and cleansing properties of Lactacyd, as I have been a repeat customer for over a decade now, I thought I should highlight Lactacyd Cool & Fresh, because if there’s a bottle worth trying, this is it! 

The Product: Lactacyd Cool & Fresh

 

The Promise: Stay cool and refreshed with Lactacyd Cool & Fresh.Escape feelings of stickiness or sweatiness as a result of excessive humidity, heat, and other environmental factors. Lactacyd Cool and Fresh puts an end to the discomfort with the cooling freshness of natural menthol essences.

• Dermatologically tested safe
• Enriched with refreshing menthol essences for a minty cool sensation
• Provides feeling of freshness from sticky-feel within the day
• Special formulation of natural milk lactoserum and lactic acid maintains pH balance of vagina 

Put to the Test: Following the instruction of using a thumb sized amount and using it as an external wash, I use it every time I shower, and true to its’ promise, the menthol in the product truly gives off a cool, refreshing feeling during and after rinsing. It’s almost like washing your privates with ice. But without the numbing 

Passing the Verdict: The minty feeling lasts well after I shower, but is gone by the time I am dressed. Which I think is just the right amount of time you’d want to feel cool down there. As with the other Lactacyd variants, it keeps me feeling clean and protected throughout the day. 

Practical Tip: I will totally stock up on this, especially during the summer months! 

Price: About Php99 for a 150ml bottle. 

Point of Sale: Lactacyd Cool & Fresh, as well at their entire range of feminine hygiene products are available at your favorite grocery stores, supermarkets and drug stores.

A Mystical Autumn/Winter 2014 with Pandora

As if Pandora has not enchanted us enough, they have just recently released their Autumn/Winter 2014 Collection in stores with rings, earrings, charms and pendants that remind us of the otherworldly quality of the fairy tales we grew up with back when we were all little girls, via a Philippine Ballet Theatre interpretation of "A Mystical Tale with Pandora".

Equally a sight to behold are the pieces from the collection.

Crafted from sterling silver, 14k gold, colored enamel and sparkling cubic zirconia, each piece is made to be a precious heirloom, to be passed on from mother to daughter, through generations.

I was able to take a sneak peek of the collection months before the collection made it to the stores, and it really makes a big difference seeing the pieces in person vs seeing photos. The attention to detail is amazing, and I was really able to appreciate every exquisite detail.

Really, I just have to share my favorites with you!

While I am not really a necklace type of person, these charms from the Night Blue Crystal collection are just so precious! The pave cubic zirconia charms are made using micro-setting techniques similar to how high-end jewelry are made. The deep blue crystal charm is faceted to catch the light.

These fairytale inspire charms from the Mystical Fairytale collection are just so pretty! I want the crown charm most of all. Because I am a queen. Haha.

Here are some ways to put together a Pandora bracelet. You can start with just three, and build your way to a full set.

This is the most fun bunch of all! The Christmas themed charms, with gift boxes, Christmas balls, a snowman, a reindeer, an itty bitty candy cane...I wanna bite it!

PANDORA's Autumn/Winter 2014 Collection is now available at Greenbelt 5, Glorietta 4, Bonifacio High Street Central, Newport Mall (Resorts World Manila), Shangri-la Mall East Wing, The Podium, Elemento in SM Aura, Megamall Fashion Hall and Century City Mall.