Everyone was shocked by John Lloyd showbiz hiatus in 2017. During that time, he was one of the most respectable and bankable actors of the Philippine cinema and have been offered to endorsed several brands here and there due to his popularity and effectiveness to market a product.

In a teaser video, which lasted only for a few seconds and only shows the back shot of Cruz’s, and posted in the Facebook page of the number one selling shawarma Turks a few weeks ago had been viewed 3.2M times, shared almost 800 times and gained a huge number of comments.


Without any clue in that teaser video, his fans already assumed that it was him in the video. Actress Bea Alonzo on her Instagram also posted a screenshot of that teaser video, which garnered almost a million likes.

This Monday morning Turks finally revealed in the 1-minute and 17 seconds video of Cruz showing the actor walking through different destinations, which somehow depicts Cruz’s sojourn. The video is very simple, yet there’s drama the way it was created, and in a very subtle shot, he stopped and took a bite of a Turks pita donner.


The rugged look of Cruz in the Turks video titled Ang Pagbabalik is way too far from his guy-next-door image and a lot of people in the industry are asking if this signals his return to the limelight. His fans are still wondering about the life he’s been living since his hiatus.

According to Turks president Gem L. Zenarosa that during the course of his talks with Cruz, they never talked anything about his showbiz career or plans. He added that he got Mr. Cruz as the latest ambassador of Turks because of his great confidence working with Cruz.

“I am really grateful that John Lloyd trusts our company, he is a brilliant and very creative young man. Aside from acting we have discovered some of his remarkable talents,” Zenarosa stressed.

The Ang Pagbabalik according to Zenarosa is actually about Turks Small Pita Doner, which will be available again in all its branches.

“John Lloyd is the best endorser for this because like him, despite his absence in the show business for a couple of years, the warmth and love of his fans for him never dwindles. With our Small Pita Doner we believe that our customers will be happy to know that it is back in our menu,” Zenarosa explained.

Just like Cruz who is seen to have a different image since he last appeared in the big screen, a clear indication that the actor is recreating himself and exploring different grounds, Turks is also doing the same thing to keep its customers excited whenever they visit a branch.

In time for the release of Cruz's endorsement video, Turks also released to the market it is their newest offering --- Turks Rice Bowl, which is a complete meal. You can choose beef or chicken for your rice topping, and it is priced at P50. The Small Pita Donner, on the other hand, is priced at P35.



"To keep up with the demands of our customers, Turks continues to improve our menu and offerings to satisfy the discriminating taste of our loyal patrons," Zenarosa stressed.

John Lloyd Cruz now joins the roster of endorsers of Turks such as Piolo and Inigo Pascual.

To watch the full video of Ang Pagbabalik


You can also watch the video on Turk FB page: https://www.facebook.com/official.turks

With a vast number of brands of appliances, most of us are getting confused which brand should we trust, because let's be real, it's hard to invest in a product that cost an arm and a leg with poor quality and won't be a good investment in our homes.

I'm sure most of us heard Sharp Philippines as for the reason that it has become our household partners for decades due to their durable and high-quality appliances such as Washing machines.


Last April 2, 2019, Sharp once again received an amazing award- Most Trusted Brand for Household Products for the Washing Machine Category in the Reader's Digest Asia's Trusted Brand 2019 Awards held in Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas Manila.


Establishing a Solid Reputation

The Reader’s Digest Asia Trusted Brands has established a solid reputation as the premier consumer-based survey in Asia, providing a credible and reliable reference for consumers throughout the region. With this, Sharp Philippines is truly honored to receive this recognition and is genuinely thankful to everyone who trusted their brand and voted in this category.
In fact, Sharp has released a variety of Washing Machine products fit for everyone’s different needs from Washer, Dryer, Twin-Tub, Fully-Automatic to their newest Front-load Inverter Washing Machine. Sharp continuously strive to develop engineered products that can make consumer’s life more convenient and comfortable.

Ahh breakouts, I know a lot of you hate it and I am no exception. Due to stress and pressure, I had a massive breakout on my upper lip and left cheek. To be honest, I experience pimples but I haven't experienced such breakout wherein four (4) pimples would grow into my face all at once and they grew on a part side by side. Imagine how painful that was.

What I immediately do was to stop using all the products including makeup and just let my skin breathe. I guess, I used a facial wash that doesn't suit my face. After stopping all the products, I drink more water and try to eliminate caffeine and chocolates. After a week of not using anything and drinking lots of fluids to flush the toxins out of my body, I started using Lemon Mansi Soap on my face and body.



Lemon Mansi Soap is a product of ELKE by Evetag which is made of all natural products such as lemon and calamansi fruit extracts. It is also mixed with purely organic purees, tinctures, and peels from these fruits and made into a soap bar. It also has a lemon oil which is used as a fragrance for intense benefits to the user. It also has some baking soda and tawas which is a well-known local deodorizer. Also, it has Alpha Hydroxy Acids which is a perfect component that makes the skin whiter and more luminous.

Just to put emphasis, this product is Paraben-Free, Fragrance-Free and Dye Free.


Upon trying the product for the first time, it didn't have an effect on me so I was not amazed by it, however, after 2 weeks of constantly using it, it made my pimples dry and it made my face less oily. Although it didn't whiten my skin what so ever I am not really into that effect, I'm more focusing on the cleanliness it does to my body and how it made my face free from breakouts.

One thing I noticed is that whenever I forget to use deodorant, I feel awkward and I feel like I have body odor (even though I don't have) I mean, have you ever experienced being so OC about your body? I'm like that, I always want to feel fresh and smell fragrant throughout the day. Compared to soaps, when I tried Lemon Mansi even if I don't wear any deodorant, I am confident to move around throughout the day.


For the price of 80 pesos, I'm deeply amazed by this product, it was foamy and it was easy to rinse off after I rinse it off my face, I immediately notice a tightening effect on my skin but it's not to the point that it is painful due to dryness. That's also one thing that I would love to share, it didn't make my skin dry. That's why I'll continue to use it.

Here's a before and after photo of my breakouts:

First day I started using the Lemon Mansi Soap

2 weeks after: dried pimples, less painful but there's still pimple marks.

Interested to purchase one? Here's their social media account for further information
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evetagofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohmyelke/

Joliant Restaurant is a Filipino- Contemporary Family Restaurant located in BF Homes, Parañaque. My partner and I were invited last weekend to try and taste their cuisines and to be honest, we were thrilled to have a taste in their local cuisines. Not to mention, their restaurant's location is quite near to where Jerico leaves and since I do not go to South often, I've been dying to try different restaurants located there.



Joliant Restaurant has been in the business for over 12 years with a common goal- to make the people happy as per their name "Joliant" which derives from the word 'jolly'.

Now, I'll be diving in the 5 reasons why you need to try out their fabulous family restaurant:

1. Location and ambiance was PERFECT

To be honest, the restaurant isn't found in Waze or Grab, however, their landmark (Nuat Thai) can be found that's why we were able to ride a Grab to arrive there. The restaurant was seen easily upon arriving at our destination since there is a huge name of their restaurant there, plus, it's a corner lot so their location is easily visible.


Upon entering their restaurant, I immediately noticed how well lit the restaurant. In fact, we need to pull down some covers to take good photos with proper exposure because it's too bright. The place was so roomy with a numerous number of tables, chair, and couches so if the place will be full of people, I don't think people would feel crowded or irritable since just like I told you - there's room for everyone.


2. Their dishes were made to perfection

During our stay, we were served with two (2) appetizers, seven (7) main course, and one (1) dessert.

For starters, we were served with Nachos and Chicken Skin. I was in awe of these dishes. The salsa was not so tangy in my liking, the nachos, although taste quite normal, nothing fancy but it works really well with the salsa dip but, I much prefer the Chicken Skin. I have been a huge fan of Chicken Skins and I  always love to buy them on streets, however, Joliant's chicken skin was very tasty, it is not pure chicken since I can taste some fat in it but the cherry on top was a buttery flavor on the Chicken Skin itself. It's not too salty or bland, it's just right the dip was quite spicy for my liking but still,  you can enjoy a lovely Chicken Skin with or without dipping it into their vinegar dipping.

Nachos: 175 pesos

Chicken Skin: 120 pesos

Next was the viands, I was so amazed by how big the serving was. To be honest, it cannot be consumed by 2 people, I think it can be consumed by a maximum of 4 people. My favorite was the Patatim, the Buttered Chicken, Pinaputok na Tilapia and Chopseuy. The Patatim was very sweet and the meat was really juicy, tasty and it just melts into my mouth. The Buttered Chicken was very buttery (of course) the flavor sinks into the chicken's skin and the gravy works really well with it. The Pinaputok na Tilapia was a first for me and the owner and chef mentioned that it was Joliant was the very first one to concept a dish like this. It was smokey, savory and the flesh was very juicy. Chopseuy's flavor was so delighting, you can really taste the sauce inside the vegetables. However, the chopseuy's ingredients were cut too big from what I have accustomed, still, I'm impressed by the dish.

Patatim: 500 pesos

Buttered Chicken: 280 pesos Pinaputok na Tilapia: 220 pesos

Chopsuey: 220 pesos

My least favorite would be the Spicy Garlic Chicken, the Kare-kare and the Sinigang sa Miso (Tanigue) for the reason that, first, I am not a huge fan of spicy dishes and the Spicy Garlic Chicken and the Bagoong Alamang of Kare-kare was just over my league. I even ate a chunk of chili which made me panic because I don't know what to do or what to drink. I just wish that they were able to adjust the spiciness depending on their customer's liking. The Sinigang sa Miso, on one hand, was just not my cup of tea, don't get me wrong, the taste of their Sinigang was so good, it's not too sour and it's not bland at all but it's my own personal preference-- I'm just not fond of fish soup and I don't know why. 

Shampoo Bar is a new thing, we are accustomed to using shampoo straight from the bottle which harms the environment if we don't recycle, yes, that's true. Nowadays, with the rapid development of society, more and more companies still produce products with plastic containers which deeply harm mother earth. I feel miserable whenever I see photos on social media about water creatures die because of this phenomenon.

Several weeks ago, I received a Shampoo bar from Elke by Evetag and the first thought I had was "How to use this" to be honest, I have seen this type of products on social media from Lush but this is the very first time to see this in the Philippines. Although it was very interesting to use, I don't know how to use it but I still give it a go.


About the Product:

This shampoo bar is non-sulfate, all natural ingredients with no fragrance oil however, there's a distinct scent from the essential oils. This also contains USDA organic actives. It is safe from aquatic animals and plants. Furthermore, it is safe for babies aged 6 months and above.

Ingredients:

Sodium, Cocyl, and Isethionate

Did you know that Isothionate is one of the mildest surfactant use for baby products?

First Impression:

Let's talk about the packaging, I'm immensely happy about the packaging of this product I mean who doesn't love Pandas, right? The package was very cute and what's even better? We can also reuse the paper packaging as a decoration in our planners to match the overall purpose of this product - saving the environment.


As soon as you open the panda wrapper, the shampoo bar itself was wrapped in a plastic wrap. Which was a bit odd for me, because we are into saving the environment and as much as possible, we want to eliminate the use of plastics.

The design of the soap was surprising for me, it was a beautiful flower shape, I was kind of expecting pandas because the cover was panda - you get me? HAHAHA!


There's no specific scent included in the label so I was expecting that it doesn't have any fragrance but when I tried it for the first time, I smelled a bit of coffee-ish and herbs which was different from my shampoos that I have tried recently. But what's good about it is that the smell didn't stick into my hair but I didn't feel uncomfortable or felt not fresh during my day.

The way I use it is rubbing into the ends of my hair and on to my scalp, I didn't feel any discomfort or rough feeling when I tried to rub it in my scalp. After rubbing it a couple of times, I then tried to massage my scalp, It doesn't have any foams at all that is why I felt skeptical if my hair was deeply cleansed.


But after using it for a day, I felt amazing because I didn't feel so uncomfortable or sticky during the day so this item is not so bad after all.

Looking forward to purchasing this product? Check out their social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evetagofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohmyelke/

The country has been facing a rise in the number of underweight and overweight Filipinos for more than 20 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined this phenomenon as the “Double Burden of Malnutrition” or the “prevalence of both undernutrition and overweight in the same community, nation, or region.”

To address this problem, our government launched the Pinggang Pinoy® campaign in 2014. Pinggang Pinoy® is an easy-to-understand food guide showing proper food group portioning on a per-meal basis. This reflects the principles of MOderation, VAriety, and BAlance (MOVABA) to promote healthier eating habits.


Solving the Philippines’ Double Burden of Malnutrition should be a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors as it is not an easy feat. With this, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation partnered with government agencies to conduct education programs to raise awareness and promote the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® in malnutrition hotspots, where incidences of Double Burden Malnutrition are high. This training was given to homemakers/mothers who have malnourished (underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight and obese) school-aged children.

The pilot run resulted in improvements in the knowledge & attitudes of households related to the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® within target areas. However, behavior changes towards healthier eating habits remain to be a challenge. The program uncovered a number #MalnutritionTraps that some Pinoy households easily fall into. The following #MalnutritionTraps provide a picture of how unhealthy eating habits may lead to Double Burden of Malnutrition:

1. Overconsumption of carbohydrates
Voracious rice eaters can easily fill half of their plates with rice. Others have pandesal & noodles as regular meal deprived of other nutrients derived from a well-balanced meal.


2. Under the consumption of vegetables and/fruits
It is common for some to be content with rice & meat to satisfy their hunger and skip/take the insufficient amount of vegetables/fruits. Fact is, the variety of colors found in Glow foods are important sources of vitamins & minerals to sustain our energy & keep us from getting sick.

Overconsumption of protein: Typical Filipino “SILOG” meals include a double serving of proteins (e.g. Tapa+Itlog, Tocino+Itlog, Longanisa+Itlog, Bangus+Itlog). Eating different kinds of protein is fine for as long as they are taken in moderation. We must also avoid protein dishes served high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

Last February 2019, my partner together with our friends decided to have an overnight staycation in Tagaytay mainly for two reasons: we wanted to get to know more about each other and we need a break from the hustle and bustle in the busy cities. We decided to stay in Tagaytay because it's quite near where they live, plus, there's nothing so special about my location - North.  I want to go somewhere far just to let off steam, plus, it's been a while since I got away, far away from my responsibilities and problems in the city.


So we basically stayed in a condominium located in the Wind Residences, we're just fortunate that we were able to get an affordable place. To our surprise, the location of our building was quite far from the amenities and the parking lot so it took us around 5 minutes of walking just to enjoy the amenities of the place or even go to our car. However, it's quite near a supermarket so it's quite doable for us to walk to buy our groceries. Walking was not uncomfortable though because of the cool weather of Tagaytay, in fact, I enjoyed walking and I didn't mind walking because it was so relaxing, refreshing and it just feels so nice to feel the cold breeze on my skin.


We arrived in Tagaytay promptly noon and the caretaker (Ate Nelly) was so accommodating, she patiently waited for us despite the slow traffic we experienced in the Cavite area (I guess). As soon as we unpacked and lounge for a couple of minutes, we decided to go to the nearby supermarket to grab something to eat since we're famished and we bought our supplies for the evening until the morning.



As soon as we got back, we just chilled and then we decided to try their amenities. Jerico and Aaron decided to play bet in billiard while I and Abi went back to the condo to cook the carbonara. I was so anxious at first since it was my first time to cook for my boyfriend - called me pressured, yep! But the cherry on top is that they enjoyed my cooking. I was so delighted.

When the evening came, we just enjoyed Soju mixed with Yakult while the boys had beers, we enjoyed the evening full with stories.



In the morning, Eco and I woke up earlier than the others so we decided to prepare the breakfast and we took a morning stroll outside to enjoy the beautiful sceneries as well as practice Eco's photography skills.

View this post on Instagram

You are my favorite subject 💕

A post shared by Ramona Jessica ✨ (@mhownai_) on Feb 12, 2019 at 8:59am PST

As the afternoon came, we are bound home and we decided to have a stopover at Tabby Cafe in Cavite-- stay tuned for my upcoming post about this lovely cafe.



Overall, this is a fun experience and although the time was limited; how I wish we can spend a week just relaxing, I still released my pressure and I'm looking for more. I'm so excited for the coming staycations and hopefully, Edmund will share the fun with us.

Whenever we wear makeup, it's quite hard to remove them after an exhausting day, right? Some people would opt for a makeup wipe while others prefer oils or serum but regardless of what we use the common denominator is to remove all the makeup in our face, we need to ensure that at the end of the day, we would remove our makeup since it will lead to a much bigger skin problem such as acne, wrinkling, and skin irritation.

Personally, I have a bad skin care routine most of the time I tend to just sleep with my makeup on or sometimes I use baby wipes to remove my makeup which I know that is not healthy for my skin or hygienic in any way.


Althea Korea Pore Purifying Serum Cleanser

This product helps you extract the dirt from your pores and helps you to maintain a healthy beautiful PH that balances the skin.

What's good about this product? 

Well, you can use it to cleanse the skin and it can also act as a serum. My skin is an oily combo but now that the summer season is finally here, my skin becomes in the oilier side which makes me break out as much as I want to.

I first tried it as a serum, unfortunately, my skin produced more oil and later made me breakout so I just used it as a cleanser -- to remove my makeup before I use other makeup products to thoroughly cleanse my face.


I am very much happy with the scent of this product, it doesn't have a strong scent and the product is very light on my skin. Upon rinsing, what's amazing is that it is not hard to rinse at all. Furthermore, I can just use it alone, I remember one time and I don't have my other face cleanser and it works perfectly on my skin.

How to use the product?

• Pour an adequate amount of the product on to the palm of your hand
• Massage the product all over your skin in circular motions to remove the dirt and/or makeup.
• Rinse off the residue with water. You may also use a second cleanser to completely remove any residue. 

How to use the product to cleanse the skin?

• Damp the skin and apply an adequate amount of product all over your skin. 
• Massage your face in circular motions for around 5 to 10 seconds.
• Rinse off with water.