How Bong makes the stars feel good - DIRECT LINE by Boy Abunda

"Don’t hate me because I’m so beautiful," cooed a popular print advertising campaign from fashion and lifestyle magazines some years ago. Of course, "beauty" is becoming increasingly elusive to conquer and not only because there’s not a lot of places that could bring you closer to beauty.

CUT Salon at One Beverly Place on Annapolis St., in Greenhills, San Juan, is one of the exceptions. Designed with an edgy hi-tech look and feel, equipped with the latest in beauty and styling technology, and staffed with professionals trained to exploit this modern technology, CUT is a haven for men and women who want and need to look their best.

Heading the salon’s team of styling professionals is manager and chief stylist Bong Bella, who may also very well be called "the stylist to the stars." The entertainment celebrities that he attends to include Martin Nievera, Maricel Soriano, Richard Gomez, Ruffa Gutierrez and Giselle Toengi. "I am also the one who styles Jon Santos for his comedy shows where he goes through a gamut of transformations, from Vilma Santos to President Estrada," says Bong. "I enjoy working with Jon because what we do together is just so much fun, it’s full of experimentation and daring."

When he is not busy attending to the stars, Bong oversees the operations of CUT, ensuring that its clients are pampered in the best possible fashion. "Having worked in various salons before I came to CUT, I know that while sometimes people are amused by the gossip and comments that the salon staff trades in this cryptic language while they attend to their clients, ultimately they are annoyed and offended by it," says Bong. "At CUT, this bane of most salons is not totally discouraged but also made impossible because of the way the salon is designed."

Indeed, upon entering the salon the client is ushered into a fully-appointed cubicle where he or she is served a complimentary drink, and primmed and pampered by the staff employing the best beauty and styling aids in utter privacy. The salon’s team of stylists is not only trained in the latest trends in hair and make-up but is also convivial with light conversation. "We like to establish a personal relationship with our clients because we want to make the experience of going to CUT as if it were visiting a friend," says Bong. "Of course, there are clients who want to just get what they go to the salon for and then leave, and we respect that as well."

Besides its swank services and that personal touch, Bong says that what distinguishes CUT from other salons is that it will never push any product or service that a client does not need or want. "Sure, you can make a quick buck doing that," says Bong. "But ultimately that makes bad business because I would like to think that people are smart. They instantly recognize a hard sell and they resent that. CUT is about providing you the best experience that you can have at the salon. Of course, we make recommendations – about whether this particular hair cut is suitable for you or not, whether you need to get a new color job or not and so on – but we respect what our client want."

The quest for beauty may remain forever elusive, perhaps because that is how the cosmetic companies want it to be. But submitting oneself to a moment’s indulgence at CUT Salon brings one closer to that goal, which is saying a lot in these increasingly harassed days and nights.

The other day, I asked Martin Nievera why he goes to Bong Bella for his hair and he quipped, "Bong makes me look good enough that other people want to copy my haircut. He is an all-around guy, he takes care not only my hair and make-up but my total look as well. I got to know Bong when he was doing Jon Santos. At that time I did not have my own make-up artist, and since then we’ve become inseparable."