TOPAZ HORIZON

Well, this happened:


I am still the answer. Yes.

Anyway! I should've done the first one last February 19, kasi I promised I'd do the "Ask Frances" series on the third Friday of every month. But hindi ako makapili ng question! Hanggang ngayon actually. Ang bibigat ng mga tanong. Nag-iisip tuloy ako na kailangan ko nga humingi ng tulong from someone qualified to help (like a pastor, counselor, financial adviser, psychiatrist, etc!).

But if I did that, then the series should be called "Ask Frances... to Ask an Expert to Help You!" LOL

Joking aside, I'll pick a question for March 18 from the emails I already got. If you want to send a question (yung easy lang please!), email me here frances@topazhorizon.com with "Ask Frances" on the subject. Remember: The chosen question gets a prize!

Happy weekend! Mwah!

I don't dwell on this too much but I sometimes wonder what it feels like to be a mommy and also still have a mommy. Because I now have the hardest job in the world which means I need my Mama more than ever, and I don't have her.


On weekends, I try not to be on Facebook so much. My mom friends are usually visiting their parents or their parents are visiting them. There will be a feast their mom prepared. There will be photos of Lola helping with the baby. There will be piles of Tupperware containers because of course their mom cooked waaaaay too much and she'd tell her daughters to bring home the food and then my friends will all say, "Yey, I don't need to cook anymore. Thanks, mom!" Then there will be photos of my friends with their moms and the kids, all smiling and happy.


And I take a step back, filled with longing for my own mother. I feel envy, but not the envy that makes you wish ill on others. It's an envy that makes me feel sorry for myself. And makes me feel sorry for Mama, too, that she's missing all this. 

My three-year-old boy came up to me carrying a small box of raisins. "Mama, this is for you. I'll put it in your bag so when you get hungry, you can have a snack."


I stared at Iñigo and marveled at his thoughtfulness. "Oh, Iñigo! You love me!"

"Of course I do," he said while stuffing the box of raisins into my handbag. "My brain loves you. My hair loves you. My eyes love you. My tummy loves you. My legs love you."

Then he stopped what he was doing, turned to me with his eyes all big and wide.

"Mama! My whole body loves you! Even my feet! Why?"


"This is a scary feeling. Is there something wrong with me?"

I hugged him super tight and said, "Yeah, love is scary but it's the bestest, biggest, most beautiful feeling in the world!"

And he sat there in my arms then said, "I'm not scared to love you, Mama. And Papa and Vito and baby. I'm brave. I can do it!"

Yes, you can, my darling boy. Yes, you can!

Hi everybody! I'm so happy to announce that I'm a digital ambassador for Physiogel! The first time I discovered Physiogel was in 2014. I was a new mom for the third time and I don't know why but with my third pregnancy and third round as new mommy, my skin became extremely itchy and dry. I tried all sorts of lotions but nothing—absolutely nothing—helped! Then I discovered Physiogel and I fell in love. My skin was finally soothed, moisturized, healed. It was smooth and soft and just drenched with moisture!

How I wished Physiogel could also do that for my face!

Yes, my poor, terrible face! I've been suffering a horrible case of acne since middle of last year and I'm having it treated. But while my acne is slowly but surely going away, the treatment has been harsh on my face, leaving my skin raw, flaky, stinging and red. My face has just been a painful part of me! Check out these photos:

Pus-filled pimples scattered all over my cheeks.

Not visible in these photos but my skin was flaking off all over my face, especially around my nose.

I'm so brave huhu. I'm so panget!

Enter Physiogel Face Calming Relief cream—Physiogel’s first entry into face care. Physiogel knew I was already a fan of their body lotion so they asked if I was willing to give their new face products a try. To be honest, I was reluctant. My face was already a painful mess. I was afraid of using a new product, especially when I saw that it was formulated for dry and sensitive skin. My skin was oily! But Physiogel assured me that their product will still be good for me. So, okay, I gave it a try.

I'm so happy I did!!!

One pump gives you this much product. That's all you need!

Upon first application, my face immediately felt soothed, calmed, comforted. It no longer felt raw and painful. With each use, the redness faded, the flaking skin was smoothed away, the pimples—yes, my pimples!—were lessened. I know I'm undergoing acne treatment but I really believe its efficacy was made faster and more effective by Physiogel Face Calming Relief cream.

I've been doing this acne treatment since November and I already knew that my skin flares up again a week or two after my facials. It was an ongoing thing, you know? I had to keep coming back to the clinic to manage the acne. But when I started using Physiogel Face Calming Relief cream, there were no more flare ups!!! Not only did my pimples die off faster, no pimples reappeared!

Nakakaiyak siya sa sobrang saya ko. Grabe lang!

Anyway, I'm still pimply but here's a side-by-side comparison with Day 1 so you can see that there's been a visible improvement:

Dry patches gone. Pimples lessened.

Flakiness on cheeks and around corners of eyes and nose gone.

Pimples drying up.

I had to watermark these pics because I didn't want other brands to use them!

I'm so happy! I'll give you an update in a few days so you can see what two weeks of Physiogel Face Calming Relief cream has done to my face. So exciting!

Here are his picks:

Anyway, if you're looking for a gift for your special guy, or your guy friends, or your dad, do check out MANGO Man. There's a LOT of nice stuff there for men. Vince and I thought his dad would like this jacket, for example:

Oh, aaaaaaand before I forget, MANGO, MANGO Man and MANGO Kids are all on sale, by the way! Big discounts! I only found out when we were at the store! So drop by soon, dear Loyal Readers, and shop shop shop!


MANGO MAN – Power Plant Mall, Alabang Town Center, Bonifacio High Street, Glorietta 2, SM Mall Of Asia, Ayala Center Cebu, Abreeza Davao