Gong xi fa cai! It’s time to usher in prosperity and good luck this Year of the Metal Rat. Whether you’re shopping or giving ang pao to your loved ones, PayMaya is making your Chinese New Year celebration more rewarding.
Sharing best wishes to celebrate Chinese New Year with ang pao? Make it digital!
Enjoy The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Tea Lattes and be transported to a different place, time, and vibe with each flavorful drink.
The Coffee Bean’s tea lattes are a delicious blend of freshly pulled shots of concentrated tea leaves combined with steamed milk and French Deluxe vanilla or chocolate powder. The teas are hand-plucked, taking only the top two leaves and a bud, and sourced directly from farmers.
What are Coffee Bean’s tea flavors? Check them out below:
Ring in the Chinese New Year at Bonifacio High Street (BHS)!
Welcome the Year of the Metal Rat with “Feast and Fun”— a must-visit Chinese New Year Celebration happening at BHS.
So the concept of a debonair spy or agent who takes on a bumbling newbie under his wing isn’t new. Take, for example, Kingsman and Men in Black. In the films, Colin Firth and Tommy Lee Jones take on Taron Egerton and Will Smith and mold them to become a dashing figure. Spies in Disguise follows their lead but forges its own path. It’s an excellent decision that results in a fun and heartwarming comedy.
In Troy Quaine and Nick Bruno’s Spies in Disguise, we are introduced to Lance Sterling, a super spy working for HTUV (Honor, Trust, Unity, and Valor). He’s suave, elegant, and cool, and quite popular in the entire department. Joining him is Walter Beckett, a geeky inventor who creates gadgets that are effective for espionage while causing no harm. An example? He created a grenade that explodes with glitter and creates a visual of an adorable kitten. According to him, it releases serotonin and makes the viewer feel happy. I’ll leave it up to the viewer to see what I mean about following the traditional master spy-student formula and flipping it over its head.
When a series of adventures forces Lance to go into hiding, he runs to Walter to look for help. Instead of finding a solution, he accidentally drinks an experiment that turns him… into a pigeon. The two must work together to solve an important case and get Lance back into being human.
What endeared Spies in Disguise to me is that it is a legitimate spy movie. Sure, it may seem strange that the lead is a pigeon but it’s snappy, engaging, and fun. The film is drizzled with spy essentials like exotic international locales, dazzling cinematography, big action set pieces, and futuristic gadgetry. It’s a Bond film with lots of heart, laughs, and some lol-worthy inventions. I happily suspended my disbelief as I watched Lance and Walter get into zany adventures.
What grounded the film was the voice performances of the actors. Will Smith shone as Lance but it was Tom Holland who stood out as the geeky Walter. They really were just playing themselves, which is great because it seems like the roles were written for them. The two are joined by Rashida Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan, Karen Gillan, DJ Khaled, and Masi Oka.
Spies in Disguise may be animated but there are a lot of laughs and wisdom to be gained by adults. Even at surface level, the film is entertaining and hilarious. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
Spies in Disguise will premiere on January 22, 2020. This story is in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox. For more information, visit the website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I love fragrances. Whether it’s perfume, lotions, candles, or essential oils, I like to stock up on them and rotate them depending on my mood. The art of aromatherapy believes that different scents have different effects, from revitalizing you to relaxing you.
How do essential oils work? The sense of smell acts directly on the brain. When the aroma enters the nose, the smell is converted by the cilia, or the fine hairs inside the nose lining, into electrical impulses that are sent to the limbic system, the part of the brain that affects moods, emotions, memory, and learning.
Like I mentioned, essential oils do different things depending on the aroma. Legande, Inc., a new company that makes home products that are indispensable to everyday living, has launched three new sets of essential oils that are perfect for every mood.
Check them out below:
1. Lemongrass Essential Oil: The sweet and refreshing scent of lemongrass has an aroma that can get rid of stress. Its calming and soothing effects can also relieve headaches. Lemongrass works for the home as well, as it is a natural and safe air freshener and can kill bacteria.
2. Frankincense Essential Oil: This incense oil can help fight fatigue and focus the mind. Its sedative properties can bring inner peace, relaxation, and satisfaction. Added benefits include helping respiratory disorders and reducing and preventing scars.
3. Grapefruit Essential Oil: This citrus-scented oil can help reduce blood pressure and stress levels for a good mood. It also supports healthy skin by soothing and cleansing.
1. Lavender Essential Oil: Lavender is known for inducing calmness and reducing stress. It promotes relaxation and a good night’s sleep. It’s also said to be rich in antioxidants that prevent skin aging by regenerating cells.
2. Tea Tree Essential Oil: Tea tree is popular for those who want to target blemishes and fatigue. Its germ-fighting properties can help soothe dry skin and eczema. It also helps in fighting acne (as effectively as benzoyl peroxide) and boosting wound healing.
3. Lemon Essential Oil: This refreshing fragrance uplifts your energy and alleviates fatigue. It also has antifungal and antibacterial properties so you can use this to treat acne.
1. Rosemary Essential Oil: This can energize and uplift the spirits, and fight off mental fatigue and stress. It also helps with focus and alertness. It’s also said to boost hair growth.
2. Peppermint Essential Oil: The minty scent can help uplift the mind and invigorate the senses. It’s said to also improve focus and energy. Peppermint is helpful for treating nausea and repelling insects.
3. Orange Essential Oil: Orange is known to enhance mood and reduce pulse rate. It also doubles as a health aid, as it can control blood pressure and strengthen the immune system.
As an added bonus, Legande, Inc. created the My TLC, a special blend of essential oils that can help relieve common ailments. Think of it this way: if frankincense can help fight fatigue, imagine its power when you combine it with lemon. My TLC is made with 100% natural and pure essential oils, combining calamansi, elemi (a local tree known for its antiseptic and uplifting effects), frankincense, mandarin, lemon, eucalyptus, grape seed, and spearmint. The deliciously citrus scent can be carried around to help improve the mood.
All of Legande, Inc.’s essential oils are 100% pure with no additives or synthetics. They can be used by inhaling it via a diffuser, steam, spray, or a cotton ball. You can also use it topically on the skin through a bath, shower, or massage. A warning, though: if you’re going to use it topically, mix a small amount with a carrier oil (like coconut oil) and patch test before applying to the whole body.
This story is in partnership with Legande, Inc. For more information, visit the newly-launched website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You may purchase the products on the website or visit them at Suite 406 West Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Center, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Barangay San Antonio, Pasig City, Metro Manila. You may also call +63 (2) 8 635-6566 to 68, +63 (917) 579-8523 (Globe), or +63 (999) 999-0812 (Smart).
Sometimes, the only thing separating one from a marvelous film are subtitles. Beyond local and Hollywood films, there’s a whole lot of exciting movies being produced internationally. One country churning out films worth watching is China, which made over a thousand films in the past year.
This month at Shangri-La Plaza, Chinese film is placed front and center at the 14th Spring Festival. Catch six popular Chinese films from January 19 to 26 at Red Carpet. The entire festival is completely free, so mall guests can enjoy each unique offering.
In 2018, the National Geographic made waves when it launched its June cover, which featured a plastic bag stylized as an iceberg floating in the ocean. The magazine boldly asked, “Planet or plastic?,” before saying that “the 18 billion pieces of plastic that end up in the ocean each year are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Fort Bonifacio Development Foundation, Inc. (FBDFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of Bonifacio Global City, extends their support for the victims who live near and around the vicinity of the said natural disaster.