Strong, sweet, bold & tender

Over a hundred of Manila’s most debonair men attended the launch of Ferrari’s latest fragrance, Man in Red, at Revel at The Palace in Taguig City.

Ferrari’s newest fragrance is a bold and intense scent for the man who is always in pursuit of ardent experiences and lives life to the fullest. Man in Red has an intense and compelling scent: strong, bold, charismatic from the outset, revealing a heart of sweet and tender notes and a distinctive signature that stays etched in your memory.

The Man in Red bottle’s curves outline an indent in the glass, creating a contemporary object that has a double-lacquer finish in Rosso Corsa Red, a red invented and created by Ferrari for its cars. 

At the launch, a new Ferrari TV commercial was also revealed. To cap the night off, Brazilian DJ Luane featured her sultry beats followed by a special DJ set by car enthusiast Keith Haw.

(Ferarri Man in Red is exclusively distributed

in the Philippines by Scent and Beaute Concepts Inc. and is available in the fragrance section of select SM Department Stores and Fresh stores. Visit www.facebook.com/freshph, @Fresh.PH on Instagram and @FreshPH on Twitter.)

‘Kingly Treasures’

Leon Gallery ends the year with its “Kingly Treasures” auction. Exquisite pieces from the J. Antonio Araneta collection, which includes works of the early 20th-century masters Fabian de la Rosa, Vicente Rivera y Mir, Dominador Castañeda and Fernando Amorsolo will be highlighted.

Other masterpieces included in the auction are Jose Joya’s Blue Harbor from 1966 — a period most desired by critics because of its heavy impastos that have come to define Joya’s most important output; major works by Anita Magsaysay-Ho from 1964; Vicente Manansala’s Mother and Child from 1971; an extremely rare H. R. Ocampo from 1956; and early works of BenCab from his Mabini days.

Leon Gallery’s “Kingly Treasures” auction will also showcase furniture pieces formerly in the esteemed collection of Bebé Virata — a rare balayong altar table and a miniature Sheraton chest of drawers, as well as a kamagong cabinet from Candon.

Another highlight of the auction is Ronald Ventura’s In Memorial, an important work from his early period. It is Ventura’s take on Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and is the ultimate canon of proportions where Ventura’s prowess in anatomy is fully revealed. 

Also featured are works by Jigger Cruz and Joven Mansit. Blares of the Opposite by Cruz was an instant highlight of the Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Auction in 2013 while Trinidad by Mansit features a 19th-century lady in Maria Clara with the galleon Trinidad above her. The auction will also feature works by Geraldine Javier, plus works from the Dimasalang and Salingpusa schools.

 The auction is set tomorrow, Dec. 5, 2 p.m. at the Leon Gallery, Eurovilla 1, Rufino cor. Legazpi Sts., Legazpi Village, Makati City. Preview is only until today.

(For catalog access and more information,

visit www.leon-gallery.com.)

A night of art & philanthropy

To kick off the inaugural Asia Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit held in Manila, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Citi Philippines co-hosted a welcome dinner for the speakers and senior delegates at the Metropolitan Museum in Manila.

The Asia Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit gathered 500 business, government and community stakeholders to participate in interactive and in-depth discussions around a variety of financial inclusion topics. Over three days, delegates explored in greater detail how financial inclusion efforts in the region can be scaled up and made more accessible. The summit was mounted by Citi Foundation in partnership with Financial Times and the Foundation for Development Cooperation, with BSP as country host partner.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. was joined by Citi Asia Pacific chairman Shengman Zhang and Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed in entertaining the guests, who were all leaders in the region and in other parts of the globe, united in their cause to promote financial inclusion.

Ahmed gave the opening remarks and reiterated Citi Philippines as well as Citi Foundation’s commitment to financial inclusion in the Philippines and globally. Governor Tetangco thanked Citi and Citi Foundation for choosing the Philippines as the venue for the inaugural year of the forum, auspiciously timed following the signing of the national strategy for financial inclusion.

Guests dined surrounded by the artwork of National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera with the museum hosting a retrospective exhibit of the artist’s creative works. The Philippine-themed dinner was capped by a cultural dance performance by Citi Philippines employees and a musical recital by the BSP choir.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)