Kiehl's Power Plant now open for business!

Kiehl's just opened a new branch at Power Plant Mall. Hooray! My family has always loved Kiehl's. My husband Vince is the real fan—nearly all his grooming products are Kiehl's. I use the hair thickener and sunscreen. My babies use the foaming baby wash. Yup, we're fans!

But with their boutiques at Greenbelt 5 and Mall of Asia, I haven't really been able to buy the products my family loves. But now that there's a Kiehl's shop 5 minutes from my home, my new problem's going to be I ahve to stop myself from shopping too much!

I was at the opening event last week. It was an all-day affair and beautiful women and well groomed men were dropping by throughout the day. I passed by after lunch. If I had known there was going to be a buffet, I'd have eaten lunch there instead!

Here are photos of the event, plus the luscious products I brought home to try.

Kiehl's originated from New York City in 1851.

The decor is very NYC.

The pasta bar and other edibles.

Munchies and dessert station

With MEGA's beauty team, Kim Reyes-Palanca and Max Ignacio

This is the new Aromatic Blends Collection. It includes body cleansers, lotions and fragrances.
The scents are sourced from around the world in sustainable ways.

Here are the fragrances! I liked the bottle of Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit best.

My husband's order. He super loves this facial foam.

This is my hair essential since I have the thinnest, finest, flattest hair in the world. 

The Kiehl's team recommended I try this. I'll give a review soon! I hope it works!

I love argan oil. It rid me of pimples! So I'll try it on my body, too, with these.

Truly excited that Kiehl's is so near us now! I urge you to drop by the new boutique at Power Plant. It's on the second level, near the center of the mall. You can't miss it. Now, if unlike me, you live noweher near Power Plant, other Kiehl's boutiques are at Greenbelt 5, Trinoma, Mall of Asia and Alabang Town Center.

Loving shu uemura's new Supreme Matte Lipstick collection!

My friends will tell you that I've been on the hunt for a hot pink lipstick. Not a pretty pink, pale pink, sweet pink, bridal pink, virgin pink. I've been looking for a pink so hot, your eyes will melt with one look. Yup, hottest pink! And I finally found it in shu uemura's latest Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte Lipsticks!!!

The new matte collection has a ton of shades but what's currently available in Manila are just 6 shades: (from left) brown, nude, hot pink, hot red, light pink, pink.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to do a proper color correction of my photos. The shades above are super saturated. They don't look like that at all. Sorry!

Here I am at shu uemura Power Plant to test the hot pink shade (MPK 376):

That pink is much brighter in person. It makes my lips scream. It's super hot! The lipstick is matte but it goes on smooth and creamy. My lips didn't feel dry at all. Its super ingredient is ceramide. I looked it up in Wikipedia and I didn't understand a lot about ceramide. But I did see that it's a fatty acid. Our skin naturally has ceramides—it's what holds our skin cells together. Somehow, shu uemura was able to add this to its lipsticks.

I'm super in love with my new hot pink lipstick. But when I saw shu uemura's Karen wearing the hot red, I wavered. I've been looking for a vibrant red lippie, too!

Each tube of the Rouge Unlimited Matte Supreme Lipstick is just P1,195. Now before you complain that that's too much for a little tube, consider that it's so deeply pigmented, just a few swipes will do! Your little tube will last a long long time.

I also got a super cute limited edition shu uemura tote. Hmm. Looking at the illustration... Maybe I should get bangs, too. My post-partum hair loss is freaking me out. I'm getting balder by the day!

But at least my lips look great!

Make sure you drop by shu uemura this weekend. The Matte Supreme shades are in limited quantities so get your coveted color now!

Tod's presents its Autumn/Winter 2012 collection

Well, you all know how I'm dying to own a Tod's D Bag, right? So when Tod's invited me to their intimate soiree to launch their A/W 2012 collection a couple of weeks ago, I threw on a Missoni knit dress, lifted my then 2-month-old baby boy (he turned 3 months old yesterday!) in my arms and went to the Manila Peninsula Suite to view Tod's latest!

Here I am with Good Housekeeping's fashion and beauty editor, Pia Rojas. I am loving the blue of her nails! And we are both loving Tod's Signature Collection!

The Signature Collection features the distinctive Gommino pattern that is found on the soles of the driving shoes of Tod's. I like the texture. I am particularly liking that texture on the soft leather of these totes.

Here's another view. Can't decide which is prettier--the purple or the pink.

Here is the Medium Tote and the Clutch. That blue looks much better in person. But I'm not a blue bag person. So I'm still thinking about the purple and pink!

Woah! And then you have these wild girls! Not only are they in loud colors and trimmed in luxe fur, they're also in sumptuous suede. Yum yum. These babies should star in their own ad campaign.

Signature Collection still, but accessories, like this iPad 2 case. I love that orange!

Well, hello there, D Bag! I see you've got a makeover, too. Is that fur trim? In orange, no less! Hmmm. I should've taken a photo of the bag beside it! It looks pink and trimmed in white. Very sweet and sexy!

These are big bags. Perfect for travel or as carry-on luggage. But the leather is so luxurious, I wouldn't put it in the overhead compartment. Ya, I'm not that rich yet that I can throw my bags just anywhere! Anyway, these beauties can fit enough stuff for a weekend or, if you're not a light packer, for an overnight stay.

Ooh, small D bags in teal and fuchsia! This is the zippered-pockets kind. Very nice handbag but I'm really gunning for the D-Styling Medium one. Although I love that pink!

And they have matching suede booties, too!

As you can see, teal and fuchsia, together with orange, are the colors of the A/W collection. Those shoulder bags also feature a signature Tod's element--the key lock.

More accessories in yummy soft leather and colors. There's actually a lot more in the A/W collection but I had a baby with me so I wasn't able to take a lot of photos. But I'll definitely browse the line at the Greenbelt 4 boutique as soon as I can!

Event: Pond's launches new and improved Age Miracle and Flawless White skincare lines

I knoooooow. I've been gone forever! And what's a great post to come back with than a super fabulous glamorous and sumptuously romantic event hosted by Pond's?

The mega beauty brand invited select media to a "stay-cation" at the Midas Hotel along Roxas Blvd. After we freshened up in our individual rooms, we had high tea with scrumptious hors d'oeuvres (I ate a LOT) as the Pond's team outlined what to expect in our two-day stay. With the help of this iPad!

Each guest had an iPad, which was to announce what will happen next. That's Jacqe Yuengtian of Unilever. She was the host of the affair and so appeared on the iPads every so often to tell us what to do. Well, we were told to dress up in red and proceed to the special Pond's bus.

This TwitPic was taken by Style Bible's Isha Andaya-Valles. From left, that's Divine Lee, Preview's Pauline Juan, me, Pond's Age Miracle spokesperson Rissa Mananquil Trillo and Tim Yap.

As we were driven to the mysterious location, everyone seated at the back Tweeted. Well, everyone except Pauline and me.

There was videoke on the bus so Isha, Phil. Star columnist Zo Aguila (pictured) and Saga Events' Robby Carmona entertained everyone on the bus with the cheesiest songs ever. After winding about Manila and Makati, we found ourselves in Top Shelf at Fully Booked, which was decorated in the color of the season--red (the event was held just before Valentine's Day).

That's former model now Unilever's Global PR Manager for Pond's Apples Aberin. She told us all about the new and very much improved Age Miracle because now it's called Cell ReGEN. As in, this new formulation is called the Intelligent Pro-Cell Complex which promises to regenerate your cells!

I've actually tried Age Miracle but the old formulation, which said my skin would be changed in 7 days. Y'all remember that campaign? Well, on the fourth day of use, my husband stared at me and then said, "You look really good. Like you're well rested." O, diba?! That's just the fourth day!

Anyway, after our skincare seminar, we were treated to a delicious dinner. I think it was catered by Cibo but I'll have to confirm. Even though I was still full from all the canapes and mini desserts from the afternoon tea, I forced myself to eat because the spread was just so good!

Oh, this is me. Yes, look at my big tummy. BURP! Joke, joke. That's my almost-7-months-pregnant tummy! I tell ya, my baby Wiggle was super happy that night from all the rich food Pond's served us!

After dinner, I went home because I wanted to be with my husband and baby boy. But the rest of the media invited went back to Midas and continued the party there.

The next morning, my darling husband braved the traffic to drive me all the way to Pasay for the second launch--the new Pond's Flawless White with GenActiv Formula.

Now this one is really exciting, folks. I didn't get to take photos of the skincare seminar (which everyone attended clothed in various shades of pink) but I was very impressed. Pond's announced that after 10 years of research, they found a way to manipulate the gene that caused skin color so that you lighten and brighten naturally.

I especially like that the new formula does NOT mess with our melanin. Melanin is the skin's primary protection against the sun's harmful rays. Basically, it's why we darken when we're exposed to the sun. Melanin increases its production of pigment much like little umbrellas that open to shield our skin. Of course that means you darken. Most whitening products lighten our skin by destroying melanin. The problem with that is, sure, you look white but your skin's defense against the sun's rays is gone.

The new Flawless White line whitens safely and naturally and your melanin stays put. Basically, it undoes years and years of skin damage so that your skin becomes as fair as it once was when it never felt the sun (yep, the day you were born!).

Anyway, after the very informative talk, we all had a lovely lunch at Midas.

Below is very pregnant me with Good Housekeeping's Tisha Alvarez Angluben and Inquirer's Cit-Cit Sioson.

I'll talk more about Pond's Age Miracle Cell ReGEN with Intelligent Pro-Cell Complex and Pond's Flawless White with GenActiv Formula after I tested them. For now, I hope you enjoyed this beauty event!

New thing to try this year: Haircuts at home!

Happy New Year, my dear beauty lovers!

Here's an idea for my Manila readers: Why don't you avoid the horrendous traffic jams and have your hairdresser come to you? That's what Vince and I do!

Vince used to get haircuts twice a year because he can't stand the traffic-and-parking stress. So his hair gets loooong and unruly. And then when I gave birth in 2010 and found absolutely no time to go to the salon, I started looking raggedy myself.

My friend Nikki of The Picky Dresser said I have no excuse to look unkempt just because I'm a mommy since there are so many at-home services available these days. She gave me a list and I was surprised to see "Hairstyling - Michael Morano" on her list.

Michael does everything for your hair--cut, color, blowdry, style for events. He saved our looks! We get regular trims in the comfort of our own home. It's so convenient! Try it this year, beauties!

To set an appointment with Michael, here's his number: 0929.428-0430.

Check out my gorgeous new hair! My many kinds of hair! (Thanks, Tokyo P.O.S.H.!)

Having very thin, fine and flat hair, I have never really grown my hair long. Well, maybe once or twice it's grown as far down as my bra strap but by then it looked like a sad skinny sheet. Because of that, I usually keep my hair's length to as short as a bob to as long as just past my shoulders.

A few weeks ago, The Picky Dresser told me, "I think you'll look so much better with long hair." I told her my dilemma. She laughed, "Do hair extensions! Go to Tokyo P.O.S.H.!" And so I Tweeted about it and the owner of the hair boutique, Denise Aquino, just happened to see my Tweet and we arranged to meet.

But first! This is what my hair looks like. This is my hair when it's unstyled--it's messy, wavy and very fine and soft. Like baby hair. I usually pull it up in a bun or pony. For events I have to work in hair thickener, blow dry then put in curlers for about 10-15 minutes, then blast on hairspray for hold. But because of the humidity, my hair still falls flat within an hour or so.

So when I walked into the Tokyo P.O.S.H. salon, I really was open to anything and yet I was also a bit leery. Hair extensions are so... Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears and J.Lo and... Oh, hair extensions are so Hollywood! And as the editor-in-chief of OK! magazine, I really ought to give this a try.

Then I saw this:

I got a bit creeped out. It looks like someone's scalp! But the hair is so soft and silky that I had to ask, "Is this human hair?" Denise Aquino, the super stylish owner of Tokyo P.O.S.H., giggled, "No! It's high quality fiber from Japan!" Then Denise showed off her own gorgeous mane of hair, "This is hair extensions! Semi-permanent so I have them on, wash them with shampoo, style. But for you, let's try clip-on extensions. It's for girls who can't commit!"

Here's what it looks like underneath. Clips! You tie back half of your hair and clip the extensions under your lifted hair. Release your real hair and voila!

Instant long hair that's already curled and styled! Definitely saves you a lot of time in front of the mirror! The great thing about the Tokyo P.O.S.H. (that's Put On Styled Hair) is their extensions aren't woven, braided or sewn into your hair. So if you feel like wavy today, straight tomorrow, shoulder-length for lunch, then cascading mane for dinner, you can! Just snap on, twist in or tie up! Easy! So perfect for lazy me!

Anyway, the next extension I tried was a twisty. I'll confirm the names later on but for now I do remember this is a twisty. It's like a foot-long wire of short waves. Most of us, when we put our hair in a bun, don't have huge masses of  tresses to make an impressive bun. Well, the twisty solves that--you twist it around your little bun and... presto!

The next thing I tried on was the wrappy. It's basically a sheet of hair that you wrap around your ponytail. Yes, so that instead of your scraggly pony, you have a fountain of lustrous thick locks. See below? That's my real ponytail. It's pathetic.

But with the wrappy, my pony can look this amazing!

There's sleek and straight.

There's sexy and wavy.

I liked the sleek one. Just look at that tail!!! It's amazing! In fact, this was the extension I loved best and took home (thanks, Denise!). I walked around Power Plant and, I swear to you, people treated me better! So that's what having long, thick hair feels like! And when I got home, my husband was just bowled over. It was a ponytail! I think it's the sexiest ponytail ever!

Anyway, I did get to try out one last look--the super long waves-tumbling-down-your-back extensions. I kinda felt weird with such long hair and so much of it, too.

But after staring and staring at myself in the mirror and then later at these photos, I think this is the next style I'm getting. Just look at how much younger I look!

This is me with the utterly fab Denise. She got the idea of hair extensions from her days as a fashion student at Tokyo's premier fashion school Bunka Fashion College. She said that in Japan, fashion isn't just clothes and accessories--the Japanese really literally plan their look from hair and makeup down to their nail polish and shoes. And hair is just a fashion accessory, too. They don't get limited by what they were born with; they just collect hair in all sorts of lengths, textures and colors!

Denise figured that we fashionable Pinays can benefit from this trick. I certainly did! I can't wait for the Kate Middleton waves coming this November. I'm definitely getting myself that. I also want blunt bangs, a twisty and that looooong wavy mass of gorgeousness above. Tokyo P.O.S.H., you just changed my life!

Tokyo P.O.S.H. has a salon at Power Plant Mall, right beside Kabisera. There's also Extensions by Tokyo P.O.S.H. at the third floor of SM North EDSA's main mall. For more info, here's their Facebook page. Girls, go get hair extensions now!