'Beauty is a reflection of the soul'

MANILA, Philippines – When she joined the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant in 2002, Kristine Caballero was a bit apprehensive because it was the first time she ever joined a beauty competition. She had been modeling for quite some time, but never saw herself out on a quest for a crown.

But everything fell into place for the 5’6”-tall lady. She placed second to Miriam Chui, her closest friend among the more than 20 girls vying for the title.

“Joining the pageant opened a whole new world to me. A lot of my good friends are also beauty queens who I met after winning. During the competition, we traveled a lot and one of the most memorable experiences I had was experiencing first hand the hospitality of the locals in Panay Islands. I felt proud being a Filipino,” she recounts. “We were also involved in a number of charities. My favorite was our visit to the Golden Acres Home for the Aged.” Kristine, who has a soft spot for the elderly, says that she feels for the old people at Golden Acres. “I love talking to them. They have so many stories to tell and they want someone to share these stories with.” Seven years after her Mutya stint, Kristine is still very much a part of the pageant — she hosted last year’s coronation night and every now and then does “motherly” duties to the contestants by giving them helpful tips.

But more than anything else, Kristine is happiest when she’s greeted and hugged by her three-year-old son Tristan Zachary Aguilar after a hard day’s work. “My son is very sweet and affectionate. I love it when he’d suddenly turn to me and say ‘Mom, I love you!’ It makes my day,” she smiles.

Kristine, who tries to bring Zach to her out-of-town hosting stints whenever she can, enumerates their mom-and-son bonding moments: watching his favorite TV shows together, bringing him to the movie house (“The last movie we saw was Ice Age 3.”) and accompanying him to see his favorite TV characters (“We were there when HI5 visited the Ayala Malls.”).

Even with all these activities, the beauty queen mom makes sure that she also takes good care of herself. “Whatever your role in life is, taking care of yourself should always be among your priorities. It follows that when you can take care of yourself, you can also take good care of your loved ones,” stresses Kristine, who believes that beauty is a reflection of the soul.

“After giving birth, I remember feeling a little depressed. I wasn’t in the mood to go out or fix myself because I felt that at the time, I was very ugly,” she shares. “I’m sure a lot of mothers must have felt the same. That’s why I’m very thankful to Ever Bilena because the company gives that morale boost to mothers like me. The company believes that moms could always look good no matter what.”

Kristine furthers that with a little help from the cosmetics company and its whole range of beauty products, looking and feeling good is now within reach for mothers. “If we look good, then we also feel good not just with ourselves but with the people around us,” concludes Kristine, who counts EB Whitening Powder and EB Advance Day Cream two of her favorite makeup must-haves.