style weekend - mar 30

pls buy manila bulletin today (mar 30) for your free copy of style weekend for men (out every last friday of the month)! on the cover: miko raval photographed by paolo pineda on board the star pisces cruise ship docked in hong kong. styling by sidney yap, grooming by peps silvestre, outfit by bench.

also in this issue: an exclusive Q&A with comic-book artist david finch, the mini wins the sampaguita rally, new places to get your pizza fix, summer shorts and SPF, angelicopter centerfold, ito kish's gregoria chair, and more!

sun protection for the lazy

how easy is that? just like baby wipes, you simply pull one, wipe where needed, and voila! spf15 all over! good for you, but not so good for the environment...

available at select rustan's for P995

first post of the week

yikes i just realized i haven't posted anything since friday. it's almost like i forgot i had a blog. 'sup with that? haay there were other things on my mind and other things i had to do. planning anniversary parties here, having surprise meetings there... you know how it goes. not to mention the d-d-d-deadlines-s-s-s... so instead of making things i want to write about pile up, maybe i should just blog instagram-style. i don't have an instagram account, though people have been telling me to sign up since i always take a lot of pictures. so let's try it:
this is the kind of swag i get. the press release read (edited): "...the first feminine wash in a bar, Cleoplus Virginity Soap is especially made for the women of today. A feminine soap to use for washing the delicate genital organs, it has an anti-bacterial and anti-microbial agent. With regular use, it will give a tightening effect (regular use would mean three times a day)." try niyo?

style weekend - mar 23

pls buy manila bulletin today (mar 23) for your free copy of style weekend! on the cover: one of our featured "fashion collectors" sarah meier-albano, wearing a pair from her vast collection of nikes. photographed by shaira luna, makeup by verna marin for l'oréal paris, hair by borge aloba for l'oréal professionnel.

our other fashion collectors include daphne oseña paez and her sunglasses, salome uy and her birkins, pam pastor and her nail polishes, and monica figueroa and her flats. plus new tapas bars, angelica see's mon-sun style, how to wear shorts this summer, the return of the 90s boy bands, cathy babao guballa's grief journey, and more!

100 years of coke

every article you read on health will always tell you how bad soda is for you. but i'm sorry, i love coke! in fact, when diet coke was first introduced back in the 80s, i resisted drinking it because i just loved the taste of "real" coke. but dang, those calories...!!! so i eventually gave in and started drinking diet coke, which was later renamed to coke light—at least here in asia. so thank god for coke zero, which is now my favorite soda. still considered "bad" for you, but what the hell! it just tastes gooood!!!

so last week, coke celebrated its 100 years in the philippines with a gala event at makati shangri-la. attire requested was black and white with a touch of red. this is what i wore: my new marni x H&M coat, dress by max and cleo, heels by gucci, bag by kate spade, white-coral necklace from beijing, ring by jewelmer.

this is what greeted us upon entering the ballroom—the whole place was dressed in red!
table setting with a lush red-rose centerpiece:
my seat!
after starting with celery/cauliflower soup, this is what the rest of the menu was—soy and coriander marinated salmon, radish miso broth and soba noodles:
main course of fillet mignon, potato montero, eggplant compote, and beef jus:
dessert was baked apple crumble, vanilla crusted caramel ice cream:
during dinner, they showed videos of past coke commercials and it brought back memories. but i was really disappointed i didn't get to hear/see one of my all-time favorites—the one that goes, i'd like to teach the world to sing...



thank god for youtube! below, the rest of the guests (and by no means complete!):

hot off the presses!

from wwd.com

March 20, 2012
CFDA, eBay Team Up on Second Collection of Totes
By KRISTI GARCED

FIGHTING FAKES: Following the launch of the “You Can’t Fake Fashion” campaign last year to crack down on counterfeiting, eBay and the Council of Fashion Designers of America have again teamed up on a new collection of original tote bags (last summer’s collection sold out in 48 hours). More than 75 CFDA designers — including Diane von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren, Robert Geller, Tory Burch, The Row and Tommy Hilfiger — have each customized a tote, retailing at $200 each. “The awareness around counterfeits generated by the campaign was invaluable and we hope to see even more of a reaction from industry and consumers this time around,” said Alan Marks, eBay’s senior vice president of global communications. “Based on consumer demand, we’ve doubled the size of the collection in addition to offering more styles.”

In addition to the customized designer totes, a limited edition range of standard totes in four styles will be offered for $45. The entire collection will be sold at “Buy It Now” prices starting today on eBay, with all proceeds benefiting the CFDA Foundation.

to see and buy (if it isn't sold out yet) the whole collection, go to fashionvault.ebay.com

hard to choose, they're all super cute! a few samples below at US$200 each:

alexis bittar:
betsey johnson:
carlos falchi:
doo.ri:
diane von furstenberg:

happy birthday, keren!

keren pascual is one of the top PRs in the country today. i first met him back in the early 90s, during my early days as a fashion editor at mega magazine. i used to see him walk into giraffe (remember giraffe??), always with some famous person, and often wonder, who is this guy?? and that's how he became known as mr. famous and would often organize these "famous" trips around the world with at least 50 people in tow—and i was sometimes part of it! i've traveled with keren to singapore, thailand, vietnam, malaysia, china, egypt, greece, and just last week to hong kong! and last saturday was his birthday bash right here in manila. here's me and the hubby with keren at the mind museum last saturday night:
below, the rest of the guests! (requested attire: black. as usual!)

style weekend - mar 16

pls buy manila bulletin today (mar 16) for your free copy of style weekend! it's our annual swimsuit issue! on the cover: model tricia centenera photographed by seven barretto on location at puerta galera. styled by kristine serrano, swimsuit by soak swimwear, hat by billabong.

also in this issue: more swimsuits, sun protection for your skin, new rockwell restos, mon-sun style of michelline syjuco, the indie side of singapore, and more!

sale! sale! sale!

On March 16: Present your F21 Mastercard and SMAC/BDO Rewards, get 20% off on regular items with a minimum purchase of P5,000 until 12nn only. Present your SMAC/BDO Rewards or SMAC/BDO Rewards, get 10% off on regular items, until 12nn only. 12nn onwards, until March 18, F21 Mastercard holders can get 10% off on regular items, with a minimum purchase of P5,000. BDO cardholders can avail of 5% rebate with a minimum purchase of P5,000 for all 3 days.

the fash packs: hong kong

i got back from hong kong last sunday night, and i've been experiencing a hong kong hangover since then. the temps hovered around 14-18 degrees—sarap! it's called "porma weather" hehe :-) my HK outfit: gray coat by jessica, teddybear-print turtleneck bought in taiwan street market, skirt by vivienne tam, boots by gucci, tote by longchamp:
so bitin! after the marni x H&M shopping spree, there was no more time to shop. it was time for work work work! by friday, the rest of my group had arrived to do a shoot on the star cruise ship:
this ship is called pisces. it's one of the smaller cruise ships that departs every evening at 7pm. the ship has a casino, so once it leaves hong kong waters, the gambling begins—kasi bawal sa hong kong. by 12nn the next day it's back in the city, only to leave again by 7pm—usually with the same passengers!

it was a bit of a gloomy day to do a summer-fashion shoot. but we did it! style weekend was one of three publications that did a shoot before the ship sailed. here's my shoot!
here's another:
and one more:
teaser lang po. sorry, can't pre-empt the issues! watch out for style weekend's shoot in april! then it was time to check in. here's our twin-sharing room (so tiny, i couldn't even open my huge maleta haha):
here's the view from our porthole:
and when the ship got moving, we all had the same idea and went out to the top of the deck to see the harbor. hong kong is one of the most beautifully lit cities in the world! (but too bad it was cloudy, so we couldn't see the full moon..)
picture, picture!
it also happened to be the birthday of the leader of our group and the organizer of this trip: keren pascual, one of the top PRs of the country. happy birthday, keren!

RIP: karl roy

Rock icon Karl Roy passes away
13-Mar-12, 6:51 AM
Francine Marquez, InterAksyon.com

Karl Roy, lead vocalist of the band Kapatid and P.O.T., passed away early morning Tuesday, March 13, at 1:01 a.m. The news was announced by Karl's sister, Kathryn Roy, on Facebook. He was said to have passed away in his home surrounded by members of his family, including his daughter Arianna. He is survived by his wife Dena.

Roy is an iconic figure in the Pinoy rock scene and became one of the purveyors of the emerging alternative music scene in the '90s. Whether he was singing a new wave song as he did when he first started out, a funk jazz or reggae piece, or a Pinoy rock song he penned himself, Roy's soulful and intense performances always stood out from the rest.

In an interview, he once said that his grandfather originally wanted him to become a soldier and run for president of the country; but all Karl wanted, he said, was to play and create music.

In the early ‘90’s, he became recognized as the lead vocalist for Advent Call. After it disbanded, he formed P.O.T. and later Kapatid with the scene's heavyweights such as J-Hoon Balbuena on drums, Ira Cruz on guitars, Nathan Azarcon on bass, Chico Molina on guitars, and Paul Zialcita on percussions. The members left the band one at a time until Karl was the only original member left. But with determination to continue with the music, Karl got together new members like Louie Talan on bass, Paolo Rosal on drums, and Anjones Elemos on guitars.

In 2008, a benefit concert was mounted for Roy who had suffered from multiple strokes.

Fans have been inundating a Facebook fan page for Roy with tributes.

(photo from archie uy's flickr)

post-marni depression syndrome

after yesterday's shopping spree at H&M, now come the regrets, returns, and exchanges! since i'm a skirt girl, one of my must-buys was the blue-dot slim skirt. as soon as I entered the store, i went straight for it. but i regret not trying it on!! but with only 10 minutes to shop, who has time?? to think i even researched my size on the H&M website. why oh why did I listen to the staff?? i asked, do you have a size 36? (because i couldn't find one right away) and she said, oh you're only a size 34; 36 will be too big for you. see how my looks (read: hips) can be deceiving? i tried it on back at the hotel and was horrified at how tight it was! so i went back to the store and wouldn't you know it--that style was gone!! huhuhu... so if there is anyone out there with a size 36 and would like to exchange it for a size 34, leave me a comment!!

style weekend - mar 9

pls buy manila bulletin today (mar 9) for your free issue of style weekend! on the cover: tweetie de leon-gonzalez. the woman needs no introduction, but she's the new host for project runway philippines (season 3 premieres mar 25) and she leads our list of women who wow! photographed by jo ann bitagcol, styling by adrianne concepcion, makeup by claire seelin-diokno of shu uemura, hair by ricky diokno for l'oréal professionnel. gown by cherry veric.

also in this issue: in time for international women's month, we present our list of other women who wow—charice pempengco, nikki luna, myrza sison, myla villanueva, and daiana menezes. summer feet special: strappy sandals and prepping your feet for them. janthina fong's mon-sun style. and more!

my marni x H&M diary

8:25am depart manila via PAL. lousy food, good service, great landing.


10:05am landed in hong kong. arrived to rain.


10:58am airport express train leaves for the city.
11:18am train arrives at kowloon station. i head for the free shuttle bus.
11:31am bus leaves for the hotel. i'm so stupid. just realized there's an H&M right above the station in elements mall. i should've asked if the station had lockers where i can park my maleta!
11:45am reach hotel. gave my maletas to the porter. forget about checking in! hotel can wait! nearest H&M is down the street at silvercord, so i make a dash for it!


11:46pm in one minute, i enter the store and ask the staff, where is marni?? she says upstairs to your left. what she doesn't say is that the end of the queue is in the lower floor, through the mall entrance! so i make a dash for it! when I get to the end of the queue, they say the REAL end of the queue is even lower!! in the basement!!


11:54am reached the end of the queue!
11:59am a group of us are led up to the second queue--and I'm the last person!
12:01pm my nose is pressed up against the window. I'm already shopping...


12:08pm queue moves. getting closer...


12:17pm previous shopping group told they have two minutes left! it's our turn!! the staff fix the merchandise and re-arrange the racks.
12:18 shopping bags are handed to people in the front of the queue.
12:19pm queue moves! next batch in! and i'm part of it!
12:20pm pandemonium! we have 10 minutes to shop!! but I already know what I want and head straight for them.


12:30pm done! before leaving the marni area, the staff check your merch to make sure you followed "the rules" (see previous post).


12:32pm i queue up at the register.
12:39pm paid up! er, i think I went a little overboard..

marni has landed

pay attention to the rules:

vera x MAC

i remember a few years ago, i saw my mom wearing a scarf. nothing unusual about that, but when i spotted a little ladybug logo at the corner of the scarf, i was like, oh my god!! is that a vera?? and she was like, what's that? hello!! i had never even seen one in the flesh and here was my mother wearing one! apparently, she had this scarf for decades, tucked in some drawer somewhere, forgotten. till she decided to bring it out again. and here i was raving about it. "you want it?" she asked. yes!! but i couldn't. i wanted her to enjoy this precious square of vintage silk. someday i will inherit it. for now, i'll make do with my itchy polyester posers.

but now i have my own vera! love the color combination. and there's the distinct ladybug logo:
the scarf came as part of the giveaway during the launch of MAC's spring/summer collection. MAC is very much into collaborations—they've been working with celebrities for their viva glam lipstick for years. earlier this year, they launched the irene apfel collection (my idol!). and for spring/summer, it's with vera. bagay na bagay. look at the colors in the makeup collection—and there's the ladybug stamped onto the powder!
from top to bottom: lipsticks in force of love and watch me simmer, pearl matte face powder in sunday afternoon, and creme blend blush in optimistic orange. love!

MAC has other collaborations with marc newson who designed packaging for lipstick and powder, nicki minaj for viva glam lipstick, chenman for a collection, and coming up in june a collaboration with beth ditto, and in october, a marilyn monroe collection. can't wait to see who will be next!

for more information on mac, go to www.maccosmetics.com. for more information on vera, go to www.theveracompany.com