Meg Face Search 2010

Less than a week ago, I found out I made it to Meg Magazine’s Face Search Top 40, a day late for the panel interview. So my chance of being in the top 10 got forfeited. To my surprise though, Meg texted and informed me that I am still part of the Top 10 Reveal party. Yay! Afterall, I’m still one of the top 40 candidates (out of 673 applicants, by the way). My call time for hair and make-up was at 1:30 pm at Bench Fix Training Salon.

Make-up was courtesy of The Face Shop, impeccably done by Jhag Reyes.

Hair masterpiece was by Jesse Laroga of Bench Fix Salon.

Well, just posting my awesome camera shots (HAHA!) from last night’s Top 10 Reveal at Trio Restaurant and Amber Ultralounge at The Fort Entertainment Center.

It says: AMBER VIP. VIP yo!♥

I reserved this pass for one person. Sadly, he didn’t make it. :|

I got to meet wonderful and totes gorgeous ladies instead. They became my buddies during the event. :)

Tanja Winheim and Kristal Tavarra

With Sarah Meier look-alike, Grizelle Gratela

I don’t have any other decent-looking photos. I’ll probably post some more if someone from the event tags me. But if you are still itching to see some photos, you can check them out at my Facebook account album. I warn you though, it’s not a pretty sight. HEHE.

I wasn’t able to take lots because it was too crowded and dark inside. We left the place after the announcement of the Top 10. There were celebrities and very infuential people present. I felt kinda iffy staying longer there.

Anyway highway, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the people who congratulated me and who were happy for me. Thanks also to Nez for lending me her camera and to Balot for letting me crash at her place because mine was too far away from Taguig. Thank you guys! Love lots! Mwah!♥

Here are the the gorgeous ladies who made it to top 10. You can start voting for them on Tuesday at meggurl.com. 

L-R: Bea, Madge, Margo, Christia, Monique, Maya, Deb, Phoebe, Yumi, Danna

I’m rooting for Christia Asistio and Yumi Arima as they were really nice to me. But based on yesternight’s event, I’m getting the feeling that Bea Lozano will win. Hmmmm..

All the best, girls!

*Just click the photos to enlarge. :)

how was last night's event?

It was great! I met a lot of wonderful and uber gorgeous girls. It was so nice getting to know Tanja, Zelle, and Kristal. they were like my buddies all throughout the event! There were lots of popular people, too. I was so sad not being able to take a picture with Saab Magalona though. She was there. And Ms. Peewee Isidro (the Editor and Chief of Meg)'s outfit really struck me, even more when she approached Tanja and me to thank us. I'll tell more about the event in my tumblr and blogspot blogs. Maybe tonight. Oh, did you catch us last night? We were on live streaming at meggurl.com. :)

curious much?♥

Kendrick Go and Jerome Tan

Here are two other photos from two different young photographers I met during the fun shoot with Paolo Sy.

Photography by Kendrick Go

Photography by Jerome Tan

19-year-old lads Kendrick and Jerome are studying at Chiang Kai Shek College. They major in marketing management and business management respectively.
Styling, make-up, and modeling were done by yours truly. :)

Just click the photos to enlarge.♥

Paolo Sy

After weeks of anticipation, finally, Paolo Sy and I collaborated for a sort of a fun shoot. To my delight, there were five other photographers who were there. I was so amazed of how young they are. All of them, including Paolo, are just college students who taught themselves and each other how to work the camera. I will post one by one some photos of me taken by each of them.

Photography by PAOLO SY | Make-up, styling, and modeling by yours truly

I teased my hair for this layout, but I dunno why after a few minutes, my hair became straight again. Ugh, that mousse by Kérastase does not work. :|

Anyhoo, Paolo Sy is a 23-year-old local-based photographer. His work has been published in numerous local magazines. He is also one of the photographers for the promotional materials of ABS-CBN's hit series, Kristine.

formspring.me

curious much?♥ http://formspring.me/daffadoodles

Chameleon Chic

 Layout 1: The Harajuku Doll

 Layout 2: The Madhatter's Wife

Layout 3: The Manhattan Elite

Photography by Estong "Nonoy" Figueroa
Styling by Paolo Sumayao

The funniest thing about this shoot is that we only had one night to prepare. I salute the ever-talented Paulo Sumayao for being able to create three awesome layouts overnight.

First layout was harajuku style. The wardrobe consisted of manila paper only. Eye had faux eyebrows for this one. Cool, is it not? Second layout seemed very couture-like to me, felt like I was the Madhatter's wife. And the last one, which was my favorite, is reminiscent of a New York elite strutting Manhattan clubs in her gorgeous Dior outfit.

We didn't have any make-up artist for this shoot. Everyone pretended to be professional make-up artists. Below were our roles:

Nonoy - foundation, blush, eye make-up
Grace - contour, lips
Pol - eye make-up
Me - lips, eyelid lining, eyebrow lining

Just click each of the photo to enlarge. :)

Huzzah.♥

The Abandoned: Witch in Captivity

This past Saturday’s shoot in Intramuros was very overwhelming. My role was great—I played that of a witch in captivity which explains the heavy make-up and the weird poses (I had to reiterate for some people to understand and not judge). However, other characters surfaced. I became an engkanto, an evil puppeteer, and in this one above, I looked like a damsel in distress drained by a blood sucker sans the vampire bite (channeling Mina Harker). At least though, these characters did not deviate from the “wickedness” Nathan Lubian, the organizer and the master of it all, had envisioned. Kudos to everyone for a job well done!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Willis Hernandez | HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY Judy Teves | STYLING BY Paolo Sumayao

How are you feeling today?

I feel terrible. I'm emotionally harassed. I want to go away, to go where people are proud of and happy for me and for what I do. I have never intended to offend anyone. I have been careful with my decisions because I DO NOT WANT TO TARNISH ANYONE'S REPUTATION. I do not understand how the things I do can embarrass people, especially the ones I love. It's fashion; it's art.

What I want people to understand is that I get very tired and exhausted five days of the week. I concentrate on work on those days and decline any offer that coincide with it. But the two remaining free days that I have are my only recreation days. I look forward to those because those are the only times that I get to do what I'm most passionate about.

NEXT YEAR, I WILL STUDY FASHION DESIGN. Some may think that I am too ambitious. Yeah I guess, I am. But I would prefer to be ambitious than to be regretful in the end that I did not even try to chase my dream. Some may also say that I am rushing things. But we only have a single, short, and uncertain life, so why not make the most of it while we still have it?

I went away because I wanted to be free, to be independent, and to learn from my own mistakes. But that won't be possible if people kept on telling me what to do and what they think is best for me.

Nevertheless, I am hoping that things will be fine soon. I'll let them simmer down before I air my side. Pray for me though, I wish they will understand me.

curious much?♥

100910 THE ABANDONED: Estong Figueroa Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Estong Figueroa | HAIR AND MAKE-UP BY Judy Teves | STYLING BY Paolo Sumayao

What can I say? Estong a.k.a Nonoy is not just a photographer but I perceive him as a creative director as well. Judy Teves was extremely awesome. My role was a witch slash bruha slash engkanto. He made my eyes look spooky but at the same time captivating (for me, at least).

But because my stylist, Paolo Sumayao, is very creative, he made me look more high-fashion. Couple it with Estong's direction, pak! You now have a high-fashion bruha.♥

These photos were taken during Nathan Lubian's Photography Workshop held at Puerto Real, Intramuros, Manila today.

Hippie-ness

It was my first time to see and visit Marikina. I only know two things about the place. One, it is where those famous shoes are made and two, it was the city that was devastated the most by typhoon Ondoy. And I was pretty much amazed at how fast Marikina recovered. Anyhoo, this past Sunday's location was just right beside the river. We chose to shoot in the woody parts though because my wardrobe would fit there best.

Photography by B. E. & Co. The company is owned by Mr. Bryant and Ms. Ethel Sia. They give photo services for any occasion. Visit their site if you wanna know more. Ms. Ethel also owns a souvenir shop that makes lovely customized souvenirs. It's amazing, really, and cute.♥

It was almost night time here. I was feeling a bit exhausted. But I was really happy because they gave me enough leeway when it came to my outfits for this shoot. I practically styled myself.

There were three separate wardrobes for this shoot which all came from my "closet." I realized here how improtant accessories are and how they can give an oomph to any look.

Hair and Make-up by Ms. Cyrel Manlises. She is also the owner of Crystals and Strings, a shop that sells authentic, pre-loved designer bags (Chanel, Louis Vuitton!) at a more affordable price. Check out her site, she sells other adorable products as well. The accessories I wore in the photo above are hers. :)

 The concept of the shoot was a bit of hippie/boho-style. Since I do not have long boho dresses like what Nicole Richie famously wears, I had to make do with what I have. I just donned on some loose-fitting tops, earth-color dresses, floral scarves, hippie bands, and wavy locks. And I think we pulled it off. Agree?♥

092510 The Rick Bernico Photo Shoot

Photographers are always amazed how my face changes quickly. I look kinda different in person from what the lens captures. I even look oddly different in mirrors. 

I was quite hesitant at first to have my bangs pushed back. People will get to see my wide forehead. I have always been teased of it, and it would definitely make me look different again. Thankfully though, I didn't look alien. I actually kind of liked it.

OH HAI THERE, ANNE. I was complaining here to Brian Baltazar, a photographer/new friend, why the mirror reflects a "prettier" version of me compared to his and Rick Bernico's lenses. To stop my ranting, Brian took a photo while I was showing him the difference. And voila! Instant ♥! :)

Let me give you another point of comparison. Hoho.

LENS.

MIRROR. The hair stylist cum make-up artist was goofing around and distracting Brian. But she joined us later.

Meet the talented Missy Rivera.

It was definitely an amazing and memorable day. We left Ecotrend Gardens, Pasay (where the mansion and the zen garden, our location, is) at around eight in the evening. Thank you, Rick for visiting the Philippines all the way from Hawaii. Come again some time soon! :)

what do you fell/impress on people who have their braces or retainers on their teeth? --is it cool or geek?:)

i say it's geeky cool. i even want to have braces, too. hoho :3 there is just something about braces that makes the wearer look impressively neat, plus it can fix protruding teeth. isn't that great?

curious much?♥

ano height mo?

Hoho. I'm only 5'. Why, do you have a problem with that?♥

curious much?♥

can you be my model?

well that depends on the project. send me in the details of the concept of the shoot first, and i'll see. thanks.♥

curious much?♥

Do photographers need setcards as well?

Yes. I believe so. Photographers create portfolios as well. So definitely a setcard is also much needed. I doubt though that pixtools will require measurements. If you're interested to make you own setcard, I provided the link to the previous asker. Try it. :)

curious much?♥

Your setcard is so cool! Where'd you get one? :)

At http://www.pixtools.org. There's a form that you have to answer so make sure you know your exact measurements. Of course, you have to have first high-resolution photos. :)

curious much?♥

Click the photo to enlarge. :)

Hello to my very first setcard! Aside from a portfolio, a model should always have with him/her a setcard a.k.a compcard. The difference between a port and an sc is that the latter contains all the vital measurements of the model, enabling an agent/client to see rightaway if he/she would be the fiiting model.

Anyhoo, I haven't been posting here lately. I was very busy reconstructing my Tumblr blog. If you guys have time, do check it out and follow me if it's interesting enough for you. I was very happy last night because finally I can tweak HTML codes and personalize a theme I got from the Tumblr theme garden. I removed the right sidebar and placed all its contents to the other side, widened the width, and added some pretty cool widgets/links to my other sites, which I also placed here on my Blogspot. 

I don't have any photos from shoots to post today because I haven't attended any yet. However, I was able to attend 2 VTRs last week -- W Talent and ModelShop. It went really well. I was very nervous before I entered the doors of these agencies, thinking I might not be able to please them. But of course, I told myself I can nail it and I did! They told me they will call if there will be projects. I can't wait to start! Yihee!♥

The Conspiracy

I really refuse to delete my Multiply account. It is my very first social networking site where I was free to write. My blogs there were not satisfactory but it was the first time I took the courage to write my thoughts. And I think my decision was never wrong. Through Multiply, I was able to meet Jun Obille a.k.a Juno. Sir Juno, a Geology professor at U.P., is a member of a group called Artventures who meet during Saturdays at Conspiracy Bar to sketch, paint, and play wonderful music. To make the long story short, Sir Juno invited me to pose for them. . Of course, being very cautious and “reserved,” I told him I’d drop by Conspiracy first and watch them so that I could assess if I’d pose or not. And yes, I told him I can’t do nude. So off I went to Conspiracy. Unfortunately, the model didn’t arrive so Sir Juno, Sir Dario, Sir Donato, and I had an impromptu photo shoot instead (they are photography hobbyists as well.. will be posting the pictures soon). After that, I was suprised that at the moment I sat and rested, everybody took out their sketchpads and charcoal pencils. Whoa. Another impromptu modeling. I didn’t mind, though. I was feeling giddy the whole time. So here are three of the sketches. Will post the remaining two later. 8D

Portrait sketch by Sir Donato Mejia Alvarez

Portrait sketch by Nadja Ginete

Portrait sketch by Leonilo Doloricon

Will be posting later the portrait sketches made by Sir Dario Noche and no less than Sir Egai Talusan Fernandez, who was very kind to share a bit of his drawing and painting technique, and anwers to my questions. As many of you don’t know, I draw and paint as a hobby 8D And I intend to improve.<3

VTR is on SATURDAY!

In my determination to "permeate" the modeling industry, I applied at ModelShop on July 4. The next day, I received an e-mail from them containing their VTR schedules. I initially planned to put off the VTR for two weeks, using that time to collect more decent photos. I only sent cellphone camera photos even if they are requiring headshots and bodyshots (sounds desperate, huh?), so I was really surprised that I got an invite a day after my application despite my horrible phone photos. Hee. Anyway, I was really glad I'm a step closer to modeling.

Going back, I should have had my VTR on the 17th of July, but I received several photo shoot invites after I had my first shoot and I thought it could help beef up my portfolio. I could still put off VTR another week. 

But since I'm a very busy and forgetful person, I forgot to contact ModelShop (they required models to call first before coming to the office) the day before I intended to go there. And I forgot again the week after that. Now I am posting this so that I won't forget to call this coming Friday. And if I don't, I hope that everything goes great during the VTR, and finally I would be able to do what I have been dreaming since a child. Please wish for my success. Thanks. :-)

Posting the photo above from my third photoshoot. Thanks to Marlowe Acompanado for a superb photo and Anna Angeles for the makeup. (Please don't mind the thigh flabs. Hee. Have to do some jogging exercise soon.) 

 I love the effect on this one. Photo is done by Jay Peña and makeup, again, by Anna Angeles. Thanks, guys. :-)

take 3

It takes me a while posting my photo shoot activities because I only try to insert blogging between office hours. I'm a bad employee, I know. Anyway, as promised, I will be posting the third photo shoot I was able to attend, dated August 1, 2010 at Burgundy Corporate Towers, Makati. It has been three months since I arrived here in Manila so you could expect I don't know the roads and ways of Metro Manila. As a result, I opted to ride a cab from North EDSA to the shoot location. I thought it was more convenient, but boy was it expensive! The best part, though, is I arrived 30 minutes ahead of time and of others, even ahead of the organizers. Haha. Talk about being too excited! Well at least I made a good impression.

There seven models present including me, three of whom posed wearing their skimpy bikinis! I was really shocked as it was my first time to actually see a sexy photo shoot with lots of boobs hangin' out! (pardon the language 8D). Of course, those three ladies got the attention of 75% of the photographers who attended the event. There were only like five photogs who continuously took the trouble to take some pictures of me. Nevertheless, I got superb shots! Here are some:

Photography by Marlowe Acompanado; Makeup by Anna Lorraine Angeles; Styling by Daf Benosa

What can you say? Could I pass for a Pond's commercial? Kidding! (Not.) Haha. Click here for more photos of me from the shoot.

I wonder when and where my fourth and upcoming photo shoots would be. Hmmm. I have talked with numerous photogs already and they are all willing to schedule a shoot, but there are no definite dates yet. I hope they would be soon. I'm very excited. I'm loving cameras. :-)

Till then fellas. :-)

POSTSCRIPT: I have Bloglovin'! Just in case you want to keep track of my adventures as an aspiring model, please do include me in your blogroll; click the widget on the left sidebar <--there. Loves from me! 8D 8D 

take 2

Photography by Leimoure Sanchez; Makeup and Styling by Daf Benosa

Now these are just two of my favorite photos from July 24's test shoot. The test shoot was held at Lensmates Studios in Pasay. Since I don't really know Manila, I asked Ali to accompany me (Ali is also new in Manila. Haha.) But since both of us can read, we were able to reach the location safe. When I got there, I was horrified to see that there was more than photographer. Bear with me, I'm new at this. 8D But I can't back out, can I? I took pity on the photographers for they have to stand my horrible ignorance to modeling and posing in front of the camera. Nonetheless, I thank Lensmate Studios because they were able to take good photos out of my novice-ness. Here and here are links to more photos from the test shoot.

I also met the great Ruel Tafalla, who happens to own Lensmates Studios. He personally invited me to come to a cause-driven shoot scheduled the next week. Of course I agreed! 8D

Next shoot: Shoot for Cancer Patients, July 31 at Burgundy Corporate Towers, Makati

take 1

Make up and Styling by Daf Benosa; Photography by *****

Finally, I was able to make up my mind on what to post on this blog. My Blogger account has been around for quite awhile. It has undergone lots of "renovations" (from emo to gossip/hate posts) as I can't really decide on what to put here. Now for my first post, I am announcing to the world that this blog of mine will cover my adventures (if you could call it that) in the big and crowded city of Manila. Is it still a little vague? 

Alright. Before we get to the details, I would explain first why the hell those pictures of me are present in my freshman entry. Obviously it's not just a picture-taking, camwhoring time. Pardon me if it looks that way to you, but I'm about to include them in my portfolio (if you have adverse reactions, you may comment below). 

So there. I am an aspiring model (yes, even if I am height-deficient). Currently I've been going around the city for ex-deal photo shoots locations. The photo above was my very first photo shoot. The photographer is a friend/ex-boyfriend/boyfriend/i-don't-know-anymore who takes on photography as a hobby. It was a sort of an impromptu Saturday photo shoot actually; he was feeling down that time because of his first block exams. So I thought, fine let's just watch Inception. And boy, Inception was one hella movie. Christopher Nolan, the writer and director of the movie, was brilliant though the movie was pretty long. What should I expect, right? Content-wise, I should say Inception will not disappoint your brains. Remoo and I love mind-boggling movies. We reached home by 11 p.m. I guess, and I was surprised when he told me we'll take some test shots. So I was like thanking Inception for inspiring him. :-) And so we did. We finished shooting by 12:30 and did another shoot the next day. You could checkout the outcome of our photo shoot here.

So this is it. I have another photo shoot in Pasay, scheduled the next week so stay in touch.! 8D