Saturday, August 28, 2010

Fun Find: The Baggler

A lot of people think that styling is as easy as knowing how to put together pieces of clothing from head-to-toe. Actually, there's A LOT of work involved before getting to the dressing-up-the-model part. A huge chunk of the workload goes to sourcing, or in other words, pullouts.

I get asked a gazillion times on how I manage to get stuff from stores. They seemed excited with the fact that I can borrow anything I need without having to pay a single centavo. In short, feeling nila I'm on a shopping spree--looking like some rich kid carrying tons of paper bags with all the money to burn. Well actually, with the amount of stuff that I get from stores, hindi na ko mukhang mayaman, mukha na kong kargador. Haha! You see this?

Heaps of clothes, shoes, and accessories I borrowed for a fashion editorial I shot 3 days ago. That's just round one of pullouts. Kulang pa yan, really.

So, as I was window-shopping at Handyman (yes, I also go to hardware stores, 'ya know), I came across this cool carrying tool:

Oooooooh.

The label says: The Baggler is a unique device with a patented design that helps you manage your bags, keeping the handles secured without getting entangled and preventing your items from falling out. It has a comfortable ergonomic handle that allows you to carry many things conveniently and painlessly.

Convincing! So, I bought one but I asked the staff to clean it first because all the stocks in Handyman Galle are dusty-dirty, as in mukhang luma (wala ata bumibili, haha!) and gave it a road test on a normal pullout day.

Ta-daaaaa!
Pwedeeee.

In my experience though, it really gets pretty heavy if you hook a lot of bags so it's still better to distribute the weight on both arms. Plus, if the paperbag's handles are long and you're on the short side (like me), the paperbag gets dragged on the floor. Therefore, The Baggler is only ideal for grocery bags, square plastic bags, and the like.

But still, I think this is a great tool esp for stylists and for people who carry loads of stuff around all the time! No more blisters from those rough bag handles! Yay! :)

*The Baggler is sold at Handyman for P249.75. Don't forget what I told you: their stocks are dirty, so prepare your alcohol / wet wipes. Haha!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Raket Science: In the Nude

When Cosmo's Sam asked me if I can do makeup for 5 ladies for a nude shoot, I was stunned. Wow... nude, eh? Scary. Of course I was super game to do it, and I must say, it was one of the most comfortable shoots I had, given the uncomfortable setting and all.

I have a manang side, you know. I will never be comfortable showing my goodies in public, let alone have it published in the most widely-read magazine in the country! But of course this is Cosmo, not FHM, so the poses are mahinhin...well, sort of. The feature is about 5 fearless young ladies talking about their love-hate relationship with their bodies, with their men telling us that all those insecurities are nothing but meaningless. Sweet!

Maricar Reyes rockin' the nude trend on the cover.

They bared it all.
Excuse the blurry-ness, didn't have the time to scan every page so I took photos of it instead.

Let's focus on the makeup, shall we?
Sam wanted the usual fresh-face-no-makeup-look. Sayang I forgot to take before shots. Aaargh.

These girls are definitely Cosmo chicks at heart--fun and fearless! I had a great time, laughing at their interviews and all. Haha! I can still remember Irish's introduction..."Hi, I'm Irish, I'll be doing the interview for today. Sorry for the question, but, what do you like about your boobs?" Wahahaha! Crazy fun! :)

Learn more from these 5 ladies and be inspired to love your body in Cosmo's August 2010 issue, out on newsstands nationwide.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Raket Science: TV Guesting for OK! Magazine

I've been doing OK! Magazine's Get the Look page for almost two years in a row. The task is simple: copy the celeb's look from head-to-toe with items from our local stores. Through time and experience, I pretty much know the exact places to find certain items. So when G invited me to talk about "Hollywood style: Get the look for less" for RPN's Teenwatch segment, I was so game to do it because I can choose which store to feature--FOREVER 21, no less!

We chose Lea Michele and Rob Pattinson as our celeb pegs. With the help of F21's Jane Cheng, we spotted the pieces right away among the racks and racks of uber stylish finds!


The Lea Michele look, worn by Maria Herrera

The Rob Pattinson look, worn by Adam Ibrahim

Bulilit, bulilit, ang liit liit! He's freakin' 6'11, dude.

That's the wrap!
L-R: Maria, Adam, Me, AA of Summit's PR, Jane Cheng of F21, and Janeena Chan of RPN's Teenwatch

Go grab a copy of the latest issue of OK! Philippines to get your monthly fix of the freshest in Hollywood--from fashion, to beauty, to juicy entertainment news!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

hair story.

I've been sporting full bangs ever since I saw 500 Days of Summer. I sooo love Zooey's look and she's my forever hair peg. Haha. I'm still waiting for my locks to grow a bit more though, so I can have it permed and wake up every single day with "Zooey" hair. Hee.

Girl crush.

So yes, the bangs are here to stay, and so does the regular maintenance that goes with it. The funny thing about bangs is that there are just some hairstylists who can't do it right. Looks easy to trim, but when you make a mistake, it's crucial. Being the cheaposaurus that I am, I tried this salon in Metrowalk offering bangs trimming at a very minimal fee. It's just bangs, how can you possibly make a mistake, right? But lo and behold, the stylist trimmed it waaayyyy too high, and I was mortified! If only I can turn back time, I would've been more willing to pay a lot than wait for months for my bangs to grow back!

Me and my pinned bangs. November 2009.
I had to keep it pinned for 2 months! Hassle, much?

Since then, I vowed to never take chances with my bangs maintenance. Like a prodigal daughter, I went back to my stylist, Rey Fernandez, and he welcomed me back with open arms. LOL

I met Rey in 2006 and he did my first ever expensive haircut. Well, I used to be content with P50 haircuts so paying for a P650 service is a lot in my book. I gave him the freedom to play with my hair, and so far i liked the cuts he gave me.

These are just some of Rey's haircuts I unearthed from my gazillion photo albums. The longer one was my very first, year 2006, virgin hair (from color) and all that. The next one was taken last 2008.

About 3 weeks ago, I visited Rey at his spanking new salon, The Salon Republic, located at Pearl drive, Ortigas. I was in a hair emergency state, as my bangs were covering my eyes already and my hair color was screaming RETOUCH! RETOUCH! endlessly. What got me more excited? This!

Oh, goodie!

The salon's interiors. Still undergoing finishing touches.

Mitor sleeping as usual. That's Rey, by the way.

My before-and-after shot. I had my hair cut, treated, and trimmed all for only P1,950! Thank God for discounts!

The Salon Republic still has ongoing promos so check 'em out! Give them a ring at 0917.4635663. Have a happy hair day!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

pink phones.

My favorite color is not pink. I actually don't have a favorite color, because for me, it's a seasonal / mood thing. Sometimes I like blue, sometimes purple, sometimes orange--you get the drift. But when it comes to gadgets, I go crazy over pink ones!

My Jurassic Motorola Razr V3 in Hot Pink
(I had to charge it so you can see the wallpaper. Hee.)

I bought this in 2005, and used it for 4 years. I had to replace it because it has charging problems. Still fixable, I know. But the phone memory is another story. It can only store up to 70 messages and I locked 65 messages from the inbox so it won't get deleted ever. Which means, I only have 5 slots for new messages and medyo hassle mag-delete ha, esp if the text is work related. So, going back... kanino kaya galing yung 65 messages? Hmmmm. *kilig*

Yes, my dear friends, this phone knows my love story. I still have the very first text that Mitor sent me, dated June 3, 2006, 10:11 PM. And that makes this pinky phone priceless.

Now, here's my new pink baby!


Nokia c3 in Hot Pink--AGAIN!

QWERTY + Nokia + Pink = LOVE! And the best part? It retails for only P7,295! Happiness! Let's cross our fingers that I won't lose it, ever ever! I bought a Nokia E71 last March and after 2 months it got stolen, so please stay away from me, thieves! Don't burst my happy-because-i-have-the-cutest-phone bubble. Tee hee. :)

commercial break.

I've been itching to blog about other topics aside from the 100-peso trip series, so I shall now pause for a quick commercial. Hehehe. If you want to know more about the trip, visit the stray pusiket, my friend's awesome travel blog. :)

Monday, August 2, 2010

day 2 (AM): shooting rapids and lechong baka.

Day 2 for me was the highlight of the whole trip. Cagayan de Oro is all about shooting rapids, so if you've been there and never tried it, you SHOULD definitely go back!

Jego, our principal, told us that we should be ready by 5:30AM. We were all too excited to complain, so we were up and about just in time.

In uniform.

We hired KAGAY, CDO's premier whitewater rafting outfitter to take charge of the whole adventure. And because most of us were gutsy enough, we chose their Advance Course (even if most of us were first-timers), which covers 24 rapids in 4-5 hours. As an add-on, we paid Php300 for photos on top of their Php1,000 per head rate. The package includes jeepney transfer from hotel to "put in" (starting point), as well as headgear, life vests, and dry bags for storage.

Mga nanginginig ang tuhod

Chippie's clothes in a mesh bag, her cigarettes in a waterproof case.
"Mabasa na ang lahat, wag lang ang yosi!"

The gang and the signed waivers.
The waiver simply says: "if something bad happens, don't sue us". Haha!

By 7AM (I think) we were ready to roll.

The orientation.
Listen or you die! Hahaha!

Key points:
#1 Listen to your guide's instructions. If he says paddle forward, do so. Follow his count, too.
#2 In case you fall off the boat, do not panic. Just let your body float (head first) and wait for your knight-in-a-wetsuit a.k.a Kagay boy to save you.
#3 In case you fall off again, no need to swim against the rapids, just hold on to the rope that they will throw at you so they can pull you back.
#4 Swimming skills are not necessary. You're wearing a life vest the entire time anyway.
#5 Have fun and enjoy the ride!

We were divided into three groups, plus a couple from Unilab(?) who joined our team. May bago na namang kadaldalan si Mitor. Haha!

And now, presenting...*drumroll please*
ACTION SHOTS!

Welcome to SPLASH ISLAND!
Boat 1
Boat 2
Boat 3

Each rapid we conquered has a name and story behind it, as blessed and told by the Kagay boys. I can't remember most of it, though. The one that really stuck was Dan drop (a team mate named Dan fell on that part of the river) pero natawa ako kasi naisip ko ay Dan drop = Dandruff. NYE! Corny na kung corny!

We weren't paddling the whole time, by the way. There were parts of the course where we swam in still waters, climbed a huge rock, and was forced to jump!

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming

Rock and Roll!

Jump, Jump, Jump!

Mitor's awesome jumpshot.
Oo na, ikaw na ang pinakamatapang! Hmp!

*sings* Aaaaahhh....freak out!

Wuhoo!

Success!

Just a few steps from the "take-out" (end point) was a restaurant where we had one of the best lunches ever!

Lechong baka.
My verdict: 5 out of 5 stars!

We had a glorious time, as in super! There's actually a lot of rafting photos that I'd love to share but it's just too many so my advice is, just try out the adventure and see for yourself!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

day 1 (PM): check-in and "the bar".

From Bukidnon, we endured another 2-hour van ride back to Cagayan de Oro. We had reservations at D'Budgetel, a simple, no-fuss hotel that offers very affordable rates.

Tetah at the reception area.
Look, nakatip-toe! Mataas ba masyado? :P

For the price, the place is nice and clean. The interiors are plain and simple, and I like it that way. No baduy furniture, floral curtains, and anything that screams Aling Dionisia in my head. LOL. And the bathroom looks okay, too--no dirty tiles, no kalawang sa faucets, sinks, etc.--which is a HUGE plus in my book.

After a few hours, we were all freshened up and ready for dinner. We planned to check out foodie places along Limketkai Mall and we ended up at the resto strip right across.

CDO's version of Metrowalk or El Pueblo.

And because Daks wanted to eat chicken and the place was packed with happy diners, we decided to eat here:

The 1-pc chicken meal.
My verdict: 3 out of 5 stars.
It tastes good, but nothing spectacular. And the fries? Only 3 pieces! Sheesh.

Since we needed to be up early the next day, we opted to go back and have drinks at The Tree House, D'Budgetel's resto/bar.

We love the lighting!
And being the mababaw that we are, imagine our fascination with the lighted table!

Above: Jego and her countless poses.
Below: Pa-cute me, Binds, and Bigs plus singit na product shot

The lets-pretend-we're-in-a-bar pose.
Carried away, much? Haha! CHILL.

And that concludes DAY 1!