TOPAZ HORIZON

Hot accessory brand Vita Fede had a lovely gathering this afternoon for us magazine editors. They were keen to show us their fab products--to-die-for rings, necklaces and bangles made of Italian leather and plated in 24-karat gold--and we were all blown away by how edgy the designs were and yet still simple and elegant. Love, love them!

I was especially interested because Hollywood celebs are all wearing Vita Fede. Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Katherin Heigl, Lindsay Lohan, Emmy Rossum, Paris Hilton, Hayden Panettiere, Ashlee Simpson, Ashley Tisdale, Carrie Underwood, Eva Longoria, Fergie, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Biel, Katy Perry, Lauren Conrad, Leighton Meester, Michelle Trachtenberg, Miley Cyrus, Mischa Barton, Rihanna and Selena Gomez are just some of the stars who are fans of Vita Fede.
Quite pricey, though. With prices ranging from PHP 2,250 to PHP 9,250, owning one of these babies will be a status symbol. But you're paying for the design, the luxurious material and the 24-karat gold and sterling silver. And for the fact that Hollywood's crazy over these accessories.



My favorite part? My engagement ring can fit in the tiny pocket. So--ideas for my male readers--why don't you surprise your girl with a Vita Fede bracelet and then watch her scream her head off when she realizes the bracelet is hiding a diamond ring? I think it's a fantabulous idea! If I were a guy, I'd do just that! Unless you're giving her a huge rock! I think only a one-carat diamond will fit... But it's a fab idea, yes?

Vita Fede will be launched in November and will be available in Rustan's Makati and select boutiques. All photos courtesy of Vita Fede.

Guests/Performers: Denise Laurel, Maja Salvador, All Stars, Young JV, Marcus Davis, Jay-R, Kris Lawrence, Carla & Nikki Guevarra, Salamin, Kjwan, Kaye Abad, Archipelago, Pupil, Imago, Severo, JP David, Akafellas, Saab Magalona, Top Junk, Techy Romantics, Sessionroad, Dingdong Dantes, The Pin-UpGirls, Caren Mangaran, Baron Geisler, Dice&K-9/Mobbstarr, Hi-C, Stick Figgas and more!

Hosted by Sarah Meier, Mo Twister, Grace Lee
and Mojo Jojo.

Tickets are sold through Ticket World and at the Music Museum gate (P300, P500, P700). Buy your tickets now and make Mio's cancer go away with very loud music! And you get something fab in return, too: a night of dancing, jumping and singing loudly--you'd have expended so much energy, you'd feel like you just consumed the best weight loss supplements! So attend the concert, have fun, see some stars, dance the night away and raise money for Mio's chemo!

If you're not the musical kind, just shop for beauty products for Mio's benefit here!

August is almost over and if you haven't done so already, please grab a copy of OK!'s August issue--if you can still find a copy! We dedicated the entire issue to Hollywood's cutest babies and so far, it's been a hit. My personal favorites are Suri Cruise and Harlow Richie Madden--such adorable cuties, so animated and present and alive! Vince also likes Suri. He and I want a little girl like Suri.

Meanwhile, while I'm promoting the August issue to you, my staff and I think it's already another month--as I type, we're working to finish the last few pages of the October issue. While everyone's talking about rain fashion here, the OK! staff is all about warm clothes for the -ber months and we're already lining up gift-giving ideas for Christmas. This is why I do my Christmas shopping in September and have all my gifts wrapped by October because I think it's December!

While all that chaos is happening, our September issue is now available and it looks oh so good!!! It has our annual Hollywood's Most Beautiful List and--surprise!--Robert Pattinson is this year's easiest on the eyes. I'll have to re-read this issue, though. Because we made it in July and my head is filled with October pages and plans for November-December, I don't remember September, which makes it tricky for me to promote it when I'm on my radio/TV tours! Did I make sense?!

I do want you to just take away one thing from all that confusion above--pleeeeeeease get a copy of OK!'s September issue! Not only does it feature 20 stunning pages of this year's hottest stars, it's also bursting at the seams with celebrity beauty secrets, explores the sexy ten-year marriage of Posh and Becks... and, well, you'll have to grab the issue to find out more about the issue's other treats! Hope you get a copy this weekend!

Meanwhile, here are the things I'm going to do this weekend:1. Sink into InStyle's September issue. It's thick again! Yey! The past few issues have been alarmingly thin, making me fear that my favorite magazine will suffer the same fate as the other magazines that were killed this year.
2. Check out Pluey's fab promo at the Rockwell Urban Bazaar. It's been awfully rainy; my Rain Skimmers aren't enough. Must buy boots! Then I just might win an extra 6 pairs!3. Add more products to my Help Mio Fight Cancer campaign. I've already added some new products donated by my fellow editors. As I type, we've already raised PHP 14,000++! Thank you! But we need to raise more so I hope you drop by my beauty blog and shop, shop, shop!

Wow, what an awful day. Had a shoot with a celebrity today. Celeb's manager asked that we give the entire outfit. When we said no, manager got really angry.

I wasn't there because I was attending a very important advertiser's event but I got so upset because the manager was treating my staff with so much disrespect. Some people take advantage of the fact that the boss isn't around by bullying the staff, and they usually get away with it because the staff gets cowed into submission.

I'm so angry. And I'm really ugly--in every sense of the word--when I'm angry. I just can't believe how some people feel they're entitled. And the celeb brings home millions of dollars (that should be a clue to you) so if celeb and company really wanted the outfit, why don't they just buy it? What's PHP 23,000++ to them?

You know what makes me feel worse? I feel like I betrayed my team by not being there to protect them from these ravenous wolves. I'm angry because my staff were helpless and being taken advantage of and I wasn't there to help them.

In the end, I told Lana to just give them what they want. I don't like fighting over money--it's bad form and utterly tasteless.

Oh, and as long as we were spending money on the star, I guess we should have gotten the star new underwear, too. The star's undies were in terrible shape. Shame.


I'm going to sleep this off now. Comments turned off for this post as I don't want anyone posting their guesses--right or wrong, I won't be able to say! All I can say is tomorrow will be a better day. Good night, folkszzzzz...

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.

TopShop is on sale! Now, I dislike sales and avoid them like the plague but yesterday, I was one of the lucky few invited to the private sale and I do appreciate having the store all empty. It's much easier to navigate without having to fight with all these hysterical and rude women.

However, I didn't find a lot of nice things yesterday. So I just bought some basic tanks.

I also got this vintage-style tee. It's cool because I married a nerd and I'm a nerd myself.
Hmm. The problem with t-shirts is they kinda gather around my tummy fat. I'd ask you for diet pills that work but I really don't need to diet, ya know? I just need to lose that stubborn tummy fat! Good thing Aesthetic Science Clinic invited me to try out their Mesotherapy and Reshape treatments next week. Wish me luck!


We waited for 10 days for the order to be shipped from London. London is pretty far from Manila but even we were surprised it took just 10 days for our shirts to arrive.

These shirts are the ultimate in film nerd chic. At GBP 18 each (PHP 1,412... plus shipping!), they're pretty pricey, but hey, we totally love them and the way people don't get 'em. For example, can you guess what movie this is?It takes a real film buff to go, "Where on earth did ya find that cool shirt?!" And when we find people who get the shirts, then we know we've met a kindred spirit.

I still can't believe Michael Jackson is dead. He died from a heart attack but speculation is rife. It must be all the preparations for his concert tour next month in London. Concerts are so exhausting physically, hence performers train every day so that their stamina and strength will be at an all-time high. Just look at Madonna, Fergie, Gwen Stefani, the Pussycat Dolls... even Britney shed the weight fast when she started her Circus tour.

Reports say that Michael, after years of inactivity and ill health, had been training for the tour. Maybe he overdid it? He was not a healthy 50 years old. And he was also allegedly taking prescription drugs for back pain. Maybe drugs and a suddenly active body just don't mix. We'll know soon since the autopsy is scheduled tomorrow. For updates, go to TMZ.

I feel so sad. He was reportedly going to debut a new dance move! And I was looking forward to his comeback (see my post here where Britney and Michael drive an audience crazy--amazing performance!).

His poor kids, too. Recently, paparazzi got a photo of his kids without their masks. We were going to run it in OK! but--since it's such a rare photo--it was incredibly expensive. Anyway, just look for it online and you'll find it.

Today is a sad day. For Michael's fans, music history and the entertainment world. What's even sadder is I can already imagine the distasteful circus and battle that will most definitely happen over Michael's property and kids as soon as he's laid to rest.

This is a post script of sorts to the previous post. Just had a meeting with Mr. Wilson Yuloque of Pioneer Films, the distributor of Twilight Saga: New Moon here in the Philippines. I told him that there's a cardboard Edward in Megamall and that girls are lining up to have a photo with him. It's pathetic but look who had a fun time with it! (Oops, bad hair day!)Mr. Yuloque found that hilarious. I guess it's hard to believe that Rob is such hot property these days that he nearly got run over by a taxi as he was fleeing crazed fans recently. Anyway, Mr. Yuloque said he just came back from Cannes and was at a party with none other than R-Pattz himself. He told me that:

• Robert Patterson is very tall (cardboard Edward is not life-size), very funny, very polite, very clean and smells really nice. So to that rumor that the guy doesn't shower and is filthy, well, it's not true!
• In the whole of Asia, Filipinos are most crazy about Twilight. Yup, it's the Philippines, not Japan, that is Twilight's biggest Asian market. The franchise--book and film--is making crazy millions upon millions (of dollars!) from us Filipinos.
• There are only 50 original film posters currently available in the Philippines and OK! magazine now owns one!

Lana, our Managing Editor and the Twilighter in OK!, is absolutely in love with the poster.

Me? I'm in love with my shoes. They're Delicious from Anthem at the Power Plant. They're 5 inches high and just utterly comfortable. I think I'll wear them all week. Oh, end of the week is when my beauty giveaway ends. Make sure you join!

Now, before anything else--I have a blog giveaway going on! While I'd love to be raffling off free family trips to Disneyland, shopping sprees at New York or free vacations, I'm starting with free beauty loot from Maybelline! Scroll down to the next post for details. You have 5 more days!

Now back to regular programming.

Bunny ears are so cute. They twitch about constantly. Even when my rabbits are asleep, their ears are like satellite discs that turn to find the slightest sound. They seem to have a mind of their own really!

Now, Louis Vuitton had come out with their silly Bunny Ears for their Fall/Winter 2009 collection. On the runway, the Bunny Ears looked fab.
On the cover of Vogue Russia and atop the head of my favorite model Natalia Vodianova, the Bunny Ears looked fierce.
On my rabbits Galadriel and Matilda, the Bunny Ears (just stiff paper!) looked adorable.

Now, the Bunny Ears on Madonna...

Hmmm. Let's just say Bunny Ears are for the young and effervescent!

I start every month with a promoting blitz for OK! magazine. So tomorrow you may want to watch Juicy on TV5 at 11am (here's hoping my spot doesn't get bumped off again!). Here are some pics from the taping yesterday (yey, I finally have photos where my red hair looks red!):


So much fun! Also tomorrow I'll be on the following radio shows:

• Jam 88.3 at 2 PM
• Wave 89.1 at 3 PM
• 99.5 RT at 4 PM
• RX 93.1 at 8 PM
• Magic 89.9 at 10 PM

Listen in if you like! I have a very squeaky voice but I'm smart and funny so you can expect to be entertained. And please please grab a copy of the June issue of OK! magazine.

Better yet, send me a photo of yourself with my magazine! Here's my email: frances@topazhorizon.com. My favorite photo wins a prize!

TV commercials these days are just crap. They're mostly inane and stupid and just assume the viewer is just as stupid and inane. Remember when it was actually a joy to sit for the commercial breaks? These days, I use those breaks to surf other channels, go to the loo, check the ref for food, or write Colonix reviews in my new beauty blog.

There are a few good ones that I do enjoy. Like this one from Close Up:


And this one from Sony Bravia three years ago:


And the "First Time, First Love" commercial of Coke! So '80s! (Yes, I was born in the '70s so I have a pretty good memory of this ad):


The '80s were the golden age for Coke ads but my favorite was the Pepsi commercial starring Fred Savage where he was writing a love letter to a girl and he was inspired by the drink, prompting the girl to realize, "I feel like... a Pepsi." So sad I can't find it on YouTube!

But the ad I truly truly love is this vintage Apple TVC that my husband tells me brings back memories of another age.


We feel every word because Vince and I have always been the misfits, the rebels and troublemakers that people never really understood. I know my parents always worried about me, afraid I'd end up dead because I always stirred up trouble but, hey, I turned out okay! The funny thing is, as media people, Vince and I are both in positions where we can actually mold the minds of our readers. It's crazy that we are where we are. We have dangerous thoughts and someone is actually paying us to spread them!

By the way, I found this vid through the utterly wonderful poet Susannah-Cole. She inspires me with her words and her images, and we are both "secret keepers of hope," believers in moving the world forward one blog post at a time.

I know I said I didn't like Twilight the movie but after seeing this video, I'm willing to watch New Moon. Oh my, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are so hot! Did they paint on Kristen's clothes? And Rob's abs--are they for real??? And that kiss! I literally felt my cheeks go warm when I saw these stills!

SPOILER ALERT! If you want the movie to be a surprise, do not watch!


Swoon! Now let me look for my own vampire and beg for a bite...