Still a pictorial queen

As a showbiz royalty, Lorna Tolentino had already earned for herself several titles. For one, she will always be known as one of the most beautiful faces on the local screen. Even as a child star, she had always been lovely. No, not cute, but divinely beautiful.

And since her face is classic, it is easy for her to exude glamour and sophistication — giving way to yet another title for her: Eternal Star of the Night in most awards presentations. You may just fall off your seats and don’t tell me I didn’t warn you, but Madame Auring one time also aimed for that title. It was a FAMAS show and the contest was about having the best hairstyle.

And so at the Philippine Plaza ballroom, Madame Auring showed up in her big hair that had dried twigs with running Christmas lights on them. Of course, there were also other legitimate, respected and pretty actresses who showed up for the occasion. But in the end, it was still Lorna who clobbered them all and her hair was just tied in a bun. Simple, but very classy — that was the comment of the crowd who approvingly applauded her win.

 The most significant of her many titles surely will always be that of Grand-slam Queen — having scored this is in 1992 for Narito ang Puso Ko.

Oh, but she still holds on to a title that had not been much heralded: Pictorial Queen. Yes, she is that, too.

It was Joey de Leon who pointed that out to me during the 10th anniversary of Startalk and we were posing for the cover of a commemorative magazine that was specially released for that occasion.

I was the first to go since my hair (just a dab of gel) and makeup (only a little powder) is almost fuss-free. Then came Joey, who also needed just minimal fixing.

When Lorna’s turn came, she walked in (her call time was later) with a naked face and she was already beautiful. But she is Lorna Tolentino and the public always expects her to get all dolled up — and she did in a yellow Paul Cabral outfit.

That was the first time I saw her work — in a photo shoot, that is. On the set of Startalk, we’d chat endlessly off-cam, but for this pictorial, she focused completely on getting her best shots. No horsing around — no bantering. That’s how seriously she takes these shoots. No wonder the results are always fabulous.

A couple of weeks ago, Flawless scheduled a pictorial for Lorna’s billboard. The last time Flawless did a shoot for her was in early May 2009, less than a year after husband Rudy Fernandez passed away. Flawless general manager Tanya Quibilan recalls that Lorna was so depressed that time she had difficulty posing for pictures. But ever the professional, she went through with it and Flawless was more than satisfied with the photos they got (displayed for a year in Flawless branches all over Metro Manila and in Olongapo, Iloilo and Cebu).

When I found out that Lorna was going to shoot in Xander Angeles’ studio along Kamuning Road, I decided to pay her a visit. But first, I had to get a little pasalubong for her because that had been a tradition with us. I went to this new Asian store called Taik a Luk in Barrio Kapitolyo in Pasig and got her a few bags of Fish tofu that she could turn into soup and engage in healthy eating.

At Angeles’ studio, Lawrence Leuterio did her hair, while Fanny Serrano worked on her makeup for two hours, well, because he is such a perfectionist. They were so busy that I only had time to say hello to her and I don’t even recall acknowledging the presence of Lawrence and Fanny because they were so engrossed with work.

 Poor Lhar Santiago, so dedicated to his work, had to patiently wait in the next room until Lorna was ready for the 24 Oras interview Flawless scheduled for her. But it was worth the wait. Lhar had Lorna all to himself and got his story.

People actually kept running in and out of the studio and thank heavens for the presence of Flawless CEO Rubby Sy and brand consultant Jacqueline Thung (from Singapore), order was maintained in that major shoot. Outside there was even a bird trainer because a cockatoo was part of the props.

The items that I failed to notice were the expensive Louis Vuitton bags (must have been tightly guarded). As I would later find out, Flawless is raffling off the designer bags to clients starting this month. For every P1,200 worth of products and services (or a combination of both), you can avail of one raffle ticket that would be included in the monthly draws till November (one bag per month). Purchase twice that amount and you can get two raffle tickets and so on. Those who don’t win in the monthly draws, however, will still get the chance to be part of the grand raffle draw in December — where a diamond necklace would be raffled off. With your raffle stub therefore you could be gunning either for a Louis Vuitton bag or a diamond necklace.

For more information regarding the mechanics, visit the Flawless clinics or check out Flawless ads in newspapers (including The Philippine Star) where you will see the contest rules — plus the layout of this most recent Lorna Tolentino shoot.

But that is not the end of the story of the pictorial. As you must have read in Ricky Lo’s Funfare last week, Louis Vuitton had disallowed the inclusion of the image of the bag in the ads — never mind if Flawless legally purchased those very pricey items from the LV Greenbelt shop. What you will see from now on are photos of Lorna holding just the bag’s handle.

Although I honestly find this Louis Vuitton imposition ridiculous (Flawless purchased the bags from them — these weren’t donations), rules are rules and Flawless will abide. (But it may take time for the company to bring down and change Lorna’s billboard in EDSA.)

To the loyal clients of Flawless, there’s no need for you to worry. Those authentic Louis Vuitton bags or the diamond necklace could still be yours because the contest had not been disrupted. It’s a sure deal.

As they say, it’s in the bag.