PLDT x Smart: Unlocking Amazing Digital Experiences!

The newly recognized Philippine's fastest fixed and mobile networks, the leading digital services provider PLDT Inc. and its mobile arm Smart Communications are guiding in the new wave of innovative products and services that aim to unlock shocking experiences for the Filipinos right at the comfort of their home and even on the go.

As they showcase their latest products in a powerhouse party last Nov. 6, 2018 at the Marque Events Place in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig with the themed "Unlock the Future. Graced by the executives, product endorsers, celebrities and partners.

P:DT has introduced the new PLDT Home Fibr Google Wifi Plans to established even stronger connection at home to put an end to dead spot at home. Customer can subscribe to Google Wifi Plan for Php3,799 which comes with an unlimited 50Mbps connection, three Google Wifi points, and free service assistance from the Home Geek Squad. The good news to the existing customers of PLDT Home Fibr can avail the Google Wifi units as an add-on for Php799 per month for three (3) sets.

For a more convenient entertainment experience at home, PLDT Home TVolution Lite Powered by Roku was unlocked for easily and effortlessly watch trending videos on YouTube, HD channels from Cignal, Top Hollywood, Asian, and local movies and TV series from iflix, Netflix and films, and hundreds of free live streaming channels on their TV.

Esports and Gaming experience for Filipino gamers will never be the same as it was powered by PLDT Home Fibr and Smart LTE as they committed to deliver the best gaming experience ever.

The success of their Free YouTube campaign, was doubled its daily active users on its network and drove over 13 times more data usage traffic from the customers, that is why the Smart has stepped up to unlock the total entertainment with Video Every Day. The new promo that comes with all Smart's GigaSurf data packages. It can provides up to 1 hour of video access daily for Youtube, iflix, iWant TV, Cignal Play and NBA League Pass. All you have to do is to subscribed or register to GigaSurf with Video Every Day by dialing *121# or via the mySmart app.

Aside from the services, Smart also announced game changing partnerships with popular smartphone manufacturers like Oppo, Samsung, and Starmobile to encourage more Filipinos to upgrade to LTE-capable handsets that comes with special discounts and giveaways. Smart also offer bigger digital experience with their latest flagship devices with data-packed GigaX Plans.

lastly, in the celebration of their 25th Anniversary, Smart announced its biggest anniversary e-raffle promo in the company's history which gives the custmers a chance to win data packages, MVP Reward Points, LTE smartphones every month and in the grand raffle on February 25, 2019 in which one lucky subscriber can win 25M pesos in cash!

To join, register to select data promos and add-ons. To learn more about the promo, visit their Facebook Page today!

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Non-stop Deals With Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day!

The leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, Shopee will kicks off its biggest annual regional shopping event, Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day. After the last year’s successful 9.9 event Shopee is upping the ante this year with a 11-day mega shopping event from 30 August to 9 September. With over 500,000 sellers, around 800 brands and more than 60 partners onboard, users can expect up to 99% off from the largest collection of deals and massive giveaways worth over ₱15 Million.

Starting 30 August, users can participate in a 11-day shopping marathon, featuring different back-to-back themed days every 24 hours in the lead up to the peak of Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day on 9 September. Users can also look forward to free shipping with lowered minimum spend every day during this period. Key highlights include Super Flash Sale Day on August 30 featuring flash deals as low as ₱99 happening nine times over the course of the day; and Super Vouchers Day on 3 September with a total of over ₱900,000 worth of vouchers to be redeemed.

On 5 September, Shopee will also be teaming up with hundreds of leading brands including giants P&G, Maybelline, Samsung, Colgate - Palmolive, Oppo, Asus, and more to launch the first-ever Super Brand Festival, comprising the largest collection of deals from major brands on Shopee Mall. Users will get first-hand access to thousands of products sold by their favourite brands across all product categories including Electronics, Mobile and Gadgets, and Health and Beauty.

Shopee Shake, the highly popular in-app game that has since clocked over 70 million plays by users across the region, is making a comeback, this time with a new group mode where users can invite others to play at the same time to earn bonus coins, and a supersized coins pool of over 9 million Shopee Coins up for grabs. On Super Shopee Shake Day and Super Shopping Day on 8 and 9 September respectively, users can play up to 18 times in 48 hours for a chance to win Shopee coins, vouchers and prizes.

In line with Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping day, Shopee will also be launching a nationwide Shopee Dance competition called Shopee Dance to Win with prizes including an Ace 50” TV and up to ₱100,000 in cash to be won. The dance is featured in Shopee’s second television commercial starring Shopee Philippines’ brand ambassador, Anne Curtis.

To qualify, users will need to post a video of themselves doing the Shopee Dance on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #ShopeeDancePH. The competition will run from 31 August till the end of Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Winners will be announced on Shopee’s social media pages on 9 September.

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Say Hello To Google Wi-Fi

Wow! There's another product from Google and so excited to learn more about it. I've done my research and found out that this thing mesh WiFi is the newest approach to home WiFi solution that can works with your modem and internet provider for you to enjoy the streaming, downloading and sharing your files without missing a beat. 

Okay, so what is Mesh WiFi or Network? Actually, a mesh network is a group of routers that communicates wirelessly to each other to create a single WiFi network that provides strong connectivity that can help you to have a multiple sources of powerful WiFi throughout your home instead of a single router.

The question is, how many WiFi points you will need?

For a smaller homes, you just need one and it can cover up to 85 square meters. For medium homes, you will need two and can cover 85 to 170 square meters and for larger home, three mesh is needed with up to 255 square meters coverage.

Amazing right? It helps your home internet connection to a more faster way and to get the full coverage. However, home materials and layouts can affect how WiFi signal travels.

What are the benefits?

- It has a built in smarts keep your network strong.
- It's simple from setup to control and beyond.
- It has a security that automatically update itself.

Aside from the benefits mentioned its has also a family friendly controls wherein you can schedula regular Wi-fi pause on your kids devices and you can block access to millions of explicit websites. The simple network control with Google Wifi App lets you monitor what's connected, set up a guest network, run a speed test and can quickly trouble shoot.

To know the basics and technical specs, as well as the requirements and how to set up the Google Wifi. 

Google Wifi is available for pre-order in the US at Google Store. Prize starts at $129 to $299. It is also available to in local retails like PLDT Home and even have a starter pack for Google WiFi Plan of Php3,799.

Photos from Google Store.

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LG Electronics Philippines Finally Unveiled the LG G7 ThinQ

The unveiling of the LG G7 ThinQ in the Philippines in its new flagship premium smartphone, at an exclusive launch recently event held at trendy bar and lounge Yes, Please. 

Combining exciting innovations, a sleek design, and stunning display and sound with LG’s intuitive ThinQ AI technology, the LG G7 ThinQ takes the smartphone experience to unprecedented heights. The LG G7 ThinQ comes with a Super Bright 6.1-inch display that, at 1000nit is brighter than any other mobile phone screen. This, along with the phone’s AI-powered operational and creative features, a Quad DAC feature that provides distortion-free sound, and a hardworking camera, offers consumers a better user experience all around.  

LG has always striven to provide products that makes the daily grind easier for its consumers. In the LG G7 ThinQ, this principle is reflected in the Hotkey, a button on the side of the phone that activates Google Assistant with one tap. Holding down the button will allow for instant conversations with Google Assistant, and will allow the user to search the internet, open applications and remotely use the phone on voice command (LG has worked with Google to come up 32 new Google Assistant commands). The LG G7 ThinQ also sports Super Far Field Voice Recognition, which allows it to hear commands for Google Assistant up to five meters away.

During the launch, LG invited gadget website Yugatech’s founder, Abe Olandres, to explain how the LG G7 ThinQ’s AI-powered features can provide beneficial advantages to everyday life. As Abe explained, the phone’s AI CAM helps deliver an unprecedented smartphone photography experience by recognizing an object and automatically adjusting settings according to what it sees. The phone also has 19 different color and contrast filters to help enhance results. All these features combined makes capturing professional-quality images a truly effortless experience for everyone. 

To fully display how the G7 ^ThinQ delivers the ultimate camera experience in a smartphone, LG commissioned a short video from up and coming director Mikhail Red, whose latest film Birdshot won the Asian Future Best Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and was the first Filipino full-feature film to be included in Netflix’s inventory. The video not only demonstrates Mikhael’s skill and dexterity as a director and photographer, but showcases how the LG G7 ^ThinQ’s camera delivers a higher range of details, more vivid colors and striking luminance when capturing both moving and still subjects. Mikhail’s video also demonstrated how the LG G7 ThinQ enables the Super Bright Camera feature in a low-light setting, resulting in clearer, more focused images, or how the camera supports depth-of-field Bokeh effects with a Super Wide Angle feature.

Superior sound is also another LG G7 ThinQ boast. The flagship smartphone has a Boombox Speaker that, as demonstrated in the launch, increases the base sound level by more than 6dB with twice the amount of bass. Translated in layman terms, the LG G7 ThinQ packs more than 10 times the loudness than that of a typical smartphone. 

“LG is pleased to introduce you to a smartphone that will take you beyond the limits of your imagination, and bring you closer to the things that matter in your life,” remarked Mr. Paul Jeon, LG Philippines’ VP for Mobile Communications. “The LG G7 ThinQ reflects a new era in smartphone design, the beginning of new AI-powered services and the gateway to a new way of thinking.” 

Mr. Paul Jeon (center), LG Philippines’ VP for Mobile Communications, with Yugatech founder  Abe Olandres (left), and film director Mr. Mikhail Red (right)

Yugatech founder Abe Olandres talks about the implications of AI technology in mobile use, and how it can help better our lives.

Up and coming film director Mikhael Red discusses the cool photo and video capture features of the LG G7 ThinQ

Tech media and bloggers learn the different features of the new LG G7 ^ThinQ from LG ambassadors.

LG gave away the new G7 ^ThinQ to the ultimate BTS fans. From left, Nico Gelle, Mobile Marketing Communications Manager of LG Philippines; Christina Zabat of ABS-CBN Lifestyle; Reyn Guergio of Manila Shaker; and Mayan Salapantan, Senior Manager for Corporate Marketing of LG Philippines 

The winners of the first and only LG G7 ThinQ Media Quiz night.

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PLDT and Smart to Offer Live and On-Demand NBA Games Through NBA League Pass Offerings

The National Basketball Association (NBA), PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), leading telecommunications and digital services providers, today announced a new multiyear partnership that will make available select offerings of NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service, to more than 62 million subscribers in the Philippines. 

PLDT and Smart are now making available select offerings of NBA League Pass to their subscribers, providing fans with access to live and on-demand NBA games online and via mobile devices. The NBA League Pass offerings include Day Pass (Php50), which enables users to watch live games for a 24-hour period.  The new offerings can be accessed online and through iOS and Android phones and tablets. 

PLDT Home will provide users the option to add the selected NBA League Pass offering into their monthly broadband subscription, while Smart Prepaid and Postpaid customers can purchase the Day Pass by texting NBA50 to 9999.  Additionally, PLDT’s broadband and Smart’s mobile subscribers will have access to NBA highlights, game recaps and daily top plays on the official websites of PLDT Home and Smart 360.

“Filipinos have an unparalleled love for basketball, which is why the game has been at the center of our advocacy for sports excellence all over the country,” said PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business Market Development Oscar A. Reyes, Jr. “Through our groundbreaking partnership with NBA, we look forward to empowering Filipinos with digital experiences that enrich their lifestyle whether at home or on-the-go – through our world-class partners and innovative platforms, powered by the country’s most extensive and robust fixed line and wireless networks.”

“We are excited to work with PLDT and Smart, two companies that share our passion for providing live NBA action and exciting content to our Filipino fans on the devices they use most,” said NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson.  “PLDT and Smart provide the ideal platform for us to broaden our reach in the Philippines and provide more channels to bring the NBA experience to our passionate fans across the country.”

NBA League Pass subscriptions offer fans in more than 200 countries access to a complete season of live NBA games.  Subscribers can watch regular-season games, NBA All-Star, NBA Playoffs, The Finals, as well as select preseason and NBA Summer League games live and in high-definition with live stats and multiple viewing options, including the NBA Mobile View, which delivers a closer shot of the action optimized for viewing on the smaller screens of tablets and phones.

Through the partnership, PLDT and Smart will also serve as official partners of NBA 3X Philippines presented by AXA, a 3-on-3 tournament featuring men’s and women’s teams and authentic NBA entertainment, showcasing their products and services at the event.

For more details on PLDT and Smart product offerings, visit www.pldthome.com andwww.smart.com.ph  and follow their official Facebook accounts atwww.facebook.com/PLDTHome and www.facebook.com/SmartCommunications.

For all things NBA, fans can visit www.nba.com and follow the league on Facebook and Twitter.

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OPPO F7 Breaks New Ground In Capturing True Beauty

OPPO, a global leader in smartphone photography, unveiled its latest flagship model OPPO F7 in a grand star-studded event graced by endorsers Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto.

Now available for Philippine smartphone users, the all-new, highly anticipated OPPO F7 brings forth a new standard to smartphone photography with a new 25MP front-facing camera, powered by a best-in-class A.I. Beauty Technology 2.0 for natural-looking selfies.

This selfie powerhouse is just the right mobile accessory in this grand launch event held at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom, which was also attended by OPPO social media influencers and selfie experts Robi Domingo and Janella Salvador.

The venue was dressed to reflect the cutting-edge technology that powers the OPPO F7, complete with thoughtful touches that allowed media guests to experience and enjoy the all-new features of the flagship smartphone. These include the experiential product display area and other zones catered to trendy interests such as art, photography, fashion, travel, music, and of course, selfies.

Industry-leading selfie features and more

Powered by industry-leading front camera with 25MP and the second generation of OPPO’s groundbreaking A.I. Beauty Technology, the F7 has the right tools to deliver unique beautification for the user, plus up to three other people in the frame. The new and improved A.I. Beauty Technology 2.0 targets 296 facial recognition spots for never-before-seen precision and customizes up to four faces regardless of gender. Capturing the real you with next-level, personalized beauty technology is fast and easy with this new selfie powerhouse.

Apart from the best-in-class selfie technology, the F7 also comes with a 6.23-inch Super Full Screen Display with 2280x1080 Full HD+ resolution for a crystal-clear, immersive viewing experience. It also is powered by 12nm Octa-Core processor with two dedicated A.I. cores and 4GB RAM that deliver hardware performance of up to 80% faster than its predecessor, and upgraded storage of 64GB with option to expand with a MicroSD card.

“The OPPO F7 definitely changes—and upgrades—the selfie game of users with its groundbreaking features,” said Eason de Guzman, OPPO Philippines Public Relations Manager. “With a best-in-class 25MP front-facing camera, improved performance for multi-tasking, and a sleek, stylish body, the F7 will surely be a hit among Filipino smartphone users and selfie enthusiasts.”

Capture the real you with JoshLia

Popular love team Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, known among their fans as ‘JoshLia,’ stand as the OPPO F7’s celebrity ambassadors and the brand’s spokespersons for its advocacy against online bashing. The on- and off-screen couple stars in OPPO F7’s latest TV commercial that encourages everyone to find and capture their real self for the world to see.

“This project with OPPO is so timely. We truly believe in the message of the campaign and we’re glad that OPPO has empowered us to the inspiring message of capturing and showing the real you with more people,” said Julia.

“Apart from the relevant message of the campaign, I’m also happy that OPPO chose us to be the endorsers of the F7, which is for me is the pinakamagandang model ng OPPO to date. All the features we want in a smartphone, they brought together in one unit,” Joshua added.

OPPO F7 Availability

As of April 19 at 6PM, the number of pre-orders has reached a total of 25,133 units. “We are pleased with how well the public is receiving the OPPO F7,” said de Guzman. “The number of pre-orders has surpassed our expectations and shows that the OPPO F7 is able to capture not just real beauty, but also the hearts of our fellow Filipino selfie enthusiasts.”

The new OPPO F7 retails for PhP 17,990.00 and is available in solar red and moonlight silver. The 128GB, 6GB RAM variant meantime retails for PhP 21,990.00 and is available in diamond black and solar red. All stocks will be available starting April 21, 2018. For those interested in purchasing the F7 under a service plan, OPPO’s partners include Home Credit at nine months with 0% Interest, Globe (Plan 1499), and Smart (Plan 1499).

For more information on the OPPO F7 and upcoming promos and roadshow events, like OPPO Philippines’ official Facebook page or follow @OPPOPhilippines on Twitter and Instagram.

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OPPO A71 2018 Raises the Bar in Entry-level Smartphone Experience

OPPO Philippines strengthens its entry-level smartphone offering with the new OPPO A71 2018, carrying a mid-range class processor and includes OPPO’s A.I. Beauty Technology for Php7,990. Equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor found in smartphones at the mid-range level, the A71 2018 elevates the standard of speed and battery efficiency in its price point.

Selfies will never be the same with the A.I. Beauty Technology infused in the 5MP front camera, for this allows more personalized selfie experience by analyzing the subject’s face in more than 220 facial points. Similar with the OPPO F5, the A71 2018 can also detect the skin tone, age and race for a natural looking selfie.

Along with a 13MP rear camera, capturing moments will be fun and easy with multiple modes such as time-lapse, panorama and even expert mode for ultra-HD 42MP shots. All these features are seen through the 5.2” HD display and compact shell body that is easy to hold and carry around.

In addition to value for money, the OPPO A71 2018 comes with a free pre- installed screen protector and transparent protection case. The smartphone also has all-around connectivity with dedicated dual-sim slot and microSD storage for expansion. This gesture is a standard in OPPO smartphones, ensuring that customer experience is on-top of mind in every aspect.

Running on Color OS 3.2 under Android 7.1.1, the A71 2018 runs smooth with premium features like O-Share to transfer files from other OPPO smartphones in lightning speeds. Plus, with its battery efficient processor, the 3,000mAh battery can last for more than 12 hours. 

“We keep on pushing the industry by coming up with the best smartphone in every price point. We believe the A71 2018’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor and A.I. Beauty Technology will elevate the smartphone experience in the entry-level arena,” said Eason de Guzman, Public Relations Manager of OPPO Philippines.

The OPPO A71 2018 will be available in all concept stores nationwide starting tomorrow. For more information, customers may visit  https://www.oppo.com/ph/. They can also follow OPPO on Facebook via https://www.facebook.com/OPPOPH/ to see the latest updates and events
from the brand.

Press Release

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What to Post on Instagram?

When you are in social media, the main challenge is to be consistent. Your post should be related  in some way to the business or your personal branding., It should have a purpose!

To be honest, I admit that I struggle with this on my own Instagram account. Being consistent is the KEY.

Most of you for sure have already a lot of ideas of what sort of image or content you should post. However, I'm here to give you some kind of a tips of what to post on Instagram.

1. Image with style.

Yes. You read it right! Instagram like Pinterest are more on Photos, so aside from the selfies that you posted. You can try new things like using grids, flat lay, etc. to represent your personal brand or products which that kind of composition.

2. A weekly series.

If you will notice, most of the brands nowadays are using the power of series like tele-drama and using the concept of throwbackthursday, motivationmonday, flashbackfriday, etc. on their feed to get more like and comments. Doing this will help you in making your concept or theme for a specific day.

3. Recommend Something.

Sharing a post, product review or simply an information you just heard or got from others can adds value to a post but allows your audience to discover more about you. Make sure that what you walk the talk.

4. Engage by shouting out.

Instagram like other social media site are created to have a network. That way it is best to use its one third of of its time in promoting a business while the two thirds should be more about sharing. How? By engaging with your followers or celebrating others. Let's say, you attended a webinar and learned something that you thought of sharing it to others because it may be valuable to them or perhaps posting about people who motivates and inspires you.

5. A call to action.

Sometimes we need to instruct our followers to give us a direct response. You can ask them a question, requesting them to visit a link, or have them their feedbacks. You can create also a contest or challenge that they can participate and by using a hashtags. Don't be shy to give them instructions to create a more engagement.

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Kumu The Filipino Super-App For Digital Bayanihan

I was super excited to attend the launching of the Public Beta version of Kumu (Thanks to Ms. Ian and Mai for the invitation).  For those who haven't know about it, KUMU is a messenger app and media platform built by and for the Filipino community! You can check it out and download it on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Kumu is the product of a labor of love and countless hours of work contributed by an extended team of over 60 leaders from the Philippines, the diaspora, and the global tech community.

The idea was just started six months ago, compare to Facebook, Viber and Instagram which been existing for years. The KUMU team is been proud of what they built and they invite you and all of us to join and help them build this from the ground up! This is what we can call our Digital Bayanihan.

What is this all about? Why do we need another messenger app? What exactly is Kumu?

1. A localized communication app for the Filipino people.

2. A media network for the next generation of Filipino creativity.

3. A digital economy of services that make life easier in the Philippines.

4. A movement to take back our internet and unlock the power of the Filipino community.

During the event the KUMU ambassador tell us their part in growing the community. They have different shows in the platform which makes the community more exciting. 

I even got sample stickers that they in the App. Check out below the designs that they have for now.

Kumu's vision is to harness the full promise of the internet and digital technology to unlock the power of the Filipino people. They think that the internet can build stronger communities rather than divide them, make life easier instead of distracting us from what matters. Digital media can inspire us and broaden our imaginations. Kumu hopes to be, more than any single thing, a vehicle to make these possibilities real.  They want to be a platform for the future of the Filipino community, a Filipino renaissance that is rising and gaining momentum.

Let us help this kind of community as we make our Digital Bayanihan. Invite your friends and families too to download the App and start using it. The good thing that I see with this App is that you don't need internet to send a message to someone, by using a Bluetooth, your message will be send instantly. However, this App is for Beta testing for now and I hope that in the next couple of months it will completely boom. 

Sharing below is the KUMU stories:

Kumu is now available on the Google Play and App Store. Learn more at our website: kumu.ph.

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SEO for Blogger at the Ready, Set, Blog 2.0

One more time, I was invited to an event where I have to share something with my blogger friends. This time its not about blogging or social media  but about the profession that I've been doing for almost a decade.

I have seen the participant's excitement when I enter the room. It was not too formal gathering so nothing to worry about. However, I was thinking of how can I explain to them in layman's term about the technicalities of they requested topic.

During the event, there are also a series of talks coming from other colleagues in the blogosphere. Blogging 101 and Digital Marketing was discussed by Larawan at Kape, Blogging as a Business is one, How to Elevate Your Blog from Wazzup Pilipinas and lot more.

There are also raffles and games. A picka-picka was serve and the day was full of a learning and fun activities.

I talk about SEO for bloggers and I am sharing you my slide here. Please check it out below.

Seo for bloggers from Marites "Zheyme" Manahan

Ready, Set, Blog 2.0 is a project of Annesheyday in partnership with SELAH GARDEN HOTEL. Ought to know more about blogging, digital marketing and SEO for bloggers!! Also know how to elevate your blog!!! Our utmost appreciation to Bravo Food Supplement for Men as our major sponsor. Our deepest gratitude to our sponsors:

#EstiaraPhilippines, #HydsCustomizedCakesandCatering, #MusicMuseumph,
#RomuloCafe, #Romulocafeph, #TheThinkingCapMarketing, #JramsCoffeeBistroPastries, #GangnamWingsph, #JingMonisSalon,#HopInnPhilippines, #SocialMediaIntelligenceandPublications, #TanduayAthletics,#Herbalifeph, #Allianz, #GaiusPensionInn, #BravoFoodSupplementforment, #OliveNailandBodySpa, #annesheyday, #readysetblog2018

I hope you like it! If you questions you can comment it below and I will try to answer it as soon as I can.

Photo grab from John Cueto and Leo, Thanks!

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