THE Ginger Patch(clock wise from top left), THE Lavender Garden, THE Olive Grove, THE Tea Infusion

FLUSHED with the scents of the English countryside, Bo Ramas-Ros took the inspired idea of replicating these in a range of bathing indulgences and ran with it. Naming it Brook & Ivy, her personal tribute to Winds of Windsor and Crabtree & Evelyn, among others, this newest and most refreshing line has shower gels, body buffs, body milks and skin scents.

Ten years of working at the Rustan’s cosmetics and fragrance department has equipped Ramas-Ros with the international training and vast exposure of the best brands in the world. “With this background, I am pretty confident I can do it,” she says of her business venture, which was conceptualized when she visited her son Giancarlo in the US.

“I wasn’t ready to retire and give up my passion for bath and body products,” she continues. “I tossed ideas with my son and he found stuff on the Internet which we could use for the products. He is now my conduit in Colorado, where our Happy Skin Company was established.

“I thought of a name that’s something cute and easy to remember. I wanted it to be somewhat British and having an old-world feel to it. I don’t claim that Brook & Ivy products are all natural all the way to an organic degree because chemicals are still there,” Ramas-Ros reveals. “Brook connotes water, while Ivy depicts herbs and olives representing nature. It’s as simple as that.”

The shower gel (P165/250ml) has the Swiss-developed Pentavin, which binds moisture like a magnet; the body buff (P195/250ml) has Dead Sea Salts from Israel which benefit the skin; the body milk (P195/250ml) has shea butter and aloe vera which are perfect for our tropical climate; and the skin scents (P225/120ml) have fragrance oils from France for which are longer-lasting.

Brook & Ivy comes in five cogender variants: Ginger Patch, Lavender Garden, Olive Grove, Tea Infusion and Vanilla Vine. “The formulations are gentle enough for babies. The line is affordable, of high quality and is refined,” Ramas-Ros assures.

Watch out for a Brook & Ivy Gazebo in a mall near you. The products are available at Shopwise Hypermarts, Rustan’s Supermarket, Crossings and The Landmark.

For inquiries: 426-0054, www.brookandivy.com.

Shiny, Shimmering At The Shang

FROM the regal to the rugged, Christmas looks—according to the upscale Shangri-La Plaza and its equally upscale boutiques and brands—as good as it gets. The high-end mall and the top-tier retailers under its wing recently presented their Holiday 2007 Collection in a runway show directed by Jackie Aquino and styled by Luis Espiritu. With hair and makeup by the Basement Salon, the dominant trend in dressing is one of shine, shimmer and embellishment.

Designers Put a Faux Face on Holiday Jewelry

NO room on the credit card for Chopard accessories? No matter. This holiday season, costume jewelry just might be the smartest gift.

In Charming ‘Enchanted,’ Once Upon a Time Is Right Now

EARLY in Enchanted, Disney’s good-natured attempt at some satiric jujitsu, divorce lawyer Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey) gives his six-year-old daughter a book about female heroes. When they come to Marie Curie, he extols her dedication to science and contributions to public health until admitting, lamely, that she wound up dying from radiation poisoning.

Bathing Indulgences

FLUSHED with the scents of the English countryside, Bo Ramas-Ros took the inspired idea of replicating these in a range of bathing indulgences and ran with it. Naming it Brook & Ivy, her personal tribute to Winds of Windsor and Crabtree & Evelyn, among others, this newest and most refreshing line has shower gels, body buffs, body milks and skin scents.

Gab Fab: Mad over Mars and Mojitos

IF God were a DJ….

DJ Mars Miranda of Embassy is far from a god. In fact, he is a normal twentysomething whose habits include searching the Internet for the latest rib-tickling videos on YouTube and checking out the latest shoe designs of Nike. His shoe collection can rival that of Imelda Marcos’s, except he doesn’t have a pair that lights up on the dance floor. But I’m quite sure he would want something similar should Nike ever come up with a pair.