'Ces si bon!'

Ces Oreña-Drilon, someone who loves to tinker with her "look," create her own sense of style, and has a self-confessed weakness for accessorizing, had one major problem. "For the longest time, I was allergic to almost any kind of metal on my body. As long as it would make contact on my skin, I’d break out, suffer skin irritations and so on."

That was so frustrating, then suddenly, it disappeared. Yes, life is certainly good for Ces.

One of the mainstays of the News and Current Affairs Department of ABS-CBN, Ces enjoys a lofty position. A seasoned newscaster, talk show and tele-magazine host, Ces’ status within the industry is well-established and respected. Given her credentials, one would think that how she looks would be among the least of her worries; that the no-nonsense approach she’s brought to her job and multiple roles speak volumes, drowning out any concern for something as superficial as clothes, hair or makeup.

"Logically, one would think that would be the case. But you know, while my work is a form of journalism, the fact remains that we are working in a visual medium. Before you even get the chance to open your mouth, dazzle them with your questions, delivery, wit, whatever," and here she flashes her trademark smile and laughs, "you’re already being judged by what they see on the screen! It’s inescapable; one has to be very conscious of how one looks, one has to invest the time and effort on choosing clothes and accessories. The studio is ready to help insofar as makeup and hair is concerned, but if we want to create a ‘look’ that’s very individualized, we have to do it ourselves."

And she has created a very unique Ces look. She has chosen clothes from a range of shops that know her well. The Black Shop for her suits, Cesar Gaupo, Tweeds, Mango and Topshop are the ones she’ll gravitate to in search of the perfect ensemble. As for accessorizing, there are no fixed rules or shops. What’s important for Ces is that, as with the clothes, the accessories are "distinct, yet suitable for me, and above all, comfortable." One favorite that always seems to find itself on her wrist nowadays is the Faconnable watch. It’s a fashion watch one can find in the Lucerne shops. For Ces, it’s the perfect marriage between functional and chic.

"The model I have is the one with the big letters on the watch’s face. We had a laugh the first time I saw it, how the letters that are spread out spell FACC. I was wearing it one time and Michael Salientes raved about it; how it provided just the right amount of hip, given the more mainstream qualities I have to exhibit in my job. Early on, I was afraid it might have been a mite too flashy, but I’ve grown comfortable with it."

Ces juggles three shows: Pipol, a tele-magazine, Get Real, a nightly talk show and Usapang Business, the show where her advocacy for entrepreneurship and small-and medium-scale businesses finds expression. On top of this, there’s the Mag:Net Plus shops. Originally conceptualized as a magazine shop (hence the name, which stands for magazine network), the "plus" was added to signify how the shop also operates as an art gallery of sorts. It helps that renowned artist Rock Drilon is your "better half." The original shop is within the ABS-CBN compound. There’s a new one in Makati at the Paseo Center on Paseo de Roxas.

To say Ces achieved instant success with her look would ignore the years spent as "fashion victim" and the gradual evolution that in reality, transpired. "Ay, you should have seen me when I got started in the business. I was told to be conscious of my clothes and accessories but I was so clueless! That was the time of shoulder pads and it was so easy to go overboard. Similarly, the accessories were chunky and I was so bad with ‘mix and match,’ I lived by the motto of ‘More is more.’ Literally, I looked like some walking Christmas tree!" Laughing, she jokes, "I think I would have given Tessa Prieto-Valdes a run for her money."

Then there are the comments being made about the articles about her Botox and Obagi treatments, "I know, people were telling me that these were the sort of things that one has done to oneself and one keeps quiet about, and here I am, going public. Well, first, I felt it was performing some kind of service for all the women out there who may be thinking about them but want to know more first. Secondly, I had the attitude that if it is a fact that as one gets older one opts for treatments such as these, why not be true to oneself and be open about them? For me, it was part of being real with the public about what’s going on in my life."

Her flirting with disaster, her being the victim in a recent hit-and-run accident, puts her in a reflective mood. "I’m definitely more concerned now about road safety. Normally, I was very casual about things like faithfully wearing seat belts. Inexplicably, that night I was buckled up. I drive myself to and from work, and while I was very lucky to avoid major injuries, the investigators at the scene reminded me just how lucky. The way I was hit, it would have been very feasible that I’d have been thrown through the windshield."

"Occurrences like this do put things in perspective," Ces continues. "You think of one’s mortality, how life can be so fleeting. I told myself I had to slow down a bit; though of course, that’s easier said than done. What we have laughed about is how there I was talking about Obagi and Botox, beautifying oneself; being–let’s face it–vain. Then bang! This accident happens and now I have a scar above my right brow. If it’s a keloid, it may take ages to disappear, if at all."

If Faconnable needed women of spunk, passion and substance to represent the watches they’ve come out with, they’ve done a fine job in bringing Ces into the fold. She exemplifies all that and has proven herself with longevity in a medium that is notorious for the public’s fickle nature.

Life’s being good has as much to do with achievement and being admired, as it does with fortune. If Ces’ attitude, work ethic and intelligence has made her a magnet for all three, it’s made the name of her business (Mag:Net Plus) that much more appropriate.