Marian Rivera's Secrets To Getting Sexy & Smooth

Before you're quick to dismiss Marian Rivera as just another pretty young actress, you might want to take a closer look. The latest poster child for popular telenovelas and a growing list of endorsements might conjure up images of being a prima donna, a stereotype that Marian herself likes to mock while she's on the set working. But the reality is, this big star is more level-headed than you would expect. Do not, however, equate her modesty with being quiet and reserved, as this girl is an outspoken ball of energy, capable of throwing quick one-liners and witty comebacks before you can see them coming.

"Palaban ako," she'll say one minute, with an air of apparent confidence, then laugh the next at a random joke she herself cracked. Only after taking a closer look will you realize it: there's a mixture of a warm, childlike innocence and a feisty, strong-willed attitude in this bubbly, 5'4" package.

One thing that keeps this 23-year-old humble and grounded is the doting maternal grandmother who raised her. A self-confessed "lola's girl," she proudly claims it was her grandmother's guidance that helped her successfully graduate from college (with a degree in AB Psychology from De La Salle University Dasmariñas) before she could even consider a career in show business. After some modeling projects and small breaks on TV, she was eventually catapulted into stardom, quickly becoming a household name.

Now she is the newest endorser of Facial Care Centre's LaserLight hair removal, and could very well be their walking testimonial. Not only does she personify LaserLight's promise of perrmanently removing unwanted hair, but also the carefree, confident attitude that comes with it. She began getting LaserLight treatments way before her roles in MariMar and Dyesebel came, something she admits was (and still is) a key advantage during shooting those TV shows as the characters she portrayed always had to don revealing outfits.

"My tapings would last 24 hours a day, tuloy-tuloy yon so wala na rin akong time to wax or shave, and if ever, mag-aantay pa ako ng re-growth bago mag-hair removal uli. At least sa LaserLight, wala na akong pinoproblema. Big convenience talaga," Marian says.

She recalls her past hair-removal methods of waxing and shaving were a big hassle and caused delays. Being of Filipino-Spanish descentt (her father is pure Spanish), she inherited not only a pair of doll-like eyes and an hourglass figure but the trait of being balbon as well. "Balbon talaga ako, dati ang dami kong hair sa legs," she recalls.

After her first attempt at hair removal through shaving, the re-growth came in coarser and thicker, much to her dismay. Waxing, on the other hand, was painful and time-consuming. So the discovery of LaserLight hair removal excited her enough to want to try it immediately. After experiencing it firsthand, she had nothing but raves and praise for the treatment. Marian happily relates that it not only got rid of the hair on her legs, it also made the skin on her legs much smoother because ingrown hair never became a problem. She's had LaserLight done on her underarms as well, which now look smooth and flawless. LaserLight also prevents the darkening of the skin on the underarms that often results from the trauma of various irritating hari removal methods (like waxing or harsh creams).

Marian says that LaserLight has definitely boosted her self-esteem, considering she is now less conscious (if at all) of her unwanted hair, a problem many women have. Marian proves that being hair-free and sexy is a definite guarantee with LaserLight hair removal.

LaserLight hair removal is available at Facial Care Centre.

Taken from The Philippine Star

Sarah Geronimo Reveals Her Beauty Secret

Young singer-actress Sarah Geronimo adds another record to her already impressive resume. With her noticeable radiant and glowing skin, Sarah has been tapped to endorse the fastest-selling whitening line on the market today -- Belo Essentials.

"Belo Essentials definitely stands for quality," says Cristalle Belo-Henares, managing director of Intelligent Skin Care Inc. "If there's one youthful person who stands for that as well, it would definitely be Sarah Geronimo."

Sarah acknowledges the opportunity for Belo Essentials to reach out to her mainstream audience. This coincides with Dr Vicki Belo's dream to "make the Philippines the most beautiful country, one person at a time."

A dazzling young lady, Sarah now joins the ranks of three beauteous celebrities who are also endorsing the same product -- Regine Velasquez, Zsa Zsa Padilla, and Lucy Torres-Gomez.

All Belo Essentials products are available in groceries, supermarkets and drugstores nationwide. For more information, call Intelligent Skin Care's hotline number 889-ISCI (4724).

Taken from The Philippine Star

What the Future Holds

Judy Ann admits that many times before, she thought of quitting showbiz. She felt she was too young to face responsibilities. But as she grew up, she realized that they were necessary steps to maturity. On the whole, she feels that the industry has been good, maybe too good, to her. "Nasabi ko nga, ganoon ba ako kabuting tao to deserve all the good things that are happening to me?"

Showbiz also brought her the love of her life in the person of actor Ryan Agoncillo. They were first partnered in Krystala, and their romance leapt from the small screen to real life. When Ryan proposed to her in June last year, everyone wanted to know when the wedding would take place. But all that has been heard are rumors. Friends have been asked to keep certain dates open. Bookings have reportedly been secured with several churches and reception venues, so as to keep everyone guessing when the real date will be. Some enterprising showbiz writers have been brave enough to offer one: sometime in May, to coincide with Judy Ann's 31st birthday. That remains to be seen, of course. And when this marriage does come to pass, will she give up her showbiz life? "I'm willing to take the chance to settle down for a couple of years siguro," answers Judai. "Gusto kong mabantayan 'yung paglaki ng mga anak ko. Papunta naman ang lahat ng tao sa pagbuo ng pamilya, di ba? Pero I'm still hoping to be an actress after having a family."

Whatever the future holds for her, Judy Ann is sure to embrace it with open arms. "Lahat naman ng nangyayari sa akin, niyayakap kong pabalik kasi iyon 'yung nagbuo sa akin. I would still love to work in show business kahit sa kabilang buhay, o kung ma-reincarnate ako, sana nasa showbiz pa rin ako."

At the end of the day, a grateful Judy Ann makes sure to always count her blessings. Although people like to call her a young superstar, she likes to think of herself as just another person who happens to make a living in this industry called show business. "Hindi [ko naiisip na superstar ako]. Hindi talaga. Ang alam ko lang ay nagtatrabaho ako. Hindi ako magpapaka-showbiz sa sagot. Tao lang ako, nagtrabaho, nakikita ako sa TV at pelikula. I appreciate everything that's happening, but at the end of the day, I still think, is this really happening, is this still me? Am I worthy of this popularity? For some reason, di ko naiisip. Bakit? Dahil mula pagkabata ko, ito na ginagawa ko. Tinahak ko siya, pinagtrabahuhan. It's a process, a struggle, to make a very good project, to satisfy my hunger and passion for acting. 'Pag nagustuhan ng tao ang trabaho ko, may satisfaction kang nararamdaman na nagustuhan nila. Then I go back, and I count my blessings."

Her Mommy Carol, who has been her guidepost for most of her life, always reminds her that whatever she has now is all temporary. It could be taken away in an instant. "She tells me, "You have to love what you're doing, love the people around you, and put in your head that you're a very blessed person. You have to value everything." Bakit? Dahil di lahat ng tao, nabibigyan ng ganitong klaseng suwerte. Who would have thought na ang batang mukhang siopao dati ay artista pa din hanggang ngayon? I'm pushing myself hard to do everything I know I can do and even some things that I can't do. I always tell myself, if I don't try this, nothing will happen. Gusto ko, at the end of the day, I can say, "At least I tried."

Taken from Starstudio magazine: Judy Ann Santos special issue

Embracing Change

Before she became her generation's young superstar--and before she came to possess everything that title entailed--Judy Ann wanted to be like other girls. She would look with envy at their accessories, piles of designer clothes, branded shoes and bags, and jewelry, and hope that one day, she might have those things too. But as a struggling young actress, she couldn't afford them. "Feeling ko walang chance na magkaroon [ako] ng ganoon karaming accessories. Yun yung pangarap ko talaga, na sana one day, mamroblema naman ako kung ano'ng isusuot ko kasi ang daming nakalatag sa harapan ko, hindi ko alam kung ano'ng uunahin ko."

Now, she is referred to as a fashion icon. The formerly overweight eight-year-old who could only dream of having her own accessories and expensive designer brands is now a regular fixture on the cover of countless glossy fashion magazines, photographed by the country's premiere lensmen. How did she go from that to this?

The long road to developing her personal style began during the Mara Clara days, when people would give her jewelry, but for an entirely different reason. "Nagkaroon ako ng chance makapag-ipon ng alahas 'nung Mara Clara days. Kasi si Kuya Eruel (Tongco, her co-star), tuwing may eksenang sasabunutan niya ako, o sasampalin ako, ang bayad noon sa akin, hikaw, o bracelet, o kuwintas. 'Yun ang reward niya sa kanya. Dumadating na sa point na sasabihin niya kay Direk Emil Cruz, 'Huwag ka na maglagay ng eksenang may sampalan!' "she laughs.

But at that point, Judy Ann still had a long way to go. The most important component of developing a personal style, the final piece of the fashion puzzle, was still missing. She had no confidence, and that was something money couldn't buy. It wasn't something people could give her. For that, she would have to reach into herself. Her early experiments with fashion--like when she showed up at an ABS-CBN party wearing blue velvet leggings with a blue and red polo--left her scared about exercising her power of choice when it came to what to wear. She was reluctant to appear on magazine covers because she didn't want to be laughed at. "Duwag lang talaga ako," Judai says of how she felt about getting a make-over. "Hindi lang talaga ako confident kung ano ang kalalabasan, kasi baka pangit."

Losing weight was a huge confidence booster. Then good friends from the industry--makeup artists, fashion designers, stylists and photographers--helped her with the rest, offering words of encouragement that helped her form a better sense of who she was visually. "People na nakilala ko, who made me feel confident kung sino man ako, I was able to reinvent myself because of these people," she says. "Kumbaga, wala namang mawawala at mas may mawawala kapag hindi ko ginawa."

She recalls when she first appeared on the cover of a magazine. "Everybody was raving about it. 'Dun na-boost ng 200 percent 'yung confidence ko," Judai beams. " Nagdire-diretso na 'ko. And I realized that you have to give reinvention a try."

Now, she's no longer tentative, scared, unsure when it comes to fashion. Her sense of frugality will stop her from blowing upwards of P50,000 on a Louis Vuitton bag (whenever she buys jewelry, if it costs more than P50,000, "pinag-iisipan ko muna"; her biggest splurge was an eternity ring that she bought a year and a half ago at a jewelry store at Shangri-La, but only after the owner agreed to give her a "sobrang discounted price), but now, fashion is no longer the problem. Judy Ann now dreams of bigger and better things, and occasionally, more expensive ones too. "Tumitingin pa rin ako sa price tags, pero minsan, sinasabi ko sa sarili ko, 'Deserve ko naman ito.' Tapos hindi na ako bibili for a while. Quota na ako."

Taken from Starstudio magazine: Judy Ann Santos special issue