Showcasing Hard Work and Brilliance: The Brilliant Awards 2023

Just got off the Brilliant Awards 2023, The Brightest of All Time. Brilliant Skin Inc. holds events like these annually to honor the regional leaders, franchisees, distributors of their cosmetic products in the country. Clad in their most gorgeous white and pink shimmering outfits, they were all welcomed at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Pasay City by Brilliant Skin CEO Glenda Dela Cruz.

Ms. Glenda says "This night is all for you, I know there are a lot of people who came from the Cordilleras, Region 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Bangsamoro and NCR. You are the ones who are really brilliant."

She adds "We have been able to weather through the challenges of 2023. We had fears, uncertainty, and I thought everything would be gone. I learned to be grateful, and to tell you honestly, I'm a better version now. My life is an open book now, I let go of people that I loved and accepted it even though it was difficult. We made waves when we started our Pinakamakinang events in Araneta, and now we are in Malaysia with our TikTok shop, and with our online platform in countries like Dubai (UAE), Malaysia, and soon in Singapore. We did this because of you. We continue to work hard, and I hope this goes the same with all of you. This proves that no matter what they say, you stand behind me all the way. I won't be wasting your trust. I thank God for saving me so many times, and he has done so much for me."

 

After personally thanking the "Brilliants", a term she coined for those who support her, she began showing her gratitude with the tons of celebrity performers she prepared for them. With the likes of Mariel Padilla and Luis Manzano as their hosts, model and actor Daniel Matsunaga, song and dance numbers from international stars 4th Impact and talk of the town Andrea Brillantes, everyone was just so glad to be in the midst of their endorsers who went there to just perform for them. Add to that singers JK Labajo, Kyle Echarri, Jason Dy, good looking actor Paulo Avelino, our golden boy Alden Richards, rock phenom Kean Cipriano and KZ Tandingan brought the house down as each of the winners were announced on stage. It was really nice to see how the crowd reacted when people from their own region was called, and how proud they really are.

Ms. Glenda was so thankful that despite her recent health challenges, they were all able to gather in one place so she could personally spend time with them, to take photos, talk and thank them for the hard work they put in for Brilliant Skin.

Here's some scenes we caught on video that evening!

@kumagcow 4th IMPACT at the BRILLIANT AWARDS 2023 doing Crazy In Love by BEYONCE @official4thimpact #tiktoktainment #music #4thimpact ♬ Here We Go - 4th Impact

@kumagcow ANDREA BRILLANTES at the BRILLIANT AWARDS 2023 #andreabrillantes #brilliantskinessentials #music #tiktoktainment #brilliantawards2023 ♬ Happy to Be Me - Andrea Brillantes

Congratulations to the men and women who received awards and those who also won the generous raffle that was done for them that evening. You deserve the accolades and incentives you got from Brilliant Skin Inc. and I hope you start to do start paying it forward just like what Ms. Glenda is doing for you!

Be My Lady On its Last Week!

Having been able to watch the show quite consistently for 10 months get me a little excited about how this happy story ends. Loving Erich Gonzales is not a chore, but more of a joy to do because I'm telling you, among the stars that ABSCBN has on their roster, she's the most down to earth. I couldn't say that to other stars I know personally. 

Anyway, I'm also excited about what will happen with Phil and Pinang's story now that their wedding is already happening. This chemistry between Erich and Daniel is just undeniable and even after being tried a couple of times by other networks, they remain on top because of good reason, they remained to be that feel good family-concentric program they started with in the beginning. Erich quirps "I'm grateful and blessed to be part of a show that brings families together and that exactly is why we're trying to do even better to tell the story of the Crisostomos even at trying times."

Here's the EXCLUSIVE video they showed us during the event. This is the Finale trailer. Bring tissues if you're about to cry!

The series will also be shown in Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Africa in 2017 and it'll surely touch more lives in the coming months. We hope they'll get positive feedback from those regions too. This finale week will still get viewers hooked as some anticipated trials will still haunt the newly weds. Will this make them? Or break them? Make sure you watch Be My Lady on their finale week 11:30AM right before SHOWTIME and afternoon primetime shows 

Here's some snippets of the FUN press conference held earlier. Hope you like this!



Still love you Erich!

KUMAGCOW

Fresh Blogs Fast!

Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga for "Be My Lady"

I've been waiting for this show to actually materialize as I've been hearing about it early last year. Word of it being filmed surfaced around the third quarter of last year which included Erich also being in a small accident (oh yes that got me worried!). My favorite Kapamilya actress didn't have a lead role since Two Wives (which I religiously watched btw) and had just done few support roles for the LizQuen starrer Forevermore.

We we're invited a few days ago to the Grand Presscon of her new one called "Be My Lady" which she stars with real life boyfriend Daniel Matsunaga. It's the first offered show from ABSCBN this 2016 and it couldn't come at a better time since it's almost valentines day. That to me just spelled romance, light drama which this series is all about. They also mentioned love in unexpected places, interracial relationships which they say is going to really be something that OFW's and your relatives living elsewhere would be able to relate to. 

We got them on video, this was during the press conference at the 14th Floor of ABSCBN's ELJ Building:

Singing the theme "Be My Lady" was Jason Dy which the producers say was a fresher, younger take on the song.

Matteo, IC, Bernard and Kuya Kim for SRR XV - Flight666

As part of our Shake Rattle and Roll XV Flight 666 series, we're going to continue the interview we had with the other stars. This time we're going to talk a little more about the plot and the men in this film. Meet IC Mendoza, Kuya Kim Atienza, Bernard Palanca and Matteo Guidicelli.

IC Mendoza, Bernard Palanca, Kuya Kim Atienza and Matteo Guidicelli

Kuya Kim starts by telling us that this flight will have some tragedies, because only a few of them will live. Aside from that, you have the trouble of fighting the hijacker played by Bernanrd Palanca, a bomb inside the plane and some creatures that you'll have to see in the movie. Matteo, IC and Bernard did their own stunts too.

Kim Atienza says "I don't really do movies but I got a call from Roselle and she said if I wanted to appear in a movie. I said if ever I want to do something in a movie I wanted something different. I've always played "Kuya Kim", so when I got to the story conference, this time they gave me the role of "Kuya Tim" the trivia master. Still wearing the khaki shorts, shirt and hat. I'm happy because Kuya Tim will be important in this film because of his knowledge of trivia, he will be sort of a hero and would be able to land the plane. I'm the one who saves most of them."

Bernard Palanca plays the role of Baron. As you may know, this was supposed to be played by Baron Geisler. "It's a blessing, there's going to be some hijacking and I'm doing it. He's not an evil guy but he's just a guy who used to work for the airline. He got fired, wanted revenge. so he tried to get in control of the plane. He didn't know there was something else out there. You guys have to see the film because his character is colorful." says Bernard.

IC Mendoza is going to be very fun in this one. He's playing a gay guy so we're laughing profusely because he just might be getting typecasted for the role. He says "I play the role of Adam, he's gay so it's very challenging, I hope I get to do it well. We just got bumped off the other flight and I'm good friends with Kiray's character. We're stalking a 2 piece band played by Khalil and Yael Yuzon. I was already in that point where I'm getting irritated with Kiray because she's still pushing we follow them even if we have already been bumped off other flights. It's an uglier plane and we waited for hours and I found out there's a hijacker and other forces on this flight, plus a bomb, so imagine how frustrated I was playing a gay guy in this film" he jokes.

Matteo Guidicelli plays the role of Dave. He says "He's a doctor, he's a failure in his job especially giving birth, failure in his marriage too. Fortunately he ends up in a crashing plane with Lovi Poe. She's actually my ex wife. There will be a lot of things happening in this plane. The hijacking alone is a big issue with bad boy Bernard Palanca playing it. The creatures will come out and surprise us. There's going to be more drama and other things happening because this is not just going to be a horror flick. There's going to be a bit of comedy. drama, especially with Bentong, Betong and Kiray. We'll be landing the plane too but a lot of people will die, some may live. So you must watch out for that. It's very nice to share a scene who has never done it before so Lovi is really good in sharing. There's a small love angle, we're ex's so that will come to play."

Some of them are SRR virgins. Bernard and Kuya Kim specifically. When they got the news, they were ecstatic. IC has already done 4 already. He's even won Best Child Actor in his first one. It was really a good thing to be also working with other people from other networks. Bernard says "I've worked with some of them but I haven't worked with Lovi. It was so nice because the chemistry was there. It's so light to work with Direk Perci because he explains it so well. The nice thing about it is we get to shoot inside a real plane. It's tight but it's so good there. We feel so lucky to be part of it."

The last episode in SRR is usually the grandest. They are taking that part. You'll see a ton of stars in a flick that will only run a good 30/45 minutes. It's a highly emotional film filled with terror, some with creatures, you'll be scared but still you'll be more scared because they are contained in a flight so you can't escape. If you want to see something like this in Metro Manila Film Festival, get ready because you're going to be in on something special.

Thank you to Regal Films for letting us get first dibs on this installment of Shake Rattle and Roll XV. Thank you also to these guys who are great interviewees! Wait for more of this film and their interviews right here on KUMAGCOW.COM!

For more information about the movie:

Regal Entertainment Inc

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Visit their official website

http://www.regalmultimedia.net/

Khalil, Yael, Kiray, Betong and Bentong for SRR XV - Flight666

We're going to continue our Shake Rattle and Roll XV Flight 666 series with these interviews. We got Khalil Ramos, Yael Yuzon, Kiray, Betong and Bentong on this article. This episode is part of the Shake Rattle and Roll XV they are making for the Metro Manil Film Festival that will be shown this Christmas. Let's start!

Khalil Ramos

Khalil says "It's really overwhelming to be part of this movie. Growing up, I remember watching this every Christmas and now I'm part of it so it's so nice. This is my second MMFF movie, one of two that I did in the past. I play Gino and I'm part of a two man band with Yael of Sponge Cola who plays Ely in the film. I'm the one who holds the phone and camera inside the plane so it's like a Blair witch type of view when you watch it. You're filming everything on the plane so this is different. I think I'm my own cameraman. It's a flight movie but with a Pinoy twist so I'm sure everyone will find it fun. I watched SRR in the past, I remember Richard Gomez, Manilyn Reynes, the recent one with Kathryn. It's a big franchise and I'm happy to be part of it. It's really really nice. 

Lovi Poe for Shake, Rattle and Roll XV - Flight666

The holidays are fast approaching and sure enough part of the celebrations would entail taking your kids to the cinemas because it's also the time where the Metro Manila Film Festival 2014 comes out with the best movies this side of the world. As they say, MMFF won't be complete unless there's a Shake, Rattle and Roll movie in it. This is their 15th installment and we were lucky to have been able to go to their shoot a couple of days ago in Pasay City. The episode named Flight666 stars a couple of people from different networks. The whole movie was shot entirely on a real life airplane, a first in the Philippines and it wasn't easy.

Now imagine a huge airplane, but still it's a cramped space to put in a film crew, a couple of stunt coordinators and scaffolding for holding the actors harness. Aside from that, there wasn't enough air conditioning on the center of the plane, plus they spent hours there just to get the shots. The business class section was their refuge since they had air conditioning + reclined seats there.

Lovi Poe

It's been a while since we've talked to Lovi. We asked her about her experience doing this film under Regal and she gave us a tell all. "It feels good to have been able to work with Direk Perci Intalan. It's my first time, I love it because we didn't have to do other locations and we're confined in this plane. It's kinda convenient, I got to also work with a lot of actors and we get along really well . I'm with Matteo Guidicelli, Bernard Palanca, John Lapus, Yael Yuzon, Arlene Mulach, Kiray, Nathalie Hart, Ryan Bang, Ria Garcia, IC Mendoza, Khalil Ramos, Daniel Matsunaga, Kim Atienza, Betong and Bentong and a lot of other stars. It's a good thing and I'm really happy to at least get to work with other people from other network, I get to meet new people. When they gave me the script, I took it already. That was a long time ago. Working with Matteo, he's cool and funny. There's a love angle between me and him plus we get along really well. There's no awkwardness, a little shy at first but we are all relaxed. It's not hard for me to work here because I find it less stressful. I'm happy I got to be here with a stellar cast.

The story here is mostly focused with my relationship with him since we're ex's. We have a lot of things in the story that would be interesting, the battle between creatures, the battle with the people I'm with in the airplane. You'll try and find which actually is harder or what you need to deal with. Karen's character would be shown in different angles at the same time, that's how Director Perci Intalan works. I find Kiray in this movie really funny, she's the life of the set, even if we're working in the wee hours of the morning we still get to smile. We've been doing this since I was doing "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real" so you can imagine how long we've been doing this. I didn't have that much stunts but it's cool that I get to do "Flight Stewardess" stuff. I got to do rescuing scenes since that's what they do. I love one scene in particular where almost all of us are here. The shot where the creatures would also come out is really good so I'm excited about it.

Lovi Poe also ventured into a new business, she's one of the owners of Cable Car in BGC. The place is doing good and she laments "We will have our grand opening soon, it's a good business venture and I love it. Before we would usually have to ask where we would hang out but now we just talk about time." She and buddy Rocco Nacino have been together for quite some time and these new things that they are trying out seem to be paying off. Rocco had been doing boxing promotions and she said "Yeah, he is and I love boxing. Although on this one, it's pretty hard seeing it live. Even if the Japanese guy was fighting, I was a little sad to see him getting beaten up like that live. It's different."

You know what, I love the fact that two of my favorite actors from GMA ended up together. I dig the things they share on Instagram too. I hope they would be able to do another project some day really soon. In the meantime, here she is inviting you to watch the movie!

Thank you for the short interview Lovi! Thank you also to Regal Films for letting us cover this shoot!

I'll be doing separate articles of the cast since they gave us a lot of material. Watch out for that real soon!

For more information about the movie:

Regal Entertainment Inc

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://www.regalmultimedia.net/

TOKYO TOKYO Fire and Ice

We were in BGC a few days ago to attend popular Japanese restaurant chain TokyoTokyo's Fire and Ice event. We were kind of kept in the dark of what it was all about but I had a pretty good hunch it was about new products in their store. I got my answer right after a few rounds of my favorite TokyoTokyo Red Iced Tea. Mmmm...

 

FIRE - an element that pronounces a man's courage and fervor. It's the perfect element to also signify hot melted cheese, oozing out on layers of soft meat covered in crispy bread crumbs and fried to perfection. This is their new CHEESE TONKATSU BENTO. 

Imagine your teeth sinking into finely shredded cabbage with roasted sesame dressing, tons of melted cheese with pork cutlet covered in crispy bread crumb batter and piping hot rice. Tell me, how can you go wrong with that?!

How cheesy is it?! Let's ask Paul!

You might not be able to hold it up with your chopsticks that long because the melted cheese just drips put of the meat. 

Then it was time for desserts!

ICE - made from the element of life, water. It signifies all things living and celebrates the sweetness of it.  shows better in the new TokyoTokyo dessert offerings!

This is their new SNOW ICE. It's roots come from the mother of all Asian desserts called Kakigori in Japan. It is said to be the forefather of the Philippines own HALO HALO or the Ice Kacang of Malaysia. They usually serve this at festivals to celebrate and induce luck and fortune. It's also available un three variants namely HaloHalo, Choco Sensation and the Mango Peach Medley. The halohalo is a modern take on the local dessert complete with ube, leche flan, nata de coco and crunchy corn flakes. Choco Sensation felt more of like brownie ala mode as it is composed of brownie chuncks, marshmallows, chocolate sauce and a cherry on top. My personal favorite the Mango Peach Medley resonates that fruity tropical flavors you'll love on a hot Sunday afternoon. All of these desserts lie on a bed of super finely shaved Vanilla ice that gives it just the right amount of sweetness. It's also perfect for sharing! 

Tokyo Tokyo also had Kaya F.C. and Daniel Matsunaga there that afternoon. Even the Japanese guys in the team were overjoyed that they tasted a lot of what they had back at home. If they approve it, Pinoys should definitely rush over to TokyoTokyo branches nationwide and get the same Fire and Ice love we had that afternoon. 

I'll definitely go back for the Cheese Tonkatsu Bento and the Snow Ice desserts soon!

Ciao!

KUMAGCOW

Men's Lifestyle Redefined!

For more information about their stores:

Tokyo Tokyo Philippines

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Visit their official website

https://www.facebook.com/tokyotokyophilippines