TOPAZ HORIZON

Twelve years ago, Vince and I were engaged and happily preparing for—not our wedding—but our new home! Of course we were excited for the wedding but honestly, fixing up the house is tougher and better and just loads more thrilling. Our favorite thing to do back then was shopping at MC Home Depot, the one-stop shop for high quality construction materials and home furnishings. It was complete! That's where we chose many of the things that made our home so unique. For example, we bought our retro green bathroom tiles there and everyone who uses our bathroom always remarks on them. Great choice!


So when I found out that MC Home Depot has given birth to MY MC Home, I just had to go check it out! I was invited to the opening of the flagship store at the new MET Live mall in Pasay. Of course I had to go since I love going to home stores. I was even able to get some shots with the VIPs!

So I've been married a dozen years and you probably think we're done with the home decor stuff. Well, if there's anything anyone who owns a house knows, it's that fixing up a house never ends. The family gets bigger with kids then smaller when they move out, rooms change as everyone gets older and tastes change, furniture and bedsheets wear out.

I'm back! I was gone for 17 days. So many things happened in March. The best were (1) my kids ending the school year with really good grades and (2) my trip to Singapore for Samsung. The worst was my father almost dying.


He's still in the hospital now. The prognosis is not good—he needs surgery but his system is too weak. But if he doesn't get that surgery, he's going to die anyway. So do we have him go through surgery that will most likely kill him (fast death) or let him go home and die a slow death? Tough choice, both ending in certain death. We haven't decided on anything.

But that's not what I'm really agonizing about. While I was out doing errands, I bumped into a friend and she was going in for a hug but I whispered, "I feel like a bubble. If you touch me, I'm going to explode." She hugged me anyway and I cried. I guess she knew that hugs from a friend who understands can hold you together, and the pieces meld together for a while longer. She also knows my relationship with my father so she knew my tears weren't for him but for me and my children.

Our funds are absolutely depleted and dreams and plans for the year are now laid to waste—we are even wondering if we can enroll our kids next month. But I said I was going to be cheerful this year, right? So I'm not allowing myself to worry. What will be will be.

But pray for us, dear friends. Pray for God's abundant provision please. And pray for Vince and me. We're having a difficult time sacrificing our kids' future for someone who never lifted a finger to provide for his.

I know that sounds awful, but if you're the daughter of a man who refused to work and always demanded that his breadwinner wife buy him stuff first, never mind that she got into mountains of debt, and then he stole your inheritance when your poor mother died, you'd know I'm in a pretty tough situation. If you don't know my situation, then that's absolutely wonderful. You can be grateful you had a father who loved you so much, he worked hard to give you a good life because I seriously don't know what that feels like. I envy you.

Regardless of my sad history, we are giving till there's nothing left to give. After all, what I'll lose is just money. I'm not gaining a father since the doctors say he won't have long to live. And when I asked Papa if he'll be a better father and grandfather should he be given another chance at life, he said he won't. Well, at least he's honest.

I did gain one glorious thing: the chance to understand and forgive Papa. During the darkest hours of when we didn't know if Papa was going to make it through the night, I talked with him, asking him why he never provided for his 4 children. Actually, we are 5 kids. We found out we have a half-sister and I'm glad Mama's dead and gone before we knew! I'm happy I have an older sister, even though I feel sad for her because Papa wasn't there for her either and now that she just found him, she'll lose him.

Anyway, Papa told me why he didn't want to provide for his kids and his reason wasn't very good but I accepted it and forgave it because it was valid. It was also so sad because so many of us—Mama most of all—suffered so much. I'll tell you about it one day but under all the layers and excuses Papa gave, his reason was basically cowardice and you know how I feel about cowards.

Nevertheless, I asked Papa for his forgiveness, which he gave, and he acknowledged I wasn't the best daughter because he wasn't the best father. I'm happy we were able to forgive each other and perhaps create a new relationship. It's still a doomed one since it doesn't have a chance to flourish. Time is one factor and his refusal to be a better father is another. But I'm going to try to be a better daughter. Maybe in this situation, the redemption God is offering is to me, not to Papa.

As I was washing my face last weekend, I noticed my bathroom counter and shelves had a dominant color scheme. Black. It was all black.

Hehe! With pink. There was a lot of pink, too. Kaya na-inspire ako to share with you a few (yes, just 10 out of many haha) of my pink prettifiers. Look at them!


Okay, I need to improve my flat lay skills.

From left, clockwise:
1. Simple Mama Pure Beauté Facial Wash in Rose
2. Girlstuff nail polish in Pretty in Pink
3. Solique by Girlstuff gel nail polish in Just a Fantasy
4. NYX Angel Veil primer
5. L'Oréal Paris Voluminous Lash Paradise mascara
6. L'Oréal Paris Infallible Lip Liner in Rose
7. Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink in Lover
8. L'Oréal Paris Colour Riche Metal Addiction in Rose Champagne
9. Maybelline lipstick in Almond
10. In Her Element Petal Skin Toning Essence.

Let's start with the skin lovers...


Pure Beauté Facial Wash in Rose is a limited edition product so it's not available on the Simple Mama website. But I think if you send them a message, you can ask for them to make you one. I did and my request was granted. I was soooo happy, I cried! Why??? Okay, the start of summer 2018, I ran out of my usual trusted products so I started using the stuff in my blogger giveaway box. Big name products, too. My skin wasn't happy. I started breaking out again.

For Mother's Day, Simple Mama sent me their limited edition Rose Geranium line. By this time, I had stopped using anything on my face. But I still needed to wash my face, right, so I used this facial wash and only this facial wash for my skin care regimen. Plus sunscreen, of course. In 2 weeks, my skin cleared up and was rosy and glowy and just damn gorgeous! I was stunned! I can't live without this facial wash!!! It's the only facial wash I've been using since May last year. I'll do a more in-depth review next month. You deserve to know this amazing product! Meanwhile, you can browse the other Pure Beauté products in the Simple Mama shop.

In Her Element Petal Skin Toning Essence, P875, literally makes your skin feel like rose petals. I bought the rose products of In Her Element because of Pure Beauté. I figured if the rose facial wash is amazing then I'm hoarding every product that has roses in it!!! This has rose water and aloe vera as its major ingredients. Mamas, my skin after using this feels soooo nice. I keep touching my face because it's so soft and velvety! I use it twice a day, every day. Buy this!!!

NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer is what I apply when I'm going to be out all day or if I'm going to an event or meeting and I'll be commuting. I don't use primer every day, just on those aforementioned days. Primer helps keep my makeup from sliding off my face, and since I'm very oily, this is necessary! I like Angel Veil because it's super light, feels like nothing, fills in pores and acne scars so I have a smooth surface, and leaves me matte. Oh, big plus: It doesn't make me break out!

Now let's check out my pink prettifiers for my puckers...


I have a LOT of lipsticks in all colors—from essentials like nude and red to wild ones like green and blue!— but these are the ones I wear nearly every day. They're all a wearable pink!


Well, I don't really wear this metallic lipstick every day. But I do love it because nearly all my lipsticks are matte and this adds a sheer metallic sheen on my lips that isn't wet like a gloss. I don't like moist mouths.


Here's a sample of what it looks like. The left is a swipe of my Maybelline Almond lipstick. The right is the sheer champagne lipstick. The middle is what it looks like together.


Lash Paradise is probably the best volumizing mascara I've ever tried. My oily skin loves it because it doesn't budge at all. It stays on your lashes all day long without smudging, smearing or flaking. Lashes stay thick and gorgeous! That said, it's extremely difficult to remove.

There's your sneak peek! I can do more thorough reviews if you like! But for now, just know that these are my reliables and my face is so happy I found these pink prettifiers!

I saw my photo on the Taxumo website. I didn't know it was there, dun sa may reviews section. And yes, it's a real review and a really positive one pa. Sobrang happy ako as a small business owner (writing services so freelance writer and editor, editorial consultant, PR consultant, and professional blogger). In the two years or so I've been using Taxumo, wala talaga akong problema sa kanila. And I'm even happier now because dumami na their scope of services. Kung before monthly percentage taxes lang and a bit of accounting, ngayon they are offering to file more tax forms and even take care of your business registration and renewal. And more!

For example, it's only March but I'm already done filing my 2018 income taxes. I AM DONE! No hassle, no lines, no stress. I practically didn't do anything except click, click, clicked and yet I feel so accomplished. Thanks, Taxumo!

If you're a business owner like me, a freelancer, a professional, a doctor, a blogger, please do check out Taxumo. And sign up (use my code: FRANCES)! You will love it! This is not a sponsored post but—full disclosure—I do get a little commission for every sign up (so use my code: FRANCES!). I'm just really happy with how Taxumo has helped me and I want you all to experience what I've experienced, too.

By the way, if you also want Taxumo to file your annual income taxes, today is the last day to reserve a slot. You also get a discount in filing your BIR Form 1701 but you have to reserve a slot TODAY. Good luck and enjoy!

Click here to pay your taxes easily: TAXUMO

Good-bye, dull hair!

1. After coloring, wait 24 hours or longer before you wash hair. 

A good trim gets rid of dry ends.

Just a dark brown with red highlights throughout

Subtle but pretty!

9. Refresh color. 

Guys, can I make sorta yabang? LOL

I'm emailing influencers and editors now, right, introducing myself and all. And some of them reply, "Aren't you TOPAZ HORIZON???" And when I giddily say, "YES!", they go sumtin' like dis:

1. "My MOM is such a fan!"

As a newly minted PR Manager, I now have to keep an eye on bloggers, vloggers and KOLs (that's key opinion leaders) a.k.a. influencers. I guess a lot of people roll their eyes at the job title "influencer" because that is an invented word as well as an invented career so the world had to invent the term KOL.

Anyway, I wanted to blog about the top mommy bloggers in the Philippines today because...

(a) Marketing and PR people research this topic all the time so I want this post to be on page 1 of Google search hehe. And also to help out my colleagues in the industry. Of course! (UPDATE: It's the top entry on the search list yey!)

(b) I want to tell you, my dear Loyal Readers, that I'm not even on the Top 10 list! What! Please help me out by sharing my blog, FB page and IG with your friends and family!!! Thank you. Love you!

(c) I need to remind myself to prioritize blogging because it is more lucrative than ever and I'm being lazy lazy lazy.

There are hundreds of mom KOLs in the Philippines but most of them are celebrities who charge hundreds of thousands of pesos per mention. Most are only on Instagram, which means they can't explain a brand campaign or do a thorough product or service review. Also, branded posts on IG are not searchable on Google. Many mom KOLs don't have a Facebook page so they can't share a partner brand's FB links and therefore have a harder time making posts go viral. And lastly but most important of all, many mom KOLs don't have blogs!

So for this report, I picked mom bloggers who:

- regularly update their blogs (at least once a month)
- have an Instagram account set to public, and
- have Facebook pages for their blogs with minimum 5K followers.

Aaaaand now, without further ado, the Top 30 Mommy Bloggers in the Philippines!!!

(CURRENTLY UPDATING NEW STATS SO LIST IS NOT FINAL YET - JUNE 2020)

Facebook.com/TopazHorizonBlog ranks 29.

FACEBOOK
For brands, these are the bloggers you want to recruit. Their blogs are not just well written, they're also regularly updated (once a month at least) so you can be assured they have loyal readers. When they blog about your product or campaign, their readers are a captive audience (vs those who blog erratically). They also have a lot of Facebook followers to share your links and Facebook posts with. Facebook is the home for viral content because everything is so easy to share on this platform.

Ranked according to Facebook page followers:

1. Ciara Magallanes of Mommy Diaries PH - 540,224

Vince surprised me with a love letter. He's good at giving gifts but this one, this is going to be a hard one to beat because it's one of the very best. The best ever? Well, our sons, of course!

The article appeared in The Asian Parent Singapore. Click here to read it there, complete with cutie photos of our babies. But I'm putting screencaps here anyway so I can always have it on my blog. And cry happy tears always.





Thank you, Vincent. Thank you for everything.

I know I've disappeared. I started this year with my L'Oréal contract ending and me with no other plans for anything else really. I wasn't worried. The past 7 years have been like that anyway—start with nothing and end with everything. But by mid-January, I had a chat with an old friend who has a boutique PR and events agency and before I knew it, I'm the new PR Manager of Paint It Red.

I have a very good feeling about this year and so I can't help but be excited for the new adventure I'm about to take. I'm back in the corporate world but with a very flexible schedule. How lucky am I? I'm very grateful.


And yet, in the last week before I started work, I picked up my kids from school as usual and cried. I was at the fetcher's waiting area, booking a Grab, fanning myself in the heat of the afternoon sun. As usual. From there, I can see the students walking down the long path from their classrooms to the gate. As always. I was watching out for my own in that long and unruly line of boys when I saw my kids and they saw me and their eyes lit up and in that moment, I felt it. The grief. It smashed into me and I was out of breath.


Because I'm employed now, I won't be able to fetch them from school anymore. I've never really liked that chore so I had always taken this for granted but at that moment, I knew with terrible clarity that I'm going to fucking miss this shit. And I cried with longing for the days that will be no more.

How many of us have the painful privilege of seeing a chapter closing?

So the last three weeks have been me and the boys going through sudden changes. I found a school bus. At first, we were all anxious. They've never been on a school bus. I rode it a few times with them to check the routes, the other passengers, how the driver drove. I gave them extra baon because now our daily after-school merienda won't happen anymore. I gave them so many instructions on being safe, being kind, and watching out for each other.

And then finally, it was time to let them go. The night before they had to go on their own, Iñigo stayed up late. "Iñigo, you have an early day tomorrow," I said. "Go to sleep na."

"I'll help you fix our baon and breakfast, Mama," he stalled.

So I let him help me. And then softly he said, "I'm going to miss you, Mama."

And I couldn't say anything because my throat had closed up. So I just hugged him and let his love wash through my breaking heart, grateful for the comfort my little boy gave me.

One of the places my family and I love to visit is the All Home complex along Libis in Quezon City. We don't go there often since it is out of our way, but when we do, it's always such a happy place. Just look at these kids!


The Libis complex is a taste of the CoHo lifestyle. That's what Camella calls their new real estate phase of building Camella Condo Homes all over the country, with each development having its own commercial complex with lifestyle amenities its residents will love.

I know this because I got a big brochure (more like a magazine) and I got interested in investing in maybe a small condo unit in Tagaytay, a place we love. Actually, Vince and I were thinking of a house in Tagaytay but when I looked through the CoHo Lifestyle magazine, I remembered why I'm a city girl. I love living in a condo and having everything I want and need steps away from my door! Just read this:

"What is the CoHo Lifestyle? It means living just a few steps away from a luxury mall that offers global retail selections. It means having world-class cinemas as your home theater. It means having a beautiful coffee shop as an extension of your living and working space. It means having an innovative, fun and fresh supermarket as your pantry."

Sounds like the life I love!


The CoHo lifestyle means having a complete and affordable home store and a modern and convenient supermarket right outside my residence. Just look at the boys testing out chairs. We gave away our old chairs and now I'm thinking I need a new one for my work desk. (I can feel Vince rolling his eyes once he reads that sentence hehe.)


The CoHo lifestyle means having a wonderful café and pastry shop a few feet away from work-at-home me so I can always run down and out if I need a java jolt or just a change of scenery but without dealing with traffic.

Plus check out how gorgeous Coffee Project is!

Their cakes are a bit too rich, though. But that makes them go well with the coffee, I guess, so it's okay.


At Libis, the boys and I discovered that there's actually a showroom hidden way at the back of the second floor.


The boys were delighted at this new "playhouse" (and here's me yelling, "Don't run around! Don't break anything!").


I checked the Camella CoHo website and, depending on the property, meron naman daw units na 1-BR, 2-BR and 3-BR. Yun nga lang, the place I want — The Pine Suites at Tagaytay — only has 2 bedrooms in 48sqm. That's very cozy, but okay na for when we visit on weekends, diba?

What do you think? Have you seen any of the showrooms yet? Did any of you buy??? Vince and I are thinking of a home outside Manila but still in an urban setting since we like living in a city.

Anyway, something to think about this 2019! I have a good feeling about this year. May we all have a really great year!