This Year of the Dragon has been a celebration of girl power onscreen: of the rise of the “Mother of Dragons” in Game of Thrones; of a sheepish teen emerging victorious in The Hunger Games; and of course, who can forget that “damaged” computer hacker that ironically solved a crime, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?
Off-screen, Filipinas also receive kudos for their dragon heart. The following women are just some of those who inspire with their confidence and like dragons, with fire in their bellies.

Roxanne Ang Farillas
and Liz Uy
“I don’t think I’m a style icon, but I’m embracing it,” enthused celebrity stylist Liz Uy, the new face at the Guadalupe billboard of Plains & Prints, a proudly Filipino clothing brand owned by another empowered woman, Roxanne Ang Farillas.
Plains & Prints is Liz’s first endorsement ever and she said she accepted the stint since she has been wearing the brand since 2006. “I grew with the brand. I know its quality and I trust its style. I love it because it has everything I need: little black dresses, jeans, pretty dresses, almost everything I wear,” she told this writer.
The former Preview fashion editor known for her romantic links to President Benigno Aquino III and actor John Lloyd Cruz is Plains & Prints’ first choice for the campaign, said Farillas. According to her, the label has had no official ambassadors in four years, so she believes Liz fittingly fills that gap.
“Liz is a ‘thinking’ woman…By this, I mean that she is a woman of style and substance, and she understands the value of hard work and determination — very much the characteristics that Plains & Prints champions. She puts thought and effort into everything she does, and she does it very well. As a result, she exudes confidence and glamour that is tempered by approachability, making her someone every working woman can relate to,” Farillas explained in a statement.
“But at the end of the day, what matters more is good quality that meets the standards of our customers,” she told this author.
Besides gracing the brand’s openings and launches, Liz will model the brand’s latest collection, Peacock, designed through an ongoing collaboration with designer Rhett Eala. The collection follows an African theme in prints and colors, Farillas said.
Among Liz’s favorites from the collection, she said, are a printed blazer and a chiffon top because these give her instant sophistication.
“Know your body well” — that is her “ultimate” styling tip for those who want to master the art of style just like her.

Cheerleaders Iya Acuña and Anya Ong
Two young women have risen to the challenge and showed that they have what it takes to be the stars of Rexona’s first online YouTube series. Former cheerleaders Iya Acuña, 21, and Anya Ong, 22, were chosen as Rexona Confidence Women. As winners, the pair will not only get a chance to bring home a total of P500,000. They will also get to experience an adventure of a lifetime.
According to Rexona brand manager Anne Remulla, the two outshone almost a hundred other pairs of women who joined and submitted their video entries. These women have the highest viewed videos among the top five, she said, because they embody the Rexona Confidence Woman.

“Confidence can take you places,” she said. “A Rexona Confidence Woman is someone who is a go-getter, determined, and believes that she can and can do more. She does not ask herself ‘Why?’ but ‘Why not?’ She embraces everyday’s challenges with confidence.”
The deodorant brand launched the contest, she said, because they aim to inspire young women to live life out of the box and step out of the shadows.
As Rexona Confidence Women, Iya and Anya will embark on a 30-day Confidence Challenge that will put their confidence level to the test. Videos of this one-of-a-kind adventure, which will run from July 2 to Aug. 1, 2012, will be uploaded daily to the Rexona YouTube channel for everyone to see.
“We hope they walk away with a new sense of accomplishment and a higher level of confidence. We hope they can touch and inspire other women to embrace all possibilities and enjoy life,” Remulla told the pair.
To follow the daily adventures of Iya and Anya, tune in to Rexona’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/rexonaphilippines. For more information about the Rexona Confidence Women, log on to www.facebook.com/rexonaphilippines.

Video jockey Bianca Roque
“Moisturizing, being healthy and properly groomed, and having a happy disposition is always in style,” professed Bianca Roque, celebrity VJ for music channel MYX and one of the country’s most sought after hosts.  
“I always make sure to have a positive attitude, to moisturize daily, take a lot of iron and other essential vitamins, file my nails when I’m idle and to go to the nail salon at least three times a month for a basic clean up and color retouch,” she said of her beauty regimen.
According to her, being successful in her work does not only depend on appearance. Her real beauty should also manifest in the way she carries herself on and off screen.
The nature of Bianca’s profession also demands attention on her overall look so for her, it is important to also take care of one’s hands, feet and nails especially that she works in a place where she interacts with people on a daily basis.  “In my line of work, appearance and self-confidence is essential, but what is also important is the proper care of my feet which takes me around, and my hands and nails which are always near the microphone, making them my most visible accessory. After all, healthy, fresh, soft hands and feet say a lot about a person,” she mused.
To make sure she is always confident about her feet and nails, Bianca uses nail, hand and foot implements from the German-made brand Titania. “I feel truly privileged to be chosen by Titania as their very first and only female brand ambassador,” Bianca shared. “It’s a great way for me to share my views about how we should not only value how we take care of our appearance but also the very essential parts of our body that we use, and even abuse the most daily — our hands, and feet.”
As a Titania user, particularly the newly-launched Soft Touch Line for women, Bianca attested to the benefits of using the products such as the foot files, the nail cutters, cuticle nipper, cuticle cutter and pusher, and the corn cutter.  
“All products are made of the finest materials from Germany. They are all sturdy, user-friendly and very stylish and my favorite would be the variety of foot files, which are very effective in reviving my tired feet, always keeping them soft and smooth especially since I go from one place to another wearing heels most of the time,” she remarked. “There are also days when it gets too busy that I’m not really left with any time to take that trip to the salon so having my Titania Soft Touch products handy is truly a blessing!”
According to her, Titania makes caring for one’s hands and feet easier.  “It’s not a given that the only way is to take a trip to the salon, which can be very costly on a regular basis. It’s actually a very simple process once you learn it, and this is where Titania makes the job much simpler,” she concluded.
For more information about Titania’s Soft Touch line and Bianca’s updates as its first and only female Philippine brand ambassodor, “like” Titania PH on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TitaniaPH) or follow @Titania_PH on Twitter.  Titania’s Soft Touch line is available in all leading department stores nationwide.

Amanda Griffin-Jacob
A former Channel [V] international VJ, F host, and model-turned-super-mom, Amanda Griffin-Jacob returns to the limelight as the host of her first solo show claimed to be the first of its kind on Philippine TV, Amanda, Loving Life. The show, a high-end, locally-produced lifestyle show purely dedicated to today’s young urban mother, can be seen on the Lifestyle Network every Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
“In this generation of accomplishment and instant gratification, most women wear multiple hats apart from motherhood. This show speaks to the growing need for today’s mother to be informed and aware that she can do it all and have it all too,” Amanda explained on the spirit behind the show.
After years of gracing television sets around Asia as well as countless ad campaigns and magazine covers, Amanda took a self-imposed sabbatical from the spotlight to focus on her most important and accomplished work to date: her family. In the last few years, she has been based in Hong Kong with husband David Jacob and two-year-old son, Kieran.
Besides motherhood advice, the show offers Amanda’s insights as an entrepreneur. Glam-O-Mamas (www.glamomamas.com), an online resource guide site for young, newbie mothers, was also borne out of her many passions.
“Nowadays, both motherhood and womanhood are equally fulltime jobs. Given today’s fast-paced lifestyle, everybody needs positivity. The show is all about finding one’s purpose and simple joys as it will touch also on various interesting topics of wellness and health, motherhood, fashion and lifestyle, and anything and everything that makes life more joyous, substantial and fulfilling,” she assured.