FMM: Maneuvering

Once again, a real-life item is the inspiration for today's Friday Magic Madness song.

It's this beautiful Inabel blanket that was given to us by Keith as a wedding souvenir.

Yes, you might think: "He's gong to play "Souvenirs" by Voyage.”

Close. But not quite. Since that song has already been an FMM song a few years back. Today's song is a lesser known souvenir-themed song from 1981. 

"Souvenir" is one of the songs of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD. Although it's not as popular as their huge hit "Enola Gay," this is a song that fans of New Wave would know.

This song and the Inabel blanket. Both souvenirs that bring back great memories.

Hey Crochet!

How cute is this crocheted apple?

Back in our elementary school days, one of our art projects involved crocheting. Back then, it was a lot of fun and I was good at it.

Maybe this apple - which i was just given to me and not made by me - is a sign to resume my crochet days!

Familia es Amor!

Spending more time with family - especially those who live afar - is one of the biggest realisations from the past 3 years.

It's something that our family from Spain is really taking to heart. Thus, they made a pact to come and visit us in MNL as often as they could.

They started March 2022, and this March, they came back! It was lovely to see them all again, and even nicer because we got to see other cousins who we haven't seen in a while. (Like Harold & Jun Jun.)

Que bueno verte y volver a verte pronto!

Outta this world!

True to its alien-esque aesthetic and vibe, the Mugler x H&M collaboration MTV is so visually delightful and conceptually scrumptious!

Looking at the clothes, I'm seeing a lot of very sharp, avant-garde and daring pieces. They're stuff that my sisters won't wear, so I won't be lining up for this collaboration. But in terms of visual impact, it's def 1000%!

And is that Jerry Hall?

It's out of this world. And I"m here for it!

Candid Camera

No, this isn’t about the iconic 70s show. But admittedly, i’m a huge fan of that.

This is about the fact that candid photos look way, way better and more authentic and heartfelt than staged ones. It’s something I’ve always believed in, and seeing this photo that was shared to me by Keith made me believe in it even more.

If a picture paints a thousand words, a candid photo paints hundreds of thousands. Or maybe more!

Scramble!

Strange but true: I haven't tasted Ice Scramble (or Iskrambol) in my life.

That said, this wafer from Lawson is going to be the closest I'll get to this iconic Pinoy street concoction:

I'm not sure how Ice Scramble really tastes like, so I'll just just believe this wafer when they say it tastes like this.

Oh, chute!

Was passing through The SM Store when I saw this really cute and cool parachute blouse.

It’s made of white cotton, has thick straps and is slightly cropped. This makes it perfect for the summer.

Then, I remembered that the Mango Culottes in “the stash” and quickly brought it out.

To complete the look, these chunky cage sandals from Primadonna.

Together, this is a very chic, summer outfit that takes the basic elements and elevates them

And it all started with a parachute blouse.

FMM: At last!

It was in 2019 when Keith told me about her wedding in the Philippines. They were planning to have a beach wedding in Bohol, and she invited me to attend. Immediately, I said yes.

The wedding was supposed to be in March 2020. Prichy and I were all set to go, even planning to be there a few days earlier. But of course, we know what happened on the 15th of March, 2020. Needless to say, the wedding didn't push through.

Fast forward 3 years later. It's March 2023, and Keith's wedding finally pushed through in Boracay! Still a beach, still has the same carefree and tropical vibe, still the same first letter of the island, still the same wonderful couple.

In celebration of this wonderful wedding, today's Friday Magic Madness is Etta James' 1960s classic, "At last."

At last! Keith and Kirby are married. Congratulations to the wonderful couple.

Merci Bocu

Bocu Lifestyle is an odd brand.

It's one of the brands under Golden ABC, but it's their only brand that doesn't have a physical store. So, unlike Penshoppe, Oxgn, Regatta, Memo and ForMe that you can enjoy both online and in-stores, Bocu is something that you can only browse and purchase through their website.

In terms of their products and aesthetic, Bocu is very Japanese-Korean. They have a penchant for basic clothes with a twist. It can be something in the seam, in the construction, a detail on the sleeve - little things that elevate the basics.

I've been checking out their website for months now, but haven't really gone around to buying something. 

That is, until last week. 

Saw on their website that they had these Uniqlo & GU type of shirts, and thought I'd give them a shot. So, after adding a shirt to the cart, it led to adding another, and another, and another.

Until it ended up as this:

Yup, it's a big bag of Bocu!

I'm hoping their stuff is as great IRL as it is on their website.

IOU

"Liquor" should be an easy word to spell, right?

Apparently not:

Someone’s confused with their “O”s and “U”s.

Proofreader please.

Personali-Tees

Last Sunday, the Spanish crew asked me to accompany them to the big Uniqlo store in Greenbelt 5. They said that the Uniqlo store in BCN isn't that big, and is expensive. And having experienced how big and more affordable Uniqlo is in MNL, they wanted to buy a "few" things.

Of course, "few" wasn't an accurate term.

We spent almost 4 hours in Uniqlo! They were browsing, then fitting, then buying, then browsing, then fitting, then buying...

In the span of time they were in the store, I had enough time to design and have these personalised shirts printed!

And, by the time these shirts were printed, they still weren't done! Harhar!

While I left the store with these 2 cool shirts, they walked out with 6 big bags of clothes.

How's that for "few"?

Old kids from the block

Fun fact about my Dad: His best friends now are his best friends from way back in high school. 

They're all 82 years old, and they still meet up as a group quite often. Usually, on Sundays, they'd meet up for breakfast at Pancake House, and they spend the morning just catching up. One of Dad's best friends - Ninong Tino - even goes to the house whenever there's a special occasion. 

It's safe to say that their friendship is "goals" worthy.

This is something that I can relate to. That's because after 30+ years since we first met in college, some of the Block I-1 kids are still together. We still see each other often, share meals, hang out, and talk about a wide range of topics, from our time as college freshmen to maintenance medicine.

The reason why I was in UP last Friday was exactly that. To meet up with some of my best buds from the block:

Mona, Wowie and I had a meeting at CMC, then headed off to the University Hotel for lunch. Incidentally, the managing consultant of this establishment is also a blockmate of ours - Rommel! So, it was like a mini-block reunion.

Of course, part of the discussion during lunch was organising a bigger block reunion at the hotel. Not only will we finally get to see each other, we'll also be supporting another block mate in his new endeavour. 

Gotta block off the dates for that one.

Second skin

Personally, I'm not a fan of perfume.

Even as a teen, when my brothers were collecting Drakkar Noir, Kouros, Polo and Gray Flannel, I didn't have a bottle of perfume. I'd have some bottles of cologne, particularly the Spanish ones that Tita Evelyn would bring from Spain, but that was it.

I'm not a fan of strong scents - which perfumes usually are. The only scents that appeal to me are the scents of the body wash I use, which are simple, clean, soapy scents - think Ivory Soap or Dove. 

That's why in those few times that I'd buy perfume, the scents I'd gravitate towards were soapy and laundry-inspired scents. Yup, my idea of smelling good is smelling like I just came out from the washing machine and dryer. Thus, my liking for scents like Clean Fresh Laundry, Clean Warm Cotton and Clean T-Shirt.

Another scent profile I'm into are skin scents. These are scents that smell so natural, it smells like your skin after you took a bath. My favourite scent for this type is Clean Reserve Skin.

Since my bottle of that scent is almost empty, I dropped by Rustan's to buy another bottle. Alas, they didn't have any stock, and didn't know when their new stocks will come in. 

But, true to Rustan's superb customer service mantra, the sales clerk suggested another skin scent for me to try. That's Dipytique's Fleur de Peau.

Whoa! This. Is. So. Good!

"Fleur de Peau" literally means "Skin Flower." It really smells like you're not wearing any perfume at all. It's just like you bathed using a nice smelling body wash, nothing more, nothing less. And what you're left with is the scent of very clean skin. Because of that, I ended up buying a bottle of this pure, skin scent.

Of course, some people would find it odd that you'd spend almost P11,000 to smell like you're not wearing any scent at all. But for me, smelling like this is already second skin.

College Cool!

Oh look! Another “cool” post.

Friday was awesome!

Not only did I get to visit my old College and meet up with old and new friends, I also got to eat my favourite college snack - ice cream in a bun!

Cool!

FMM: Ultra cool!

The 80s was a great time for music. The 80s was a great time for bands, too.

It was during that decade that bands flourished and ruled the airwaves. But due to the sheer volume of bands, some were more popular than others. Leading the pack were Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, and they were a ubiquitous part of the music scene.

But there were also a lot of underrated bands that had really great songs. One of these bands that i’d Listen to as a grade school boy was Ultravox! They were a British band that actually started in the 70s as Tigerlily, but transitioned and gained more fame as Ultravox! in the 80s.

Today’s Friday Magic Madness song is one of their biggest 80s hits, and a song that came to mind when looking back at this same day 3 years ago.

Yup, i’m sure the world still remembers the day when we “All Stood Still.”

Flowers of March

Yes, yes, I know. The original song is "Waters of March."

But this isn't about water. This is about this pretty installation that they placed at The 30th Ayala Mall.

It's a cascade of bright and colourful flowers that makes me smile whenever I enter the mall. It's so bright, spirited and beautiful, and it really gives you that "beauty of nature" feel. (Even if the flowers are all artificial.)

Despite that little hitch, this mall is definitely blooming!

Maru-gotto the Philippines

to was one of the snacks that I'd often buy during our trips and stays in Japan. 

Being a fan of Tokyo Banana Cake, this is a natural progression. Marugotto is a whole banana, enveloped in cream, and wrapped in a soft, sponge cake. It's a snack that's very light yet super flavourful. And since it's made in Japan, it's not too sweet.

Today, it was with great excitement that this discovery was made.

They have Marugotto in the Philippnies!

They've made it available in Lawson, and it's as good as the ones we buy in Japan.

This will be my new go-to snack. 

Yeoh! Yeoh! Yeoh!

Truly, glass ceilings were broken and history was made.

Michelle Yeoh is named Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars!

One of the most memorable parts of her speech was: "And Ladies, don't let anybody tell you you're ever past your prime."

Congratulations, Michelle Yeoh! Well-deserved!

Tea-rrific!

Presenting my latest discovery near the office.

There's a store that sells Vita Lemon Tea at The 30th at Ayala!

Now, there's no need to go far away to get my VLT fix. That's terrific news indeed!

McReunion

This actually happened more than a month ago.

We were on our way from lunch with Tita Sally and Victor when my phone rang. Upon looking at it, the name of the person who was calling was Helene. She's a close friend from McDonald's who I haven't seen in 20-or-so years. Since lives it AUS, so, it was quite surprising that she was calling.

Of course, I had to pick it up. Indeed, it was Helene and she said that she's here in MNL for a short vacation. And the cool part is, she's going to White Plains, near where Dexter's is. She'll be meeting up with some of our 026 friends, and asked if I'd be free to join.

When you haven't seen a close friend for that long, the answer was obvious:

It was awesome to see Helene, Teng and Chingky again. And we had a grand time reminiscing our McDonald's days.

You gotta love unplanned meet-ups that push through.

G.U. almost forgot

Since G.U. was the 1st stop of our short HKG trip a few weeks ago, the question remains: "What's the G.U. haul?"

While not as sizeable as my usual hauls, it was pretty decent considering the super shot length of my stay. Was able to buy stuff for Mark, Ate Bullet and myself. 

One of my my hauls for Ate was this outfit.

It consisted of a loose t-shirt, denim gauchos in this very versatile off-white color.

And to ground the neutral top and pants, a pair of cool, neon green platform sandals. 

This is such a comfy, elevated chic kind of ensemble.

You can really never go wrong with this brand.

FMM: Scent to Song, part 2

Byredo is one of those niche fragrances that's a fave among the scent-loving community. I've been hearing about this brand for years, but don't really know what the brand is like since they don't have it available in stores here in MNL.

I'd see the brand in HKG, particularly in Lane Crawford. Back in 2017 when the fam flew to HKG, I chanced upon it while we were strolling in IFC. But since we were in a hurry, I never got a chance to smell it.

When Mark and I went to Seoul last October, there was a Byredo store inside Lotte Department Store. On my way to the supermarket, I made a quick stop and finally took a whiff of this brand. Verdict: the hype is real!

That's why during my trip to HKG last month, part of the itinerary was the Byredo store in IFC. There, I finally got my hands on some of their most popular fragrances, the OG being this:

Gypsy Water is the Byredo scent that's on everyone's lips (or noses.) And it's easy to understand why. The scent is so fresh and clean, like an elevated skin scent.

And to celebrate my 1st bottle, today's Friday Magic Madness is an off-shoot of the scent's name.

"Gypsy Woman" & "Crystal Waters." Remove the "Woman" and "Crystal," and you have one of the scents that I'll be using on the regular. You gotta love the music of the 90s. Just like you gotta love this scent.

Classic Cool

Walking past H&M in Megamall, they have this huge display pushing their denim line.

The in-store billboard features a big and diverse group of models wearing jeans and different types of white tops. This combo of denim and white is the ultimate “classic cool” ensemble. It’s so classic and easy that you can wear it any time, anywhere, and you’ll still look chic.

Just like this ensemble that I was able to put together.

The white top is from SheIn, the jeans are from Mango and the snakeskin sneakers are from Zara.

Cool, eh.

Snack with a K!

Blame it on the Korean shows I've been watching lately, but there was a sudden craving for Korean snacks that had to be satisfied.

In their movies, Tteok-bokki is one of the go-to snacks of students. You'll often find young characters having a bowl of this traditional rice cake after class. Sometimes, they'd have fish cakes, too. And watching the characters eat them with gusto just makes my tummy grumble.

That's why today, this was my snacks of choice.

Tteok-bokki and fish cakes!

K-ravings satisfied.

Always our guide

He was our guide when we were growing up. Teaching us the values of integrity, leadership, compassion and kindness. 

He was one of the biggest influences in my life. In fact, I won a silver medal in an essay writing contest for the piece I wrote on him.

And even if it's been 34 years since he went to heaven, he still guides me - an all of us - until now.

On your 113th birthday, thank you, Lolo Iking. For the love and guidance that we experience even until now.

Happy Birthday, Lolo!

You da Gulaman

Black gulaman has to be one of my all-time favourite drinks. Ever!

It might have started as a kid when we'd have black gulaman whenever we'd eat at our usual Chinese restaurants with the family. Whether it was Ling Nam, Wai Ying or Green Patio, my drink of choice would always be Black Gulaman.

It's a habit that I've carried on until now. That's why whenever a restaurant serves this delectable drink, you can count on me to order a glass or two. Or three or four.

Eat Fresh has awesome gulaman that comes in huge cups, which is why it's my go-to order in that resto.

Bur recently, I've discovered this black gulaman goodness!

Yes! Fruitas now sells these by the bottle.

Take my money, please!

Raise your Mug(ler)

Fast fashion fans are always waiting for the next big collaboration. Particularly those coming from H&M.

It's been pretty quiet since last year's Iris Apfel collaboration. And there hasn't been a big name attached to the brand after Simone Rocha's in 2021.

But that all changed when they announced who they'll be collaborating with this year:

Mugler!

Yes! Thierry Mugler is a designer who's brand wis known for their very avant garde and almost alien-esque aesthetic. When you think of Mugler, you think of silver and black, stark lines and ultra-modern designs. 

Given how this is very different from H&M's wearable, everyday approach to fashion, I'm excited to see how these 2 brands will bring their sensibilities together.

LFLTAT; To the Nine(tie)s

Who doesn't love the minimalism and simplicity of the 90s?

It was the era of plain, streamlined dresses in chic cuts. Simple jewelry and an overall clean and sparse aesthetic.

Since last year, i’ve Been seeing that back in fast fashion shops. And thanks to the recent Zara sale, here’s a Look For Less Than A Thousand with that aesthetic in mind.

Tadaa!

The dress is so chic and beautiful. It’s a long, black dress with long sleeves, and a surprise at the back!

Paired with a metal choker, it captures the 90s to a tee. For less than a thousand pesos. FROM ZARA!

Who would’ve thought you could be dressed for the red carpet for less than P1000. If you know when and where to shop, you definitely can.

FMM: Irresistible

Today's Friday Magic Madness was inspired by a music conversation between Devi and myself.

We were thinking of music videos with back-up singers and dancers who were made up to look exactly the same. While on the topic, we both thought of and blurted out the same thing.

Robert Palmer!

Back in the 80s, he was known for very catchy tunes with visually interesting music videos. He's particularly known for having all-female back-ups, with their LBDs, slicked back hair and red lips. They'd have these poker faces, and they'd just slightly move and groove seductively to the beat.

Just like in "Simply Irresistible."

This 1988 video is now 35 years old! But it still looks fresh and current.

And irresistible to watch.

Putting the “March” in “Marchesa”

You know a design is good if it still looks current and relevant even if it’s more than a decade old.

Such is this dress from Marchesa Notte. Back in the early 2000s, Marchesa was one of the brands to watch. Having 2 women designers at the helm - Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig, they knew how to dress women. That’s why their designs became popular with the A-list fashionistas.

When I was living in HKG, I found the Marchesa Notte dress on sale at Lane Crawford in IFC. Because it was in Ate Lissa’s size, I had to buy it.

While tidying up my closet, I found the dress, still as pretty as the day I bought it. And again, that was more than a decade ago, in 009!

This is such a fashionable find to start off March.

You better Works!

After much anticipation and a long time waiting, we finally have an official Bath and Body Works store in the Philippines!

Yes! Their first mall store in SM Megamall is finally open!

Work, Bath and Body Works, Work!