Ever since I was in high school one of my sisters kept telling me that I should learn to tidy…read moremyself and clean myself up. She told me how important it was to keep myself looking and smelling fresh. Of course I didn't pay attention. Being the bullheaded kid that I was I didn't pay her advice any real attention. At least, up until I got older. Eventually, I began to value cleaning up after myself and making myself smell good. The Fragrance Factory is a good store for me because it saves me time from having to go from one boutique to another to try different scents. Their line of colognes and perfumes are of the more expensive branded variety. There's so much in their collection that I usually don't have time to go through them all. Price is okay, it's the same kind of price that you'll see elsewhere.

I had accidentally placed an order online noticing that their prices were double of what I could…read morefind on Amazon. I contacted them immediately to cancel my order and they refused to refund it to my original payment method and only to store credit even though the item was literally just purchased and no processing or shipping was done. I told them I'd refuse the package as well but they shipped it regardless. Extremely shady business practice.

This was the High End Mall, before all the other High End Malls appeared. And to this day, it…read moreretains a lot of the class and style that defined it as THE mall of choice of Manila's elite. Rustans is special because they were handpicking and curating the vendors and suppliers for a sensible, classy experience even before curation became a thing. And that's probably why Rustans has remained relevant. While other malls and department stores are content with featuring whoever and whatever, stepping inside Rustans was an experience in itself. If you had the scratch to spend on a place like this, you could step out of there in style. The men's section in particular gives you the whole "Manly and Classy" vibe that is just almost impossible to find nowadays. An amazing, amazing place.

I'm not really a perfume connoisseur nor am I the type to experiment with my scent every so often…read more I'd like to think I've found my signature scent (or scents because I have three favorites) already. But I like perfume. I like that every interestingly designed bottle is a gateway to a whole different world, a world made up of all these different notes - patchouli! Vetiver! Tuscan leather! Basil! Art of Scent ushers you into these wonderful, wonderful worlds. It feels like you've stepped into Willy Wonka's swanky-fied factory but instead of chocolates, you get scents! Scents of all kinds, brands and combinations, laid out in an enticing way that even the most anti-perfume person will somehow want to spritz on everything on display!

My friend who has been living in Paris gave me some tips the other day on how to be a Parisian in…read moreManila. She gave me a checklist using her haughtiest voice- "First, be a snob. Think that you're better than everyone else. Secondly, wear red. It creates attention and makes your skin tone look luminous (Not for morenas ladies!) and lastly, dab on perfume. Dab it throughout the day and splash it all over your room. It doesn't have to be French perfume, just make sure it smells like Paris" My initial reaction was -Mon Dieu! Ooh la la! Nicole Papa! Du vin, du pain, du Boursin! Admittedly, I never dreamed of being a Parisian, nor did I dream of being one, I did take her 3rd advice into consideration though- to make my room smell like Paris, specifically, pastries from this city. So I set out for Mia's Home Fragrances to find myself a suitable scent. It didn't take too long for me to find the right one. The shop has a wide range of fragrances all sold at low prices. That evening my room smelled like meringue, crepes, cookies and croissants- and my Parisian points went up a notch.

This duty free is not that big but has a lot of things you could purchase to gift to your love ones…read moreor friends on your next travel destination. Goods purchased will be sealed and you can only unpack them once you have arrived and cleared custom. As with many Filipino establishments, the staff was very courteous and helpful, after paying for my goods, they packed, sealed and handed me my purchases with a big smile and bid me a safe flight. Often we get caught up with the business and hectic schedule of our vacation but I'm glad duty free is always there to fill-in for the extra goodies we need or we want to give our friends or Loved ones waiting in your next destination.

This place used to be my favorite part of coming home. I distinctly remember how it used to be so…read morehuge (formerly located in the now renovated Casino Filipino). Now, it's just a small maze with a bunch of items that are over-priced. What happened to the wide spread of discounted designer bags and shoes? They're all gone :( As usual, they have packed goods that are sold for a cheaper price because they are nearing expiration. No more exciting raffles and fabulous giveaways and souvenirs. Plus, there's no PESO POWER promo probably because 1usd=46 pesos.

Love it looking forward to use this app wisely I love doing…read morebusiness and i think it would help me a lot

One of my sisters is for me the wisest spender. She might not make a lot of money, but she knows…read morehow to spend it. One Christmas, she ended up giving me a cologne. A sign that I stank, but was a gesture that was nevertheless appreciated by yours truly. It looked cheap to be honest. The bottle was plain and so was the logo. I didn't think that it was anything special. Although almost everyone in school thought that it was. I had word the cologne to law school. Immediately people paid attention to my new found habit of making myself smell good. They made flattering comments on just how well I chose my scent. My sis made an excellent point that day, sometimes, it's not the brand that's important, especially when people wouldn't even know what it was. Zen Zest is great buy some and try it. The End.

I can't remember how many times I've been to the Landmark since I moved to Manila. I guess it was…read morethe first store my husband showed me. I remember that entering there was like a baptism, a début. I could almost hear the voice over: "Welcome, Danyella! This is the one and only Landmark! Here you'll find EVERYTHING you may need from now on. And for a cheaper price!". Did I say EVERYTHING? Yes, because that's exactly the feeling you have when you enter the Landmark. I just cannot decide where to look at. All products catch my attention. It's crazy. I'll give you a short list of what I already bought there, so you can feel the vibe: a Hello Kitty towel as a monito monita gift; a beautiful tea pot; maternity clothes; comfortable shoes; baby onesies; underwear; step ladders to reach high shelves; cute notebooks; toiletries; Instax instant film; scarfs; bags; a wallet; table linens and much more items. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the grocery. It's cheaper than Rustan's and even SM and you can find great variety. TIP: They sell Santis's meats and cold cuts at Landmark! I highly recommend it because of the quality. It's great to have this facility, so I don't have to split my grocery list anymore and go to Santis Deli at Rockwell.

So many cutesy butingting, so little room in the house…read more There is a section at the Landmark Department Store that can be considered a haven for hipsters - in that it features products that are shabby chic, and full of typography and graphic designed travel stuff. As you enter from the walkway that connects it to Greenbelt, you'll see the area on travel-inspired designs of notebooks and planners. And then there's the tin-can containers reminiscent of the things we used in the 80s as kids but the design is more English rose country and shabby chic. Still some of the home decor items are of prints and typography that would fit any room occupied by a hipster. Not that I'm a hipster, lol. But they are soooo cute!