TOPAZ HORIZON

April has been particularly insane. It's the anniversary issue of the magazine I edit. It's also been the royal wedding month so I've been appearing on several TV shows regularly.

Fully made up and still pale

Like Catherine, the new Duchess of Cambridge, I did my own makeup. Unlike Catherine, I didn't look as fabulous on screen! I honestly don't know how to do makeup for the camera. I'm always still very pale and my dark circles always still show up.

I need to learn to cake it on, contour my cheeks and nose, make my eyes stand out (on video, my eyes look very small), and I really should wear lipstick.

At TV5's morning show, the makeup artist dragged me to his chair even though I said I looked fine. He said I looked awful. "Ate, mag-pink lipstick ka," he demanded while he applied this alarming shocking pink on my lips. "Tanda mo tingnan sa beige at sa red. Promise." I so did not believe him. But on TV, the shocking pink was a pretty rose pink! Wow.

So anyway. TV guestings, radio tours, and now a working weekend as we rush to finish the wedding special and run the May issue by tomorrow evening. Wish us luck, folks, because the entire magazine staff is about to collapse.

Then there were events I had to attend, dinners with friends (I promised that I will no longer neglect my friendships), blogger friends to meet, a new workout to try, Amper family issues to resolve (why do I never have Sales family problems?), and a garage sale to do (I earned P15,000! Hooray!) which I promised on my Twitter to never ever do again. Then my yaya and maid went on a five-day leave because of a family tragedy. I honestly have no idea how I'm still standing up!

We were all so excited for Vito's first plane ride!

Of course, April was also a happy month--it was my wedding anniversary! Vince and I had so much fun celebrating it. Then we went to the incredible Shangri-la Mactan, too. Soooo many photos, so no time to tell you about them all! As soon as things settle down, folks, I'll blogathon!

This is a working weekend for me at the entertainment magazine I work for because of the royal wedding. The entire staff is all busy looking through thousands of photos and researching all the details. It's very exciting and terrifying at the same time because we have to finish this issue in 2 days so that you can have it by next week. Fun fun fun!

I was squealing and gasping the entire time. So many thrilling moments! When William and Harry departed Clarence House, when the Queen showed up in sunny yellow, when all those gorgeous Philip Treacy hats paraded outside the Abbey, when I saw those trees in the Abbey, when Pippa showed up (I though for a moment she was Kate), when Kate finally appeared, when she met William at the altar, when I saw all those magnificent horses and the cavalry, etc etc. Of course I clapped most during the kisses at Buckingham Palace! Love it love it love it!


Anyway, I think I'm one of the very few underwhelmed with Catherine's dress. Underwhelmed and disappointed. It's a lovely dress and she looked absolutely amazing in it but... it's not the Alexander McQueen the fashion world remembers.

I'm not dissing it, okay? Like I said, it's a gorgeous dress--simple, elegant, lovely. But those are adjectives you don't really use to describe a McQueen. McQueen is--rather, was--the rock star of the fashion world. He's known for his bold, out-of-this-world, outrageous, sexy, controversial, shocking, theatrical, lavish, rebellious, fantastical, edgy, avant-garde designs.

I honestly could not imagine classic, elegant, sophisticated Kate wearing a McQueen! Just look at his designs as worn by the Great Cate Blanchett:




When I heard the rumors that Sarah Burton for Alexender McQueen might be the lucky designer, I got so excited. William and Kate are known to be a modern couple but even I didn't expect they'd be that modern. Here's the bridal dresses from his last collection:




I was sooo excited to see if Catherine will actually be able to pull off a McQueen! Well, turns out Sarah Burton designed a very Kate Middleton dress for the new duchess. Compare her wedding gown with those dresses up there. Not even close. There's nothing McQueen about Catherine's dress at all.

When I saw Catherine in her gown, I said, "Oh, it's gorgeous! She looks lovely!" And then I got sad because that beautiful gown just emphasized the fact that a true design genius is dead and gone.

However, I figured that Catherine chose the design house of McQueen because he was one of the most celebrated British designers of all time. But if she had actually worn something outrageous, well, that just wouldn't get the approval of two billion people who want their princesses to wear fairy-tale gowns, not cutting-edge fashion!

So great choice, Catherine! You wore something very British and were able to marry tradition with modernity. You've proven to be a master at compromise. So very you and William!

* * * * * * *
See what other designers have to say:
Top designers Lagerfeld, Givenchy and Lacroix give their verdict
San Francisco's top wedding designers weigh in

And what Preview editor-in-chief Pauline Juan has to say:

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

For the official wedding photos (so breathtakingly beautiful! The one with the kids is my favorite!), click here.

Many of you were moved by the wedding sermon I wrote about last week. Now let me share with you another one. Nearly thirty years ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury told Prince William and Lady Diana and the 750 million people around the world watching their wedding that marriage is not a fairy tale and yet married people truly can live happily ever after.

These are some of his beautiful truths:

Testing testing! I hope this works! Text and photo. As you can see (if the photo shows up, that is), I'm not ready yet! But I can't resist showing you my boy, who was puzzled then amused by my hair contraptions!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hello everyone! How was your holiday?

I've had a lovely two weeks. Went with my Sales family to the truly incredible Shangri-la Mactan for the very first time (thanks, Mom and Dad!), happy with how things are going at work since a huge problem is finally going away (hooray!), had an amazing anniversary week with Vince, met the coolest mommy bloggers ever over milkshakes and mocktails, gave my Topaz Mommy blog a fab makeover, and really enjoyed the Holy Week cocooned at home with just my boys.

Plus, I've been winning auction after auction on eBay! I now have a cute new Marni dress, a whimsical Gucci bag, a sheet of Peter Rabbit stamps and a bottle of my Lanvin perfume (the one on eBay is about P2,000 cheaper than the ones sold at the mall!). I'm sooo happy! I still have my eye on four designer dresses. Bidding ends on Wednesday. This is sooo exciting! I hope I win them all!

*family photo from my sister-in-law Lizelle =)

Here's my son Vito, happily toothily smiling for the camera (click pic to enlarge). He's super cute, isn't he? There's more and better photos of my darling boy in Topaz Mommy.

As for the outfit, I'm wearing a Bench tank, Kate Moss for Topshop wool pants, Cole Vintage flats, Sopia bib necklace and, for a pop of color, my Cambridge Satchel.

I've taken to wearing blacks, grays and beiges. It's rather boring. I don't know if this is a phase because I'm feeling insecure about my stubborn belly fat or because black hides baby spit and food stains or I've truly become boring. If it's permanent (heaven forbid!), I guess I should start buying bright accessories, like Furla's candy bags which I covet.

Hmm, which reminds me... On Twitter today, fellow mom bloggers Martine and Eliza and mompreneur Paola and I chatted about how women would sacrifice food, apply for endless payday loans, and go into credit card debt just to buy designer bags, specifically bags that go for obscene amounts. I said that if I had that much money to spend on frivolity, I'd rather buy jewelry. And I actually do. Jewelry appreciates in value (the price of gold hit a record high recently), is easy to pack and hide should you need to flee (must stop watching crime shows--I'm beginning to think like a crook!), and is easy to sell or barter. Bags? Imagine packing all of your Birkins and Pradas while fleeing the country. Jewelry is easy--just sweep into a bag (preferably the understated and roomy Mulberry Bayswater) and go.

However, I have nothing against buying designer bags. If we can afford them, why not? But I think there's something seriously wrong about getting into debt or sacrificing on essentials like food or the children's education or living in squalor just so you can tote a Goyard, a Birkin or a Chanel. Or the latest gadget. For example, I always get supremely irritated that certain relatives of mine have smart phones and game consoles and yet can't pay for their kids' tuition fees. Really.

Reflection. Literally!

I've been doing interviews left and right for TV magazine and lifestyle shows in preparation for the royal wedding next week.

I'm a lot familiar with the British royal family history and answered all the questions happily. But there were two questions that I stumbled over:
1. Is it true that Kate Middleton is the oldest royal bride ever?
2. Is it true Prince William split up with Kate many times over their eight years together?

I actually answered the first one with Kate, at 29, is old for a royal bride. Then when the interviewer joked, "Oh, so she's the oldest royal bride!" I laughed, "Yes, she's old!" But of course that sounded like "Yes, she is the oldest bride ever!" Kate is not the oldest bride. Remember that her mother-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, married Charles when she was approaching 60. Then there's Anne Boleyn (married at 32), Katherine Parr (31), and the oldest monarch that was also a bride, Queen Mary I (married at 38). Hehe, nerd alert!

For the second question... Well, that's a bit tricky. I read somewhere they broke up twice while other sources said they broke up just once. So I said they broke up twice. Now, after watching the engagement interview the couple granted ITC, I confirmed they really only broke up once. Oh well!

Here's what I wore:
But first! My TV makeup. I usually just use Myra tinted moisturizer for work but for TV, I use a massive dollop of La Mer liquid foundation, La Mer concealer, La Mer dusting powder, Nars blush, L'Oreal eye shadow palette and ModelCo eyebrow powder.

I want to point out my many baby hairs, by the way! After four months of post-partum shedding, my hair is finally growing back. My hair's still alarmingly thin, however, so I'm still on the lookout for the best hair loss treatment.
Then I ran to the neighborhood salon for a blow dry. But they were super full so I went to another salon, which gave me a really crappy blowout (see below).
And finally, here's what I wore: Forever 21 tank top, Zara blazer, Levi's Lady's Style jeans, Benjie Angeles hardware necklace, Cambridge Satchel and 6-inch color-block sandals from Urbanog.

I love my Cambridge Satchel!

On the very last day of March, I saw a Tweet on my Twitter feed. It was asking anyone who saw that Tweet to help Anika heal her broken heart. I clicked on the link and saw a beautiful little girl. She had adorable ringlets and a sweet, shy smile.

Anika also has Single Ventricle Defect. Our hearts have two ventricles--one pumps blood into our lungs, the other pumps blood to the rest of our body. Anika only has one ventricle. She has literally just half a heart, and it's beating extra hard to keep this little four-year-old girl alive. She needs two expensive surgeries to fix this rare heart problem.

When I found out about Anika, my own heart broke because, for one painful minute, it was Vito I saw lying in that hospital bed. If only I had billions and billions, Anika! Instead, I blogged about her and Tweeted and re-Tweeted. I wanted Anika to live! She was born the day before my wedding, a fairy-tale day, and I want her and her parents to live happily ever after.

Today I heard the bestest news ever! Put on your gowns, ladies, and tie your bow ties, gents, while we bring out the champagne because Anika's got the most amazing birthday gift. But I won't tell you here. Let Anika tell you herself!

Thank you to everybody who re-Tweeted and spread the word about Anika. Thank you to the generous souls who contributed to her surgery fund. Thank you to everybody who stormed the gates of heaven. But we're just halfway there! Please keep spreading Anika's story and praying for her complete cure. God bless you!

It's the eve of our fourth wedding anniversary and Vince and I found ourselves talking about how we ended up having the wedding of not our dreams. If you know us at all, we're not the sort of people who dreamed of white gowns and designer bridesmaid dresses, tearful speeches and towering cake, first dances and gorgeous photo shoots, and all the extravaganza that weddings entail.

William and Kate, er, excuse me, Catherine, are getting married in a little over 2 weeks and if you want to know their love story, there are a ton of books and magazine articles (such as the December, January, February, March and April issues of OK! Philippines! Grab your copy now!) out there detailing it. Or you can just watch this:

I can't believe they couldn't find actors who looked like William and Catherine. Seriously. And that part where Kate storms out when she sees William hugging another girl and the scene where she and William have a near shouting match out in the halls of St. Andrews for all the school to see? Sounds very improbable. Still! I'd drop everything to watch this!