Saturday, July 25, 2015

Beauty Queens Favorite Scents

If the Hollywood celebrities have their own secrets why they smells good, I was thinking, what about those beauty title holders? We do admire beauty queens the way how they carry themselves so as answering the nerve wracking Q & A, but most of all when they bring home the bacon.
I previously blogged about Hollywood celebrities with their faves scents so as the local celebs in the Philippines. As a perfume addict myself, I have thought why not knowing the beauty queens favorite fragrances. With that, I finally did my research with the help of the blogosphere. Of course, it wasn't pretty hard to do some research since it's only a click of a mouse.
Here are some of the lists that I had gathered so far, let's start from the vintage one.

Lynda Carter won Ms. World 1972

Lynda Carter now, she still exudes the youthful and vibrant of a beauty queen.

Who wouldn't remember the most beautiful and sexy Wonder Woman? Honestly speaking, Lynda Carter is among of my fave and crush celebrities. I grew up watching Wonder Woman and adoring her beautiful eyes.


According to my research, she loved Tribe perfume by Coty.

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I always love Vanessa Williams. From the time she became popular and made name in the Tinseltown, I couldn't stop adoring her classy beauty.

She garnered as the first Black American woman to win Miss America 1982. However, she got dethroned when she posed in  Playboy magazine.


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Another favorite of mine is Halle Berry. She's one of the most highest paid actress in Hollywood today.

She won 1st runner-up in Ms. USA 1986 and went to compete Ms. World on the same year.


Halle's fave Black Gardenia

Her own signature scent.

Sake EDP

And Tubereuse MPG

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Sharmaine Ruffa Gutierrez won as 2nd Princess Miss World 1993.

Ruffa today, maintains her queenly beauty as always. The Philippines was so proud when she bagged 2nd runner-up in Miss World back 1993.








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Sushmita Sen from India. The Philippines would always remember her when the Miss Universe 1994 was held in the country and she won the heart of the Filipinos during the contest. No doubt why she got the crown.

Sushmita Sen today.

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Ximena (Jimena) Navarette, the Mexican beauty captured the eyes of the judges during Miss Universe 2010.

Jimena today...she truly is a beauty queen.

Annick Goutal - Myrrhe Ardente

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Miss USA - Olivia Culpo, has no doubt why she won the crown as Miss Universe 2012 over the 1st runner-up Janine Tugonon of the Philippines. She really has the queenly posture and beauty of a Miss U.

Olivia Culpo today, still possess the beauty that every men dreams of..and that included myself.






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Megan Young, the pride of the Philippines crowned as Ms. World 2013.

Megan Young today as an actress.










Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Local Celebrity Fave Scents: Kris Aquino's Collections

I am so busy the reason I couldn't update my blog from time to time. Being bombarded with school paperwork and requirements sometimes so stressful.
Now, I finally found my way back here to post something which I have recently found about local celebrity's scents collection.
Among of the local ones that I discovered who loves to collect is Kris Aquino. I featured her once, but this time it's all about her.
We both have something in common because I am a fan of his dad so as we have the same birthday and a perfume addict. 
Let's see, what's in her collection according to her personal website: WithLoveKrisAquino



Fragrance Love
By: Kris Aquino 


I believe it’s a very Pinoy trait to be obsessed with scents. From a very early age, mommies try their best to maintain the “amoy baby” freshness of our kids. Our pediatrician told me not to spray the kids directly, so I would always spritz their clothes.
My sister Pinky had a cute way of putting it, since birth Josh always smelled like he had poured the entire bottle of cologne all over himself, whereas Bimb as per his tita Pinky, “amoy tao lang” in other words, he’s not obsessed with spritzing himself, and doesn’t really care if he’s not “artista bango”.  With Bimb, if he leaves the house with a bit of the blue Baby Bench cologne on him, he’s solved for the rest of the day.


For the Green Water cologne for men is a very common among local male celebrities. This is also Martin Nievera's favorite, Janno Gibbs and others. Allure for men, is also among young male celebrities choice.
When Mom was alive, she’d often complain when we’d ride the same car, what more when Kuya and I would ride with her at the same time. Mom had asthma and was very sensitive to fragrance, and she always said that mother and son loved to bathe in cologne or perfume to the detriment of her breathing.
I am basically a creature of habit, but I do like variety in the colognes and perfumes I use. If I know we’ll be taping outdoors or with no aircon, these are my choices.


Why? Because from experience these scents hold up well even after I’ve perspired. There’s a term in Filipino,hindi sila nagiging masangsang. The Guerlain I discovered at the airport duty free in Bangkok, the Calyx used to be by Prescriptives but is now under Clinique (thank God they brought it back, it’s been a favorite since college days), Tova I first smelled on Ate LT in the early ‘90s and I buy my supply from Adam’s and/or Criselda in Greenhills or Tiendesitas (we just call the owner and ask for delivery), while the Prada was a favorite of Liz Uy that I also learned to love.

Whenever I want to feel like a “lady” CHANEL scents are my choice. Duty Free in Hong Kong or in Tokyo’s Haneda or Narita are super complete, even with the special edition ones. My all time favorite is Coco Mademoiselle because it’s sophisticated yet still youthful, and I love the hair perfume that I was able to buy in Japan. Perfect to spritz on my hair after a long day of taping food trips for Kris Tv and I have no time to shower at home before Aquino & Abunda Tonight.  N*5 Premiere is powdery, just like N*19 that’s why for me these 2 variants are perfect for our tropical climate. I generally try to avoid fruity fragrances because I feel they are most attractive to flies and mosquitoes.


Admit it, when something isn’t readily available, it feels so much more valuable to have it. These Chanel fragrances are “boutique exclusives” and I have been able to ignore how heavy they are to carry, and I don’t mind the fact that because the bottles are so big I can never travel with them. It’s a special occasion or a day when I need some extra inspiration when I use these. Ditto with the Christian Dior boutique editions.


The Cologne Royale and Cologne Blanche by Christian Dior has been Gretchen Barretto's favorite ever-since. As far as I can remember, I read a certain magazine about Gretchen's collections that included these colognes.

Jo Malone is a Pinoy favorite because we still don’t have it locally, thus there’s that feeling of having something coveted by many. Iris and Lady Moore was a limited edition scent, and I was able to buy 5 bottles of it in Singapore. I’m down to my last 2 bottles, so tinitipid ko na, and only use it when I’m shooting a TVC or meeting people I want to leave a positive, lasting impression on.


Lavande by LÓccitane is also Kc Concepcion's favorite. I can attest to that because KC showed it at Kris TV show when Kris invaded KC's bathroom.

Whenever I’m just home, and whenever I’m stressed L’Occitane Lavande cologne is what I spray. Even before I sleep I have a bottle near my bed and I spray some on. For me, lavender is relaxing and gives me stress relief.
From organicfacts.net: The health benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to eliminate nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect the scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. The Latin name of lavender is Lavare, which means “to wash”, due to its aroma which has a particularly clean aroma. It increases sleep regularity, is a good bug repellent, and it can treat migraines, nervous tension, depression, and emotional stress.

Creed Love in White is Senator Loren Legarda's choice as well.
I love Creed, the Philippine distributors, Vinod and his wife Esmeralda are now friends, and I was able to order some of the limited edition big bottles from them. Spring Flowers was a long time favorite, running all the way back to when I was hosting Morning Girls with Kris & Korina but now I prefer Love in White, and Love in Black(Pasensya na, ayaw pa rin sumuko.)


Just like you, sometimes nabubulag ako sa pangalan, I bought Valentina because my birthday is Valentine’s Day, and I bought the Balenciaga because it was newly released in their boutique when I was looking at bags. Luckily, apart from having attractive names and lovely bottles, both do have fresh, unique scents.

Bond no.9 is among Ruffa Gutierrez's favorites, but not this colorful one.

Among the Bond scents, Astor Place is my favorite, maybe because I love the gold bottle w/ all colors of the rainbow,  and the scent which is floral yet with a distinct, slightly masculine undertone.


These 2 were gifts this Christmas, and both are pleasant, all occasion eau de toilette and eau de parfum that do smell “special”. Thank you for the thoughtfulness!

Narciso Rodriguez the pink one is Dawn Zulueta's favorite too so as among the Hollywood female celebrities.

Bambbi Fuentes introduced me to Narciso Rodriguez and after more than 11 years, I have stayed loyal. Super“babaeng babae” lang ang feeling when I use Narciso. Again, this is a favorite Bangkok airport duty free purchase! For Her is the most beguilingly feminine, while Essence reminds me of both Tova and Bulgari White.


Trish Mc Evoy has a makeup line (I bought some of her products from SAKS Fifth Avenue) but her #4 Gardenia and Musk is my hands down favorite lucky scent. I’ve used it during contract negotiations and contract signings. I remember Coco Martin said he has a lucky car (a black BMW) that he uses when he wants to be sure to seal the deal. With me, it’s this fragrance.


We inadvertently made Frederic Malle famous on the Buzz when we ran a story that Papa P (Piolo Pascual) had given KC Concepcion a bottle. We were misinformed but because I was so curious about Frederic Malle my good friend Chef Florabel gave me a bottle in 2009. Since then whenever I’m in Barneys in New York or Beverly Hills, or in Joyce in Hong Kong, I always stock up. Lipstick Rose and Carnal Flower are my 2 favorites because they are sensual without being overpoweringly seductive!

Tom Ford's is Zac Efron's favorite and Vanessa Hudgen's and other Hollywood celebrities.

Tom Ford in my opinion is a genius, both in the quality of his cosmetics and fragrances and in the ways he markets them. The bottles are just the right size, small enough to fit into your evening clutch. They are sold in a limited number of high end boutiques and department stores. The shape of the bottle is memorable, and his scents are lasting, a small spritz and it will linger on your skin for the whole evening. White SuedeJasmin Rouge, and Santal Blush are my top 3. Although Musk Pure and Rive D’Ambre are the 2 sexiest smelling in the Tom Ford collection.
I don’t buy the body wash or the body creams and lotions that match the fragrances I have. I generally like anti-bacterial soap, baby soap, a moisturizing body wash, a shower and bath oil that are fragrance free, or at the very most a soap that’s lavender scented. In other words, I don’t obey the advice of fragrance manufacturers to layer. For me the cologne, eau de toilette or eau de parfum is already perfect.
Secondly, I don’t refrigerate the scents, but I do keep them away from direct sunlight, and I don’t keep them in the bathroom where it tends to get very humid. I keep the bottles either in my makeup room or in our bedroom in acrylic cases where they are arranged by brand.
Lastly, I acknowledge that my scent can enhance my mood, and it will leave a lasting impact, so it’s best to choose what will be pleasing, unique to my personality, and memorable for all those I will personally meet and possibly embrace.
As far as men’s fragrances are concerned, the fresher the better. I love Chanel’s Allure Cologne Sport (Josh has been using it for more than 5 years.) Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey, although meant for women, smells great on men, it’s actually Boy Abunda’s favorite. Jo Malone’s Grapefruit and Lime Basil and Mandarincologne are 2 unisex scents that work really well for men.

My Favorite Instrumental Music