LifestyleBucket is a verdict-first review site run by Rey Belen, a Filipino digital marketing strategist based in the Philippines. It covers three buckets — Places, Gear and Eats — and every review ends in one of three calls: Worth It, Depends, or Skip It. Ratings are out of 10 and deliberately not generous.
Most of what appears here is paid for out of my own pocket, anonymously where I can manage it. Brands, tourism boards and agencies are welcome to get in touch — on the terms below, which are the same for everyone.
Three ways in
Put it up for review
A stay, a restaurant, an experience, or gear I would actually carry. If it fits one of the three buckets, I may test it hosted, gifted or on loan.
- No guaranteed coverage, and no guaranteed verdict.
- The arrangement is stated above the article, not in the footer.
- A Skip It is a possible outcome, and it stays up.
Send news
Press releases are read, and some become Briefs: short, attributed news with the adjectives removed. A Brief is never a review, carries no rating, and never tells a reader to book or buy.
- Lead with what changed, when, and what it costs.
- Awards, appointments, rebrands and anniversaries don't run.
- If you are a client or advertiser, the Brief says so above the article.
Paid partnerships
Sponsored features and commissioned content are possible where the fit is real. They are labelled as paid at the top of the page, every time.
- Payment buys the work, not the opinion in it.
- A verdict is not for sale.
- Affiliate and partnership disclosures are kept separate.
The terms, in full
- No brand sees a review before it is published, and none will. That includes a quick look for accuracy.
- I decide every verdict and every publication. No brand, agency or advertiser has approval rights over any content, at any stage.
- Hosted, gifted, loaned, comped and press-trip arrangements are disclosed above the article.
- Reviews use my own photographs, including the unflattering ones. Supplied or press-kit images do not appear inside a review.
- Prices and perishable details carry the date they were true. A later re-visit is logged as a dated update — a verdict can change, but it is never quietly edited.
- A Skip It is not taken down, reworded or unpublished on request.
What I won't work with
At any price: gambling and betting · tobacco, e-cigarettes and vaping · cannabis and controlled substances · alcohol as the primary sponsored subject · adult content and dating platforms · get-rich-quick schemes and MLM · predatory lending and unregulated investment · political campaigns and partisan advocacy · anything illegal in the Philippines or in the destination featured.
What to include in a pitch
- The exact thing — property and room type, venue, product and model.
- Which route: review, news, or paid partnership.
- What is being offered — hosted, gifted, loaned (with return terms), or paid — and dates.
- Your relationship to the brand: in-house, agency, or PR on its behalf.
- Published prices, so a reader can check them.
How the site earns — affiliate links, advertising and partnerships — is set out on the Disclosures page.