Add to Cart: New Life and Style Resolutions

New year, new you—your life and style resolutions for 2023 aren't mutually exclusive, and they can start off with just finding that one new thing you've been meaning to add to your cart. To help us with this, we asked Lazada Philippines leaders about how they live out LazLook and LazBeauty in their day to day elevates their game in the workplace.

More than being the best resource for the hottest new products to hit the market today, we love the company culture in Lazada that rings true with the promise of the new year.

“In Lazada, we are constantly encouraged to make bold inquiries, to take bolder actions,” explains Pauline Castro, Head of Traffic of Lazada Philippines. “We have a bias for action and results. And the way we are able to sustain this culture in our team is to have a good balance of challenging and nurturing. Whether upwards, downwards, across, I encourage the team to openly challenge others on what can be done better, but at the same time, offer their own part to support and enable,” she says.

Maan del Carmen, Lazada Philippines’ Head of Partnerships, echoes this and shares that it’s all about the people. “Lazada’s best asset would be its people. I have met a lot of brilliant minds in this company, regardless of age, and it motivates me to see all the passion inside the organization,” she says.

Pauline Castro, Head of Traffic

As Head of Traffic, her task is to ensure organic user growth, conversion, and retention by continuously optimizing the browsing and buying experience across the app's traffic channels—Homepage, Search, Recommendations, Campaigns, and Live Shopping.

She's kicking off the year with a great new mantra: "Make each day count." It was inspired by a line she loved from one of her favorite series, This is Us, which reminded her that "It's never too late to turn a day around."

"I want to start every day with that good mindset. I find it matters for me since in my line of work, we optimize things in real-time, and your big bets might not turn out the way you want them. Some days start good, some days start bad, but we can control how each day ends," she says.

Angel Ramiro-Cairols, Chief Operating Officer

Lazada’s new Chief Operating Officer, Angel Ramiro, might just be new in his role as COO, but his path has always been growing the Lazada business, from being head of strategy and planning of Marketplace, to Senior Vice President of LazMall, to Chief Business Officer of Lazada Philippines. He oversees business operations and strategies and looks out for the overall performance and growth of the different aspects of the business.

He is proud of what the group has achieved in the past year, and is looking forward to the new year with greater hope, confidence, and courage.

Maan del Carmen, Head of Partnerships

As Strategic Partnerships head for Lazada Philippines, her job is to build relationships with brands and jumpstart mutually beneficial collaborations that can help grow and support each other’s business objectives.

What she loves about her job is the ideation part, where she gets to be creative in finding solutions and building new synergies. “Creativity in this role has no limits and I get to play around with partnership ideas with all types of brand categories in the industry,” she says.

This year, her resolution is about finding stability. “The year 2023 for me is all about consistency and stability—with the way I manage work, make time for myself, and being active. I really want to find that stability between Lazada life, family life, and personal life,” she says.

Best New You Glamming Up Tips

We asked these three Lazada leaders for their hacks in glamming up for an event or special occasion, and here are some of their answers.

Pauline prepares for big events by shopping. She would often have things in her cart already and just decide to go back to them when she has a good reason, like an event she has to glam up for.

“I have fun picking out the right material or texture, color, or print, that will fit the scene and my mood. And well, obsess with a nice or playful pairing of accessories,” she adds.

She keeps it fun and adds it to her trademark look of white: “I collect white pieces. But I’m also mindful to rotate my go-to pieces every so often, since the environment we have is creative and constantly changing, so it helps me keep that rhythm."

On the other hand, Maan, says her trick is research: “First order of business is that I check the audience and the location of the event,” she says.

But she does have a secret weapon, a power business look for work events. “Modern blazer, neutral-colored heels, a clean hairstyle, and elegant accessories are my go-to.”

She mixes this up with her signature style, which is classy and fun. “I like colors that pop and I go for lighter shades to go with my morena complexion.

Meanwhile, Angel often finds himself in between meetings, so the key really is versatility, you want something you can dress up or down, like a crisp white shirt and dress pants. Then you can play around with key pieces like sneakers for a work day and tassel loafers for a night out or board room meeting, and cap it with a sport jacket with patch pockets.

You can just easily keep the loafers and blazer in your car or office when you need to change up quickly.

To take a page from their style resolutions, here are Metro's top picks:

Dyson Airwrap

For a one-time investment, we recommend every girl out there to invest in a Dyson Airwrap. You get the result you want for your hair in a shorter time, with less effort, and almost zero skill needed.

Estee Lauder skincare

“In terms of everyday things, a good skin care regimen is basic. Use Estee Lauder’s Micro Essence and Advanced Night Repair serum.

New fashion brands

Some basics and nice dresses can be found at Cider for beautiful pieces, Finetoo for seamless, comfortable, and basic garments.

Plain Shirt

This versatile piece from Huilishi.PH can take you from daytime to nighttime.

Huawei Watch Fit New Smart Watch

It comes with 24-hour heart rate monitoring and all-day Sp02 monitoring as well.

Start the new year right with Metro’s Best New You recommendations!