Hi, yeah I’ve been M.I.A., on vacation on the East Coast. I haven’t had a proper no-work vacation in 20 years, and have tended to leave anywhere from one to three weeks of vacation days on the table at the end of every year. Even when I’ve been on vacation, they’ve always been working vacations because reporters lives to report.
But, for once I thought I’d take a real break and just relax. But I’ll be here from time to time.
If you happened to read Nancy Arcayna’s story about Ultherapy and Cool Sculpting on Tuesday, and want to see how the Zeltiq machine works at helping to break down bodily fat, here’s a video that shows the process:
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Lighten up for summer
iPhone link for video
When summer comes, I always think of lightening up on makeup, though it's been so hot since last fall, that I've been trying to go lighter all along. Makeup just seems to melt away so I almost figure, why bother? It's gotten to the point where I'm not using any foundation at all, just tinted moisturizer.
In the June 9 paper is my story about a summer make-under on an older woman, because young women don't need any help looking radiant!
Here are some of my favorite things for the greatest of ease, without looking like I've completely given up:
1. Osmotics Age Prevention Protection Extreme SPF 40 UVA/UVB moisturizer.
3. BeneFit The Porefessional pro balm for minimizing pores ($28).
Newly crowned Miss Oahu Filipina is fierce!
From left, Miss Oahu Filipina contestants Angelica Ragasa, Audrey Setik, Leonevi Mabiog, Janelle Sanqui and April Angela "Gel" Nolasco, after the awards ceremony, in which Leonevi was named the winner.
The field of contestants for Miss Oahu Filipina was small at only five, equal to the number of finalists at bigger pageants, but it was such a strong bunch that each of the women, Angelica Ragasa, April Angela "Gel" Nolasco, Janelle Sanqui, Leonevi Mabiog and Audrey Setik, would likely have made the finals even if there were 15 or 20 in the contest.
I was called on to help judge the contestants, which is always hard. I just had to turn down another pageant because the larger ones can have so many criterion and contestants that it gets to be overwhelming, and you just hate to make a mistake because for the women involved, it's so life-changing.
Even with five contestants, the event, from dinner to finale, ran close to five hours on June 4 at the Hawaii Prince Hotel, the same night as the Miss Hawaii contest.
That night, the women were judged on swimsuit, speech and talent, but preliminary contests also involved interview and terno.
When it was over, Leonevi was named Miss Oahu Filipina and will vie for the title of Miss Hawaii Filipina in July. She also won in swimsuit and speech categories. I thought she would win in the talent portion as well, for a fierce performance of the Filipino Muslim Warrior Dance traditionally performed by men.
Through her dance, that included wielding a bolo knife, she wanted to show that women are capable of doing what men can do, taking as her role model Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang, who joined the 18th century Philippine revolution and became a leader of an army, fighting alongside men for Ilocos freedom. She was eventually captured and executed.
Maybe that was too politicized for other judges. The talent award went to first runner-up Audrey Setik, who performed a beautiful hula auana to "Ka Wailele O Nu'uanu, danced to a recording by The Brothers Cazimero.
Their performances were equal in terms of poise, confidence and execution, but the visceral sensation could not be more different. Leonevi's dance aggressively channeled the warrior spirit, while Audrey's was as fresh and flowing as the waterfall at the heart of her dance.
Leonevi brought the same passion to her speech, tied to womens' role in Filipino society, which had the audience cheering throughout. Wow, she would make quite an amazing and inspiring leader. She wants to be a police officer. I pity the fool who rubs her the wrong way then!
Leonevi Mabiog: Miss Oahu Filipina Queen, Best in Swimsuit and Speech
Audrey Setik: First Princess, Miss Popularity, Best in Terno and Talent
Janelle Sanqui: Second Princess
Angelica Ragasa: Miss Photogenic and Miss Congeniality
Gel Nolasco: Interview winner
The event was presented by the Oahu Filipino Community Council and the always hard-working event chair Leo Rojas Gozar.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
'ITO: Travelwrights' rolls into town
Nadine Kam photos
With artists Nalani Kanaka'ole and Sig Zane, from left, Alejandro Briceno, Mark Noguchi, Steven Kanemoto and Lindsey Ozawa couldn't wait to don their ITO shirts.
Interisland Terminal's "ITO: TRAVELWRIGHTS" retail pop-up and exhibition featuring work by Sig Zane, Nalani Kanaka‘ole and Kuha‘o Zane opened June 2 in the Waikiki Parc Hotel lobby with a private reception for 150 that swelled to 250.
The impromptu pop-up space wasn't big enough to contain everyone, so luckily, the overflow was accomodated in the bar at Nobu, where specialty drinks created for the occasion were being served. Guests could take their pick of Nalani Lemonade with Tuaca, chambord, brown sugar and angostura bitters; The Pisco Sig with Tuaca, Pisco, lime juice, simple sugar and egg white; Kuha'o Cooler with Tuaca, Jack Daniels, Triple Sec, lime juice and splash of Sprite; and Tuaca Espresso Flip with Tuaka, Kahlua cream, vanilla, egg white and espresso.
Inside the pop-up was an array of apparel and travelers' gear in keeping with the theme of the show, marked by the Zanes-Kanaka'ole collaboration "Ponoholo" wayfarer-themed print. Fans of the Big Island-based artists lined up at the check-out counter with armloads of the merchandise, in support of Interisland Terminal's mission of combining creativity and innovation toward improving Hawaii's cultural and socio-economic life.
You can read my preview about the exhibition here.
In addition to the pop-up, Nalani unveiled her "Kaialupe" installation that night, with Sig's reveal and talk-story session to come 6 to 8 p.m. June 7 at Halekulani's Hau Terrace, and Kuha'o's installation and talk story to take place at the Parc from 6 to 8 p.m. June 10.
The pop-up space will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through June 12.
Friday, June 3, 2011
A celebration for Takeo
Joining Takeo and Eric Chandler, center, at their table were from left, singer Claudia Vazquez, Miss Hawaii Teen USA Courtney Coleman, Kitty Woo, Miss Hawaii USA Angela Byrd, Lance Rae and Pamela Young.
A who's who of beauty queens, models, entertainers and designers showed up in support of designer Takeo May 29 at Empress Restaurant at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza, where friends staged a "Celebration 4 Takeo," a fundraiser to help with medical expenses from his hospitalization and open-heart surgery in April.
The outpouring of love and support was fitting for the designer, who, along with Eric Chandler, has contributed so much to the community through fashion shows and benefit events that have raised funds for scholarships. The two have also tried to raise the profile of Hawaii as a fashion destination through the F.A.C.E. of Honolulu events that helped to promote young and new designers, and tried to make fashion friendlier by bringing it out of exclusive boutiques and into public streets.
I had visited Takeo at Queen's before his surgery and respected his and Eric's wish for privacy afterward. A few days out of the hospital, Takeo called me to ask that, based on his experience, I help spread the word to every young, aspiring creative individual that in going about their work they also take time to think about their health, and consider financial security and lifestyle changes if necessary.
Typically for Takeo, he wasn't thinking about himself, but about others! He had been lying in bed thinking about how hard everyone in Hawaii works, and he sees how young designers work so hard on their craft by day, then take to an endless round of parties at night and weekends to promote their work. He had also been caught up in that cycle, and it does take its toll.
It's difficult to slow down when you're accustomed to working at a certain pace, and especially now, when change comes so quickly, there's the paranoia that if you stop for a second, you'll lose momentum. But ultimately, life and good health are far more valuable than any fame or fortune.
Thank you Takeo and I wish you a speedy recovery! And of course, don't go back to work right away!
For those who want to make a donation toward defraying his medical expenses, contributions can be made payable to Eric Chandler and mailed to: “Celebration 4 Takeo,” 1128 Nuuanu Ave. #204, Honolulu, HI 96817.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
'Embraced' in leather
Romi Beppu, left, and Kamakoa Page show off a couple of designs from Bliss Lau's Fall-Winter 2011 through movement.
Back in February, I watched Bliss Lau's exquisite "Embraced" Fall-Winter 2011 collection come to life via dancers online, so I was happy when I heard Hawaii RED Magazine was going to present the show locally, a homecoming for the designer.
It came together at the last minute, so there wasn't a lot of time to promote the show or audition dancers, but Bliss, who obsesses over every detail down to the nail designs on their fingers and toes (her notebook contains pages of her nail illustrations and The Spa at Trump was called on to recreate her black-and-nude design) considered herself blessed to have found all four of the dancers she needed within an hour of auditioning them on the 26th. Having been through the dance search before in New York, where she now lives and creates, she knew exactly what she was looking for, dancers who were strong, sensuous and womanly.
The show took place May 29 at The Waikiki EDITION Lobby Bar, and modeling Bliss's latest leather-and-chain body armor were local dancers Romi Beppu, Kamakoa Page and Cassandra Glaser, and visiting from Canada, Melina Ehrhardt. Erhardt is a multi-tasker, who' here training for the Iron Man competition. When she's not acting, dancing, singing, swimming, running, bicycling, etc., she's also designing accessories from tire rubber!
It was a homecoming for Romi, former principal dancer for the Boston Ballet, as well.
The "Embraced" collection was inspired by movement and balance, with each piece offering a suggestion of apparel and the power of transparency. Because her background is in fashion design, rather than strictly accessories or jewelry, she pieced leather strips in a way that mimics the seams of garments. As usual, many of her pieces are versatile. Pieces shown as skirts can also be worn over the shoulders.
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