It was a festive afternoon that welcomed me and a couple of blogger friends and celebrities at SM Manila a few weeks ago during the MINISO launch. MINISO has been a trusted brand from Tokyo and has been expanding rapidly all throughout the world with 1,400 stores at it's helm. With products that are simple, natural and quality, they've been impressing the most meticulous consumers with their own branded products. It was super cool to see them all in one place, still affordable and could pass off as those cute Japan products you see on TV even without going to the land of the rising sun. The company's executives, SM leadership and influencers were among the attendees. I saw these two lovebirds shopping and preparing for the opening ceremonies.
Ruru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia still star on the show Encantadia. They also appear on several shows in the Kapuso Network and have been regarded as one of the love teams to beat, though I feel it's REAL just like all the GabRu fans no? :)
Miniso people were already prepared for the throng of customers that were excited to buy stuff from their store. Trinkets of Japanese products not found in the Philippines can now be bought at SM Manila and SM San Lazaro!
A Japanese ceremony was also done to scare away evil spirits from the store, so you're sure you're going to be lucky when you purchase things here!
They also had performers entertain guests after the ribbon cutting. It was fun!
You are now looking at the MINISO store at SM Manila :)
There are some really good pens, pencils, school supplies inside the store.
Gabbi and Ruru were also there to give away gold coins, real coins and buy stuff off the shelf!
In just a few minutes, the lines became this long!
There are super nice organizers and sewing kits, perfect for gifts eh?
Some stuff toys were also selling for 200+ only, super cute!
They also had these elegant fragrance pots which you can put in rooms if you want to set your mood.
These ottoman boxes were selling like hotcakes, they're really good storage solutions for small rooms and they sell it very cheap!
They also have colorful headphones that sell for less than 1K. It was one of the things I wanted to buy but I already have so much stuff at home I had to stop my self LOL!
Still have problems on the nose area? You can remove blackheads with these stickers that only cost 99 I think.
These pots and pans for individual egg or pancake servings is so cute. They have cute anime characters on them.
Kids tell mom and dad you want these cute solar powered cars. Makes a good environmentally conscious gift for your small boys and girls.
Elegant earrings, necklaces and bracelets are also sold for cheap. They have promos with these too.
Snacks from Japan, they've got it here.
I got some of these almonds. So good!
For those who love gadgets, they've got these wireless keyboards and mice.
They also have power bank units, Miniso brand :)
For those who need cases for their phones, they've got a lot of them especially the new models.
They also have personal stuff, so clean up, personal effects, they've got it!
Soon they're going to open more stores in SM City East Ortigas, SM City Fairview, SM City Sucat and SM Southmall.This is just the beginning, they're going to have more branches in a mall near you. I'm going back there this weekend because I forgot to hoard some stuff so see you!
But because she's a person who knows what she wants, without offending anybody.
I love her.
Because she's always looking on the brightside, she doesn't even give her folks problems no matter how pressured she is.
I love her.
Because she's one of the most down to earth, generous person I know... and she remembers to thank people who helped her get there. She goes out of her way to make sure you're taken cared of no matter how busy she is.
I love her.
Because she answers questions even if she's a little uncomfortable. She calls a spade a spade but puts words in her perspective. She'd rather have you ask the person involved without offending you. I feel so comfortable around her.
I love her.
Because she feels like a younger friend, taking each day as a challenge and feels thankful for each blessing she receives. I love her more because she knows how to thank her fans, give them what they want at times and take care of her relationship with Ruru.
I love her.
Because even if they're not in a romantic relationship, the feelings are special and she treasures it the most.
She's celebrating her 18th birthday on the 6th of December, same date as mine. She's SINCERELY thankful and this is her way of coming out to society, still gorgeous yet humble, still beautiful yet so simple. This is Gabbi Garcia.
Gabbi Garcia would like to thank GMA Network, GMA Artist Center, Marriott Hotel, Le Reve Events Venue, Blufish Photography, Jason Magbanua (my personal favorite videographer!), Teddy Manuel, Mark Bumgarner, Martin Bautista, Martin Bautista, Kat Cruz, Jason Delos Reyes, Mark Anthony Rosales, Patty Tiu of Deuce Manila, Bespoke Manila, Rabbithole Creatives, Lice Acustico, Printcity, La Luz Beach Resort, Gluta-C, Solane (thanks for the plastic knife I'm using!), Center for Advanced Dentistry, Nailandia, Honeyglaze Cakes, The Makeup Studio team by Madge and Lehano for making Sincerely Gabbi possible!
I was invited to a small luncheon a couple of days ago to get to know a very prolific artist named KC Nevada. She's currently based in Manila but spent years doing her thing in Baguio City. She also did her solo show up north and had a couple of international artists perform during that stint and felt everything was just falling in place, as if fate had a plan for her. She's been through hard times, some really tough moments which I think has further pushed her and affinity to art. Now she's planning another exhibit, still in the works but I've seen some of it already displayed on her back while we were chatting over coffee.
She's used different mediums, but most of her work involve acrylic, better at texture than oil which I just found out can make you sick. Her inspiration is driven by emotion, by things she's experienced and sometimes what she imagines at the time she's making her art work. I like her use of colors, not too bright, just enough to tell a story. It's mostly surrealism, you'll be captivated by her work especially "The Cat" which she has been praised for a couple of times, me included. What I even like about her more is how she shares her passion, teaching kids and high school teens about art, through workshops, honing talents that are innate, divine.
I could see she's gotten what art does, it takes your mind off things and she has admitted it did help her during the toughest times. Here's a short interview we did outside the venue so you get to know her even more.
I suggest you take time to get to know her and her artwork through her social media channels below. It was a pleasure to interview KC! I'd be glad to see your future artworks!
I was one of the few peeps who got to see MARS this afternoon in an arranged advanced screening brought to us by the good people of FOX Network Philippines, FOX Network Group and National Geographic Channel. It also premiered in the Philippines last Novemner 13, 2016 and in this show, they'll interview the best and the brightest minds in modern science including Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX.
They know people were not just talking about the planet, so in this series they will put in a spin where some pioneers will finally go on a manned mission to MARS. They want you to feel how it is to merge science and science fiction so you know if it is possible to colonize the red planet. The series is made by Academy Award and Emmy Winning producers Ron Howard, Michael Rosenberg (both of Imagine Entertainment), Justin Wilkes and Dave O'Connor (of Radical Media). They've done the Angels and Demons series if you still remember that.
"This is a series that people would like to pay attention as they combine two things, FOX for the science fiction and National Geographic for the real science. People will be impressed in the story, as parts of it will be shown with facts. We joke around, but we think we really should really consider and seek beyond what we don't know. We sailed oceans, we conquered the skies, and MARS is just there, while we can push further." says Jude Turcuato VP for Fox Network Group Philippines.
The story was good, they switched back and forth to 2016 and 2033 where they plan to actually implement it. With people's lives at stake, and the dream to actually get to live there. They will do very dangerous things to acheive this, and you can watch it in 6 one hour episodes premiering tomorrow Thursday at 9PM on National Geographic Channel. You may read about the series at mars.natgeotv.com and www.makemarshome.com.
We better get ready to leave this place and see if we really could survive out there. I heard EDSA by that time will be just a park and people would only need to walk because nothing is moving LOL.
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