Look and feel good while embracing aging without fear with Marula

This holiday season, reward yourself and your loved ones with the perfect gift that can virtually turn back time: Marula by John Paul Selects.

With Marula Oil, look and feel good while embracing aging without fear. Containing 50% more antioxidants and increased fatty acid content, it slows down and reverses signs of aging - reducing fine lines and wrinkles - with its potent hydration, protection, and rejuvenation properties. Its light and fresh essential oil scent allows for a most luxurious application with lightning fast absorption.  

Formulated specially for the face, neck, and décolleté, Marula's secret lies in the intrinsic and clinically proven benefits of 99.2% pure Marula Oil, nature's best-kept secret from South Africa that is sustainably harvested by hand from the high-quality Marula nut. 

As a product developed for multiple purposes, you can use it as a potent anti-aging moisturizer or as a make-up primer. Apply it on your skin for healing hydration and an elasticity boost. You may also mix it with your foundation for added moisture. The result is skin that is smooth, supple, and fresh like never before.

You owe it to yourself - and to your friends and loved ones - to look and feel beautiful with the transformative benefits of Marula Oil by John Paul Selects - the gift of beauty in a bottle.

Give the gift of beauty with Marula

Marula is available at the beauty section of the SM Stores in SM Aura, SM Makati, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA and SM Mall of Asia. Visit  www.fastbeautyph.com  and follow Fast Beauty on Facebook and Instagram at @fastbeautyph.

Christmas is just around the corner!

Do you ever get excited for Christmas whenever you hear Christmas jingles once the "ber" months kick in? If you just answered yes to that, you're in luck because SM Home is just as excited as you are and they are here to help you decorate your place just the way you like it!

Bond with your families as you set up and decorate your own Christmas trees and homes! If you want something different this Christmas, try going for a White Christmas theme and choose from our Railey Tree, Grand Tree and Roman Tree! But if you feel that sticking to the tradition will bring your families closer, you can always choose from our Yana Tree, Richie Tree, Yam Tree and Gab Tree! Either way, you can never go wrong with these options!

  

For the kids and the young-at-heart, the Santa and Snowmen plushies collection are all the rage. Pile up on these Christmas buddies and see your family's faces light up and bring back memories of a good old childhood memory. 

If you're going for a classier set this year, look at all the glass and metallic Christmas Tree decors that the SM Home Store carries. 

Whatever mood you're trying to have at home this year, visit any SM Home Store for their Christmas 2016 Collections and for other home pieces that are suitable for you. With SM Home, you will always be ready for the holiday season!

Shop at your favorite SM Home store.

 Visit our website,  www.smhome.com.ph . Follow us on Instagram @smhome, Twitter, @SMHome_ph and Snapchat, sm_home and like us on Facebook .

Give Yourself the Gift of a Happy and Healthy Skin with Nailaholics Great Argan Sale 2016

The cold season is here again.  The colder the season, the drier the skin. For people with normally dry skin, the cold weather could also mean itchy and inflamed skin. Tis the season when our skin needs more attention.

Living in a tropical country during the most unpredictable season of the year, where the weather swings from sunny and humid to cold and wet in minutes, on top of all the sugar, alcohol and greasy holiday treats, can really wreak havoc on your skin.

Of course, eating healthy (a lot of greens, water, and fiber), getting enough sleep and a lot of exercise helps. Unfortunately, the season to be merry, jolly, and bright is just around the corner, and it will prove nearly impossible to say no to all the revelry. So here’s an insider tip: argan oil.

Drawn from trees that grow in the southern region of Morocco, argan oil is a rich blend of antioxidants, vitamin A and E, polyunsaturated fat, and essential fatty acid. It’s literally food for hair and skin, eases inflammation, and gives it a boost of moisture from within that lends itself to an inner glow—the hallmark of healthy skin.

The great news is that you can get all the benefits of argan oil can from just mixing a few drops of argan oil into your trusty, go-to beauty products or by directly applying it onto your skin. This makes it a very versatile addition to your beauty routine.

That said, here’s an even better insider tip: just in time for the upcoming holidays, you can buy one bottle of Argan Oil from Nailaholics and get one free at any Nailaholics branch.

You better hurry though—this exclusive promotion runs only from November 21 to 30. The 50ml bottle is available at P790.00 and the 100ml bottle is selling for P1390.

It’s a small price to pay for a product that can serve as your night time moisturizer, a skin toner, makeup remover, whole body moiturizer, leave-in hair conditioner and can also be a cure for acne, stretchmarks and razor bumps and burns.

“It’s important to note though that you get the real deal. So be sure to get it from somewhere that has a longstanding reputation of reliability and quality. It’s the concentration of argan oil that allows you to receive all its benefits, so make sure you’re getting it from a brand that can be trusted when they say that they are giving you a bottle with no artificial preservatives,” ends Arvin Amaro, Marketing Head.

NOVUHAIR HEAD BAGS AGORA AWARD

President and CEO Wins in the Individual Category of the 37th Agora Awards  

Quezon City, Philippines – Nutramedica, Inc. President and CEO Sheila Mae Velilla bagged the Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship – Medium Scale at the recently concluded 37th Agora Awards. Nutramedica is a homegrown 100% wholly-owned Filipino enterprise that manufactures and distributes Novuhair, an acclaimed line of products that addresses hair loss.

Held last October 26 at PICC, CCP Complex, the Agora Awards recognizes individuals and organizations for exceptional marketing skills and strategies. It is touted to be the premier marketing awards body in the country and sets the high standards of excellence in the industry.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO BIG WINNER

Moving in an industry dominated by giant multinational pharmaceutical companies, Nutramedica’s tenacious rise from its humble beginnings as a microenterprise is one for the books. Thanks largely to its creativity and innovation, it has become a major player with a well- established niche in the industry.

Founded in 2004 by Velilla, Nutramedica develops beauty and healthcare products out of natural and mostly indigenous ingredients. It is one of the pioneers in the commercialization of virgin coconut oil (VCO) and gained wide success with its slogan “healthiest oil on earth,” which led to its acquisition by a big company.

It continued to create more VCO-based skin care products and hit the jackpot with its latest, and now banner, product – Novuhair, nature’s answer to hair loss. This breakthrough solution is made of 19 herbal ingredients and comes in topical scalp lotion, herbal shampoo, and herbal conditioner that effectively battles the effects of hair loss and helps enhance and restore one’s crowning glory.

Launched in 2009, Novuhair enjoys tremendous success until today. It is widely accepted not only here in the Philippines, but also in other countries. It is set to enter the international market, starting with the United States (US), in December of this year. Such bold, yet timely, move of the company to export Novuhair to the US and eventually the Middle East also opens the opportunity for proudly-made local products to penetrate the global arena.

Novuhair’s popularity and market leadership may be attributed to the company’s initial market study coupled with the right timing, as well as smart use of resources by coming up with an effective tri-media campaign best described as low-budget yet high-impact marketing.

Leveraging on its organic growth from a microenterprise to medium scale with over 30 employees in a span of 12 years, Nutramedica continues to further develop, market and distribute high-quality goods that could bring honor to the country.

The firm raises the bar in entrepreneurship with its faithful adherence to best business practices, such as provision of high quality products and excellent services, adaptability to market trends, constant innovation, diversification of trade, and giving back to society.

“Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people”, Velilla quotes Steve Jobs when asked what’s her secret to success in this competitive business of beauty and healthcare.

“We at Nutramedica also adhere to our core values of integrity, trust, fairness, discipline, humility, leadership, teamwork and faith in God. That’s our winning formula,” Velilla further adds.

Novuhair Topical Scalp Lotion, Shampoo and Conditioner are available in all Mercury Drug Stores and other leading drug stores nationwide.

For more information visit  www.novuhair.com

Like the brand’s official Facebook Page at  Novuhair Official 

Follow it on Twitter at  @NovuhairNatural and on Instagram  @novuhairofficial

You may also call the Novuhair hotlines at 4136570 and 09228830575 and Order Online at Lazada and regaloservice.com.

From Carcass to Table: Lowdown of Meat Industry’s Delivery System

RDF Feed, Livestock & Foods, Inc. (RDFFLFI) Unique Cold Chain Process

Producing safe food should be the ultimate goal of any agri-food system enterprise. By the time the meat reaches the consumer’s kitchen, they should be assured of the many safety measures taken by these companies to deliver fresh and quality meat. Big brand names are not enough to guarantee the viability of the meat we purchase.

The problem lies with the company’s delivery system. Most companies contract third parties to deliver freshly slaughtered meat with no proper monitoring systems on the trucks' temperature and travel time. It is common knowledge that some of these contractors turn off the truck’s refrigeration system during travel to lessen fuel costs. Proper handling of products during delivery also plays a key role in maintaining quality. Dropping of products directly to the floor, or carrying carcasses on the bare backs of handlers are common practices, which compromise the product.

The meat supplier’s delivery system is usually where it falls short. Meat producers may have the best plants with state of the art facilities but if they have a poor delivery system, the whole process to keep the quality of the meat is compromised.

A local producer that has gained the growing trust of Filipino meat consumers is RDFFeed, Livestock & Foods, Inc. (RDFFLFI) has introduced a unique cold chain process to ensure the quality of meat they sell. From the slaughterhouse or dressing plants to dispatching to the delivery of animal protein, RDF guarantees its freshness.

Livestock and poultry are prepared differently at the start of the cold chain process.

For pork, the cold chain process starts in the slaughterhouse where carcasses are placed in a refrigerated 10-wheeler truck that transfers carcass to the central depot. This process cools down the internal temperature of hot carcasses. At the central depot, the internal temperature of the carcasses reaches 36 to 39 degree Celsius. It will then be stored in the holding room with the room temperature of -10 to -15 degrees Celsius to cool down the carcass internal temperature to 7 degrees Celsius below before cutting.

PRE-COOLED HOLDING ROOM

The holding room is precooled an hour prior to the arrival of the carcasses. After pre-washing and sanitizing using chlorinated water at 0 to 3 degree Celsius, carcasses are transferred to the pre-cooled holding room and stored for 14 to 16 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of less than 7 degree Celsius. The carcasses are then sent to the fabrication area, cooled at 10 to 15 degree Celsius, for primal cutting.

DRESSING PLANT

For chicken, the cold chain process starts in the dressing plant. Dressed chickens are passed through two chilling vat washers to sanitize the carcasses and cool the chicken internal temperature down to 4 degrees Celsius. The first chilling vat has chlorinated chilled water with a temperature of 8 to 12 degrees Celsius. The second vat has chlorinated water cooled to 0 to 3 degrees Celsius. Chilled dressed chicken will then be placed in crates lined with plastic and filled with crushed ice.

For beef, the holding room is pro-cooled an hour before the arrival of the carcasses. After pre-washing and sanitizing with chlorinated water at 0 to 3 degrees Celsius, the carcasses are transferred to the pre-cooled holding room.

After the initial process, all items are then stored in a freezer. Warehousemen will then prepare the orders from each store, all done under a room temperature of 10 degrees. Ordered items will then be stored in the anteroom, cooled to 10 degrees Celsius. An assigned personnel regularly monitors the temperature of all products in the storage area. Proper storing of products in crates and proper spacing per crate is strictly monitored to ensure that there is a balanced cool airflow inside the room.

DISPATCHING

During the dispatching process, items are checked by the dispatcher, drivers and crew to make sure that items declared on the document have the same weight as that of the actual product. This process happens in a temperature-controlled room, pre-cooled prior to the actual dispatch.

Prior to loading, trucks are pre-cooled up to 4 degree Celsius. Products are then carefully transferred to the trucks. During the trip, the temperature of the truck’s refrigeration is monitored through a GPS system with random checks by the staff during the entire trip.

When the products reach the retail outlets, stocks are placed in a 6-door storage chiller freezer, while items for selling are displayed in 3-door freezers to maintain the cold chain process.

RDF facilities from production to delivery and retail outlets are all owned and operated by the company. Customers can be assured that RDF has control in every part of the cold chain process. RDF has also Quality Assurance field representatives to regularly check the products sold in the stores.

The cold chain process is very important for consumers to ensure their safety when buying meat products. Perishable goods are temperature sensitive, any interruption in the process will greatly affect the quality of the product. The cold chain process reaffirms RDF’s commitment to the consumers of bringing safe and quality food to their tables.

Berkeley, ISBB win SBP-Passerelle Luzon finals

Berkeley School and International School for Better Beginnings (ISBB) bagged the championship title for the Luzon finals of SBP (Small Basketeers of the Philippines) – Passerelle, the largest twin tournament in the country, held at the Easter College Gym in Baguio City.

Berkeley School of Baguio easily won the SBP tournament against Wonderland School of Dagupan and earned their 4th consecutive regional championship title, 69-36.  3rd place went to Sacred Heart University after winning the battle against St. Scholastica’s Academy, 56-50

Meanwhile, it was a hard feat for ISBB to beat St. Louis University during the Passerelle tournament until they finally took the lead halfway through the last quarter, ending the intense battle with 67-64 score. Holy Angel University came in 3rd in a match against Urdaneta City National High School, 50-47. 

ISBB also received the much-coveted Sportsmanship award for the Passerelle tournament while for the SBP tournament, the award was given to St. Scholastica’s Academy. Organized by the multi-awarded school for basketball and volleyball, BEST Center, sponsored by Milo, and supported by Chris Sports and Rain or Shine, SBP-Passerelle emphasizes the importance of fair play not just among players but also among coaches and parents. BEST center does not only aim to build future basketball champions, but also helps athletes develop values and discipline and team work and sportsmanship.

The last to host its regional finals is the Visayas, to be held in Roxas City on November 19-20, 2016. Other representatives for each region are La Salle Greenhills for SBP and Adamson University for Passerelle from NCR; and Xavier University for SBP and Holy Child of Davao for Passerelle from Mindanao, 

Winners for each regional finals will battle it out on the national championship to be held in Bacolod City.

Now on its 31st year, SBP-Passarelle is the longest running and most prestigious interschool basketball competition for children where students ages 9-11 compete in the SBP tournament, while students ages 12-14 compete in the Passarelle tournament. 

For more information about BEST Center’s classes and tournaments,

call the hotlines 411-6260, 3723066 and 372-3065,

email bestcentersports@gmail.com or follow its official Facebook page .