Sommaire pour September 2019 de MEGA

Hello MEGA, Aside from your usual way of transforming known stars from their typical persona to high fashion fantasies, I also look forward to seeing up-and-coming personalities make their own distinct mark on your covers as well. Presumably a right of passage for young celebrities, it must be such a thrill for them to embark on this milestone with MEGA’s long-standing tangible print copy. And it is equally exciting for us readers to witness how you imagine them in a new light. This was the exact sentiment while looking through the photos and reading the story of Loisa Andalio, the beautiful young lady I have already been seeing a lot on social media and even on the times I get to watch television. In this modern-day imagination of Renaissance paintings,…

It’s a pretty fast year that just seemed to fly by and with a few more months left until 2020, we are recalibrating the high hopes and yearning for the much-awaited change we have rightfully longed for at the start of the year. Deep in the pages of our much-awaited big fashion issue, we dive right into the game-changers of music-makers, fashion designers, and handpicked artists who have used their platforms for the better. And in order for one to survive, the only way is to thoughtfully adapt to it. When the tidal wave of change comes crashing, do not be moved, do not fight the current, but instead, allow it take you to the future.…

CALM DOWN Pair metallics with neutrals for an effortless, subdued look…

It was a sweltering hot summer in 2013, and I was at the beach listening to Rihanna’s album, Unapologetic. From the confidence-inducing beats of Phresh Out the Runway to the gut wrenching lyrics of Stay, it definitely my summer album of the year, and it continued my forever love for my #1 diva. It was great listening to her on my phone, but wishful thinking made me imagine how cool it would be to see her live. And as if the heavens were listening, news just broke out that MMI Live was bringing Rihanna and the Diamonds world tour to the Philippines. With no hesitation, I dug up my savings account and got myself a ticket on the first day of selling. Just like many of us fan girls, Rhiza…

Much has been said about long term love. It’s not easy and neither is it sexy (not all the time anyway), a combination that easily turns off many people. But it persists, even when people claim it’s “dead” again and again. In Relationship, one writer muses about her own 20-year marriage, which, depending on your status, is eternity or a blip in a lifetime. In Travel, we discover another romance that has undergone major changes—the one we have with Boracay, that island paradise that is always, well, complicated. Luckily for us, many people are trying, and choosing, to work at it. These and other pieces on the long view, has us asking ourselves if we’re ready to commit, again and again and again.…

Vivo, the fastest growing smartphone brand in the Philippines, never fails to amaze with their latest innovations. The global company has something in store for us again this third quarter of the year. With the “-ber” months fast approaching, their newest model, the Vivo S1, is indeed an early Christmas treat. It’s not just your average phone because it bridges the gap between innovative technology and fashion in every form. Nowadays, tech and fashion aren’t separate institutions anymore, and this is evident with Vivo S1’s two stylish designs. Skyline Blue resembles metallic shades of blue, indigo and violet. The Diamond Black is like the night sky shimmering with stars. The specifications are as impressive as the phone’s cosmic aesthetics. Vivo S1 falls between the top global brand’s entry level phones…

The fall-winter trends preview ran gamut. Black liner was back with a vengeance (did it ever leave?), scribbled and smudged all over the eyes. Color—saturated, sharp and in oddball shapes—were everywhere. The power pout was smudged at the edges and the sparkly stuff—diamonds, crystals, and chunky glitter—were decked out like holly. If it seems all over the place, well, it’s because it is. The present perfect of beauty is about individuality, even it’s just a hashtag. So wear what you like, remix past trends, heck, remix new trends, and make up your own. Ladies, gents, everyone—welcome to the now.…

HIT RESET Just like your ex, your skin will sometimes go haywire for seemingly no reason at all. From stress to changes in temperature or even travel, normally healthy skin can turn red and dehydrated. Get back it back on track fast with ESTÉE LAUDER Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate (P4800), which rescues skin with Chronolux S.O.S. Technology (a blend of stabilized salicylic acid and resveratrol), and hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and soy amino acids. The ANR line works with the nighttime skin repair cycle, so a few nights of this treatment should help get skin back to looking likes its usual radiant self. LIKE WATER The cult favorite Korena brand COSRX is known among beauty aficionados for their innovative and crazy effective products. Their latest release, the Light Fit…

You know this joy. It’s the moment you when you get home, and finally, finally, you can unhook your brassiere and fling it on the divan. There’s another similar moment, when you’re patting your face dry after washing it. You may look and feel fabulous with your perfectly polished face, but the feeling of absolute nothing weighing your skin down feels just as good—better even. Cleaning one’s face isn’t a complicated process, but the with the advent of long-lasting makeup, skincare layering, and worsening pollution, getting every little bit of dirt out is a challenge. Innovative science and age-old traditions have come up solutions: cleansing oils designed to “melt” and pull out every foreign matter, cleansing devices that use vibrations to lift out microscopic dirt, and even a taxing double-cleansing…

It is a little after 2:50 A.M. and central Los Angeles is still deep in its slumber. Blanketed by a foreboding dark indigo punctured by very faint beams of light strewn across the night sky, framed of course by the famous lined palm trees that are at this point just mere shadows dancing gently to the chilling command of the 19 °C winds. Save for the handful of cars whirring through at a modest speed at the intersection of Normandie and Mariposa, it is practically a ghost town, where every rustle and crunch is enough to whip one into still submission. Jetlag has gotten the best of me and no matter how hard I will every fiber of my being to fall asleep, it just won’t give in. Where tossing…

In a little over 24 hours of our conversation, Frankie Pangilinan would leave her life, her bubble, her comfort zone in the Philippines for a life of potential and adventure in New York, where she is set for university. “Everyone usually asks me, ‘are you ready?’ and I don’t think that I’m ever gonna be ready, but I think that’s the whole point of it you know? Like, are you ever ready to grow up? Are you ever ready to be responsible? I don’t think you’re ever ready for things that are this big,” she says. “No matter how much you think you’re prepared, the more ready you think you are, you’re probably not. You know when they say, ‘the more you know, the less you think you know.’ That’s…

In Hello, Love, Goodbye, the barrier-breaking, record-smashing blockbuster hit that follows the heart-tugging, reality-marred love story of Kathryn Bernardo’s Joy and Alden Richards’ Ethan in Hong Kong, Maymay Entrata is Marydale, the fresh graduate who is all set but also, understandably hesitant to try her luck as a domestic helper, just like her cousin, Joy. A curious case of art imitating life, the realities of Maymay and her character share similarities that lend itself well to her earnest and effective portrayal in the Cathy Garcia-Molina-directed film. Marydale is Maymay, who aside from their similar given name, the two also share the truth of an OFW striking out for nothing more than the benefit of their family. “Naging madali po sa akin ang pag- play ng OFW, dahil OFW nanay ko,…

“ I STARTED MY FASHION JOURNEY WITH H&M. THAT’S WHY IT’S COOL TO ME THAT WE’RE DOING A COLLABORATION. UNTIL NOW I’M STILL SHOCKED THAT I’M A PART OF IT ” Unless you’re genetically gifted, done your fair share of jumping on the first few second of New Year’s Day, or have diligently guzzled your height-inducing vitamins or Chinese herbal growth balls, you’ve probably spent a good chunk of your life wishing you were even just a few more inches taller. We know what you’re thinking: Tall people have it so much better—they can see more at an expansive glance, they can physically get ahead without so much as a vertical effort, and for sure, a few more inches stacked up is a boost to one’s confidence. Needless to say,…

Full disclosure: While the September issue is probably one of the most exciting and anticipated months we have in our editorial calendar, it is also one of the most challenging and hardest to produce. Every year, we try to pull off something big, and this time, it was no exception. In fact, we can go on record saying that it gets increasingly challenging to mount, what with all that we’ve done so far set against what we set out to do. While fashion is of course the main bind that ties it all together, we looked beyond the visual and heightened our sense of hearing. This time around, we listened, taking full inspiration from music and the rhythm that courses through it. Undeniably, music and fashion have always been connected,…

FAMILY TIES You’re good to go as long as you choose pieces in the same color spectrum…

FIRST BLOOM From luxurious bugs to feminine florals, the collection boasts of the best of Tiffany & Co.…

For the longest time, it was deemed cool if you were part of the girl scouts, a band of young women who have a strong sense of self through knowing how to survive in the wild, have excellent entrepreneurial skills and even learning how to build a robot. In the perplexing zeitgeist of pop culture, young scouts have been portrayed in countless movies, with Wes Anderson’s spectacular coming of age film Moonrise Kingdom taking the cake. So, it’s no surprise that Rome Oamil would take inspiration from this collective. “During the first days of my senior year, I had this vague idea of turning the girl scout silhouette into a whole other level,” she says. “Then I thought: ‘What if, instead of showing them who I am, I show them…

The working day was drawing to a close and one of the girls at work was smiling at me. “What?” I asked her. “Nothing,” she replied. “It’s just that you’re the only one I know who puts on makeup before she goes home. And I finally figured it out.” “Figured out what?” I asked as I ran my brush through my hair. “Well, I realized that you make yourself pretty for your husband. And I thought that was nice, what marriage must be like.” Marriage is more than making myself pretty for my husband I wanted to tell her. There are many exhilarating highs, as well as the deepest lows. There are endless days and nights of making love, as well as years of wondering if we still turn each…

You wear your hair every day of your life. Unlike clothes that you can dress in and out of, or makeup that you can always erase and reapply, your hair is a styling point that stays with you. People take pride in how they style their hair, from cut to color, as hairstyle becomes a means of expression for them. It can be a reflection of their personality, or an emulation of a trend or a celebrity’s look. As more styles spread rampant across social media, people yearn for a style they can truly call their own. For Jude Hipolito and Rose Velasco of JURO Salon Exclusif, making clients excited about new hairstyles keeps their passion as hairdressers and as artists alive. BEFORE THE FIRST CUT “If the client has…

Tom Ford is a perfectionist. The celebrated designer, makeup innovator, and film maker is a visionary extraordinaire, and his exacting demands, from himself and his team, always result in a sublime creation, a unique and thoroughly luxurious experience. As such the prospect of a skincare collection has the beauty industry—despite being inundated with so many new brands and launches—absolutely thrilled. Tom Ford Research is a luxury skincare line engineered to transform. Two products, TOM FORD RESEARCH Serum Concentrate and CRÈME CONCENTRATE use White Porcelain Cacao, a rare cacao steeped with free radical-fighting polyphenols, caffeine, which the Tom Ford Research team found to increase skin’s natural energy and support hydration, and Gyokuro, a highly-prized variety of Japanese green tea grown in the shade. Rounding out this powerhouse trio are skin-soothing algae,…

Whether we don’t realize it or care to admit it, sitting on the other side of the business of entertainment as an ardent audience doesn’t excuse us from contributing to the collateral of assumptions and expectations that has become part and parcel of every wide-eyed ingénue’s stake to a claim over a reasonable fraction of the industry they have long dreamt to be part of. From impossible standards of beauty to a more concerning drumming of skewed projections, a lot are piled up on these people we elect to a pedestal almost unreachable. What was once a chase of passion and dreams become marred with what we think of them that we forget that they are human beings, too—and in this particular case, young ones at that. “In my career…

WASH POPPIN'? (First page) WASH DAY Cropped jacket, top and biker shorts by BENJO LUNAR, hoop earrings by MAZEE ; (Second page) PACKED & LOADED Sports bra by H&M, tear-away joggers by KAYE MORALES ; (Third Page) PINK MATTER Windbreaker by MARK DELA PENA , cropped top & biker shorts by HANAMI BY SHEN JARLEGA , hoop earrings by MAZEE , puffer jacket by ASSIE RAY , leather skirt by H&M , gold multi-chain belt by LILAH ROCHE ; (Fourth Page) CHANNEL ORANGE Color-blocked wind breaker and joggers by MARIAN ZARA , bikini top by H&M , Hoop earrings by MAZEE ; (Fifth Page) SILK CITY Silk tracksuit by YVES CAMINGUE , Bodysuit by KAYE MORALES , hoop earrings by MAZEE ; (Sixth Page) YELLOW FLICKER BEAT Mock neck cropped…

STYLE TIP While it stands to be quite the extreme trend to twirl into, we suggest easing into it through expert layering; this time over trousers in monochrome…

The curtains have opened, the stage has been set, and for the first time, MEGA’s September issue is a culmination of two strong forces of art—music and fashion. This year, we put the spotlight on seven different hit makers and how they willingly took on the challenge of embodying a genre that isn’t their comfort zone. Don’t worry, there was no sing-off, but instead, it was as if we produced multiple album covers in a span of two weeks that were set to drop on the first week of September. It wasn’t a question of how the girls were going to be transformed since that part was easy, the main hurdles were the careful consideration of which local designer, photographer and glam team could best bring the vision to reality.…

GOING PRIMARY Add joy to your look with vivid pops of red or blue…

An internship with Alexander McQueen, the prestigious grand prize of the 48th Japanese Fashion Design Contest that was won by a foreigner for the first time in its history, and being a part of different fashion exhibits around the globe are just some of the things that were ticked off of Jerome Lorico’s list. His latest venture? Finally opening his flagship store, LORICO. In true Lorico fashion, the space that used to be a pawnshop was transformed into a Brutalist haven with pillars that mimic stalagmites in a cave. The opening, which was called “Midnight Manifesto” was a success with long-time friends and clientele celebrating his 11th year in the business. In the same vein, his recent collection remains true to his design roots—edgy minimalism. Known for experimenting with fabric,…

It’s the final quarter of the year: the monsoon winds continue to blow, the temperature drops, and the excitement for the holidays starts to bubble. It’s easy for fashion to get compromised for the sake of comfort and weather-proofing. For UNIQLO, the mix of fashion and function are at the brand’s core with their LifeWear apparel. LifeWear is simple yet high-quality, designed to be of the time and for the time. It is a perfect component for any style and continues to evolve through life’s needs. This season, UNIQLO focuses on volume to add excitement and warmth to day-to-day stylings with its Ultra Light Down jacket. Its packed quilting of down retains body heat and provides cloud-like comfort. The outer layer is durable and water-repellent, perfect for wearing around town.…

DIP AND DIVE Does the world need another liquid lipstick? If the formula and color selection is as good as SUNNIES FACE LIP DIP (P345) is, then it’s a definite yes. Described as a whipped mousse, the formulation provides intense color payoff that can be toned down to a stain, making it as versatile as the brand’s beloved Fluffmatte lipsticks; it’s also incredibly creamy, making blending and mixing colors easy peasy. And since this is Sunnies Face we’re talking about, all the colors are immensely flattering to a variety of Filipina skin tones. PRIME LOCATION The New York City brownstone is one of the city’s most iconic symbols, a fact that makes the MAYBELLINE Creamy Matte Brick Collection (P299 each) even more appealing. The six shades—named after famously fashionable districts…

Summer usually calls for bright, bold lips, while the so-called cooler months lean to intense smoky eye. However, a look that works regardless of season, occasion or trend, is warm tonal makeup—a pinch of rouge on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. The look is everywhere, worn by the cool girls, hot young things, and women constantly on the go. It’s a look that suits the office, just as it does a Sunday brunch and Saturday night out; it’s cool, modern, yet classic. On mature skin, the soft wash of pigment—usually an iteration of dusky, pinky reds, fiery terracotta browns, and soft blush—warms up and brightens the complexion. It looks natural dabbed on the eyes and topped with lashings of mascara. As a stain on the lips, it’s positively divine. Formula…

Fashion and music live in a mutualism where the symbiotic relationship lifts both fields to a whole new level. Inspiration captured from every beat turns into a full collection while designers and their creations are heard everywhere from ball music to hip-hop. And youth is the best catalyst to combine the two. With their internet and social savvy personas, the youth brings new life to both music and fashion, and MEGA is here to give the spotlight to them for our big fashion issue. This month, we have seven of the freshest and most dynamic artists on our cover: Maymay Entrata, KZ Tandingan, Jess Connely, Kiana Valenciano, Frankie Pangilinan, Gabbi Garcia, and Maris Racal. Embodying music genres that are far from what they are used to, from feminine folk to…

With a music so distinct and daring, as it is equally bold and brave, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without the moving artistry of KZ Tandingan. Okay, this might sound like such an extreme situation, especially with the indelible imprint the Soul Supreme has left in the musical plane, but at one crucial point, she feared that all this, even in its genesis, would not have even been possible for her. Taking us all the way back to her years in high school, when her vocal chords were challenged by polyps (an acute trauma or laryngeal lesions that impact the quality of one’s voice), a young Tandingan understandably fell into depression. “I felt like my dream was gonna be taken away from me, kasi I never expected…

The red-drenched Today x Future in Cubao, a hole-in-the-wall bar that shifts between a weekday home base for its over a decade-long regulars-turned-family and weekend hangout enclave that blasts anything from your guilty pleasures, soundtracks of many phases of your life, and on particularly packed and sweat-induced nights, unapologetic dance ditties. Running the gamut of electro-indie, hip-hop, R&B, techno, jazz, disco, pop, and occasionally even experimental music, it definitely courses through the existence of this beloved space its patrons call home. On any given night, whether it is your jam or not, there will be music to sing to, lose yourself to, cry to, and yes, dance to. With an uncharacteristically bare dance floor, still lingering from the drawl of the previous night’s mid-week hump day and the yet-to-come start…

When I woke up this morning, I received an Instagram message from a friend who I hadn’t heard from in years. After exchanging pleasantries, he was fortright and asked to be linked to a potential employer. He explained that he is the breadwinner of the family and needed a job. I met him over 20 years ago. During that time, he was a sought after creative, shooting daily for TV, print, and the big screen. He was (and still is) very talented, but as new talents are introduced to the fold, others are slowly removed. He was one of those who increasingly got less and less work. It is true that the pie is big and that there are enough slices for everyone who has talent, but unfortunately, these slices…

STYLE TIP Keeping in theme with the somber mood of fall, pair anything leopard-printed with a streamlined black…