Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A Happy Space for stationery lovers!

National Book Store invited me to what is possibly the most exciting thing for paper nerds everywhere: a stationery fair!

I won't bore you with stories of how I've had a lifelong love affair with stationery (I used to spell it as stationary until my Papa corrected me and said stationary means it's not moving while stationery is all the paper products I love), and how we girls at Assumption would swap beloved papers and pens, and how I had a special customized folder where I kept all my stationery and colored pens and I'd look through it every night, and how this one time a classmate stole my precious apple-scented apple-green eraser and hid it up her nose and she had to be brought to the clinic to get it out and so I didn't even want that eraser anymore and I didn't get mad at her at all because karma. 

Okay, so I just ran away with my stories again! I'll shut up now. But let me show you my current modest collection of stationery:
I like textures, bold colors, patterns, gold, embossed anything.
I also have a lot of personalized stationery.
Even money envelopes!

Can't wait to add to my collection this weekend at Happy Space! Here's what NBS sent me:

National Book Store will hold its first ever “Happy Space: A Stationery and Supplies Fair” on April 15 to 17 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Glorietta Activity Center. 
Admission is free. Registration starts at 10 a.m.

Happy Space will showcase the latest curated scope of stationery and back-to-school items, best writing tools, fine art supplies, cute crafts, cool toys, office essentials, and lots of awesome finds. It will also feature NBS exclusive premium brands such as Itoya, MoMA, Kaweco, and many more.

Plus! Enjoy freebies, giveaways and other surprises like contests, product demonstrations and workshops from over 40 participating brands. Get freebies and giveaways, and surprises. Get loads of inspiration and have lots of fun this summer in National Book Store’s "Happy Space: A Stationery and Supplies Fair."

I am most definitely going to be there. See you on the weekend!

Monday, April 11, 2016

My boys check out the new Zippy kiddie clothes shop

My family had a little outing today. My sons were invited to check out the new Zippy shop at Glorietta 3 and, because I had just fixed their closets, I dragged the boys from their favorite TV shows to shop for new clothes!

Vito and Iñigo hamming it up!
Piero not in the mood.
Feeling better in Papa's arms!
My sweet-toothed Iñigo was amazed at the candy bar!
Cupcake-decorating station.
Vito trying on new shoes with Papa's help.

Zippy is the biggest kids' apparel retail brand in Portugal. They entered the Philippine market just a few months ago, offering comfort and style to boys and girls aged 0 to 14 years old. The clothes are cute and not overly designed, definitely made with active children in mind. They're also made with quality materials at an affordable price, definitely made with parents in mind!

Because I have all boys, I just checked out the stuff for boys. And they are super cute!

Such gwapo boys! Such cute outfits! Can't wait to see my sons in Zippy!

There are more styles available for babies up to teens, for boys and girls, at their stores in Glorietta 3 and SM North Edsa. You can also check them out online at www.zippykidstore.com and at their Facebook page.

How to make nail polish colors pop (with help from Girlstuff's Rave Neon Collection)

Got my hands on the summer collection of my favorite nail polish brand, Girlstuff. My favorite shade is definitely the orange one, called Breakbeat. The blue one is called Chill, the green one is called Lounge. There's a pink one, too, called Techno. Must get my hands on that one! Breakbeat, Chill, Lounge, Techno. The names reflect the party vibe of Girlstuff's Rave Neon summer collection. I'll tell you later why these polishes are perfect for partying.

Anyway! I recently discovered a tip to make nail polish colors pop: white nail polish!

I use white only for French tips and I always thought, "Sayang naman the whole bottle kung ganito kaunti lang ang ginagamit ko." Turns out white nail polish is an excellent base for other colors since it makes the color more opaque and brighter, too.

What an excellent tip for my fingertips! So now we know!

Oh, now this is the UV-Glow Solique Gel Top Coat. This is Girlstuff's fab new product because it glows in UV light. Perfect for girls who love going to parties na madilim at may black light! It's also an excellent top coat because it increases shine, protects polish so it lasts longer (I can attest to this—there's really no chipping and dulling!). It also makes polish dry faster, like really fast. As a mom, nail polish that dries fast and lasts long is a monumental find!

My baby and I went to the launch party at RELIK Bar at BGC. Yes, it was Piero's first time in a bar. And he was 20 months old! Don't worry—it was a very girly party!
Piero saw Mama's friends! From left: Ginger Arboleda of Mommy Ginger and my fellow co-founder of Beauty Biz Bliss, Working Mom EIC Jane Kingsu-Cheng and blogger at Flats & Stilettos, Piero and me, and Janina Gutierrez Tan, creator of Girlstuff.

Janina and our dear friend beauty blogger extraordinaire, Nikki Tiu of Askmewhats. She was also the super funny host of the event. Here they're posing with the giveaways—kikay kits with the Rave Neon nail polishes plus UV-Glow Solique Gel Top Coat, a small black light/flashlight, and gift certificates for even more Girlstuff nail polish!

Here's RELIK glowing in the dark.

Every guest wore silly headbands that also glowed. The effect was really cute. All these kitten ears and bunny ears bobbing in the dark.

We also took home a pair of Fly Shades. I like mine a lot. Must buy more Fly Shades!

One part of the room wasn't dark at all—this was the nail polish bar where guests can get a manicure using the new Rave Neon Collection and the UV-Glow Solique Gel Top Coat. After application, all the girls partied!

And here's what nail art Instagrammer @hotmomnailarts did with that amazing UV-Glow Solique Gel Top Coat:


You can buy the Girlstuff Rave Neon Collection and the UV Glow Solique Top Coat from Girlsuff shops at SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North, SM San Lazaro, Glorietta 2 and Alabang Town Center. You can also check out other shades (please check out the Topaz Horizon shade!) at their website, and see how nail polish lovers have created nail art using Girlstuff by liking their Facebook page and follwoing them on Onstagram.

To see more launch party photos, visit Girlstuff's Facebook page.