TOPAZ HORIZON

Middle of the year and that means it's time to change the staff photos in OK! magazine. Why? Well, my editor's photo still features my long brown hair of last year (see that photo here). So when I go to meetings and events, the PR people and brand managers don't recognize me with my short and very red hair--and that's not a good thing! So a regular photo shoot is necessary.

We started early in the morning. The makeup artists (Marie Calica and Ces Guerrero) and hairstylists (Ogie Rayel and Emar Cabiltes) were tasked to prettify the entire staff. Nichole Reyes, OK!'s former fashion and beauty editor, is now a freelance makeup artist and stylist and we got her to style the shoot. Here are the dresses and the shoes:
Here's our photographer Ocs Alvarez setting up:
This is me before makeup:
And this is me in the middle of Ces's makeover magic:
Omar fixes my flat thin lifeless hair (I do love my hair color and highlights courtesy of color magician Louis Phillip Kee!):
Now that my face and hair are perfect, I'm ready to try on the outfits! But first, let me show you what I wore to the shoot.This is an old jumpsuit I bought at YRYS for a mere PHP 700 (USD 14.50) about four or five years ago. I am so happy it's back in fashion... and that it still fits! It's like wearing pajamas seriously. I wore it with my Nine West gladiator wedges and my Kenneth Cole necklace.

Tip: When you're having your hair and makeup done (wedding, debut, etc), always wear something you can easily take off, like a button-down shirt or dresses you can step out of. Do not wear t-shirts and the like, as taking them off will ruin your hair and makeup!

Now, in the tradition of The Insider's Lara Spencer's Wardrobe Cam, this is me trying on outfits...

First option was this pink dress with pixelated flower print from United Pop. Nope, it isn't working for me.

Second option was this Sinequanone dress with a Missoni-like print. It's nice but as editor-in-chief, I have to look more respectable than sexy so off it went. Besides, it makes me look pregnant!

Third option was this United Pop dress with a neckline beaded heavily with shells and sequins. I love it! It's very me. And, of course, it's orange and my readers know I love orange! Winner!

And if you ever wondered how those models in fashion magazines look like their clothes were tailored for them, here's the secret: Binder clips!
Et voila! Moi!

This photo will be published in OK!'s August issue! Pleeeease grab a copy!

United Pop pink dress (PHP 2,100), United Pop orange dress (PHP 2,400), available at The Ramp Crossings
Sinequanone blue dress (PHP 13,500), available at Rustan's Makati

And here's my team's makeovers! These photos show us picking out what we'll wear to our photo shoot. So fun!The staff of OK! magazine all have very distinct personalities. And I appreciate all our differences because I'm very easily bored so if we were all the same, I guess I'd fire them all out of boredom. Tee hee. Managing Editor Lana Chan is very emo-rock and she goes to work in vintage tees, jeans and heavy boots. Associate Features Editor Joanna Tuazon-Mendoza is very simple so I love that she's pregnant because now she's wearing soft and flowy dresses. Associate Fashion & Beauty Editor Kristine Ching is stylish (of course) and always matches her outfits with a gold-studded Prada bag. Sorry, no before pic since she arrived earlier than I did so she was already ready when I got to the studio. Features Assistant Elaine Natividad is very Gossip Girl--cute, pretty, preppy and sexy. Nichole Reyes used to be OK!'s Fashion & Beauty Editor. She's now busy preparing for her upcoming wedding but she's still with OK! as our beauty columnist. The editors of Cosmopolitan tease me that I have but one qualification for staff: They must be thin. That is not true! While all my staff do look like they do Clinicallix reviews for a living, I think they all become thin because I'm such a demanding boss and I drive them crazy every single day! Oh, I love how pretty they all are! But they're not just lovely to look at. My staff is every editor's dream team. The dedication and hard work and passion they devote to OK! are the reasons why we're one of Summit Media's best performing titles. And that's a fact--and a team!--I'm very proud of.

I'm still crying. I didn't sleep last night because I was up since 10 PM just watching the memorial ceremony for Michael Jackson. I had CNN, CNN Live-Facebook and Fox on all at the same time. Until the ceremony and I just watched it all on CNN until 4 AM.

Then today I had radio tours and, while I promoted my magazine, what we really all talked about was the memorial and how moving it was. I never considered myself a big fan of Michael's music but I grew up singing his songs, as if they were the soundtrack of my life. His music accompanied all the stages of my life and I know practically all his songs--Ben, Give Love on Christmas Day, Heal the World, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, We Are The World, The Way You Make Me Feel, Billie Jean, Bad, Thriller, Black or White, They Don't Care About Us... And while the memorial for the man who was all about the music had but just 11 songs, it was fit for a king. And he was indeed a king.

For me especially who had just buried my mother, the memorial was heartbreaking. It brought me back to Mama's own wake--with songs and dances, laughter and tears. The love and celebration helped ease the loss. I can't even begin to describe how a death feels like. It is beyond any pain imaginable. And seeing those wonderful people talk and sing and pay their respects to a man who devoted his life to music, dance, love and a better world, just drove home the fact that we must make use of our very very brief time here on earth.

I won't go describe what happened at the memorial since you can find that anywhere and everywhere. But I do wish to share the words that touched my heart:

"He is simply... He is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived." Berry Gordy

"I just want his three children to know: There was nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what he had to deal with but he dealt with it anyway." Rev. Al Sharpton

"I'm glad I lived in an era to see the greatest living entertainer of all time." Smokey Robinson

"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him... so much." Paris-Michael Jackson

"But even now the King of Pop must bow his knee to the King of Kings." Pastor Lucious W. Smith

Amen to all that indeed.

To the Jackson family and especially to his three beautiful children, you are in my prayers. It never gets better, but it gets easier. God bless you.