11 years strong - what a crazy feat! Whenever I think about how far Project Vanity has come, my heart swells with pride and joy. I’ve been a PV reader since 2012 and a writer since 2016. I’ve seen firsthand how much the content has evolved and how big the community has grown. I feel very grateful that I found this space that Liz built on the internet many moons ago. Project Vanity to me has always been a fun, safe space to celebrate beauty with smart and passionate women.

I’m really not a fan of Philippine summer heat (although I love a tan) because of the damage and discomfort that it brings to our skin. Although I love find and applying sunscreen for my face, I usually neglect my body. There are even days where I skip sunscreen - I know, burn me at the stake!

As a smol person with smol hands and even smoller fingernails, manicures make me feel more grown-up and elegant. Extending a perfectly polished hand to someone I’ve just met is my way of saying “I’m a detail-oriented person” and “I’ve got my life together”. I do a pretty decent job of painting my own nails (I can even do some simple nail art!) but it takes me a lot of time to make it look presentable. So when I found rave reviews for stick-on nails in one of my beauty groups, I thought I had found the perfect solution!

I’ve been a fan of Colourette Cosmetics ever since Liz gave me a Colourtint. Now, I have a small collection of Colourtints, and a few more lippies from their different lipstick lines. I find their lip products to offer great quality at a very affordable price so when Colourette released these limited edition matte lipsticks called Christmattes, I just had to try them out! This post is a bit late considering this was released during the holidays, but I hope to give you an idea of how Colourette bullet lipsticks perform.

April Fools is finally over, and we certainly aren’t kidding around with this week’s beauty roundup! We’ve finally got pics and deets on the Urban Decay x Game of Thrones collab (spoiler alert: we want EVERYTHING), L’Oreal’s stunning new endorser, and another K-Beauty hub for Ortigas-based beauty lovers. Plus, Laneige’s new offering is a nod to 2002, and Fenty Beauty has dropped a summer must-have!

Luxurious yet practical, silk has been regarded as the textile of choice for everything from loungewear to formal garb. It has a visually appealing natural sheen, a pleasant texture that is cool to the touch, and a breathability that brings comfort as well as effortless style. As it turns out, this elegant cloth has other applications, as well! Phrases like “silky smooth” and “soft as silk” show how much we associate this fabric with great skin and hair. In fact, several popular bath and body products have silk in their brand names: Cream Silk, Sunsilk, and Silka!

I recently cut and dyed my hair teal as inspired by my iconic ‘90s mahou shoujo inspiration, Sailor Mercury! I used my favorite hair dye of all time, the Arctic Fox Vegan Hair Dye in Aquamarine, which is a brand known for their bright and long-lasting colors. Here’s a photo of me feeling very cute with my freshly-dyed lob alongside the official art of Sailor Mercury!

When YouTube star Anna Cay messaged me about sending over her new sponges, I was pretty excited. I got to work with her on a project before and really appreciated how detail-intensive she can be! I also gathered that she really cares about her subscribers and customers, so I knew that she wouldn’t release a sub-par product just to have something to sell. True enough, the All Covered by Anna Cay Air Blender Sponge (P288) did not disappoint and has become my go-to sponge pretty much ever since I got it.

When I was in high school, we didn’t have any Watsons in my province. The only way to buy makeup was through Avon and Ever Bilena resellers. Because shopping options were limited and so were our allowances, I would see my female batchmates sticking a finger inside their bags, quickly ducking down, then reappearing with red lips and a red-tipped finger.

Bust out the florals because Spring is upon us! Okay, we don’t actually have the four seasons and our current is more of a scorching summer, but that won’t stop us from celebrating the new bits from the beauty world! From MAC’s sakura inspired collection to TheBalm’s quirky new products, we are ready to dive right in. We’ve also got Hermès branching out into makeup (can our wallets take it?) and Kat Von D’s epic mascara, read on!

Since their founding 10 years ago, Human Heart Nature has always had “pro-environment” as one of their core advocacies. They have been following with this with sincere and well-researched environmentalist practices, and are now rolling out with refilling stations. Refilling for their Home Care products is now available at their flagship store along Commonwealth Avenue, and their first mall-based store at SM The Block!

When it comes to French beauty, we tend to think of a low maintenance and effortless chic look - just bright, clear skin with a touch of red lipstick! The IG feeds of French beauty influencers Mathilde Lacombe, Betty Autier, Louise Follain, Jeanne Damas, and makeup artist Violette give us serious #wokeuplikethis goals. How they look so put together without needing to do much lies in the French beauty philosophy of investing in good skincare. Fortunately, many of those pharmacy brands are now available in the Philippines! Here’s a quick list of what you should check out and the cult favorite products for effortlessly beautiful skin.

Catriona Gray may be best known for wowing the world with her lava walk but the current Miss Universe also presented a rather liberal opinion during her Q&A. She voiced her support for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is currently being considered for legalization here in the Philippines.

What does it mean to “get Nekkid”? For local, small-batch beauty company Nekkid Manila, it means stripping down to the basics by focusing on high-quality, hand-made products. It also means going the cruelty-free, vegan/vegetarian, and all-natural route. But while the latter claims probably belong to a broader discussion on labeling, this review will stick to the experience of trying out eight products from their collection.

Hum-hallelujah, Shimmertints have arrived! After a confluence of events (aka popular demand and product development timing), Colourette finally released a new category of their liquid tints: highlighters. After a game-changing experience with their Face Gloss (which is NOT a liquid but a powder designed to look like liquid), and a lovely time with their liquid lipsticks for Valentine’s, I was actually pretty excited to try these new products, especially when I saw that they decided to release four shades! Y’all know I love a bronze glow, too. The best part: each bottle just sells for P349. I tested them for two weeks, and here’s how they fared:

Happy weekend, PV fam! You better make sure to sit down to read this week’s beauty roundup because we’re bringing the best news ever! Read about the latest from ColourPop (it’s so bad, it’s good!) and the affordable glossy lip dupe you’ll want to grab from Ever Bilena. We’ve also got big scoop on Glossier and new candy nail polish to play with. Oh, and Rihanna is bringing back her Body Lava - just in time for summer!

I’m no makeup artist, but I do enjoy doing the occasional makeover! Since I’m still on a Japan high and we have a bunch of Canmake goodies, we decided to do a J-beauty makeover on my fellow PV girl slash (unwilling) model Stacie. Let’s start!

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.

I am currently in Tagaytay for the 3-day Unilever Summit. Yesterday was the first day, and members of the press, social media influencers, vloggers, and bloggers got to know more about the new innovations of Unilever’s different brands. What struck me the most however was the opening program where Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines’ Vice President for Personal Care, talked about how the company aims to be future-fit and purpose-led.

Metro Manila heaves a collective sigh of relief now that water service has resumed to all areas! Apart from the obvious sanitation issues, having no or very limited access to water was especially tortuous since we’re officially in the hot and sunny season. A daily shower is non-negotiable for us Filipinos, and it’s not uncommon for many to bathe twice a day during summer. It’s refreshing and necessary for removing all the dirt and pollution that sticks to our bodies, but have you ever wondered how it affects the health of your skin?