The old age question

Few moments in life are as unmercifully imprinted on my memory as one I experienced recently. After a whole day of shooting – not one but two editorial spreads in a day – I was beat and more than a little proud of my multitasking abilities. I sat down to take stock of what I had accomplished and what else I had to do mentally ticking off my to-do list. Utilized new makeup products? Check. Met with new Japanese makeup artist? Check. Breaking in new suede kitten-heel shoes? Check. Buy band-aids for blisters on my foot thanks to my new footwear? About to check.

In the middle of my musing, and as the rest of the crew of the crew shuffled out of the photographer’s apartment to make their weary way home, the model from the last shoot approached me.

She was a charming young thing – about 18 years old and doll-faced with a shy way about her. After thanking me for using her for the editorial, she made her farewell and then delivered the worst slap a girl could get.

"Thanks again," she said to me cheerfully. "It was great working with you." And then with a wave, she sealed the deal. "Bye, tita!" she called as she sailed out the door.

I stopped myself from looking behind for the older woman she must’ve been addressing. After all the only other people left in that mess of an apartment post-shoot was me and the photographer. And even if he was gay, he wouldn’t be passing for a female anytime soon.

The first thought that came into mind isn’t printable because most of it comes in four-letter words not suited to a family-oriented publication. The second was about my looks. Did I have wrinkles? Were fine lines creeping about my eyes? Was my voice turning into the croaky rasp of a cancer-stick smoking octogenarian?

I’m only 24 years old (a fact my mother likes to forget – she calls me a quarter of a century old). Why is some 18-year-old chick calling me a bad name like tita?

My only conclusions? Either she’s scored really low on her IQ test or my skin regimen needs some improvement. I’m pretty sure the former is more applicable but just to be sure, I’ve been on the lookout for beauty products that make my skin brighter, fresher and young-looking. Anti-aging creams, moisturizers, miracle pills – if someone’s hawked it, I’ve probably guzzled it or rubbed it on my face faster than you can say "quarter-life crisis." Now if only there was something we could do about that girl’s IQ.

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Eye matey!

Cultists can attest to Guerlain’s Super Aqua-Eye eye serum. A moniker that includes the word "super" in it must mean that the anti-aging cream goes into hyperdrive as soon as it’s applied. Tests have proven that the immediate hydration effect of the serum lasts up to 24 hours after application. That’s a whole whopping day of anti-aging cream working its ass off to make you look young.

The cream counters the long term-effects of skin aging, diminishing wrinkles, fine lines and signs of tiredness. A pea-size drop massaged around the eyes on a daily basis makes for toned, hydrated skin. A protein derivative makes skin tighter (no saggy momma skin here) while tatrapeptide and plant extracts boost circulation and prevent discoloration (say bye-bye to eyebags and puffy skin). With this nifty super revitalizer in your bathroom cabinet, you’ll be saying sayonara to sad skin in no time.

Going nude

Guerlain creative director Olivier Echaudemaison believes that this coming spring, "Nude will be key." And by nude, he doesn’t mean "that depressing look of the ‘90s which was colorless, lackluster and much too opaque. I mean a new concept of bare skin to enhance each woman’s natural beauty." The tool? A handy concealer for a flawless au naturel look that’s bound to drive your colleagues wild with envy could do the trick.

Guerlain’s Touche de Teint ultra-natural concealer is the ultimate multi-tasker. The latest nude potion, which comes in a lipgloss-like package, works as a concealer, eyebag and under-eye circle eraser and a nifty touch-up tool. The label suggests using it instead of foundation on weekends or days when you don’t feel like wearing makeup. It’s the Bond girl of cosmetics – a sexy, great-looking, multi-tasking thing that never goes out of style.

Hair supply

When the week gets you weary there’s nothing like a little spa time as a great picker-upper. The Kerastase Kerathermie treatment is the latest offering from luxe haircare spot Kerastase Institute at 6750 on Ayala Ave. The heat-activated layered care treatment is for progressive hair renewal. Basically: it lifts dull lifeless hair from its sorry state and makes it soft, shiny and supple. The ritual begins with thermal reconstruction. The attendant, clad in the salon’s crisp all-white uniform, gently combs in Kerastase’s Concentre Vita-Ciment, which restructures the internal hair fiber and strengthens it, and Aqua Olean for nourishment. The active ingredients are locked in with a Kerathermie hair iron, a ceramic contraption that seals in the creams. The second step includes the application of Masque Olea Relax, a hair mask enriched with Nutri oil and Avoicado oil for softness and shine. Finally a hair texturizer is spritzed onto hair for shine.

The treatment retails for P4,000 for short hair and P5,000 for long hair. The Kerastase Institute, located at 6750, Ayala Ave., Makati, is offering 50 percent off on the treatment until the end of October.

Color me brown

Before you went light, you always had to think of the ramifications. Would you end up looking like a rugby-sniffing streetkid? Would you resemble a Japan-headed hospitality girl? With L’Oreal Professionnel’s latest in-salon service – soft color gloss treatment from Hi.Richesse – the questions no longer matter. The quick 20-minute treatment gently lightens hair without ammonia.

With a range of subtle browns, from warm reddish tones to cool shades in rich mahogany, the Hi.Richesse solution has new ingredients to nourish and protect hair while coloring. Ionene G and Incell with apricot almond oil enriches the internal and external hair strand for richer color, Oleo elements recharge the hair fiber with nourishing lipids for smoothness and a topcoat polymer which coats the hair in a protective varnish.

These days, it seems, brown is the new black.

The treatment is available at most salons in the metro.

Friday night lights

Want to lighten up? Guerlain’s Meteorites Pearly Touch Voyage powder is just the thing. "My top tip for 2006," says Guerlain creative director Olivier Echaudemaison, "is if you want a beautiful natural look, that is flawless and radiant, you will need to illuminate your skin with delicate highlights."

Olivier created the travel-ready Meteorites powder, a concoction comprised of the label’s signature Meteorites face powder in loose form lightly scented with violet. Six gradated shades of beige with pink overtones add a flushed, soft and silky sheen to skin. Olivier’s final suggestion is to apply the powder puff of the rounded contours of the face, leaving skin "infinitely alive and desirable." Not bad for face powder.