We’re in the thick of the Philippine summer - hot, sticky, and unbelievably sweaty - so I’m fairly certain that you’re looking for something to help you look fresher for longer in this heat. I may have a solution! I tried this a few months back and now I’m here with a full review.

The MAC Studio Fix Mattifine 12HR Shine-Control Primer (P2,300 for 3ml in Lazada) is designed to mattify skin and provide a blurring finish to reduce the appearance of pores.

I've always kept myself updated on new Happy Skin releases, be it skincare or makeup. Two of their recent ones really piqued my interest: a sunscreen primer and a tinted moisturizer. I know I need both but realistically speaking, how will they fare in my daily routine? These can be used separately or together, so let's see.

Blurring primers have the stellar reputation of being the oily-skinned beauty lover’s best kept secret. But those who have dull complexions don’t need any more mattifying. It’s that healthy glow we can’t get enough of!

Enter the radiance primer. It’s the base that brings life to the lackluster. It can highlight healthy skin, even subtly correct problem areas, and create a beautiful, glowy effect with not a lot of effort. I’ve got four options for you today depending on the glow you’re looking for.

ICYMI, Project Vanity now has a Store tab with a curated collection of products we love! One of the things that I remember Liz being really excited about is an antiperspirant made especially for the face, called the Neat 3B Face Saver Gel (P850 for 50g, Project Vanity store). The parent brand is Neat Feat, a New Zealand company that focuses on a wide range of antiperspirant toiletries. The Face Saver Gel is labeled as a “facial antiperspirant” and because of its promise to reduce sweat, athletes and people in hot climates are encouraged to use this product.

If you watch YouTube makeup tutorials, you may have seen that many American beauty gurus use the Tatcha The Silk Canvas Filter Finish Protective Primer (from Lannel Boutique). I’ve definitely been curious about whether the claims are true, but it isn’t really something that’s easy to buy on a whim. Costing over P1000 for just 7g, this product is not your ordinary primer - it features pressed silk, which was designed to be as lightweight, skin-like, and smooth of a barrier as possible. As a professional makeup artist, I definitely understand the value of investing in quality products, especially face bases, but the big claims are matched by a hefty price tag. So, it Tatcha truly worth it or can you get the same effect with a cheaper product? Let’s find out!

Though the weather has gotten quite rainy, the unbearable heat of living in a tropical country continues to be something we struggle with. We try to keep cool by adding lots of shorts and skirts to our outfits, but this gives rise to another problem: the chub rub.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with silicone-y primers for the longest time. They either leave my skin feeling like it’s been covered in fast food grease, or cause me to break out into tiny hives on the same day I use them. I recently experienced a bout of  hormonal acne and extra oily skin due to my PCOS though, so I was once again in the market for a primer that didn’t feel like an extra thicc coat of french fry grease.

If you've seen my makeover by Pinoy Big Brother and The Voice head makeup artist Eman De Leon, you'll know how much he loves the Revlon Eye Primer + Brightener pen. This was released years ago, however, and seems to have been discontinued! I remember I had it some time ago and liked how it can brighten dark areas even though it doesn't have a lot of coverage. Lucky for us, Revlon just recently released something similar - the Photoready Color Correcting Pen (P725).

Waking up early to get ready and perfect your makeup can be quite a chore, so it feels like a complete disaster when your makeup starts sliding off after just 3 hours! Having oily skin can be quite a challenge but you don’t necessarily have to just let your hard work go to waste. A mattifying primer can completely change your makeup game! 

Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t believe in using face primers. It seemed like an unnecessary step and additional expense, until finally trying one made me do a complete 180! Once addicted, I ended up collecting  different kinds of primers: pore-filling, oil-controlling, moisturizing, brightening, color-correcting, and even ones with SPF. You see, I have sensitive combination skin so I cycle through these primers according to how my skin looks and feels like when I wake up. Sometimes, I even end up using different primers on targeted areas of my face!

So I was excited to discover that BYS had three new face primers in rather interesting variants: one for oily skin, one with hydrating pearls, and yet another with gold flakes. The pearls and gold flakes are particularly unique in my perspective, so I was very curious to give these a try.

Ah, pores, the last frontier into the metaphorical universe of porcelain skin. We often get asked how to “make pores disappear” and our answer is pretty much the same: you cannot eliminate them completely, especially through makeup alone. You can clean them to make them less visible, or get laser treatments to shrink them, but "eliminate" is too strong a word because your skin actually needs them to function properly! Apart from keeping them clear or getting professionally zapped, there are makeup primers that are specifically formulated to “refine,” “minimize,” and “blur” your pores to perfection.

I tested three products: the Ellana Blur Makeup Primer, the Happy Skin Matte About You Pore and Shine Control Primer, and the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer to see which blurs or minimizes my pores the best.