Let the Backlash Begin

I had a big rant planned out about the girly-blogger backlash, but after several attempts to edit it down to something readable, I decided to sum it up thusly:

Blogs about fashion and beauty do seem very frivolous to some - and look like cash cows to others - but the fact remains that some of us actually have LIVES outside of blogging. All the freebies in the world can't cover up the fact that a lot of us still need to pay the bills, and our definition of "quality time" does not extend towards fighting off complete strangers who accuse us of being money-hungry whores.

We do it because our blogs and vlogs are calling cards for our writing, our creativity, our professionalism. We do it because we'd like to have a creative outlet for a change, instead of spelling out the ins and outs of our personal dramas for everyone else to see. Maybe some of us don't deserve the attention, and maybe haters do need a reason to hate. So what? Life must be pretty good if you can waste your time being such a hater.

(I call this The Pitbull Principle: The effort that it takes in hating a song is equal to the amount of effort exerted in dancing along to it. So it goes with life as well... and if you're one of those lucky people who neither hate nor enjoy "Hotel Room Service," I shall commend you for your otherworldly sense of restraint.)

We're sorry if we don't get it perfectly, but we're realistic about our priorities. No free eyeshadow or wrinkle cream will compare to the satisfaction that we get from spending more quality time (and money) with the people we love the most in our lives. We can show you how to put on mascara without looking like a hag, and we can choose not to break down a hairstyle product by product if the actual 'do ends up resembling a rat's nest. The only thing that we can't do for you, however, is guarantee your happiness... and that's something you'll have to deal with on your own.

All that we're asking of you in return is - in the words of Lily Tomlin - a little dignity and a lot of respect. We hope that you will get the same for yourself as well.

Cheers!

Randomesticity: Fatigue

Que vivo Mexico! Que viva Colombia! Que viva las Filipinas!

It's only Monday, and already everyone is so, so tired. This morning's paper, the blogverse, the relief-operation volunteers... they're all full of crankiness, as if the storm clouds from the last two weeks had been replaced with an equally dark sense of bitterness and collective cynicism. As much as I want to chalk it up to human nature, though, I'm not buying it - and I don't know if this makes me sound like Anne Frank or something, but I want to believe that we'll make it out of the darkness soon enough if we don't keep adding our psychological garbage into the existing mountain of trash we're in right now.

Sorry, Philippines, but I can't afford to stay emo for another week.

I want to remember that there has always been a world outside this country, this existence, before all of this happened. I want to remember that this world outside ourselves will be there to help pull us through for as long as we're willing to reach out. I want to remember that there was, is, and will always be, something - and dare I say it, Someone - bigger than all of this... bigger than corruption, global warming, and even the weather itself.

That's why I take comfort in this piece of advice, which I got from a family friend recently: One will eventually find amusement in even the darkest situations. For every person who cries about losing their home, or getting their relief donations stolen from under their noses by hoarders, there's another person who's going to make sure that somebody gets a reason to smile once in a while.

*****

Not much of a bulleted run-down for this edition of Randomesticity, though, since I still have yet to deliver on what I promised last time. Already, however, I am seriously jonesing on eyeliner, so I'm thinking about breaking down and buying the first cheap kohl pencil that I get my hands on in the next few days.

In the meantime, a few more thoughts:

• Proof that I'm probably getting too old for this sort of thing: I'm of the opinion that La Roux is one of the most overrated and over-hyped bands that I've heard in quite a while, and crawling pretty fast on the list of Bands I Just Don't Get, Period. Which means that I'll probably start liking them by, oh, around this time in 2011, if they haven't broken up already.
  
• Looklet has been driving me up the wall with their site's inability to save any of the stuff I've created... a pity, since I was actually enjoying all the crazy avant-garde designs on that site. (The fact that they don't have a "publish to blog" option only makes things more frustrating for me.) So, until this problem gets resolved, I'll going to stick with Polyvore for my aspirational-fashion fix.
• Apart from the blog-monetizing that I talked about in the last entry, there's also a huge career-related development brewing in my real life, which I can't share yet in full until the particulars have been nailed down. All I can say is this: It will be epic.
  

Randomesticity: The Soltera Strikes Back

Remember the dark, sultry alter-ego that popped up on this blog around this time last year? Guess what - she's back, and she just underwent yet another makeover for another one of her covert-ops assignments. She's even got a new name to go with her new image, since "Mancatcher" must've sounded a little too aggressive for her current post.

Take it away, La Soltera...

*****

Hola, chiquitos! I'm here on the set of my new telenovela for TFC, which we're planning to shoot soon in Honolulu. I'd let you in on the juicy details, but I don't want to get in trouble just in case I get mauled by violent fangirls who will all have it in for me when they find out which love-team I've been hired to break up on this current job. Between you and me, though, I took this job anyway because it was way more bearable than facing off with that dead-eyed heifer who's playing Darna right now on the other network. Why, oh, why couldn't they have put me on that show with the cute little boy who talks to Jesus instead?

And yes, there is some truth to the rumors that I was supposed to be part of the proposed Domesticity spin-off blog, but this telenovela assignment came in before everything got finalized... and, well, who knows if Meimei gets another post before I do. But enough about that. How about some random bits?

- You know, Mei and I are both totally "meh" over the September 2009 issue of Preview. It didn't knock us over the head like July did, nor did it grow on us like the August issue. Meimei, of course, likes the beauty section (she always does, that girl) and I liked the feature on up-and-coming fashion designers in Manila, but... really, meh. And that's not even including that letter from Anonymous who's obviously got an ax to grind, what with insinuating that two of the Best Dressed Ladies from July's list have tacky manners and trying to exhort Preview to feature more role models for the youth ek ek chorva-chenes whatever. We get it: beautiful, stylish women are more trouble than they're worth, and the strong among us who make the real difference don't get enough medals. And this is news!?!?! Please. Take it from a former social climber, here: Cream always rises to the top; dreck never stays afloat for too long.

(Meimei adds: Matthew 6:1-4, NAB version. That is all.)

- Also getting the big "meh" from us: Project Runway Philippines. Don't get us wrong - we love the Rajo, and we wish Jojie Lloren was our fairy gayfather. It's just that we don't like the tendency for Filipino reality shows to over-dramatize their contestants; there's nothing we that breaks our heart more than to watch a seemingly harmless talent show and see people crying for their families and their need to win, like PRP has been guilty of doing recently. I don't know why this sort of thing is easier to watch (and probably laugh at) on American TV... but the stakes are higher in this country, and it only makes us cry more. It's the same deal we have with the Philippine edition of (Your Country)'s Got Talent: Meimei had to walk out on the results show the other night because she couldn't stand seeing any of these folks lose - especially the hip-hop grandma and the dog-training old guy whose li'l buddy reminded her too much of DogMei. Snif.

- Oh, where are we? Right, housekeeping issues for this blog. Meimei is just putting the finishing touches on a few entries, which will include: another set from Polyvore; a new bag; new shoes (holla!); and the awesome new hair-product discovery that has changed her life for the best. Rest assured that there will be more beauty and fashion posts coming down the pike in the next few weeks... and watch out this September, too, when Meimei finally rolls out her Wish List for Fall 2009!

- And just in case I forget: Meimei wants you to know that the HIP Bright Shadow duo in Flamboyant that she raved about a few months ago is still working exceptionally well for her. She says that the combination of bright yellow and grape-purple has done wonders in making her eyes look so much brighter and wider. She loves the combination so much that I even got the makeup artist on this telenovela to do my eyes the same way Mei does, with the purple in the outer corners and the yellow on the lids. Gorgeous!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to grab a little snack before the cameras start rolling. I hear that I'm going to be in the big confrontation scene where I do nothing but wear ridiculous sequinned dresses and flare my nostrils while I give the camera my best stink-eye. (Fun.) Till next time!

The Whitening Issue

Paint my face in your magazines
Make it look whiter than it seems
Paint me over with your dreams
Shove away my ethnicity

- Nelly Furtado, "Powerless (Say What You Want)"

So: the "whitener" issue.

Let's just get this out of the way. Yes, I am using an over-the-counter "whitening" cream right now. Yes, I understand that this creates some kind of paradox for me, because the fact that I am using one will make people wonder if I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and bleach myself away.

To which I say: People, it's just a skin cream.

The fact is, most of the over-the-counter "whitening" products that are in the Philippine market contain familiar ingredients that are meant to even out skin tone by "bleaching out" dark areas - safe chemicals like hydroquinone, kojic acid, a few hydroxy acids here, some vitamin action over there. That's fine, because they're there to help a lot of women deal with hyperpigmentation, which occurs for so many different reasons.

Ingredient issues aside, some of these ingredients are pretty safe for over-the-counter home use, and may even add a boost to any existing skincare routine. So, in and of themselves, most of these creams are harmless until definitively proven otherwise.

Except there's one thing: These skin creams are marketed for the purpose of "whitening" dark skin.

Again, it's one thing to use a fade cream to deal with your age spots, freckles, or any pigmentation issues... but it's another thing to use a cream or product that promises to give you "rosy white skin" and diminish the existing yellow undertones that you were born with in the first place.

Fine, you say, hyperpigmentation is a common problem in Asian skin; these products are made in Asia for Asians, blah blah blah. But guess what? Hyperpigmentation is not exclusive to Asians. It's also a problem with African Americans, with Latinas... heck, even the fairest of Caucasian women are using fade creams to help them out with their freckles and acne scars. While I can't be too sure if any of these women do want to be any whiter than they already are (hello, growing popularity of bronzers and tanners!), everyone agrees that they want their skin to be evenly colored, regardless of color. And guess what's in the creams that they're using to fade those pesky spots? Yep: kojic acid, hydroquinone, some hydroxy acids here, some vitamin action over there... different concentrations and price points, maybe, but pretty much all the same purpose.

There's a bigger question here about cultural identity and insecurity, of course... but I say that what we're really looking at is a conspiracy that's bigger and much more tangled than the weave on Tyra Banks' head. All these questions about skin whitening with regards to race, culture, and sexual politics point to a much, much bigger villain: the industry of beauty itself.

I'm not saying that women like me should give up on makeup, skincare, and fashion itself - otherwise, why would I bother with this blog? (Or democracy, for that matter. Heh.) But the fact remains that most consumers in the Philippines can be passive consumers.

Think about it: The majority of cosmetics lines available in the Philippine market have a limited range of foundation shades. And since foundation tends to be both the most expensive and most frustrating cosmetic product to purchase anywhere in the world, the average Filipino woman is more likely than anyone to get stuck with the wrong foundation shade, over and over again. And because a great majority of us (yes, me included) would haaaaate to let all that money and product go to waste, we keep using and using that same horrible shade of foundation anyway.

Imagine this disappointment happening to an entire market of women over and over again, to the point where retail fatigue sets in and all hope of finding the right shade has been lost. Imagine the disappointment being so vast that the average Pinay would wake up one day and realize that it's not the foundation's fault for making her skin look pasty - it's her fault for being dark and sallow in the first place, her fault for not keeping herself away from the sun. And instead of writing to the cosmetics company to demand a better range of shades, that woman turns to the whitener aisle of her local drugstore and buys a whitener for her face, a whitener for her body, thinking that all this product will turn her as pale as Nicole Kidman overnight... and life would be so much better, so much easier.

And so the cycle begins, all over again.

But what if the cycle stopped somewhere? What if the same woman stopped for a moment, looked at the ingredients of her skin cream, and realized that she was never going to turn into Snow White overnight? What if a professional were to step in between her and the product aisle - a certified dermatologist, a well-trained aesthetician, or even a very good friend - and tell her that what she's about to do is actually dangerous and potentially fatal? What if she just took one look at the mirror and realized that the best that she can do is... her skin color right now, but with a more even tone and a healthier glow?

That's the thing: The most important job of a skin cream - or any other beauty product or procedure - is to help you look more like a healthier, happier version of you. No product or procedure in the world will completely alter your skin color, your genetic makeup, or even your life's circumstances. And even when it does... well, Jocelyn Wildenstein still ended up with a broken heart, so what does it say for the rest of us?

And as for me, post-"whitening" cream, my skin is still the same sunny caramel tan color ... but at least it's a more even-toned, glowier version of said caramel tan. No need to bleach myself into oblivion here.

The Case for the Inevitable Unpopular Opinion

As much as I hate making political jokes in this day and age, I think I can't afford to sit around and grind my teeth any longer. So here goes...

You know, when the revolution finally happens and the terrorists have won, the first group of people that I hope they round up to face the firing squads in Mendiola and Luneta are all the pretentious artsy people who have been writing for the fashion and music sectors of the local media.

Not the editors themselves, mind you. Some of them are really cool. But I'm talking about those annoying people who write for the papers and the magazines as if they're God's gift to the English-speaking world, the ones who obviously are not taking the hint that Anna Wintour and Robert Christgau are not interested in reading their CV's - let alone pirating them from their God-forsaken writing jobs as their precious words are wasted on the masa, some of which don't even read their articles unless they're waiting to have their hair and nails done.

Oh, so you think I'm being harsh, eh? You think they are the ones I should respect, for being so refreshingly contrarian and anti-mainstream? You think I should just take it astride when some snobby fashion editor type dismisses Filipino fashion as nothing more than boring rip-offs of American retail sportswear, or some music-critic wannabe wastes my morning newspaper-reading time by whining about which band sold out for what reason? Heck, no. I'm mad as hell, and I can't take it any more.

People, when the terrorists finally arrive to depose whoever happens to be in power, they're not going to care if your Nicolas Ghesquiere pants make our Gap and Bench jeans look like crap, and they're not going to give a flying cow if you believe Jane's Addiction was a better band than Motley Crue and the APO Hiking Society combined. They're not even going to be terribly impressed with the articulate and witty way that you give out back-handed complements to your own countrymen here in the Philippines - yes, people like us - and the way we folk don't seem to run things in the exact same way that you wish we'd do. They will, however, be more than willing to expedite the process of making Jackson Pollock-inspired designs from what remains of your innards, if you annoy them enough.

And don't look at me like it's going to happen, yo. Why did you think I finally gave up when I started earning my own money in the States?

As E. Annie Proulx once wrote, before the fame went to her head: "If you can't fix it, you gotta stand it." And if you can't stand it... well, we'll be more than willing to tell you where you can go.

The Case for a Saturday-Morning (Hormone-Fueled) Rant

Dear Pink:

Hey, I just heard "Just Like A Pill" this morning at the coffee shop, and it almost made me cry - maybe it was the residual Cinco de Mayo hangover, but between all the drinking last night, the cramps* from this morning, and all of the guy-related bitterness I've been having lately**, I thought the song just said everything that I needed to say, but couldn't.

Of course, I was about to thank you for this... but then I compared that song to "Stupid Girls" and I thought, yeah, it's OK, but you haven't said anything that Shirley Manson hadn't sung so much better ten years ago. Sorry, hon.

xox, Meimei

****

* Folks, riding the red tide every month does suck - but I'm at this point where I've just decided to embrace it altogether and let it be a part of me all the way. That's all I need to say.

** And here's the part where I talk about the guy-related bitterness: I don't want to name any names or get into specifics; it's just that I'm tired of being jerked around, and I'm tired of being expected to fix everything. And when I say I deserve a little more respect, I mean it - not that I don't enjoy the flirting or the gallantry, but what's the point of all that if I can't trust the other person? So, yeah.

The Case for the Moratorium, AGAIN

Once again, if these things would just GO AWAY right now, I would totally appreciate it. Thanks!

Beach pollution on O`ahu

Meg Ryan's face on the cover of the latest Allure

The new person in charge of writing E!'s First Look page (oh, please, like we really need more people ripping off Defamer)

That stupid commercial for Jack in the Box with the overzealous marketing guy ("Washington? He's dead! How about... CIABATTA Junior High!")

People who make out in the middle of serious movies - and by "serious" I mean The Passion Of The Christ (gee, it's not too funny now when you're not living in an episode of Seinfeld, is it?)

Tom Cruise and his terrifying new hairdo

Those reruns of Drew Carey from the final season, when nobody cared

Rolling Stone magazine

Every single housemate from this season of Starting Over, which makes this more of a Shut Up and Go Away

That stupid whistle song, supposedly credited to Juelz Santana

The "Face of Nicotine" anti-smoking ad, which... okay, Hawaii, smoking is TEH EVOL (and I totally agree, since I've been smoke-free for years and couldn't be happier), but did you have to be this corny about it?

Kellie Pickler

Charlie Sheen... and Denise Richards

One more story about Eva Longoria's sex life, up to and including mentions of Tony Parker's "performance"

One more picture of Lindsay Lohan with a fake orange tan that makes her look like a prized Japanese carp

One more "controversial" episode of South Park

The Case Against Tooth Whitening... In Commercials

Dear Lady From The Crest Whitestrips Premium Commercials:

I have nothing against tooth whitening in general. Heck, as a regular coffee drinker and wearer of red lipstick, I am practically an advocate for anything that makes your teeth look so much better than it should be. That said, I feel the need to tell you that you have replaced Jessica Simpson and the Oceanic Time Warner Digital PhoneGirl as the Person In TV Commercials That I Wish Would Just Go Away, Like, Right Now.

Let me replay this for you, shall we?

"In high school I fell in love with fashion. Think I wore bell bottoms... or leg warmers?... [smugly] I'llnever tell!"

Lady, I'm glad that the Whitestrips are working out for you, but please don't be so delusional that we'd be impressed about how old you really are behind those Wite Out-white teeth. Besides, I've got family members old enough to wear bell bottoms and leg warmers (but not at the same time), and I've personally lived long enough to witness The Hustle and the Electric Slide. And, lady, believe me when I say that we look so much better and much more convincing than your badly-dancing candy ass.

BTW, your friend in the other commercial, who won't tell us if she went to see Cher with or without Sonny? Is totally lying. Unless the "Sonny" she's talking about is actually Sonny Corinthos from General Hospital, because nothing makes me laugh harder than the thought of Maurice Bernard belting out "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" while wearing Crest Whitestrips. Now, THAT is a tooth-whitening product commercial for you!

Yours sincerely,
Meimei (a proud user of Crest Whitening Expressions in Cinnamon Rush)

The Case for Retiring Your Cosmetics

Two down, three more to go. That's how I'm faring right now with my quest to come up with enough empties to bring back to the MAC store and get a free lipstick. (Wait, are they still doing this? Last time I checked the MAC store at Ala Moana was doing so. If the other MAC stores aren't doing this, then I stand corrected.)

Today I decommissioned one of my old MAC lipsticks - Smoove, which was an iridescent dark plum (that used to look great with all the gloss I wore in college) - after the bullet broke off and I couldn't put it back together using my old lighter. Now the lipstick bullet rests inside a tiny plastic sauce container (like the ones you get at the plate-lunch places to hold your shoyu, ketchup, or hot sauce of choice) while the empty case rests in a drawer next to another old MAC container that used to hold cake eyeliner. After doing this I also had to decant another MAC lipstick (Under World, a very dark red) into another sauce container, leaving behind a half-inch in the case so I can still carry it around without having to pull up a separate brush. And once that lipstick's all but worn down, there's still a lot of other MAC stuff to go, like the gel blush that I still can't seem to diminish no matter how often I use it, or the shimmery lilac eyeshadow that I thought I'd lost but I now layer it with all the beige shadow I have on hand. (Oh, wait, that would be Crystal - a definite must-recommend for those who want to try out the lavender eye that we keep seeing more often. )

Other than that, though, it's either I'm stuck in a comfortable rut or really lucky about shopping for makeup, because most of the stuff that I do have at hand have all worked for me in one way or another - which is why I rarely throw stuff out. (And if I do, I probably have my reasons - like, say, eyeshadow that crumbles in the bag, or mascara that runs and irritates my eyes.) And the thing with the department store stuff, like Stila and MAC, is that they do last a long time in storage for the most part. So I'm more likely to spend more on something that I'd want to use more often than on something that looks trendy on me.

****

Speaking of trendy... how about a rant, for a change?

This weekend I also found a drugstore that had testers for L'Oreal's HIP line, which I was so excited about... until I tested it out in my hand.

I'm not saying that I'm not a fan of high-pigment makeup (come on, I'm giving MAC some business, am I not?); it's just that I found the eyeshadows to be a tad too powdery. No doubt that the color payoff is major and the texture is silky, but... I don't know, maybe the color turns up different when it's on your face, and maybe it does last. Also, all the "looks" they keep plugging to promote the product look like rejected out-takes from a MAC photo shoot, especially with all that bright shimmery eyeshadow all up to your brow and cheek bones. Maybe it might look hot if you're Scarlett Johansson (and judging from the TV ads, she does), but plot out all those eyeshadows on me and I'll end up looking like the love child of Boy George and Mimi from The Drew Carey Show.

That said, I still don't think it's a bad product, even if it does seem a little overpriced for something you can snap up at Longs. My favorite products in the line are the Eye Shadow duo in Lively (dark bronze and forest green - reminiscent of Nars' Blade Runner duo), the Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss (an edgier, vanilla-scented version of L'Oreal's own ColorJuice) and the bronzers (it's not just limited to "light," "dark" and "sparkly" any more, folks). So, yes, I'm still holding out hope.