Wanna Sing With Lea Salonga?

After pinching the hearts of the Filipinos with her poignant rendition of "Bayan Ko" at President Cory Aquino's burial, international star Lea Salonga is giving fans the chance to take part in her concert on December this year. Dubbed as "Lea Salonga.. Your Songs," is a special concert dedicated to her avid supporters. She is taking in requests for songs that you wanna hear her sing, your treasured photos with her, and videos of you singing your way to the concert stage. If you're a Lea fan, I'm sure you're getting giddy with the idea right now.

The last time I watched a Lea Salonga concert was in 2002, during the Broadway Songs special. I was having my internship in Manila at that time. Together with my friend Malou, a rabid Lea fan, who flew in from CDO just to catch her concert, we chose 2nd row tickets which positioned us just inches away from Bea Lucero, Louie Ocampo, and other famous personalities. We even managed to snag a photo after the concert with her mom, Mrs. Ligaya Salonga who was in the audience. Sadly, the pic with her mom was the closest we could get to Lea as we didn't get the chance to greet and meet her up close.

On December 11 and 12 2009, mark your calendars as she shares the stage with Ai-ai Delas Alas, Richard Poon, and maybe you! Send in a 1 minute video of yourself singing to any of Lea's hits and you get the chance to win 2 concert tickets plus a rare opportunity to be invited on stage. Gerard Salonga, her brother, will take care of the musical direction, while Bobby Garcia will be the concert director.

If you're too shy to sing, send in your song requests before September 30, 2009. They will be giving away tickets to lucky fans who will be requesting songs which will end up in the top 3. Please visit "Lea Salonga..Your Songs" to fill up the request forms and for further information. Good luck and give my regards to Lea when you meet her. Tell her I'm a big fan.

New Artistic Expressions From NARS

Two new makeup artist must-haves have come out from NARS Cosmetics: the Essential Eye Palette and the Best of Lips Palette.

A few months ago, I ordered the Bridal Palette which is also considered to be the "greatest hits" collection. It contained the bestsellers of NARS including the cult favorite, Orgasm blush. I must say it was one of my best buys. I will do a review on that later.

For now, lets marvel at these new babies from NARS:

6 Eyeshadows in a palette for only $55:



The collection includes (from left to right, top row first), with corresponding description:

• Unconditional Love- a soft shimmering copper


• Night Star- sheer peach with gold pearls


• Galapagos-bitter chocolate infused with gold


• Nepal- rose with shimmer


• Ondine- plum with gold shimmer


• Thunderball midnight- gray

The neutral colors will be perfect for your daily makeup at work while the smoky shadows afford you the instant transition into a night diva.

6 lip treats for only $55:

The luscious colors include (downwards, left column first):

• Dolce Vita- dusty rose


• Chelsea Girls- nude beige


• Copacabana- glistening pearl


• Red Lizard- full powered red


• Eros- raspberry with shimmer


• Orgasm- peachy pink with shimmers

These are six popular NARS lip colors conveniently packed together.

Both the eye and lip palettes are elegantly placed in a compact with wide mirrors. A single NARS eyeshadow typically costs $22 while a single lipstick sells for $24. For $55 a palette, you get smaller versions of each eye or lip color in one package. Nice deal, huh?

Images and descriptions from Narscosmetics.com

So Long, President Cory Aquino

One of the greatest women in the world's history, our former President Cory Aquino, will be laid to rest tomorrow.In my own little way, I'd like to honor through this blog, a beautiful woman who has lead an exemplary life.

The EDSA revolution, also hailed as the People Power revolution happened in 1986 when I barely understood its historical significance. All I knew was that the Filipino people found a new hero in President Cory Aquino. She was highly esteemed for restoring the country's democracy from the dictatorship of the Marcos regime, taking after the cause left by her husband Ninoy who was killed in 1983. At my young age, I caught the "Cory fever" together with the entire nation. I was a Cory kid who wore yellow shirts and danced to "Tie a yellow ribbon." Yellow, being her symbolic color during the campaign for presidency. Much has been spoken about her greatness. I remember President Cory earning the adulation of people from all over the world because of her leadership steering the the Philippines to a peaceful revolution. Her modesty, strong faith, purity of intentions, and integrity, were most admirable. In January 1987, she was named as the TIME Magazine's Woman Of The Year.  She brought so much honor to our race that she became my icon.

In these difficult times of our country being plagued with controversies, corruption, dishonesty, and lack of discipline by my fellowmen, it becomes hard to honestly utter the words "I am proud to be a Filipino."  However, remembering the times of President Cory leading the EDSA revolution renews my sense of pride. She is the most inspiring Filipina that my generation has been fortunate to know. A soft-spoken woman yet powerfully- moving leader who can influence her people to take conscientious action.

When she was diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago, I asked myself, "why her?"  It would have been easier to accept if cancer only afflicted shady characters. Unfortunately, being a cancer patient myself, I can't offer an explanation as to how one is chosen to suffer from it, aside from the medically plausible phenomena of heredity and environment. Knowing her age, I knew it would be a harder battle for her. I prayed that she will be blessed with the strength to fight on. I trusted that with the medical advances today, something can be done to save her. For some reason, cancer was bitchier than ever. President Cory continued to be ravaged by it despite her adherence to the treatment protocols. On August 1, 2009, her battle was over. I've been crying my heart out thinking of all the pain she must have gone through. She has suffered enough by losing her husband to political prison and ultimately, to assassination. Several years later, cancer had come to challenge and claim her. I would normally question God for these turn of events but President Cory was different. She accepted her sufferings wholeheartedly as a sacrificial offering to God and her country.

Along with the nation, I grieve for her loss. I can only take solace in the fact that she has moved to a much better place now after living an accomplished, meaningful life. Her spirit will soar, free from all the pain. The image of her being happily reunited with her husband beyond death should comfort the grief being felt by the people she left behind. May Ninoy and Cory continue their love story in heaven which has been traumatically cut by harsh circumstances here on earth.

Tomorrow, as you are laid to rest, I join the rest of the Filipinos in expressing their gratitude to you, the mother of democracy. We will celebrate your life and pass on your legacy. You have my highest respect, Madame President. Your beautiful heart and soul were God's gift to us. Thank you for being such a blessing to the Philippines. May the other heroes and all the saints usher you to your place in heaven and the angels serenade you to your path to eternal life.

Vanity Clinic Renovated

Finally, I am done tweaking this new template. My web hosting is due for renewal by the end of the month. I had no trouble with the previous host but then the renewal rate was too pricey for me. I decided to transfer it instead to another hosting service called JustHost. So far, I like its features and how they handle their clients. I had worries about not making the site work after its transfer but their customer service is excellent. They were kind enough to assist me with the process and was always quick to reply to my questions.

At some point I decided to discontinue this blog. I have not been updating this regularly because of work. However, browsing at my previous entries made me realize that the contents would still be useful for those wanting to learn more about makeup. This is my way of giving back.

To make the most of the hosting expenses, I will try to revive this website by writing more often. This time, I will not limit it to beauty talk. Makeup artistry will still be the highlight, but there are other valuable things I can cover. Hopefully I can write more self-esteem boosting articles like "Unconventional Ways of Being Beautiful."

Since my hands were itching to give this site a new look, I got a new template and I spent the last 2 days tweaking it. Sheesh, venturing into unfamiliar grounds involving html codes, php, css and the like certainly gave me a nosebleed! But then I had fun. It's always nice to learn something new each day. The next thing you know, I'm trading my makeup brushes for some highly technical computer software.

Before I shift into geeky mode, let me thank my readers if there are any at all. I hope you enjoy the new magazine-type look of this site and let me know you exist by dropping your comments or suggestions at the comments section or in the contact form above. While you're at it, you can do some shopping at the vanity store. These are a few of the additions to my newly renovated virtual clinic.

If you noticed, I changed the blog title. The previous one called "The Makeup Artist is In.. Scrubs" will have to take a rest for now. Some got confused as to what scrubs are. Just to clear it up, it's not the cleaning device used to polish up one's floor but are type of clothes that doctors (and even massage therapists) wear on duty. I'm putting it to the laundry so I can put on my white coat once again. The Doctor is (va)IN and ready for the next consultation.

Makeup on My Wedding

[caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photography by Dustein Sibug"][/caption]

Planning for your own wedding can be tedious. You want everything to go smoothly as planned. For me, one of the greatest pressures was doing my own makeup on my wedding day. People have seen me prettify other brides and are expecting no less than perfect makeup on myself. I did consider hiring somebody else to do my makeup but the bridezilla in me wanted everything under control.  After all, nobody knows my face the way I do. All the blemishes that have to be covered, the contouring I need, etc. I just couldn't allow somebody else to take charge of how I'd look on this very important event of my life. I even had to do the grooming of my husband, just to make sure that he' won't end up looking like some halloween character or more feminine than me, as some makeup artists have the tendency to soften a man's features a little too much. The entourage, that I had to leave to my assistant. My mom, being trained in hair design when she was younger, did my hair.

[caption id="attachment_525" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photography by Dustein Sibug"][/caption]

The night before the wedding, I tried to get a good night's rest but by 3am, i was awakened by an attack of allergic rhinitis. The whole roll of tissue was almost used up before I was forced to take some medications to tame down my allergy. My nose became so congested that I had to take some decongestant to relieve my condition. Unfortunately, among the side effects it has on me are restlessness and tremors, comparable to downing a couple of cups of black coffee. I managed to sleep for a total of  only 30 minutes after that.

While doing my makeup I could feel my hands shaky and my mind, groggy- like having a hangover.  With God's help, I managed to finish my look. The drug's ill effects slowly wore off.

Photography by Dustein Sibug

Will I recommend other brides to do their own makeup? Only if they really know what they're doing and they can handle the pressure. I suggest that you read Robert Jones' book on wedding makeovers and practice over and over again. If you're not happy with the results,you should leave it to the experts. I must say even if you're a makeup artist, doing it on yourself could be really challenging. There is no one to check you on all angles.Personally, if I were to have my wedding all over again, I'd still choose to do my own makeup. Well, except if  Steven Doloso, Juan Sarte, Lourd Ramos or Chechel Joson were there to help me out, I'd gladly give in.  Otherwise, it's just me and my trusty brushes.

My Prenup Shots

Pardon my long absence from this blog. It is partly because of my preparations for an important event in our lives. My hubby and I had our church wedding after 2 years of being legally married. Of course, I did my own makeup. Not because I'm such a scrooge or anything but because I wanted to make sure the look I had in mind will be properly executed. Doing one's own makeup during her wedding can be really nerve wracking, but it was well worth it. Here are some shots from our prenup shoot by Dustein Sibug. Click play to watch the AVP.

Wedding pics to follow.

Cosmetologie 2009

Come February 26-28, 2009 (that's this week already), The Philippine International Cosmetologists Association (PICA), the leading organization of beauty and wellness professionals and the only association accredited by TESDA, is proudly staging the "COSMETOLOGIE 2009: BEAUTY,WELLNESS & TRENDS" at the SMX Convention Center.

It is a 3-day gathering of the Philippines' most prestigious beauty gurus, with live demonstrations on hair and make-up trends. Celebrity make up artist Fanny Serrano, Smashbox regional trainor for Asia (my teacher) Lourd Ramos, and beauty queen-turned-make up artist Abbygale Arenas will all have separate sessions on red carpet make-up, airbrush techniques and TV commercial make-up, among the many interesting topics to be discussed.

If you're into fashion, top designer Rene Salud will be talking about Filipino fabrics in fashion. Fashion fairs and runway shows will also be staged. Some seminar sessions are free, while others come with a minimal fee (P200). Anybody can attend the convention for only P100 entrance per day.

Booths showcasing the latest make-ups and tools are likewise something to look forward to.

I will definitely be coming to this rare occasion. I already booked a plane ticket months ago for these dates to attend a convention of family physicians . Incidentally, it will be held on the same dates as cosmetologie 2009 so right now I'm busting up my brains trying to figure out how to attend both.

For schedule of activities and more info, visit the Cosmetologie 2009 site. See you there!