X-DEAL QUEEN?

I had coffee with a friend from a bridal magazine last night. She needed to unwind and whine again about how ironic it was to be unattached and working for a bridal mag. Woe is me.

Anyway, she had a stack of mags with her, and as I was browsing through them, there was this bit about Christine Bersola's "innovative" bridal biz. She preserves bridal gowns and bouquets.

So I was like, "Oh, this is new!" And my friend goes, "Hay, gaya gaya lang 'yan no. At ginaya na lang nga nya, wala pang kwenta. Bersola is one for the books."

Apparently, the first and only one to have this kind of service is The Bridal Conservatory. They have been doing this for almost 6 years, a first in the Philippines, and they have a very impressive clientele.

My friend says that Christine Bersola wanted The Bridal Conservatory to preserve her wedding gown and bouquet, but on x-deal, wherein Bersola would feature TBC on her morning show, Magandang Umaga Bayan, and TBC would preserve Bersola's gown and bouquet for free.

TBC turned it down, and Bersola put up her own Bridal Preservation business. Talk about sourgraping. Industry professionals say hers is such a bad copycat, that it fails miserably. TBC is not threatened at all, and is still doing very well I believe.

Bersola even came out with a wedding video, entitled something like "How To Plan Your Dream Wedding On Less Than P1M." Wedding suppliers' running joke is an answer to that, "Eh di x-deal!"

Another friend of mine from a glossy says that Bersola and Babao's wedding was also a major x-deal. Her souvenirs, food and venue were all free. All she had to do was mention them in her TV and radio shows. I also heard from a reporter that their wedding invitation had like this page of logos of her sponsors. Eeeew tacky! I have yet to see the invite, and if this is true, I'll post it here. Can anyone verify this?

If all this is true, I am so disgusted. I thought Babao's family was well-off? I even saw this celebrity home coverage of their house, and I think I saw Starck numerous times.

I was up really early last week, and when I turned on the radio, it was tuned in to some AM station, with Bersola and Babao on board. She actually promoted her bridal biz on air. She sounded like she didn't know what she was talking about. She said, "Ano nga ba 'yun?" and "Basta" a couple of times. And this was before I had coffee with my friend.

And to top it all off, she's trying to pull a Madge! She's coming out with children's books! Well, at least this is right up her alley, and she's hitting her market really well. I just hope the books are affordable by the masa.

Say it with me everyone. Ka-cheapan!

SEPARATED AT BIRTH 2

Teri Aunor and Tyron Perez

Zanjoe Marudo & Diego of Bubble Gang

MONIQUE DESIGNS FOR BARBIE

Wow Monique. You go girl! Read on everyone.

Monique Lhuillier designs for Barbie
Dress designer Monique Lhuillier launched her first bridal collection 10 years ago, and now she's put a gown on an American icon -- Barbie.

Lhuillier has picked up celebrity clients along the way over the last decade and found herself designing wedding dresses for Natalie Imbruglia, Charlotte Ross and Debbie Matenopoulos.

In 2004, Lhuillier was chosen by more than 300,000 viewers of the "Today" show as having the winning design for Nikki Hensley's wedding dress as part of the "Today Throws a Destination Wedding 2004" series. She also designed 2004 Emmy gowns for winner Allison Janney, and attendees Jamie-Lynn DiScala, Megan Mullally and Famke Janssen.

Lhuillier's rise in the fashion world hasn't been mercurial, but it has been steady, with 2004 proving to be her most productive year. In addition to the gowns designed for the Emmy Awards show, Lhuillier was chosen to design the wedding gown of pop star Britney Spears along with dressing Kevin Costner's bride, Christine Baumgartner.

Hollywood weddings are big tabloid news, but how does wedding designer make her way into the world of collectibles? By being one of the world-class designers who have dressed America's most famous doll.

The list of designers for Barbie include Bob Mackie, Carolina Herrera, Cynthia Rowley, Byron Lars, Nolan Miller, Calvin Klein, Versace, Christian Dior and Lhuillier's wedding gown rival, Vera Wang. The Monique Lhuillier Bride Barbie is the latest fashion-designer creation for Mattel's top-selling doll.

NO CAN DO

Hi chuvaness.

Sorry for using that pic of yours. Didn't even know it was yours. I just used google images, and that pic popped out.

I already changed his pic to some other one so there.

And that way, I won't have to delete that post about you.

And no, I don't want to bury the hatchet.

Like you said, you stay off my blog, I'll stay away from yours.

THE FALL OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

First, it was the Ruffa and Yilmaz break-up. Now are we gonna see the Gretchen and Tony Boy hiwalayan?

Wow, now so that's 2 of Pantene and Preview's most Beautiful. Hope it doesn't happen to Dawn and Angel.

It was bound to happen though. Whenever you're so up, there's no other way to go but down. Deep down.

I mean sure, John Estrada is kinda hot. But he's a bum. An ABS-CBN reject, who reportedly shows off his goods in the ABS-CBN restrooms to strangers.

Dun na ako sa mayamang kinakalbo no. Though I would wanna see John's goods first. Hardehar.

What is up with the Barettos? Di na makuntekuntento sa isang lalaki.

I wonder what Janice de Belen has to say to all this?

Say goodbye to your talking Valentino gown, Greta.

3.5 STARS

I made the mistake of watching Paano Kita Iibigin. Ang kukulit kasi ng girlfriends ko. They all wanted to see Piolo. And they think it's a match made in heaven with Regine too. Si tanga naman ako, naniwala. At eto ngayon nagsisisi.

I have to admit, I am a Regine fan. I love her voice, and I actually think she's world class. But she can't do everything you know. She has tried her hand in almost everything, but pairing up with Piolo Pascual spelled disaster right from the start.

First the cons:

Unang una, Regine, hindi ka na bata. Kaya medyo wala na sa lugar ang mga pinag-sususuot mo no. Ang lakas mo mag two-piece day! Di kita kinakaya! Halata na nga ang age mo sa fez at katawan mo, nakipag-team up ka pa kay Papa Piolo who obviously looks so hot and a lot younger than you! Mukha na kayang nanay ang katawan mo ate! Yung boobs mo nga eh halos umabot na sa waist mo no! Pwede mo ng ihawi pag nagwawalis ka!

Pangalawa, I never liked Joyce Bernal's work. She hasn't improved, and you could tell from a movie if it was directed by her. Swerte lang sya na suki sya ni Regine.

Hated the editing of this movie. The texture was bad. The lighting unflattering. The dubbing is the worst. Especially Robin da Rosa's. And I give the Worst Actor Award to him. Hands down.

Mark Bautista had moderate acting, but he was so out of place sa movie. Para syang playing dress up. Parang hiniram nya ang office clothes ng tatay nya. And nanlilisik pa ang ilong nya.

And the kid who plays Regine's son in the movie was really bad too. Remember JP de Guzman? He reminded me of him. But hey, no one can top JP. And throw in Roseanne Gonzales too. Sarap pag-untugin ang dalawang yun. Wala ng alam gawin kungdi umiyak.

Ang chaka din ng mga font na ginamit sa movie ah. Sumakit kaya mga mata ko. Parang invitation sa kasal na di ko maintindihan.

Si Iya Villania naman, wala lang. Di ko lang sya gusto.

At kamusta naman ang umeeksenang San Mig Coffee sachets? Aaaaaaaargh! Di talaga subtle ang mga pinoy sa ganyan grabe. Well, the worst is still Regine's Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka with Christopher de Leon. Yun ang major in-your-face product placements talaga! May TimTam, Nestle Back 2 Back Ice Cream, at Close-Up. I suggest you see it para maniwala kayo.

And the symbolisms, di na nga subtle, di pa kumokonek sa movie! What's with the plane and bubog?!

Quotable quote from Regine in the movie: "All of us have experienced losing a loved one, one way OR THE OTHER."

And now the pros:

Eugene Domingo. *APPLAUSE* Move over Ai-ai.

Piolo Pascual. He was good in this movie. Clearly almost ready to take over the place of the likes of Christopher de Leon. And he was damn hot too. With or without a shirt. Yeah I know he's always hot, but this one takes the cake. He's so macho and believable as a rebellious, living-on-the-edge kinda guy. Almost makes me forget that he's gay.

Regine Velasquez. Good acting as well. Reminds me of her performance from her movie, Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw and Lobo from Maalala Mo Kaya, with Piolo too.

Watch out for Jigo Garcia too. He plays the doctor in the first few scenes of the movie. What a blast from the past. Almost didn't recognize him.

All in all, I give it 3 and a half out of 5 stars. At least I didn't fall asleep. And Eugene Domingo kept me awake. Piolo had me drooling the whole time. And Regine had me staring at her southward humps.