Crunch Time!

It's going to be a great week!!! See you all this Friday, May 17, as we open another fab store at the SM Aura Premier at The Fort!

See you :D

Before PFW Starts

Saturday morning greeted me with this, from the P&G family :)  Thank you :D

Then, it was off to a pre-prod meeting with the team for the Forever 21 show this week for Philippine Fashion Week at the Saga Events' office

I brought the our fly-in stylists from U.S. to our store in SM Makati, as we organized the outfits for the show.  After that, I went straight to Patchi at Boni High to buy chocolates for my mom and mom-in-law

The next day (Sunday), we had a very late lunch at Kai in Greenbelt 5, because of the Pacquiao-Mosley fight. Look who's at the back having lunch, too!  Manny Villar ;)

We had steak that was cooked on our table

The sauces were pretty good: salt, red for sweet tomatoes, and yellow for coconut wasabi

Hubby had their Kobe burger, which was pretty good

...while Little J munched on the siding of fries

My mom and my youngest brother, who will be enrolling in med school in a month :D

We ended it with sweets at Gelatissimo.  They have a promo now: add P50 and you get a brownie under a scoop of ice cream (P110).

Happy Mom's Day, Mamita :D

Kris Aquino Visits F21

Got a text from Kris (yes! THE Kris Aquino) last Friday asking for my reco on when is the best time to shop.  For those of you who don't know, I used to handle her magazine.  It's been 2.5 years since we've seen each other, so I was pretty excited to catch up with her.


Anyways, back to the text.  I replied and suggested that she should go to the store on a weekday... first thing in the morning.  She replied and we set the "shopping schedule" on Monday 10a.m., which was yesterday.

Kris had a great shopping experience, so that makes me happy, too ;) Until the next shopping trip, Kris :D

PFW Opening Outfit

Just want to share with you my outfit for Day 1 of PFW.  I finally got to wear the black chiffon top I bought from Patty Eustaquio ages ago ;) They're not your typical long-sleeve polo—check out the cut-outs :D  I paired it with a pair of fully beaded cream pants, which I got from Izzue in Bangkok.  Wore a black sequined bandeau and platform suede booties from Forever 21.  The clutch was courtesy of Pond's by Aranaz.  Fab press gift, don't you agree? :)

Thanks to Mark of Stylebible.ph for taking my photo :D

Pink magazine sponsored Mark's prom a few years ago.  He was a go-getter (that's why I remember him), and he still is!  Why would he be Stylebible's intern if he wasn't, right? Good luck to you, Mark :)

The Ultimate Sexy Boots

My last visit to Forever 21 was just last Friday, and I've missed out a lot.  I got so excited when I saw these fabulous thigh-high black leather boots, I just had to buy them.  I plan to wear them when I travel and when I attend some event that will merit a "show-off" of these boots ;)

Priced at P2075, this pair is such a steal! Click on this link for more styles, and our facebook fan page to find out what's new. Remember, stocks don't last forever at Forever 21 ;) Hope to see you at the store tomorrow!

Well-Rested Legs

I bought these two pairs of sky-high heels last week at the store (Forever 21).  How could you possibly pass these up? :)

This is what I wore last Friday:

What I'm wearing: Gray stretch cotton dress with lace sleeve detail from Forever 21, lace stirrups from a bazaar in Malaysia (we have something similar at the store), and Forever 21 platform stilletto lace up booties.

And this one was last Saturday:

What I'm wearing: White loose polo (I tucked in the front and left the back out), black shorts, and daisy-printed platform maryjanes. All from Forever 21.

On both days, I decided to stay at the store.  By Saturday afternoon, my feet were getting a bit cramped.  I woke up yesterday morning with sore thighs to boot!  That's because I spent the whole Saturday taking photos and squatting to take better shots of the accessories that were displayed below waist level.  I seriously thought I could take it—wearing high heels, but I didn't realize I would be squatting and bending a lot :o  Oh well, I got a workout anyways haha...


So, I opted for something casual to wear for yesterday's activities.  Plus, I was with little J and didn't want to risk slipping or falling while carrying the little guy.  He was quite the walker (and talker) that afternoon at Power Plant mall :o

What I'm wearing: Loose shirt with multi-pastel colored pinwheel design from Bangkok Chatuchak, and blue tiered mini with eyelet design from Meisic Mall in Chinatown, and turquoise sequined flats from Kira Plastinina, with my Chloe Ethel bag.

I don't regret buying these two pairs.  More so because they were sold out in just two days!  Forever 21 stocks run out quite fast, since we have limited pieces per style.  So, to everyone who's worried about wearing the same Forever 21 items as the girl/boy next to you: Don't worry, we only have a handful per design to sell.  And to those who get disappointed if the store doesn't have enough stocks: Please understand that we try to keep items as limited as possible, so you won't be seen with the same outfit ;)  So what's the best solution?  Try to visit us every week to get first dibs on the merchandise.  Mornings until lunch time is always recommended ;)

Have a great week ahead, everyone! :D

Forever Loyal

Last week was an exciting one for the staff of Forever 21.  Too bad I wasn't there when it happened: Jinkee Pacquiao, a loyal customer of Forever 21, went to our store in SM Megamall last Wednesday. She's wearing a Forever 21 dress, too!  WOW!  

Sure wish I was there to assist her—would have been a memorable experience ;)

Blue Wigs

I was at Forever 21 over the weekend... and remembered that we are missing one person from the start-up team—our visual merchandiser Xie resigned last week.  In between changing the store displays (her one last hurrah), we played around with the blue wigs that were used for the window display:

Sure wish we could keep them haha...

All the best to you, Xie :) *hugs*

Pink Fun

It's been a while since I've had nail polish on my fingernails.

This time, I opted for something bright, like Orly's Blushing Duo.

I'm loving this shade, as it makes my hands look bright (and not dull) due to it's blue undertones. 

Of course, my Forever 21 Owl ring makes me feel young (at heart), too!

To read about my experience at Nail-a-holics, click on this link.

I'll be at the store today and tomorrow, 
so don't be shy to say "Hi" if you do see me there this weekend, k? :)

Purr-fect Engagement

Been busy with all the paperwork that had to be done. In between all that boring stuff, I'd check on Forever 21 Philippines Facebook page to answer all the queries. 

 

Here I am, typing away, with a studded tiger connector ring from Forever 21. 

Fab, don't you agree? :) And the price? Super affordable! 

 

I'll be at the store the whole day today, will I be seeing you there too?  

Hope so!

Have a great weekend, everyone! :D

Lunch Reward

I think I've lost a bit of weight over the Forever 21 launch period. Hubby was scared that I wasn't eating right, and thought I was too thin already.  Honestly, with so much stuff to do, I would end up not having dinner anymore.  But I made sure to have a good lunch though :)

On the day of the pre-opening VIP day (Thursday), Lou suggested we have lunch at this kebab place at 2nd floor of The Atrium (same floor where Forever 21 is).  We needed a place to work, and somewhere with good wi-fi access.  Btw, for those of you who do not know yet, the whole of SM Megamall has free wi-fi :D

We ordered vegetable samosas, potato croquettes, nan (instead of rice) and their version of buttered chicken—all very yummy! And I had their bottomless iced tea which was really really good, btw! Aside from the sumptuous food, the owner was really nice as she let us occupy three tables for us to work with. Thank you again! :D

Here I am with Lou, pre-event sans the makeup and trying to smile despite all the stress. We both think we deserved a good lunch and a pat on the back for all the time spent on planning the launch of Forever 21. I'm really grateful to have found a "sister" in the company who shares the same values as I do; she's such a great mentor, too! I really wouldn't have done it without you, Lou! *hugs*

It's Official! :)

Last Friday, July 2, was the official first day of Forever 21 here in SM Megamall.  I got to the store close to 7 a.m. to check on our marketing collaterals to make sure they were installed/placed correctly.  By 9a.m., I was back in the store preparing 250 numbered stubs to give out to the first 250 customers to line up outside—we were giving them P200 voucher each, with no purchase requirement.  Cool, huh?

SM Megamall has agreed to open its doors by 930a.m. so that we can have a line outside.  As soon as the mall doors were opened, we could hear shrieking and running girls outside.  It gave me goosebumps :o  

When I went outside, armed and ready with the free vouchers and stubs in my sling bag, I saw a very looooong line at the secondary hallway!  I was so shocked. I read a tweet that described it as "great wall of china," another one said it was "kilometric" hihi...

One of our visual merchandisers, Maribez, who was flown in from the U.S. head office saw me with the vouchers on my way out, and suggested that I be very careful.  Because the one who releases them in the U.S. gets trampled on or gets into some sort of accident.  I reassured her that I'll be fine, since I will have bouncers beside me ;)

Here I am with "kuya" bouncer, wearing a yellow dress and gray suede booties (not seen in photo) with this fabulous black acrylic multi-chain necklace from Forever 21, and my black Prada sling bag which stores all the free voucher for that morning.   Thanks to my "ate" at work, Lou who is the AVP for Marketing, who took this photo.  She's been a great help all throughout.

Taken at the pre-opening VIP event last Thursday.  One of the few breathers we got.

Thank you to everyone for visiting us this weekend. Do drop me a note here if you wanna say hi.  Will try to post more photos soon :)  Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Another Quickie Post

Got home close to midnight.  Yesterday was the Pre-Opening VIP launch of Forever 21 in SM Megamall.  It was packed with shoppers who didn't think twice on purchasing our clothes. They are super affordable, trust me ;)
Close to closing time (9 p.m.), I was able to ask our photographer, Daniel Tan, to take my photo. I'm loving my outfit, because I was able to look for the right clothes for this print-on-print ensemble from head to toe! :) Check this out:

Will post more photos soon! Have to be up early again tomorrow. Forever21 is giving away P200 voucher (no purchase required) to the first 250 people to line up outside the store.

To get the latest updates, visit the Forever 21 Philippines facebook account by click on this ;)

Happy weekend, everyone :D

My Secret's Out!

Finally, I can announce to the world what I've been busy with 
for the past 3 months!

I have another baby, and it's the international fast fashion chain—Forever21! It's what been keeping me up and awake at night, more than little J—who's been a very good boy. I'm so excited to share this bit of good news with you; and we're opening real soon in SM Megamall! Will share with you more details as soon as I have confirmation.


And oh, for those who want to know what I'm doing for the company (it's SM group, btw), I'm the Marketing Manager ;)

And please add us up in facebook and twitter :D