TOPAZ HORIZON

My blog just got a major redesign and I am super loving it! Thanks so much to Patricia of Fancy Girl Design Studio for patiently working with me. I had a definite look in mind—from style, colors and fonts!—and Patricia executed perfectly. It was a huge pleasure working with her.

Now, as long as we're on the topic, let me share with you my makeover today:
Wowza. I haven't even put on lipstick yet and already it's a vast improvement!!! Huge thanks to makeup artist Cherry Pacheco for transforming me today!

Anyway, I wanted to show you that photo because I wanted to share these random thoughts:

I'm still me. Lots of people think I'm this big time, hot shot, just a lady of leisure, super glam girl. They always exclaim, "Nagbago ka na!" Actually, I haven't changed at all. I've just become busier. Most days, I look like the girl on the left (well, when I'm home!). But even on those days when I'm the girl on the right, I'm still the same person.

I may be a magazine editor today but I won't be in this cushy job forever. What happens then? I am grateful for what I've achieved in my life but I can't let it get to my head. My job, my bank account, my trappings, they come and go. So while I enjoy glamming up, I also keep a firm grip on what makes me real—my marriage, my sons, my few trusted friends, my faith.

I care about how I look... but I don't care that much. I dress up. I put on makeup when I have to be somewhere. I like looking good! Caring about my appearance isn't vanity. It's my way of respecting myself and other people (translation: I don't want to be a pain to people's eyes!).

At the same time, I also think my looks don't define me. In fact, even without makeup, I think I look fine, so I don't allow myself to be obsessed with clothes and makeup and trips to the salon. Looks are important but they aren't valuable. There's a difference.

There is always room for improvement. While it's true that people, especially girls, should accept who they are, I also don't subscribe to the thinking that self-acceptance means letting yourself go. For your sake, look at yourself in the mirror, assess your flaws and assets, minimize the bad and highlight the good.

That means please get a good haircut, adopt a skincare regimen, wear clothes that fit you well, eat healthy, exercise. That means take care of yourself. I don't buy that "Real girls have (insert whatever noun here)!" as an excuse to be lazy about looking better.

That's all really. Love yourself, yes. Love yourself more. Love yourself better!


*photo courtesy of Cherry Pacheco

Part of the blog title

A social media widget and a signature

I'm so excited!

And so are my readers who follow me on Facebook! I gave them sneak peeks over at my Facebook page and I'm so glad the response has been very positive. It's a super simple design (the better to showcase the photos!) and I took forever choosing the font and I really hope the artist doesn't think I'm a bitch because I totally let my editor-in-chief persona take over and I kept tweaking and revising and updating and...

It's now perfect.

The big reveal soon!

Style: Super casual.

I'm wearing a batwing-sleeve shirt from Ojay, Guess skinny jeans, Lacoste leather ballet flats and a Frances Sales satchel. I still like calling it that—the Frances Sales satchel. Anyway, this is brainless dressing, just jeans and a top. But I got a really large shirt to go with really skinny jeans because I like opposites that way.

Oh, and the secret to not look fat in a big top? Make sure it has a shape. Whether it's a cinched waist or the hem is tapered to hug your hips. Also, get a top with a plunging neckline. The deep V cuts you in half so you don't look so wide.

Style: Professional.

I'm wearing a Mango dress, Anthology flats and carrying a Kate Spade tote. Vince calls this my Jedi dress. It's the sleeves. Anyway, I love this dress because...
a) It looks like a blouse and a skirt but it's actually one dress!
b) It has pockets!
c) It looks so crisp and business-like but it's so comfortable to wear.

I was supposed to wear a pearl choker and pearl drop earrings with this, by the way, but I rushed out of the house completely forgetting to accessorize!

Style: Glam event.

I'm wearing a K & Company dress, Sapato Manila heels and a Gucci shopper. I was supposed to use my Fino structured bag but I came from work (that Gucci is stuffed with magazines!) so I had to use a big bag. Oh, and again, I forgot to accessorize. I'm not even wearing earrings! Ladies, never leave home without earrings. They decorate your face.

Anyway, style tip: Dresses are best complemented with a structured purse or a small clutch. Think Victoria Beckham and Duchess of Cambridge.

I knooooow. This Topaz Fashion edition is a Fashion Fail. No accessories. Wrong bags. Awful! Haha. I'll make up for it next week! Happy weekend!


*celebrity images from Popsugar and Marie Claire

So it's almost mid-October, dear blog readers. Have you grabbed this month's issue of OK! magazine?

No? Dear heavens! I specifically begged you to grab a copy a few weeks ago! I knoooow you love me (that's why you read this blog, right?) so love me more by getting an issue. It's our fabulous TV special.

First, the October issue of OK! has a really fun big feature on Gossip Girl. It's the sixth and final season! So yes, we talk about what will happen in this season (Will Blair win Chuck's love again? Will Chuck get his empire back? Will we finally find out who Gossip Girl is???) and we take a look back on TV's most stylish show. Yes, we have the best clothes of the cast ever! And the worst haha. Fun stuff like that so grab a copy if you're a fan!

I've never actually followed Gossip Girl. But in the early months of Vito's life and he'd keep me awake, I'd turn the TV on and watch reruns in the early mornings. I had to keep the volume very low so Vito can sleep but I found that I didn't mind not hearing the characters talk. Their fashion alone spoke volumes. Loud volumes!

Second, OK! was able to get amazing interviews with the cast of The Vampire Diaries. Yes, Ian, Nina and Paul! They talk about the next season, which premieres next week. They talk about Elena's new state of being a—gasp!—vampire.

All that and more in OK!'s super fantabulous October issue! Grab a copy as soon as possible!


Gossip Girl Season 6 premieres Oct. 11, Thursday at 8pm. The Vampire Diaries Season 4 premieres Oct. 16, Tuesday at 8pm. Both delicious shows are on ETC. Like ETC on Facebook or follow ETC on Twitter for more updates.

Just because I love the man I'm with. And I'm with him till death do us part.

I met him when I was 22. I'll be 36 in a month. And I love him more now than I did 14 years ago. And I know he loves me even more today than when I was that poor, skinny, flat-chested, insecure, pimply little girl.

Well, maybe because I do look better now! Haha!

Hugs and kisses to you all and may you all find the love of your life! Mwah!

New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 happened just a few weeks ago and I saw that floral print is going to be a hot trend. Well, of course. Spring and summer fashion always has florals and brights! Here are a couple of designs I adored on the runway:

This post is inspired by the new SUN Postpaid TVC. Aside from Marco Lobregat being nice to look at, I identify strongly with his story.


"Success? I worked hard for it so I know what it's worth," Marco said. Yep, I know exactly what he means. My one dream when I was a kid was to become a writer and then an editor-in-chief of a glossy international magazine at 33 years old. I had no idea back then how I was going to make this dream come true, and everyone I know thought it was a silly, stupid dream. But work hard I did and my dream came true even before my goal age (I became EIC at 30!).

I am so grateful that all my hard work paid off. But I've also been thinking all this time, "Now that my childhood dream has come true, what's left for me to do? I'm not even 40!" So it's time to dream a new dream!

Just one outfit today because, despite my intensely busy and fashionable week, I only remembered to take one outfit shot! Such a shame because I liked all my outfits this week and just forgot to take pictures. Did I mention it was an intensely busy week?

So I'll just show you what I wore to the Esquire Ball.
I'm wearing a column dress by Anja. I bought it from Catalogue 63. It's a beautiful bright turquoise that the camera sadly didn't capture.

I wore purple accessories with it. Yes, I thought purple and turquoise go well together. I had been mulling over the usual turquoise-and-coral combo but, at the last minute, I decided I like purple. I wore my bib necklace of amethyst crystals that I bought from this tiny boutique at Glorietta 5, an amethyst bracelet by Nicole Whisenhunt and my purple satin-and-suede Kenneth Cole peep-toe heels.

I chose a column dress because I had planned on bringing Iñigo with us. And Iñigo is still exclusively breastfed so I needed an easy access dress. As it turned out, the baby happily slept, which allowed his Mama and Papa to steal away for a few hours. Yey! I also wanted a column dress because it's not structured so it should be kind to a body that had just given birth.

These were my inspirations:


Here's Demi Moore in VB's dress, but in royal blue. I like that Victoria's column dress is held up by a corset. So you won't have any problems with your dress slipping down and exposing your boob/armpit fat, like so:
Oh, my man is looking mighty spiffy in his three-piece suit! I am so in love with him!

After a few glasses of wine, a blurry photo with Esquire editor-in-chief Erwin Romulo.

Inspired by Chuvaness's post, I had a photo taken with society photographer Daniel Tan

I thought it was Richard! But I do prefer Raymond. He's the more cultured and sophisticated one!

With accessories designer Happy David, Elle Decoration's Kissa McDermott and Spot.ph's Lou Albano

Anyway, I had wanted to bring the dress to the tailor to have it tweaked a bit. Sew up the sides and the hem so that there's less volume (I kinda look pregnant) and so it won't drag on the floor. But delivery was delayed so I didn't have time to go to the tailor. Still, I love my dress. Everyone loved it, too. So it was a fashion success!

I hope you're having a fashionable Friday!

Sigh. I had wanted to watch Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block when they were here. But I had just given birth.



Now, I just found out that Sting and Elton John will be here in December. J.Lo's coming, too, but I'm not a fan. Vince is a huge fan of Sting. I'm a huge fan of Elton. But, with the high cost of concert tickets, it's either we watch both concerts OR buy Christmas gifts. It can't be both.

So... dear families and friends, if you find out that Vince and I watched the concerts of Sting and Elton John, that only means one thing: You get Christmas cards and a hug!


*images from Philippine Concerts

I had lunch with Jericho Rosales last week. He's the new face of Collezione C2 and I'll talk more about that on Beauty For A Living. Meanwhile, let me confess: I've had a crush on Echo since he and Kristine Hermosa were a love team. When was that? More than a decade ago? Basta Pangako Sa 'Yo years. Since then, after immersing myself in work and marriage and motherhood, I've stopped following his career.

So I was so surprised at how thrilled I was when he kissed my cheek and joined us for lunch. He sat a mere two seats away!

He's polite, charming, smart, articulate. Oh, and soooo gwapo! And I like that he said, "I'm 33," just like that. Some stars, heck, a lot of people never confess their age. I find that I don't like people who are ashamed of/lie about their age haha.

But the reason I liked Echo even more was his passion for his cause: bringing awareness and putting an end to human trafficking. He said that humans that are trafficked are a commodity that never loses its value—that's why it's a billion-dollar business. A baby may be sold to childless couples. Kids can be used for labor, for begging and stealing, and even for sex. Teens are used the same way. Adults for cheap labor and sex slavery, and old people are for begging. It's horrible.

Echo produced a movie that will highlight the problem. Yep, human trafficking is huge here in the Philippines. I only found that out when I visited UNICEF recently. So I am so happy that a celebrity is using his clout and doing something about it.


And to think Echo used to be like this:


Aminin! Natawa kayo! He's definitely come a long way. A lot of us, I'm sure, hardly ever make an impression on others. Maybe it's because we're not pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough, tall enough, skinny enough, old enough. We don't have the right background, the right connections, the right clothes, the right accent. But that doesn't mean we can't ever make a difference. Just look at that silly young man in that video. He sure proved himself alright. He sure did.

You don't have to comment on this blog post. Under the new law, that is now considered a crime punishable to up to 12 years in prison. But please write to our senators, especially Ralph Recto, Gringo Honasan, Pimentel, Chiz Escudero, Ping Lacson, Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, BongBong Marcos, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada and Tito Sotto, and—most tragic and ironic of all—to the President himself, Noynoy Aquino. They made this anti-democracy law.

Then please sign the petition to junk R.A. 10175.

I did. I care about my freedom of expression, my right to privacy, and my children's future.

UPDATE!

Vince made this meme.

Actually, don't be scared to comment, share, spread, blog, Tweet about this law. Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution - Article III, Section 4: No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people to peacably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

The Anti-Cyber Crime Law is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. It is WRONG. Protest it. The constitution protects us against this law. Make your voice heard!

Show your protest on your social media pages with these free images courtesy of Filipino Internet Freedom Alliance.

Uh, no. That wouldn't be me. The lucky girls of OK! will! My staff is so lucky. They get to meet and talk to Hollywood stars, the most recent ones being Ian Somerhalder, Adam Levine and now Zac Efron. I gotta say it, these guys are so handsome! In another lifetime, yeah, maybe I'd be first in line but I'm a mommy now so I stay home and avoid the screaming, shrieking masses of fans.

OK! had a contest this week giving away tickets to Zac's Penshoppe fan convention tonight. All the readers had to do was post a photo of themselves on OK!'s Facebook page with their favorite OK! feature on Zac.













OK!'s readers are soooo adorable, I swear!

Honestly, I didn't realize we've given Zac tons of exposure. In my head, all we ever talk about is Brangelina, TomKat and Robsten. To everyone going to Zac's fancon, good luck!