Natural is beautiful

There was palpable excitement among its guests when Yves Rocher, creator of botanical beauty and one of the biggest skin care and cosmetic brands in France, opened its fifth branch in the Philippines at the TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.

The cosmetic company, in celebration of its first anniversary in the Philippines, treated members of the beauty blogging community and print media to a one-day shopping spree to discover the power of plants for all skin care needs.   

Yves Rocher grows its own plants in its organic fields in the village of La Gacilly, France and continues to research new plant benefits used in most of its products. Each year, it develops close to 30 new botanical active ingredients and uses 1,100 species of plants to provide the best solutions that cater to oily, dull, sensitive or dehydrated skin.

The company uses natural plant properties in its line that includes moisturizers, whitening and anti-aging products.

(Visit Yves Rocher stores in TriNoma Mall, SM Southmall,

The Block SM North EDSA, SM Fairview and Ayala Center Cebu. Check out www.yves-rocher.com for more information.)

Celebrating a prized legacy

The country’s largest foreign bank recently launched the Citi Alumni Network at the “Once Citi, Always Citi” event.

Hosted by Citi country officer for the Philippines Sanjiv Vohra, the affair brought together a group of Citi alumni who shared the bank’s pride in turning 200 years old.

Vohra thanked the guests for their part in Citi’s 200-year legacy of success, and for continuing to support the bank even when they have moved on to different careers. 

The Citi Alumni Network was launched globally to connect thousands of the bank’s former employees across the globe. The network (www.citialumninetwork.com) is a global electronic platform for alumni to reconnect with their former colleagues. In the Philippines, more than 200 members have already signed up online. 

In celebration of Citi’s 200th year, a P200,000-check donation was made to the Citi Alumni Network’s fund, which helps ex-Citi colleagues in need of medical assistance.

Citi started in 1812 as a trade finance bank, enabling commerce between New York and Liverpool. It was the first major American bank to expand abroad. Today, Citi has operations in 101 countries and conducts business in 160 nations.

In the Philippines, Citi is the largest foreign bank in terms of customers, assets and revenues. It also consistently ranks among the top five commercial banks in terms of profitability, and top 10 in terms of assets, deposits and loans.