Thursday, April 30, 2015

It would've been OK!'s 10th birthday

April is always special to me because it's my wedding anniversary month. It used to be special for another reason, too: it's also the anniversary month of OK! magazine, the Hollywood entertainment title I used to helm.

I've actually forgotten that April is OK!'s anniversary month! This year would've been our 10th birthday had we not been killed off in 2012. After just three years, I've already forgotten details of what used to be a HUGE chunk of my life. I only remembered because I was looking for photos of my kids' Babiators on my iPhoto library (another story for another day!) and came across these old photos I took of OK!'s "Letter from the Editor" page.


I posted this on Facebook and felt a sharp pang of nostalgia. I miss my team! They are seriously the best people anyone could ever want in a magazine. Here are a few photos of my old team:
Black and gold theme.
Harry Potter theme yata ito haha
The very last staff photo. Party theme, I guess. Mostly, "Bye-bye, dear OK! readers but let's not be sad" theme.

Gorgeous!

Anyway, as an extra, I'm sharing with you more pics of me. I took these photos years ago because I wanted to see the progression of how I looked like in the 7 years I was editor-in-chief. So these were supposed to be just for my private consumption. But what the heck! Let me share with you!
My very first EIC photo! Look at my giddy smile. Look at my FLAT STOMACH!!! 
I liked wearing T-shirts in my late 20s. I don't think I owned a dress at this point in my life.
And this was probably when I started wearing dresses. That'll be in 2007.
Nope. Still in a T-shirt phase! And mommy jeans with NO BELT! Why?!
This is my favorite photo. Vince designed that dress and I had it made. I love that dress.
This was when our shoots started to be styled. Not only are we wearing better clothes, we also have accessories now!
That cleavage had to be added because I was as flat as a board.
I loved this dress so much! When the shoot was over, I reluctantly took it off. I regret not buying it.
This was an orange dress that we turned red. We also whittled my waist because I looked so thick haha!
Aww. I had just given birth here! Look at my new mom smile!
With Vito!!!
My last EIC photo. 

Good heavens, what was I thinking in some of those early photos?! Wala pa kasi akong stylist then. After a few years, especially when we got our fashion editors Nichole and Kabbie, our staff shoots were styled. Thank goodness! I mean, really, a t-shirt for an EIC photo? And inulit-ulit pa!

Oh, those were good days. Happy days! But I'm into motherhood now more than I am into magazines so the stressful life of helming a publication is in my past. I like that I'm back in magazines now but as market editor of BABY Magazine. I just have my 20 pages to think of and then I'm back to my little boys. I work from home, best of both worlds, very easy life. Happy days!


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Friday, April 10, 2015

This is what I really wanted to say

Random girl at an event: "Ate Frances, when I'm super old na rin, I want to still be pretty like you."

Me, outside: "Aww. Thank you!"

Me, inside:



Oy, affected. Biglang naka-identify ako kay Lady Tremaine. Heehee.

Happy weekend!


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Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Dear summer, my Transitions Signature Lenses and I are ready for you!

This post is brought to you by Transitions Signature Lenses.

Okay, I promise that this is the very last time I'm talking about Transitions Lenses because I know I've kinda been super enthusiastic about my fantastic new glasses and I keep going on and on about them. 

But I'm really excited to really test drive my Transitions Signature Lenses this summer because we have trips planned out of town. I'm a city girl, you see, and a stay-at-home mommy, too. When I do go out, I am in malls or at events. So I haven't experienced what my Transitions Lenses can do under the intense summer sun. 
Packing my beach bag with reading material, sunscreen and towels!

How Jimmy Choo heightened my Cinderella shoe fetish

I am still not over Disney's Cinderella. Lily James, who I actually didn't like for the role, was perfect for it! She has that perfect blend of goodness, kindness and yet she didn't seem like a doormat. Her Cinderella was cheerful even when she was sad, and she faced each day with hope even in the midst of her grief. Hope. Yes, courage, kindness, and hope. Lily's Cinderella radiated hope!

And she was just enchanting as Cinderella, too. I told my Facebook followers that I wasn't breathing the entire time she was transformed by her fairy godmother, she met Prince Kit, she danced with him, and she fled for home, hounded by the clock. I only started breathing again when she was walking in the rain!

Now I'm not breathing again because I just saw the shoes Jimmy Choo made for Lily.

She wore these at the global premiere of the movie at the 65th Berlinale International Film Festival.
Grabe lang nasilaw ako sa ngiti ni Prince Charming! Robb Stark cleans up well!

To promote the film, Disney partnered with some of the world’s premiere department stores (in New York, Beverly Hills, London, Tokyo, Dubai, Beijing, Italy and Moscow) to feature the ultimate Cinderella shoe from the world’s top shoe designers. The one we see here is from Jimmy Choo and I hope to see the rest! The shoes will be promoted both with a dedicated window and an in-store display. 
Here in the Philippines, we sadly won't see any special Cinderella shoe creation but we can still shop for fab shoes at Jimmy Choo boutiques at Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La Plaza East Wing. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph for more information.

P.S.
Salvatore Ferragamo was in charge of Lady Tremaine's shoes in the movie. So chic!
You can just see a hint of her green heels. 
Leather lace-up boots are so villainous!
Ferragamo is also available here at Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Greenbelt 4, Power Plant Mall, Newport Mall and Alabang Town Center. I hope they're selling that boot!


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Sunday, April 05, 2015

My kikay Easter with Girlstuff's summer collection of nail polish

This post is brought to you by GirlStuff Forever.

First, the good news: I have a nail polish color named after my blog!

Girlstuff, a proudly Pinoy beauty and personal care brand, released its summer collection called "Bloggers' Elite Summer," and they named the four creamy pastels AskMeWhats (purple-pink), Go Jackie Go (lime green), Strutting on Sunshine (vivid blue), and—my favorite!—Topaz Horizon (chartreuse yellow) after the blogs of the same name.


This is so exciting! I have a nail polish color named Topaz Horizon!!!

Anyway, I'll talk about my fabulous yellow polish and the fabulous launch party soon. Today, let's celebrate Easter with the very Happy Easter colors of Girlstuff's summer collection! Yes, let's use AskMeWhats, Go Jackie Go, Strutting on Sunshine, and Topaz Horizon to paint our Easter eggs!

Okay, I edited the photos in the middle of the night so medyo grabe pala yung saturation! Sorry. The colors of our polishes are not that neon! Anyway, let's meet my Easter egg!
I used Topaz Horizon as the base.
Two coats for a bright and happy yellow!
I used a bottle cap to help me dry my egg.
Tracing my pattern using the other colors!
Et voila! 

Now here are the colors on real nails: