Archives for January 2013

Shopping Just Made Easier: Lazada Philippines

January 29, 2013 by Anna — 2 Comments
Filed Under: Retail Therapy, Reviews

Recently, a lot of online shops have been popping left and right all around the internet.. specifically in the Philippines. A few years ago, there weren’t many of them, and only a handful of shops were able to last and still manage to operate until today.

What I’ve noticed is that, these online shops, back then, sold a variety of items like Asian fashion apparel, DVDs, gadgets.. among others that I don’t really remember because I only bought stuff that I mentioned, haha. Back then, it also seemed easy to open, operate, manage, and control an online store compared to now. Perhaps the number of people who were aware of online shopping and e-commerce were smaller than the number of people now.

Now, the number of online shops just in the Philippines alone probably multiplied twice, thrice, or more! And the customers? Probably ten-fold. Who wouldn’t resist trying to purchase an item online if the price is way (depending on the store) lower than the mall price, right? Personally, I prefer buying from online stores than in malls for certain items, but that’s for another post. Haha.

One of my not-so-recent-finds for a “major” (I say this because it’s not a subdomain-hosted kind of shop) online shop is Lazada Philippines. My first impression of it is that it reminded me a lot of a certain online marketplace that’s known worldwide. Ignoring that fact, I continued to browse on the items they have.

Benchuniverse: Denim and Underwear Fashion Show 2012

January 23, 2013 by Anna — Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Events

Post-fashion show. Models and the dancers came out to party to Far East Movement’s music

Michael Cinco’s segment (ft. Catriona Gray, Georgina Wilson, Shaina Magdayao)

The Bench underwear shows takes place every 2 years. As someone who was a first-timer to this event, I thought they do this every year.. apparently not. The last two were named Uncut and Blackout. Both were held at the now-named Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Last year, they moved the venue, which is much favorable to me (heh), at the MOA Arena. Another new addition to last year’s show is that the show had two dates: Sep. 13 and 14. I was fortunate to attend both. On the first day I was seated in the lowerbox section, on the second day, however, our tickets were for the moshpit area. I wasn’t too happy w/ the 2nd day, it just proved to me once again that I should never get floor seats to any show that I go to. And that I hate people who bring their iPads to shows then use it to record everything and block my view. But no matter.. still a good thing that I got to go to both shows, right? Also, there was quite a difference w/ the second show compared to the first one. I didn’t see the Pacman family, and Dominique Reighard (or they were probably there but I didn’t see them, ugh).

Coco Martin closed the show. Though he was fully-covered, he got the most screams from the audience that night.

This fashion show is also one of the most-anticipated events that most followers of the local Philippine showbiz industry look forward to. Who wouldn’t? It’s an event where the models are dressed down from a few pieces of clothing to none (spoiler: Jake Cuenca is quite famous for appearing in this show in briefs and eventually to a t-back, lol). Plus there are lots of attractive men with their big.. bodies, all waiting to come out of the stage and show off themselves. Lol.

I don’t have a proper photo of Jake Cuenca in his signature brief-to-Tback “outfit” from both nights, sorry to disappoint. Maybe this photo of Dingdong Dantes will do, as he is equally hot as good ol’ Cuenca naman (or more, for me, heh).

Dingdong Dantes

There you have it.. Wide variety of masculine bodies, lots of men for everyone to take their picks on, seeing nakey hot bodies for 3 hours in a fashion show.. sure enough the Bench underwear shows mean a good, good night for the ladies indeed! =)) What more can you ask for?! It’s not just purely a show of men’s fashion though, there are also lady models, haha! 😛 Complete roster of celebrities from the top TV stations in the Philippines compose the models of Bench underwear fashion shows. Not only that but also there were special guests last year, ANTM models! Allison Harvard, Dominique Reighard, and a recent addition to the Bench family, Sophie Sumner (from Britain, also was a contestant in one season of ANTM) were part of this. I wish they got Raina Hein at this time too.. she’s one of my favorites, too. If only she were contacted earlier, she could’ve been here! Argh, it would’ve been a fantastic feat for me, to see all of my fave ANTM models in one local event!

Also, there was a segment where they showcased the collection of their featured worldwide-known Filipino fashion designers such as Michael Cinco, Furne One, Cary Santiago, Joey Samson, among others. Their collections perfectly complemented the futuristic concept of last year’s Bench fashion show.

Anyway, I’m probably boring you now.. so here are some of my photos from the show. I’m only to going post a few here (or not).. the rest you may check it out my blog’s FB page album. 🙂 (Like the page too, while you’re at it, haha!)

NOTE: I decided to make the after show photos in BW to distinguish them from the runway photos, haha. The editing in some photos is a bit off too. I intentionally blurred the background of some photos where you can see the audience.. tho I felt lazy about it at some point and just post-processed everything quickly (but still, it took me days to finish post-processing them — lol). Like it still matters.. hahaha.

So, to begin, Mig Ayesa opened the show…

Dia Frampton Live in Manila 2013

January 17, 2013 by Anna — 6 Comments
Filed Under: Concerts

Danny Bemrose (of Scars on 45 band) and Dia Frampton

For the first Saturday of the year, I was fortunate enough to watch Dia Frampton on her first ever show in Manila. Indeed, that night was a series of firsts. :))

Dia Frampton’s first visit to the Philippines, as well as the first time to play a show for her Filipino fans who have been waiting for her to come here for a looong time;
The first show I went to this year (that’s got to count as something worth remembering, right?!);
First time that I got to watch a show because I won tickets to it.

Dia Frampton

Note that this is going to be a very long post. Hahaha. More stories, and more pictures, under the cut. 🙂 However, if you only want to view my photos (loads!) and skip the stories, the album is here.

Rock Loqal 2012

January 13, 2013 by Anna — Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Gigs

I had my fair share of concerts last year.. actually, more than what I expected. Most of the shows I went to in 2012 were concerts of foreign artists. I did not want to let the year end without going to at least one OPM event. And this is where Rock Loqal 2012 comes in.

A friend showed me page for this event on FB, more or less a few months before. Not many people were interested by it then, but we were. A lot of local bands were performing, some of them I’ve never even seen live but I’ve been a follower of their music. So I immediately said yes and my friend bought tickets a week later. I got my ticket from her after the UDD album launch.