Article 1: Pops Fernandez
Pops & Her Beauty Secrets


By: Geoff Simpson

Between her mall tours promoting her latest album, "Magmamahal Pa Rin Sa Iyo,"
(which incidentally just turned gold), meetings and movie deals, my chances of pinning
down Pops Fernandez before I got shot by the Philippine Star didn't look good.
Then one rainy Friday afternoon, I got my lucky break.

Pops got hungry.

Lured, no doubt, by the scent of a particularly pungent salad dressing I had concocted,
she drove over for a quick lunch. I squashed her hopes of an "eat and run" meal by
ambushing her on my doorstep-tape recorder in hand.

Without a background in journalism, I initially found the situation somewhat awkward.
It seems easy to find something interesting to write about a good friend,
but it's different if she happens to be a "star." I thought I'd warn up
with a couple of standard celebrity questions, so I fired these gems at her:

G.S.- What's in your fridge?

POPS- Fruits, loads of cheese... chocolates
( I knew about the cheese and choc, these being my favorite raid),
ice-cream...(a must-have) and leftovers...
( I don't know what I expect from a superstar..but somehow
the contents of her fridge seemed very,well, unglam).

G.S.- ( So I tried something more "Psych-101/Freudian")
What's your favorite comfort food? ( Hoping for a more ritzy response)

Pops- Cheese...either on a sandwich or straight off the block!
( What? No French pafe with truffles or vintage pink champagne?
My long-awaited interview was heading south fast...
so I decided to get a bit raunchier with the questions.)

G.S.- Anything that you can't sleep without?

Pops- ( With her practical, no-nonsense, "every woman" response)
I can't sleep without taking off my make-up.
( Here was a woman who had every right to play the "spoil diva "
but refreshingly prefers not to.)

THE GRAPEVINE

Most celebrities realize that gossip and intrigue are part and parcel
of a life under the bright lights.
Lately, Pops has had more than her share of backbiting.
Although she has handled it quite admirably,
I am still amazed that she has been able to claim some modicum
of privacy in the very public ( make-believe?) World of showbiz.
I know of many others who have cracked under the pressure.

Pops, no stranger to celebrity life (her mom being one herself),
grew with dreams of becoming a star but with amazingly managed
not to inherit the usual showbiz eccentricities and airs. I guess back then,
it didn't occur to her that being a celebrity would also have its drawbacks.

SHE IS MOST HERSELF WHEN...

Pops loves to entertain, hosting dinners at home being one of her
favorite pastimes. Aside from when she is on stage belting out her soul,
getting together with her barkada behind closed doors is one way
that Pops can be herself- rare times where she can talk about her life
(and what she wants from it) without being misquoted.

A humble person by nature, she is so easily pleased when a simple compliment
is paid. I remember her face lighting up once when I told her that I thought
she was a great mom.

              " Pops with Geoff Simpson- her Beautician "

                   __________________________

                  

GREATEST ASSET, WORST FEATURE, BEAUTY SECRETS

Over a now-soggy salad, I asked her what her greatest asset was,
"Robin and Ram," she answered.
"My kids, of course. Everything else pales next to them."

I pushed for a few beauty secrets.
Pops thinks that her eyes are her best feature,
accentuating them being the easiest of her tasks.

Her worst feature? My humongous arms." I didn't belabor the point!

She firmly believes, as I do, that beauty is from the heart.
Sadly, what is commonly perceived as beauty nowadays
is more often than not just aesthetics.

G.S.-What do you think about "Slight improvement?"
Okay, cosmetic surgery! (I was trying to be discreet.)

Pops- No problem. As long as you are doing it for YOU, to please yourself.
( I couldn't have said it better...thank you, Vicki Belo.)
Cleansing, Moisturizing (can't be too liberal with that one)
and loads of sun block are the mainstays of my morning regimen.
Makeup to suit her mood if deftly applied just before
she leaves the house. Although frankly, she looks good without it, too.

BIG SPENDER

Curious, I ask what her greatest expenditure this year to date is.
Maybe it's something sporty moored at the marina? Or some fabulous
antique jewelry acquired at the estate sale of an
expired American heiress? Nope, it's lipstick!

Call me materialistic but if I worked anywhere near as hard as Pops does,
I think I would treat myself more than the occasional stick of lippy!
One beauty secret that I can reveal about Pops is that she has super-curly hair
with a mind of its own. So being the guy in charge of it always a challenge. Finding
suitable styles as well as making frequent color changes could prove disastrous if
we didn't plan every "hair move" weeks in advance. Maintaining the conditions of
Pops' hair is my primary goal and using only colors and protein treatments
from L'Oreal helps me to do just that.
Getting her hair straight is another story.
Lots of styling products coupled with good,
old-fashioned hard work never fails.

Pops cites Audrey Hepburn as her ultimate style icon and like her idol,
always dresses to suit the occasion.

Forced recently to make some difficult choices, Pops may have felt a little uncertain
as to what the future holds. She needn't have worried; I believe that any changes will,
in the long run, be for the better.

Well, our lunch break is over, if you can call my salad "lunch." As Pops leaves my place,
I can't help but admire her, she is a truly beautiful woman.

Strong but not overpowering.

Sensitive without being soppy.

And Man, can she eat!

_____________________

Geoff Simpson interview with Pops Fernandez was originally printed in the Star Newspaper.
                

The Band Room's favorite 'printed' paper though we like the Inquirer's site on the net.

Check out Yehey!
They were kind enough to list us.

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