TOPAZ HORIZON

Jennie, author of Kikay Corner, is one of those who responded to my call for beauty reviewers. Why did I choose her? First, because she's a beauty blogger so I know she's interested in beauty stuff and, more importantly, she can write. Second, well, because she's my dear friend so I know I'd feel very comfortable with her when we went to The Spa at The Fort to review a treatment for OK! magazine's June issue.
The lobby is filled with the sound of cascading waterfalls. That entire wall is shimmering with falling water, which then gathers around a pool (the black part at the bottom right). Quite lovely actually. The picture doesn't do it any justice. Oh, can you see me?
Up the stairs to the foyer, which has these amazing steel sculptures you can sit on. They're quite comfy, too.

Jennie checks in! The staff of The Spa are quite courteous. And I love how their voices are so melodious that just listening to them is enough to relax you.
This is the lounge. Jen and I part ways at this point. She went off to try the Infrared Sauna and then an hour-long massage. The treatment is supposed to detoxify your system. I hope she took pictures because I hear the private villa she was ushered into is fantastic!

I had a delightful 60-minute foot spa in this super relaxing room. It's actually very dark in this room but I opened the aperture of my Sony Cybershot camera to capture more light or else you won't see anything. Anyway, those chairs are unbelievable. Sooo deep and heavenly. Now, when I do a review, I always have to stay awake so that I can observe every detail of the treatment. But the foot spa was so fantastic, I fell asleep! And when I fall asleep during a treatment, then believe me when I say that that's the best thing I can say about it!

The best thing about my day, however, was spending it with a dear friend... in a world-class spa no less!

The Spa at The Fort
Bldg 8, 908 Bonifacio High Street
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Tel no. 856-5858 / 6868 / 1818

This weekend, Vince and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary and the 10th anniversary of our first kiss!

We had a very simple day, which started with me cooking a big brunch. Then... I won't go into specifics! Later on, we went to Power Plant for a haircut (yes, a haircut!) because Vince's last haircut was in December and his long hair was really annoying him. Pardon the pics--we took them with the iPhone because I didn't want to lug around my huge camera.

Then we had dinner at Myron's. Oh, but that was a lovely dinner that left us dizzy. I had a crisp salad and a glass of Chardonnay; Vince had a juicy steak and a Shiraz. We also had two orders of these huge baked oysters that were each as big as my hand. I had 7, Vince had 5! We were so full and round, Vince joked that we could just roll ourselves home!
We were supposed to watch Fast & Furious (we are fans of The Fast & The Furious because hot cars and hot stars are a deadly combination) and watch Ferrari parts fly but I think the movie was all Mitsubishi, Nissan and Mazda and no one gave good reviews so we decided to drop by the bookstore instead. I know I never mention books in this blog because I try to keep this blog light and silly but Vince and I adore books and we do believe we've spent a small fortune on Fully Booked.

Then home we went for rich Batangas coffee and Selecta strawberry ice cream. We parked ourselves in front of the TV for a marathon of Pushing Daisies and Chuck and a truly bad movie The Day The Earth Stood Still, which we delighted in demolishing. And that was our anniversary!

Anyway, this whole weekend, I've been singing "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin. It was the song I was singing when Vince and I started going out in 1999, and what I hummed as I prepared for our wedding in 2007. You know, even after 10 years, I still feel like I'm in a whole new world. With the one I love by my side, it is indeed still a thrilling chase, a wondrous place for Vince and me.

Last November 21, this woman stole my wallet and charged more than PHP 80,000 (USD 1,709) worth of gadgets on my gold HSBC card.


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

This is not the first time she's been featured on the local news. But no one can seem to identify her! The security team of our office building--they had caught her before and released her!--say her name is Noralyn Beltran. Her modus operandi is to go to offices and steal. She does this every end of the week, at around 4 PM, which is about the time people are having their merienda (coffee break) and so are apt to leave their belongings on their desk. This thief must be caught. Please forward this post and video to everyone you know. Thank you.

I love Entrecard because it helped boost my blog's popularity. I got a lot of great visits from bloggers all over the world and I have discovered the most fantastic blogs in the process. Here are just some of the most interesting bloggers who've been dropping by this long holiday:

1. Alterity is busy making hot cross buns for Easter
2. BeadsMe is very creative with her hands
3. Contemporary Concepts can't believe the weather in Florida
4. Really cute Easter eggs at Creative Cafe
5. Join a movie club and save the planet, encourages The GREEN Power Mall
6. Jean sQuared is listening to healing songs
7. I don't quite understand this site but KipTip's advice can be fascinating
8. Wow! More Than Sew So blogs on a gift from Russia to the US to remember 9/11 victims that is beyond beautiful
9. Ooh, love the new turquoise bracelet in Sand & Sea Designs!
10. Find the most exquisite photo of an iris in SUMMER Headquarters
11. Shop for the most fantastic Steampunk Jewelry
12. Transformations posts on a mind-numbingly stupid note in a newspaper
13. Lovely haikus on spring in Washwords

These bloggers have also placed ads in my Entrecard box (the yellow box to the right). Thanks, guys! I wish I could give away prizes (like a fabulous stay at a Riviera hotel in Las Vegas) for being so helpful to me! But until blogging earns me a ton of money, I'll just have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Okay, I don't want to whine but I just want to express shock over the fact that I am now 111 lbs. Don't roll your eyes just yet. When you're 5 feet 3 inches with small bones, that's 11 lbs too many. When you're in the magazine business, that's 20 lbs too many. I kid!

Anyway, I was reading Glamour and they have this story on women who did something different for one month and afterwards, there was a big difference. Someone wore red lipstick and everyone paid more attention to her, someone ate more veggies and her skin became better, while someone exercised for just one minute every day and she became thinner and lost a few pounds. One minute. Every day.

So I've been doing 3 sets of 10 reps of push ups, sit ups, tricep curls, hip raises, leg raises and squats while I watch The Insider or any show with gossip really (except Gossip Girl. I can not stand that silly show). I find watching entertainment news helps--especially when I watched the coverage of that infuriating Chris Brown pleading "not guilty" of assaulting and making grave threats on Rihanna. Seriously, this guy needs a dictionary. Be a man, Chris, and own up. Geez, he's not only an abusive mess, he's also delusional, a liar, and a coward. The frightening thing is polls done on US high schools say that girls think getting beat up is okay! Girls, abuse is never okay! No one has the right to hit you and abuse you. Damn, this issue gets me so angry that when I'm doing my push ups, I find myself doing them more fiercely!

Anyway, I started my gossip-show regimen last week. I tell you that first time was bad, the second time--with my aching muscles--was worse. But now, well, I still look flabby but I'm stronger. I'll do this for a month and we'll see where this goes!

Dear heaven, I've forgotten about these pics! Was going through my Facebook yesterday and found some photos of myself--some unflattering (which I will not post here!). Oh well, that's what happens when you're not ready for the camera... or even if you are and you just happen to be having a fat day!

Let's do this chronologically, shall we...

Additional pic from the Kerastase event a couple of weeks ago. My pose is rather awkward, isn't it? Must be the camera and the shopping bag I was carrying--they were kinda heavy.

Wine Night! Every month, Kat Dy, Red de Leon, Nicole Delos Angeles and Nichole Reyes and I unwind and catch up over bottles of wine. I can only handle white wine actually as I'm allergic to red. I'm the one with eyeglasses. With each Wine Night, more and more people are added! I've met fascinating and weird people, true, but Wine Night is never boring as a result!

Christmas with my Sales family. Vince and I are on the top row, center. We're a happy lot! Lots of kids! Super noisy, super chaotic, super lots of gifts!

This was taken last September. That's me in the short brown dress. My staff and I went to the province of Quezon and we ate and ate ate. Crabs the size of dinner plates, prawns as big as your hand, fresh fish each more than a foot long. And that's just one meal. That was a food trip that went beyond what we can handle.

Oh boy, I look so Chinese here. This was taken summer of last year. Nichole and some other media friends and I just attended the Marc Jacobs store opening and since there was no food (why do the organizers of fashion and beauty events always think we women don't eat? Or that we're all vegetarians?), we converged at Cibo and ate and ate and ate. Anyway, I love my bangs and my turquoise ring!

This was March 2008, I think. My friend Kate is about to open her store in Greenbelt 5 and this was her party. I'm wearing a Kate Torralba tube dress with the loveliest cherry blossoms embroidered all over the front.

I have no idea when this was taken but based on my hair and the fact I no longer have braces, I'd say late 2007. I had just learned how to mix drinks in a crash course by L'Oreal Paris.

A paparazzi photo of me at my wedding in April 2007. This was just before I stepped out of the Jaguar (loaned so generously by my sister-in-law's mother-in-law) and all my friends and bridesmaids were telling me to relax. Do I look nervous? No, baby. I was in the zone at this point!

Ooh la la. Me and my friends Mariel Chua and Jigs Mayuga at the Preview Ball 2006. My skin was soooo bad but Jigs--L'Oreal Paris Chief Makeup Artist!--fixed me up good. Gosh, I miss those legs!

Oh my, this is Preview Ball 2005! I am wearing a Kate Torralba sheer shirt with colored beading plus matching tube top and super short shorts. In 2005, I had no cellulite and I still had a waist so thank the heavens for this photo! I can show it to my kids one day and say, "See? Mommy used to be hot!"

Quick post! I was tagged by M of Cross My Heart and Kiss My Elbow (interesting name...) way back in November and Bucca of Whatever She Said, Then I'm That in February. So here goes!

This is called the "6 Things That Make Me Happy Tag." According to the rules, the things should be unimportant. Oh my. If they make me happy, then they are very important! Hence, I had trouble doing this tag. But I will try to put the silly I-can-do-without stuff that make me happy here.

Anyway, here are the rules:

• Mention the person who tagged you
• List 6 unimportant things that make you happy
• Tag 6 blogs, state the rules and notify them with a teeny comment on their blog

And without further ado...

1. InStyle, Vanity Fair, Elle, Allure and Glamour! Especially InStyle, which I've been collecting for a number of years now. That should put this magazine in the "important" category but I want to think that it's a want not a need.

2. manicures and foot spas - I don't like massages and body scrubs but I do enjoy a good foot soak and scrub now and then. I indulge only when I have extra cash. Most of the time, I just do it myself in my little bathroom with a scented candle lit and all my lotions and potions surrounding me.

3. the pomodoro soup in Cibo - tangy tomato chunks in a rich tomato sauce. Yum. Whenever I feel exceptionally sad or happy, off to Cibo I go for this soup!

4. my red hair - I love it. I think I'm really a redhead! I think I'll be a redhead for a while. But I know myself. I do get bored with my hair color after a few months so while my passion for this red lasts, I'll keep it. I'm thinking of purple next...

5. my pillbox collection - it's modest but growing slowly and the pillboxes are so tiny and pretty, I can't help but smile whenever I see them!

6. online shopping - I buy a lot of things online because I'm lazy to go to the mall. And with the easy online payment services available today, e-shopping has never been more secure and fun to do!

I tag: Eternal Sunshine, Kaith, Uninterrupted, Belle Lumiere, Nevergirl's, Tales of the Domesticated Husband's Wife and I Am Overjoyed. These women have got to be some of the most inspiring I've ever met so I'm very curious to read the unimportant things that make them happy!

Been really delinquent with doing my tags! Sorry to everybody who've been so sweet enough to think of tagging me. I'm devoting this entire week to answering tags!

This one's from Jennie of Kikay Corner. It's called the "Purse Tag" for the voyeurs of the world! Here are the rules:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you can't go into your closet and pull out your favorite purse! We want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. * * * * * * *

Like most women, I have several bags in my closet and I pick whatever matches my outfit for the day. For the days I carry a lot of things (and the day I wrote this post was a day I had to carry a ton), this is the bag I use:

It's free. I won it in a recent Nuffnang contest and you'll find the exciting story here and the post that won the contest here. It's reportedly worth over GBP 300 (PHP 21,000) according to Shoewawa and Handbag.com!

Inside it are... well, it's a big bag so here goes:
1-2. shoe bag - I walk to work so I bring my heels in this pouch.
3. Alexa bag organizer - given to me by dear friend Maisa Deluria. This has soooo many pockets! It very efficiently contains the rest of my mess!
4. Denman hair brush
5. L'Oreal True Match mineral foundation powder - when they say it's a true match, they mean it! I have never used a foundation that's made me look flawless and natural until I met True Match!
6. The Body Shop foundation brush - I am soooo in love with this brush! My one problem with True Match is the awful brush, but with this uber soft and compact brush, that problem is solved.
7. Modelco eyebrow kit - since I decided that I wanted to look like Camilla Belle, this amazing kit has brought me more than a few steps closer to looking like a star!
8. Burt's Bees lip balm - a gift from my sister-in-law Anj Onrubia
9. Shu Uemura lip gloss - I'm not a lipstick person and this pretty shade makes my lips look luscious
10. Rustan's Essences blotting film
11. Maldita shades
12. a bottle of water
13. Kleenex tissues
14. Dolfenal 250 - for my migraines

15. Now, in my big bag is a smaller bag. Because when I attend events or meetings, I do not lug around the entire sack! This is my Liz Claiborne multi-stripe shoulder bag. It's PHP 2,500 (USD 52), I think. Inside this bag are:

16. house keys
17. pink Fossil wallet - a surprise gift from Lorenz Manalang
18. our ridiculous office ID - it's for a creative environment, I know, but try showing that ID at embassies and banks. I always get, "Ma'am, do you have a real ID?"
19. Ventolin inhaler - I have asthma. I can leave anything and everything except this!
20-21. two Sony Ericsson phones - one for personal use, the other's SIM is owned by the company. They're both very battered and old but I can't bear to replace them!
22. a notebook - indispensable part of my life! Given to me by Nichole Reyes, OK!'s former fashion & beauty editor
23. a personalized pen - all my pens are personalized but this particular one was a lovely gift by my old friend Tatin Lopez. It came with a beautiful red Moleskine journal.

So that's a total of 23 items! In the words of my husband, "Why on earth is this bag so heavy? And why--despite how huge and heavy this is--do you never have a nail cutter when I need one?"

I reiterate that I only bring this much when I have a big event and I'd need to change outfits and put on makeup. Most days, I just bring the small bag and its essential items!

I tag: Mariel of NYMinute Now, Ria of Dubai yuki, Ro of Sparkle & Scribble, Laura of Daisy Chain Dreams, and Wendy of Wendy Brandes Jewelry

Before the month ends, let me just announce the fantabulous things I almost forgot to tell you about:

Part of my job is to test the latest offerings of beauty products, spas and health centers. While that sounds cool, most of the time, I just dread it.

Recently, the editors and I were at the launch of L'Oreal Professionel's latest hair colors--green, blue and purple. You read that right. That's Robbie of L'Oreal Professional who successfully convinced Kat of Good Housekeeping to dye her hair blue. She bravely did it. She did not like it since a few days later, her hair turned gray. Robbie, if you're reading this, don't worry: I will try the purple! It looks rich. But I'll do that when I get tired of my current red.

Hair is okay, though. I'll do anything to my hair since it grows out anyway. It's the other things I worry about. One time I was in this super posh spa about to test their new massage techniques by therapists especially imported from some European country. I do not exaggerate when I say that my therapist almost broke my neck. The whole right side of my head felt tingly for the next two days.

Then I just tested this new facial that uses chocolate to moisturize your skin. Well, my face did feel soft and supple but the chocolate was also absorbed and I looked dark for two days! I exfoliated like crazy because my face was darker than the rest of me.

And now I'm being offered to do a colonic cleanse. This treatment is said to flush out bacteria and toxins from your system resulting to clearer skin, less allergies, fresher breath, and a general lightness of being. Still, just reading up on it makes my tummy turn. I don't like the idea of things going up my butt and I like my bacteria a lot, thank you very much!

Ack, I really don't want to do this colonic cleanse! Yes, editors aren't really very excited to try out stuff. I have a beauty editor friend who had the skin of her butt burned off--she could not sit for weeks... but when the burned skin peeled off, no more stretch marks! Another editor had orange skin for a week because of a tanning session gone wrong. Yikes!

So if you're from Manila and can write extremely well, why don't you drop me an email at frances.amper@summitmedia.com.ph and volunteer to test out things? Just as long as you don't sue us in case your face becomes dark, your hair turns gray or you break your neck!

Maybe I'll just drink cod liver oil, eat more oatmeal and veggies and try taking Colonix in the meantime.

When I said I looked to the '80s for hair inspiration, well, Beyonce went a few notches higher and created a whole video inspired by the '60s.

Here she says that her uber popular "Put a Ring on It" vid was inspired by choreographer Gwen Fosse (oops, posted a wrong vid! Here's the real one!):


And here's the incomparable Mrs. Fosse and her backup dancers shakin' their booty:


Wowza! Whoever said white folks can't dance clearly do not know the Lady Fosse! Here's Beyonce and her backup dancers paying homage:


Can you believe the lithe muscles on Beyonce and her girls? They must've been taking some HGH to get that strong! And those moves aren't easy, mind you. I can imagine the endless practice sessions and training. Anyway, here's the Philippines' very own Dancing Queen, Lucy Torres-Gomez!


I will give Lucy a big A for effort. I tried dancing it and looked pathetic so I won't even dare say anything against the lovely Lucy... But please feel free to comment!

OMG, Britney at the height of her career and her sexiness. "Toxic" is one of my favorite Britney Spears songs and when I found this on YouTube today, well, I just had to dance and sing along!

Note: If you're very conservative, then please skip to the next post.



Didn't that make your jaw drop? I hope pants didn't drop, though! I'm trying to learn the dance moves and Vince just laughed away. I guess I need a sparkly nude costume then!