If I can summarize my 2017 in one word, it would be courage. This is the year that the Project Vanity Team and I went out of my comfort zone (such as it were) to go for new things we had never considered before. Project Vanity is more than a blog, as I like to say - it's a community this year more than ever, with the birth of the Project Vanity Community Page on FB and regular live videos that also tie with in-store exclusives and events! 

I was a little surprised to learn that Eye of Horus is actually an indie brand. We’ve featured them extensively on the site and are always blown away by the quality of the items, so it’s easy to assume that there’s a gigantic team of chemists and researchers slaving away to perfect their powerhouse collection of eye enhancers.

But no! The secret to Eye of Horus is the hands-on mother-daughter tandem of Heather and Holly Spierings, who make it their duty to know all about the exotic and health-beneficial oils that they incorporate into the products.

Happy New Year PV Girls! We hope that you all had an amazing Christmas, and starting 2018 with nothing but love, happiness, and loads of beauty! This week’s roundup is nothing short of festive, with peeks at the exciting new developments that await us in the coming year. Riri's latest pout is on the spotlight and we're dropping the bomb on best gray hair rescuer ever (spoiler alert: it only takes 30 minutes!) And because we deserve to start the new year with a bang, it's time to treat yo'self to a bunch of shiny new additions to your stash, thanks to major deals from Sephora, Beauty Bar, and Colourpop! Don't wait 'til midnight, girls, because this beauty ball has already dropped!

I got horribly sick the week before Christmas. Weak and stuck in bed with a high fever, doing my skincare routine was simply out of the question and my skin began acting up. Pimples appeared on my forehead, nose, and chin while a scaly rash spread over my left cheek. By the time I was well enough to get into the groove again, I looked like a hot mess and didn’t have much time to fix my skin before attending various holiday parties.

As a model, Gigi Hadid basically has three places she can call home: her birthplace in Los Angeles, the fashion capital of New York, and her third home: the airplanes that take her to all her exotic work locations! Her collection with Maybelline is inspired by that supermodel lifestyle, and the Philippines is getting an Asia-first look at this ‘coast-to-coast’ makeup collection!

I’ll be honest: I began this assignment with extreme prejudice against a metallic lip, cursing my editor (jk) and the laze-enabling weather. But after a little experimentation, I’m happy to report that I can now consider the metallic lip as a bonafide option in my lip arsenal, thanks to the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolors (P575).

As you read this, I’ll probably be at the mall making a mad dash to finish all my Christmas shopping. Yes, I have once again procrastinated on buying gifts as I have done all the years before, and I finally figured out why: I simply have no idea what to get for some people on my list!

The easiest people to shop for were all my friends who are into beauty as well. My plan was simple: if I want it, they probably would, too! But there are many different types of beauty addictions so if you want to really curate according to what they’re into, here’s a quick easy guide to follow.

The holidays have become a full-on production number with the grand displays of twinkling lights and the thoroughly planned decor themes.  For beauty lovers out there, the holidays take on another layer of fun as this is the most wonderful time of year to get glam, with emphasis on the shimmer and sparkle! Always on the pulse of the season’s trendiest, MAC thinks up a new and exciting way to bling it up with the Snow Ball collection.

People travel to soul-search, take a break from work, and to immerse themselves in a new culture. Why not travel for beauty? Seoul has been touted as the new beauty capital of the world, and it's not hard to see why. K-beauty is on the cutting edge of advancements in beauty, and shopping directly from brand stores (as opposed to online!) makes it possible to do a 10-step routine even on a budget. Beauty shopping is high on the list for any SoKor itinerary but there are a lot more kikay activities available that you shouldn't miss out on!

To gift someone with a fragrance is a move that is both intimate and powerful. It’s a strong statement to make, but nevertheless true. Specific scents are intertwined with memories, like a place you visited in your childhood or the scent of a loved one. So when someone gives you a fragrance to celebrate a joyous occasion or to mark a milestone, the mind builds a connection that links that particular fragrance with the giver and the moment. In short, the gift of scent is a surefire way to make a lasting impression!

For most, the holidays conjure up a sense of wonder and joy. For me, however, the onset of December can only mean one thing: stress. The prospect of having to shop for my considerable list usually gives me tiny panic attacks, which is why I often find myself procrastinating Christmas shopping until the last possible moment... resulting in lackluster gift sets that even I know are destined for the “White Elephant” pile.

A few months ago, my fellow writers Stacie, Tellie, Crystal, and I ordered the Peripera Fashion People Carrier from an online reseller (a steal at just P690 each!). The adorable luggage-design contains five mini items from the Peripera Ink line plus you can choose to get it in pink or yellow, which you can decorate with an adorable sticker set (New York-themed stickers for yellow, Seoul-themed stickers for pink). These aren't just different color lip tints - there's actually an interesting mix of products within and we soon realized we could probably do an entire face with them. So we decided to try it out!

Here at Project Vanity, we love our bags with our outfits - not under our eyes! This tutorial, together with a mix of our daily faves, saves us from carrying all that unwanted baggage. As for the bags that we DO want though, we're all about roomy, sturdy and stylish designs that can add that extra oomph to our OOTDs. This time, we’ve turned our gaze to The School of Satchel brand of quality leather bags for our holiday arm candy.

At a recent talk on entrepreneurship, someone punched me with a tough question: what did I do between starting a personal blog 12 years ago when I was 17 and running my own company today?

Of course I knew what I was doing - freelance writing and then freelance consulting for different brands - but how did that work contribute to what I have now? Freelancing is the foundation of all I’ve achieved and I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had along the way. I learned so much as a freelancer! I thought I’d share five lessons that I apply to my daily life in the hopes that this will make you think about how you work.

Don't you just wish Santa was a real person? Beauty is a fun hobby but collecting products can often cost a pretty penny! As beauty addicts, there are always an item or two (though usually more) on our wish list because they're splurges we still have to save up for. We've been pretty nice this year so in case Santa exists and gets great beauty prices at the North Pole, here's what we're hoping to find under our Christmas trees!

With less than 10 days to Christmas, more and more people are flocking to malls and frantically shopping for last minute gifts. Lucky for us, there’s a special beauty sale that’s happening over the weekend that will have the Kbeauty addict in you singing carols all day long! From exciting buys at a beauty website to Fenty’s new lippies, this week’s roundup will have you feeling all warm and fuzzy. Did we mention Kylie Jenner is getting the chestnut treatment? Yes, there’s some online roasting involved too!

'Tis the season to get dolled up! And with all the Christmas parties popping up this holiday season, we don’t want our faces to look as shiny as the lechon on our plates. Getting a good mattifying powder is key to keeping makeup on fleek even if a party lasts all night long. As an oily-skinned gal on a budget, I tend to keep a lookout for products to help me stay matte so I got very excited with the release of Ever Bilena's Advance Supreme Whitening Compact Powder. At just P249 (introductory price), I don’t need to bust my holiday bonus just to get a good mattifying compact powder!

If you've ever tried to treat your pimples and only made them worse, there may be ingredients in your products that are actually bad for your skin. Before you try any more treatments, check the label and consider avoiding products that contain these potential skin irritants.

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!