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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.