Hair Asia recently signed a contract of agreement in Singapore with Yuko Hair Straightening as the major sponsor in today’s Open Championship for Hairstyling and Make Up Competition

Julia Montes

Hair Asia comes up with another exciting event, its first this year, the 23rd National Open Championship for Hairstyling and Makeup Competition to be held today, Feb. 26, at the World Trade Center (WTC). To coincide with the event, Hair Asia magazine unveils a chic, new masthead. The same issue features even more fabulous spreads on fads and finds from the world of hairdressing, as well as TV’s primetime sweetheart, Julia Montes, on the cover.

Expected to pack WTC like in previous years are hairdressing gurus, hairstylists extraordinaire, salon industry primos and players, and thousands of buyers, models, and enthusiasts.

For more than two decades, Hair Asia’s founder and organizer Ms. Evelyn Alvaran-Cruz has churned out brilliant ideas that continue to surprise even the most regular attendees. She did it again last November, making the red-letter day that celebrated the country’s finest hairdressers in competition, and commemorated the late, great Vidal Sassoon truly a spectacular event.

Illustrious Sassoon Academy alumnae demonstrated Vidal Sassoon’s enduring legacy through L’Oréal Professionnel’s Retro Nouveau Collection with a fabulous hair show that is “so British” – from wit to pomp (with an onstage cameo of an Austin Mini Cooper), to an abundance of box-shape dresses with thigh-high hemlines, psychedelic prints over patterned stockings and go-go-boots, to good, old-fashioned rock music (stylists and models alike gyrating to the songs of the Beatles).

The proud Sassoon alums – Pin Antonio, Jude Hipolito, Angelo Justin, Louis Phillip Kee, Gigi Lagman, Jesi Mendez, Lorna Sandoval, Kris Virtucio, and Andrea Zulueta, as well as Hair Asia alums Rolly Catingco and Ren-Ren Santos – were honored with plaques of recognition for their remarkable works that embody the Vidal Sassoon philosophy. Fittingly, Matrix SOCOLOR, the premium hair coloring line of L’Oréal Professionnel, also introduced its very first Filipina product ambassador: TV host and beauty queen Bianca Manalo.

Topbilled by Matrix, L’Oréal Professionnel, Beauty Lane and Yuko Hair Straightening as major sponsors, Hair Asia will also feature consistent crowd favorites in its Cosmetic Trade Expo lineup – Aktuelle, Beauty Basics, Beauty Concept, Beauty Kingdom, Beauty Touch, Berrywell, Botanique Spa, Caronia, Chihtsai Hair Care, Cosmocare International, Creatic, Cynos, DKC Trading, Glosons Trading Company, Hair and Thread Hat, Handle Enterprise, I-Cure, James Cooper Jazzy Collection, Justnail, LBY Enterprises, Le Couleur Shop Inc., Lucida, Max Factor, Mondes Professional, MRC Beauty Products, MTN Inc., Novuhair, Rakaposhi Handmade Scissors, Revlon Professional, Schwarzkopf Professional, Shawill Corporation, Soltera Hair, Suesh Make Up Tool Kit, Sunshine Beauty Shop, Swag Inc., TBS Beauty Products, Vybrance International, Wahl, and Wax Haven.

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Sheena Halili Cuts Hair For ‘Indio’

“StarStruck 1” Avenger Sheena Halili got to do her first serious role in GMA Network’s first historical epic “Amaya.” Known for playing either the friend of the female lead or the comic relief, her inclusion in “Amaya” gave her the chance to go beyond the “kikay” stereotype.

Now, in Kapuso Network’s second historical epic, “Indio,” topbilled by Sen. Bong Revilla, Sheen is again out to prove her dramatic range.

As Mayang, the sister of Bong Revilla’s character, Sheena takes on her biggest role yet – a headstrong, confident woman who refuses to bow down to expectations in what is becoming an increasingly patriarchal society. She dreams of becoming an epic hero, and if she is not able to do this as a woman, then she will have to do so as a man. Thus she cuts her hair short for her role.

Also in the cast of “Indio” is “StarStruck: The Nationwide Invasion” stand-out Vaness del Moral, who is made a slave after her parents fail to pay their taxes.

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Richard Poon At Bar 360

Following the success of “The Edge of Glory” and “Strings of Soul,” a brand-new dose of entertainment with the latest live act ensembles had been launched this February at the Bar 360 of Resorts World Manila, billed “Legends” and “Rock Of The 80s.” Featured are European gymnasts, acrobats and extreme artists doing bike stunts and showing off their roller-skating skills.

Together with Bar 360 regulars such as the top vocal trio Primo and electric-violinist Bryson Andres, “Legends” is a one-of-a-kind performance highlighting the music of legendary artists like Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, and Whitney Houston.

Tonight, as the season of hearts concludes at RWM, the country’s big-band crooner Richard Poon will serenade guests with soothing and refreshing ballads in RWM’s Bar 360 Concert Series.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Feb. 26, go to Chanda Romero, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Assunta de Rossi, Ching Villanueva, Angelique Lazo, Romy Sarao, Mel Canchela, Erick Escarez, Erika Ann Bautista, Luisita P. Gabriel Antonio, Patsy Fuentes, and Sofia Antonio Bersola Babao...