The holiday season can feel more stressful than cheery because of mounting work deadlines, planning a family reunion, or dealing with the crazy December traffic. Feeling anxious when the streets are filled with colorful lights and upbeat carols does not make you a grinch - it simply means you need a break! Just as swiping on a some lipstick or spritzing some perfume can boost your mood, a little self-care can go a long way to making you feel good and maybe even excited about the upcoming celebrations. And yes, it's totally possible to treat yo'self without using up the budget you saved for gifting. Here's an affordable self-care routine that has you covered from head to toe!

It’s extremely easy to fall into the deep, dark abyss of beauty tricks (mostly because they’re in every beauty page on Facebook and Reddit). I’m all for making my beauty routine easier but there are just hacks that make me go “been there, done that, never going back.” And I’ll tell you why.

Here in Project Vanity, we love sharing our beauty tips, product insights, and hot new finds. What we don’t like sharing, however, is makeup itself – we don't want bacteria spreading around and causing problems! Even if you don't share makeup products with other people, your personal collection can still harbor unhealthy growths that can compromise your safety and shorten the lifespan of your products. So it's still important to sanitize your makeup regularly.

When you have to fit work, sleep, exercise, dating, house chores, and commuting in Manila all in 24 hours, you’ll have no choice but to learn how to pinch your time where you can. In my case, I’ve learned to keep my daily office makeup routine within 5 to 10 minutes! It took some practice to achieve that time record but I now have tricks to cut down what used to be a half-hour routine. Here are a few tips that might help you out if you’re a fellow busy bee!

With so many makeup tips and tricks popping up nowadays, it can feel a little overwhelming sometimes. Some may even make you even cringe with how crazy and over-the-top they are - remember the one about using a knife as a guide to contour? No thanks! I'd rather stick to safe options, particularly when they look like they can actually work. So I decided to actually find out! I picked out three top hacks that promise to help my foundation look more fleek, using products that most beauty junkies would already have in their stash.Is it a real HACK or just WHACK?

Finding my first mentor was life-changing. She contributed so much to whatever success I have now, because for the first time, someone was able to show me that it was possible to have a different life than what my parents and school initially taught me. Because of that person, I saw a path to being an entrepreneur! I was a freelance marketing consultant for her business, but eventually, I began to understand that I could be more - with a little bit of guidance.

Mentors are people whom you look up to for advice, wisdom, and opportunities. They are role models that you seek for guidance; ideally, you have a long-term relationship with them where they share their method to success. They can be massively influential to your personal and professional growth. But here comes the daunting task: how do you find a mentor?

People say it’s all about the little things…and that’s exactly how I feel about mini makeup! I mean, regular-sized products are great and all, but sometimes it can get a little challenging to bring them around when you’re on the go. Minis make it easy to maximize the precious space in your bag. They can also help you make a smart purchase, as you can use these to test out and decide whether or not you actually need (or just want) the full-sized version of the product. Lastly, with the holidays coming up, you can use these as stocking stuffers or just small and simple gifts for your friends! There are actually so many ways to get a hold of them but if you've been missing out, here's where to find them!

Since joining the Project Vanity team last year, the amount of beauty products in my stash has doubled in size. With the combination of my voracious need for new lipstick and constantly chatting with fellow PV girls who are enablers (I’m looking at you, Kim, haha!), I suddenly had more than what I need!

It’s not such a bad thing because I’m happy to try out new stuff but my responsible side screams at my makeup junkie side to calm TF down with the hoarding. So I’ve taken it upon myself to only buy the products that I need and not just want (goodbye for now, Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution, sob).

The key to looking fresh everyday is to look wide awake! That’s why we go to great lengths to draw attention to our eyes with mascara and eyeliner. Unfortunately, if we have dark undereye circles, we can end up detracting attention from our beautiful peepers and end up looking haggard instead.

"There’s more than meets the eye” surely holds true for the clear mascara. Compared to its pigmented sibling that we frequently rely on to create thicker and lengthier lashes, the colorless gel doesn’t seem to be able to do much and so is often considered as an unimportant. The truth is, it is this simplicity that actually makes it a super versatile beauty product!  

I can’t be the only one who loves that post-workout glow – it leaves my skin looking supple, moisturized, and a little flushed. That’s how I want my skin to look all day everyday! It’s all natural and very glowy but sadly, with all the sweating involved, it’s also unhygienic and possibly stinky. Instead, you can cheat your way into scoring that athletic glow, without breaking a sweat!

Hoarding is one of the occupational hazards of a self-confessed beauty addict. Still, while it is common, it can become wasteful when you consider all that money spent on products that were used only a few times then set aside. However, these personal care items are called that for a reason - they've touched your face, hands, mouth, and even eyes! Why would anyone (barring close friends and family who don't have laway-swapping issues) want your pre-loved cosmetics?

I started my freelance career from zero. I didn’t have money, connections, nor even the “right” degree to guide me in this particular line of work. I truly knew nothing at first, but I just jumped in and learned what I needed on the go! And of course, I had the Internet. The web is the single most powerful tool that was (and still is) at my disposal since it has made it possible for me to get my name out there, freelance full-time, and finally build my own company.

Eye makeup can take your look to level 11, and lashes play a huge role in that. There are a few considerations to making your lashes look like falsies. Let’s start from the roots all the way to the tips!

We all want the same thing after spending hours of perfecting our makeup: a photo-ready look that lasts forever, or at least until the end of the day! Just as styled hair needs hairspray and manicures need a top coat, a finishing touch at the end of our primping session can make a huge difference!

I recently went through ALL my makeup and skincare so I can properly organize and dispose of items accordingly. It took me half a day and about ten extra bags of product, all of which I gave away to my family! Now my place feels cleaner and I get *less* stressed out about where my stuff are. I also unearthed some products that I really, really like, but can't use nor bear to throw away.

I found so many cushion compacts that I just kinda forgot about because they are ridiculously too light against my skin tone.

I hate to admit it, but my eyebrows have become thinner and finer over the years. It's just genetics, I suppose; my mom has fine hair too and we have the same eyebrows! Thank goodness for brow troubleshooters and techniques that can help me achieve full arches. It's a combination of techniques I've observed from makeup artists and what I learned from watercolor painting. If you have the same problem as mine, perhaps you'll find this specific routine useful!