One Sunday Morning

It was Sunday morning.  The church was ringing.  There is no need to hurry anyway.  That’s what I said to myself as I hugged my pillow closer.  “I will just get up when I want to.  Sunday is a rest day,” that’s what I thought. Suddenly I got up.  I just remembered that I should be in church early.  I would see my friend Leah there.  After attending the church mass, we were going to a party together  at night.  And we will buy a dress and shoes for the party.  I saw Leah there sitting in one corner and then I came near to her.  We sit together till the mass in the church ended.  After that we decided to go to a mall and buy a pair of women’s shoes.

As we are looking there, I notice one store. I notice one shoe in the display of the store.  It looks simple but elegant.  So I and Leah went inside the store.  The store was nice and looks classy.  Leah just remembered that store.  Her friend told her about that.  She said  her friend told her that if she wants to buy a stylish shoes,  she can go to the shoes store where she can buy good quality shoes.  There are a lot of shoes to  choose from.  I notice there the grey shoes.  Very nice shoes.  Perfect for my taste. So I asked the sales lady for the 5 ½ size.   And when I fit the shoes, it looks sexy to my feet so I don’t have any double mind that time I bought that shoes and paid that to the counter.  Leah didn’t yet get any that time, so I helped her to choose.  Leah saw a shoes that was genuine in leather.  It looks nice too. Leah ordered a 6 ½ size for her.  Fitted also perfectly to her.  She also paid that and then we left the store.

When we were in the party, one of my friend who attended also notice  my shoes.  She said that my shoes looks very nice.  Specially the design.  I thank her for that and I said if she want to buy a good kind of women’ shoes, she can go to the store where we bought our shoes.  I search in internet if they have an online store for that and I did find that.  So I will have no problem anymore.  I can have my shoes anytime I want to buy.

Male vanity comes of age (2)

Aside from Shiseido and Zirh, My Beauty Hub also exclusively carries Nickel, Phytomer Homme and “male” makeup by Jean Paul Gaultier and Terry de Gunzburg. 

Of course, beauty products for women still dominate My Beauty Hub’s neat, well-stocked shelves and movable counters. But close to 40 percent of the merchandise is now devoted to men, including lipsticks, concealers, bronzers and eyeliners. 

Just like the Singapore store it was patterned after, My Beauty Hub conducts regular beauty clinics to educate consumers and, of course, fuel sales. One of its most recent workshops tackled skin care for men. 

“Most women read up on beauty and know the science behind the brand,” says Leona Ilagan, Luxasia’s retail manager. “That isn’t always the case among men. They need to be educated and encouraged, as most of them don’t feel the need to pay close attention to their skin.” 

That’s starting to change, and not just because of the growing number of vain, openly gay men, but also thanks partly to metrosexual icons like David Beckham. High-end brands such as Zirh and Shiseido, and more affordable ones like Nivea for Men, are now enjoying brisk sales. 

Recent trend 

“Metrosexuals have been around, but the trend started to become more pronounced around two years ago,” says Rica King, marketing manager of Beiersdorf Singapore Pte. Ltd., regional distributor of Nivea products. “In fact, we were among the last countries in the region to ride on the trend.” 

Ninety percent of 400 Filipino men Nivea interviewed still prefer soap and water to other forms of facial cleansers. But such a result goes beyond economics, as men the world over are mostly oblivious to the finer points of looking good. 

This has prompted Nivea, which introduced its men’s skin-care line in the Philippines several months ago, to repackage certain products to make them more appealing to men. Products for women, for instance, come in white boxes, while those for men come in cobalt blue. 

What could, for instance, pass as an anti-wrinkle cream for women had to be called “revitalizing” cream for men. Never mind if both products have basically similar formulations and promise the same effects. 

“Based on our studies,” says King, “men in general don’t want to be perceived as vain. That’s why we had to repackage our products and come up with a line exclusively for them.” 

Men are also particular about a product’s scent. They prefer a mild and “soothing” smell to one with a sweet floral one. While women dislike skin-care products that are “mentholated,” most men welcome it.  – Alex Vergara  avergara@inquirer.com.ph

Male vanity comes of age (1)

Good morning friends.  What do you think will be the vanity of men.  For women, there are a lot.  Few were only conscious about something.  Like the age.  Men were not much conscious if they will become old, but with women when they knew that they were getting old, they use a lot of things just to look younger.  I came across with one article and I want to share it with you. 

ANTON Gonzalez, president of Planet Sports Inc., easily spends around P3,000-P5,000 a month on skin-care and grooming products. He won’t have to spend as much, he admits, if he limits his needs to plain soap and water. But like a growing number of other men these days, he considers pampering himself a form of investment. 

“It’s just like buying toothpaste and toothbrush,” says Gonzalez. “I don’t mind spending more as long as I see and feel the difference. It’s an investment in aging properly.” 

Gonzalez’s products of choice these days are Shiseido men’s line and Zirh, an American brand that exclusively addresses men’s needs from head to toe, which he buys at My Beauty Hub. 

There was a time, however, when the former makeup executive settled for products made for women. No, it’s not what you think. 

Since the market didn’t offer men a variety of options a decade ago, Gonzalez had to use Shiseido’s complete skin-care line for women. He was familiar with the products because he used to oversee their distribution locally. He has hardly used soap and water on his face ever since. 

“There’s really a big difference,” he says, comparing premium skin-care brands to ordinary soap and water. 

But it goes beyond vanity, as men like Gonzalez often find themselves under the sun for extended periods of time, especially during weekend games of golf. He has found the ideal sun block lotion in Shiseido. 

Sensitive skin 

Gil Coscolluela had a different problem. After years of trying mid-priced over-the-counter brands, he finally found Zirh’s skincare and shaving line. The architect, who designed the boutique-style interiors of My Beauty Hub, has “sensitive” skin. 

“Shaving used to be an unpleasant experience,” says Coscolluela, who shells out P5,000 every three months to look and feel good, “as I often had breakouts a day or two after. That became a thing of the past after I found the right products.” – Alex Vergara  avergara@inquirer.com.ph

Make over Moment

“I want to Look . . . Professional!”

When you’re dying to ace an interview, you’ve got to work your look.

1.  A sculpted cut is a key for that I’ve-got-my-act-together aura.  The angled layers follow the jawline, framing the face.  This snip is so low maintenance, she won’t have to sacrifice chunks of her paychecks to keep it in shape.

2. Styling is a no-brainer when you’ve got a well-defined ‘do.  for shine and hold, you can rubbed grooming cream between your hands before dragging them from roots to ends.  (Applying goop directly on hair makes it too greasy.)  as he did a blowout, he aimed the nozzle downward to keep hair flyaway-free.

3. What’s worse than chewing gum during a chat with a prospective boss?  Wearing makeup that’s more prominent than your resume.  You can shade your lids with a vanilla pencil, then blend black liner along the lash lines.  Don’t extend liner out too far (unless you’re going for a gig as Cat Woman).

4. Since an interview is all about what comes out of your lips, you want them to be polished but not distracting.  You can use a sheer lavender lipstick, then dabbed some on cheeks.  The creamy texture delivers a subtle blush; the idea is too avoid looking like you just graduated from clown school.

Wireless Router

My sister who lived in Maine, USA came home last April to have a vacation here.  We enjoy our time while she was here. One week before she will go back to USA, she ask me that she wanted to have a business here and I will be the one who will manage that.  She did thought of a café shop business.  I agree with what she planned.  She told me to arrange everything.  She wanted to have the business to be a good one.  The day come that she will go back to USA as she finished her vacation.  She left me a certain amount for the business.  So with that, I planned everything.  I have all my lists what will I do.  I went to my friend who has the café shop business too.  So I asked her what will the best quality of computer specifications should I buy.

My friend take me to her computer shop and allow me to see all the computer specifications should I buy.  I saw high tech computer material and some gadgets.  I notice one thing in her table.  I know it was a router.  But it looks like a different one.  Yes it is, it was a wireless router.  It’s the first time that I saw a router which is wireless.  She told me that before, she didn’t use that kind.  But her friend suggested  to use a D-Link Wireless Router.  And she did tried to buy one and use it in her computer shop.  She told me that it was so convenient to have this kind or router as she can move or place it to anywhere she want.  She told me when she bought that wireless router, the salesman also offered router which has additional features.  The salesman showed her that kind of router.  There are many wireless router to choose from. She really got impressed with that.  So after one week she bought that.  And indeed, it helps a lot with her business.  And it’s very affordable. 

I told my friend that when I buy that kind, the salesman will give me a demo of how to use it.  Of course I will not remember everything after being told me what to do with that wireless router.  Then what will I do?  She told me that I shouldn’t have to worry because they are giving a manual for that.  So It’s worry free.  I asked my friend where she bought that router.  She told me that she bought that in the mall near their house.  I told her that I can’t buy right this moment and it’s a little tiring to visit the mall near their house as, it is so far from mine.  She said that I should not bother to think about it because it was already online. She assured me that I can have an online shopping  if I want to buy anything I want from my will be business.