Last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Mexx Philippines to a short bloggers outing with fellow bloggers Laureen, David and Lissa. It was all the way in Alabang Town Center, a place I almost never go to, so the outing also served as a good opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone (which is mostly Libis, Ortigas and The Fort only) for a change! Plus I can’t say no to a day of bonding with long-time blogger friends!

Lissa and I met up in Glorietta where we were chauffeured in a pretty Mercedes Benz! The car ride was super smooth, and this means a lot considering that I always have motion sickness whenever I ride cars.

After a few introductions with the whole Cinderella and Mexx team, we proceeded to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch! The yummiest Italian food were served to us in giant portions, and I helped myself to some epic-tasting pizza and pasta, of course (LOL). 

Was seated right across pretty Laureen and her very summery outfit! 

Not for those on strict workouts, diets or fitness regimens (ehem Lissa), but ideal for those who don’t have any care in the world about them (ehem me). 

S’mores pizza for dessert! 

After lunch, we were finally taken to the Mexx store!

It’s the only Mexx open so far, but do watch out for the Shangri-La, SM Aura, and Glorietta stores this year! I, for one, am excited for the one in Shang because I live quite near and it’s one of my favorite malls since I was little.

Sweaters and cardigans everywhere! Most of the items in Mexx are very reminiscent of European Metropolitan lifestyle. They offer modern pieces that are appropriate for city people with a knack for functional fashion.

Bags and scarves that are super easy to pair with anything!

Camwhoring in the mirror because we couldn’t get a proper group shot. :D

Here’s another one! I swear it would’ve been so awkward if someone walked into the store and saw a bunch of people (including 3 girls wearing sky high heels) taking pictures of everything we could find in the store. Ahh, blogger duties!

My favorites from the men’s collection. Reminds me so much of my trip to the UK last spring. One Direction style! 

From the women’s collection. A lot of their fall/winter items were still on the racks, and these included a lot of tweed jackets and office-appropriate blazers that exuded a certain kind of sophisticated European elegance. 

Mexx has actually been around for a long time now, but it’s never too late to let people enjoy good fashion. Thanks to the official distributor, Cinderella, for bringing it here to Manila!

Love the current collection that’s made up of mostly charcoal gray, brown, old rose, beige and red.

Apart from the quick tour of the store, we were also asked by the Cinderella team to help style them using Mexx clothes! It was a challenge for me to style someone with a completely different body type as me, but it proved to be quite an experience in the end. For Mexx Marketing Assistant Renee, I picked a blush-colored drape neck top and paired it with a similar-colored bag, and some bright red skinny pants. Just something mature and simple yet still appropriate for both daytime at the office and nighttime out with your closest girl friends. Pair with nude pumps!

Lissa made MEXX Assistant Buyer Tin wear something that matched her own outfit! It’s the same top from the previous picture, only in black. She paired it with a muted aztec print skirt and a bright cardigan for that extra touch of edginess that is so very Lissa!

Laureen styled Cinderella Marketing Manager Lana with a sexy-corporate-chic outfit. Black skinnies are my personal favorite staples in my closet, and Mexx had a lot of good ones that you can pair with anything. Laureen’s interpretation included a low-cut sheer floral-print button-down, and a dark gray blazer to balance out the sexiness of the blouse. 

It was David’s first time to style a girl - how cute! <3 I loved the result - a masculine look in general but the belt made all the difference in the world since it highlighted the waist and gave the outfit a feminine silhouette. I’d totes wear this look! ESPRIT assistant buyer Anjelica looked pleased with her new look :)

Sadly, the trip had to come to an end, and it was time to say goodbye! It was such a fun trip though, and I’m happy I managed to convince myself to participate in blogger activities for once. Promised myself to be less anti-social this year, so I hope this is only the first of many events I can go to this year. *crosses fingers* 

Thanks Mexx, Cinderella, Mercedes Benz, Mary Kay and CPK for taking care of us! Can’t wait to go on a shopping spree when the Shang store opens next month!

Follow Mexx on Twitter and Facebook. 

Tenjin is the downtown area of Fukuoka where all the shopping centers are. Because the previous day was very hectic, we decided to relax, do some shopping, and take a break from doing all sorts tourist-y things this time.

I did most of my shopping in a mall called Tenjin Core, which also houses some very familiar brands if you avidly follow Japanese fashion magazines. Practiced my ninja skills and quickly took a few pictures of the stores and the mannequins when I was done shopping and had no money left, hahaha.

Deep red and old rose (or smoky pink, as they call it) were two of the most prevalent color trends consistent in every store I went to! Sooo pretty!

Pinky Girls

Moussy

Accessories heaven. They’re all into giant bows, shiny hair ties and bolo ties/necklaces at the moment.

One Spo

One of my girl crushes Rumi Neely for the brand OZOC

One of my all-time favorite brands, Liz Lisa

SLY

Only a part of the complete assortment of false eyelashes that you will ever need in your entire life.

dazzlin

INGNI

A blonde Yamamoto Yusuke appears!

After shopping for winter clothes that we can probably wear in a tropical place such as Manila, we walked around the city to look for a place to eat.

Nothing like burger omurice to give that much-needed boost for a busy shop-til-you-drop afternoon.

Why can’t we have these glorious Starbucks marshmallow dark chocolate and white chocolate macadamia cookies here?

Somehow, we all managed to consume our frozen drinks even if it was freezing outside. Some things in life are just strange that way. Like bare legs in winter.

While my brothers were checking out the Tower Records in Solaria Stage, I practiced my ninja skills again to take some street snaps of people in the area.

Reminds me of my friend Cheesie, mermaid hair, tan skin and all!

His coat - I covet! Easily the most perfect shade of green/teal I’ve ever seen.

Went back to Hakata Station for dinner. Tried their KFC out, and it was so good (see what I did there) I finally understood why the Japanese are all KFC-crazy.

After a long day, in our hotel room, it was good to be greeted back by Matsujun and Hyde on Music Station.

Christmas shopping is something I look forward to every year. I don’t mind the insane traffic jams, and the massive amount of competitive people in shopping malls trying their very best to get the most affordable deals. I like shopping during this time of the year for a number of absolutely cheesy reasons. For one, holiday collections are usually full of super shiny shimmer and colors that never fail to remind me of warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings. Also, at the end of the year, after all the hard work you’ve done, it feels good to be able to purchase things both for yourself and for others. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

A few days ago, I was able to find some time to visit Bayo’s Eastwood branch to check some new stocks out and buy some gifts for friends and loved ones. Last Christmas, way before I started collaborating with Bayo, I remember getting my mom gift certificates and necklaces from this store. It’s so near my house, and I love how all the Bayo branches I have been to somehow smells like baby powder, which is my preferred scent when it comes to pretty much everything like linen spray and perfume. Good, happy Bayo vibes never fail to make me want to enter their store every now and then.

They allowed me to take pictures in the store so feel free to do some online window shopping with what I’ll be showing here if you haven’t finished shopping for Christmas yet. Click on the Bayo picture on my sidebar if you’re interested in something but don’t have time to go to the nearest branch.

I bumped into my BFF Crissey and her officemates while she was taking a break from work! Her officemates were trying clothes out in the other dressing room so… in usual Trissey fashion, we giggled a lot and fooled around in the dressing room I was in and even took the dorkiest photos in the world. Will save your eyes from that, but in the meantime, I can’t wait for the end of season sale in January so I could get all these jewel tones, monochromatic outerwear and soft colors and fabric. Definitely going to shop ‘til I drop in January after receiving Christmas money from my relatives. Hee.

Since we’re talking about shopping anyway, here’s my most favorite shopping buddy at the moment. It doesn’t need to eat or sleep and it doesn’t get sick! This was launched just recently and I found the idea quite genius so I got myself a BPI My ePrepaid MasterCard. It’s a reloadable prepaid MasterCard that you can use for *drum roll* online shopping, besides purchasing from your favorite shops and restaurants. It’s a gift from God to those who aren’t allowed by their parents to own credit cards yet but have already saved so much from their allowance to be able to already buy stuff like iPhone/iPad apps, Paypal-only things, and Ticketworld concert tickets online. You won’t get billed for your purchases like a credit card and you won’t have to link your card to an existing savings account like a debit card.

I asked around regarding what the minimum age for this card is. I was told that if you’re older than 10, you can already apply for one. 10-years-old. If online shopping was as easy as applying for a card, loading it, using it to pay, reloading it and using it over and over again… then I wish I already had this card since highschool!

Plus points for color choices too! I chose the pink/indigo one (same color as the cardigan in the last picture!), naturally, but it’s also available in blue/azure. Interested? Click on the banner on my sidebar for more information and for application. Don’t be surprised if they give you free vouchers for Serenitea, Happy Lemon and Chatime after you apply.

If you’ve got time, money and extra things to spare this Christmas, please check this out for a comprehensive list on how you can help the victims of Typhoon Sendong.

Sponsored post.

If you live in Manila and frequent malls and department stores a lot, I’m sure you’ve seen a branch of Just G at least once in your life. Some people think it’s only a small extension of children’s clothing line Gingernaps, but it’s a totally separate entity catering to young girls who have outgrown wearing children’s clothes. Crissey and I would always make it a point to drop by Just G on our girly shopping dates, as we are huge fans of their quirky accessories. We’re way past our teenage years, but if you’re into dolly aesthetics, you’ll never be too old for Just G. (We also have matching skirts from Gingersnaps - kids’ clothes are too cute to resist.)

Just G has been around for a while now, helping teenage girls explore their own personal styles and identities by offering a variety of clothes with certain themes. While they offer sophisticated button-down tops, basics, blazers, floral-print bottoms and rompers, they also have pieces like graphic tees, leggings, acrylic necklaces and earrings for fun-loving tweens.

I was able to get a few items from their recent collection, so watch out for that outfit post some time soon! In the meantime, you can ogle at the prettiness that is the Just G store in Megamall:

Just G boutique stores can be found in SM Megamall, Market Market, Sta. Lucia, SM Southmall, Eastwood City, SM North Edsa, SM Manila and SM Cebu. Just G and Gingersnaps share spaces at Shangri-la, Rockwell, Robinsons Metroeast, SM Baguio and SM Pampanga. They also have department store corners at SM Megamall, Robinsons Galleria, Landmark Trinoma, SM Makati, SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Festival Mall, SM North Edsa, SM Cubao, SM Pampanga, SM Southmall and Robinsons Ermita.