Just as KBeauty is starting to take a stronghold in the Philipines, we welcome another new KBeauty brand: L.O.C.K. Color Cosmetics! The packaging is fun and quirky, with anime-like characters and modern cityscapes adorning the matte black boxes; it looks like it was geared for a younger, hip audience.

Normally, expectations are lowered with this kind of marketing. Younger people don’t need hard-working makeup because they have better skin - that’s just fact. Still, every little swatch changed my mind and I can’t wait to tour you guys around the products! 

Patrick Simondac, who we know as the fabulous Youtube beauty guru PatrickStarrr, admits that his journey was full of guilt. He was the son of Filipino immigrants who wanted him to go for a traditional job. It was difficult for such a non-traditional person to both make his fantasies real and be a ‘good example’ to his two brothers. “[When I was] 14 or 15, when I was shaping my identity, [it] was really hard because my parents wanted me to do one thing and I was fighting so hard,” he recounts over our interview.

Let's get one thing straight: anybody can live a fulfilling and happy life without a luxurious jar of Creme De La Mer or a sexy bottle of Tom Ford perfume. Luxury beauty is not necessary for day-to-day survival nor can it dramatically change your life - never mind the price tag, they are not magical spells from a wizard's grimoire. That goes the same for organic beauty and essential oils by the way, so let's not get too excited.

So what's the point of luxury beauty then? Why should we buy them?

Loose pigments are what I could class as ‘intermediate’ cosmetics. They’re intensely versatile, but can get pretty intimidating and require some practice to learn – which isn’t to say today isn’t the day to start trying!

Loose pigments are worth adding to your arsenal, especially if you love doing looks that require great color payoff. I personally love using loose pigments, and I’ve amassed a mini vault of Ellana Minerals Loose Multipurpose Pigments (P299 each, ellanacosmetics.com). As a professional makeup artist, having these in my kit allows me to do more creative looks but even a regular makeup junkie can benefit from adding loose mineral pigments in her collection. Want show-stopping highlights or richly-pigmented eyeshadow looks? Loose pigments are the way to go!

From the launch of an inclusive 40-shade foundation from Fenty to new K-beauty brands opening their doors locally, 2017 was indeed a fruitful year for beauty here in the PH. We also got to see some interesting trends; some have already come and gone but there are a few that look like they'll be here for an extended stay! 

With love songs playing everywhere and girls proudly showing off bouquets, it might easy to feel a little left out on Valentine's Day. As an “NBSB” (no boyfriend since birth), I know that I do. Still, over my twenty-odd years of flying solo, I’ve learned it’s best not to listen to those “single blues!” Instead, fill your mind with words of wisdom from these fabulously independent women who'll show you how to celebrate love even if you aren’t necessarily in love!

Today I turn 30. I've never been one to put much significance on age, or even birthdays, but there's something about being alive for three full decades that calls to meaning. I don't feel old at all - gosh, am I only really 30? - but I do feel just a little more grounded and blessed with clarity. Such as it were.

My friend asked recently, "How did you know that it was going to work out?" She is thinking about starting her own business and felt unsure about how to get it off the ground. She was asking me how I knew to price In Her Element (my company's skincare brand) and why even do skincare in the first place. 

Don't let the name intimidate you. While the use of acids for chemical exfoliation is best reserved for skincare geeks, there is an acid that even beginners can safely add to their regimen! Hyaluronic acid is an ingredient often found in skincare products, and it's common enough that most of us have probably tried it already. Besides, did you know that it's already inside our bodies?

Despite the abundance of heat and humidity in our country, there are people like me who worry about looking tuyot. Persistently dry or dehydrated skin cracks, folds, and doesn’t tend to smooth back out, thus making us look older than we really are. I’ve had really bad days when insufficient skincare and dry foundation formulas have made me look wrinkly and washed out. While I know that aging is inevitable, it's not fun looking twice your actual age!

Aging concerns are real for people like me who have dry and/or dehydrated skin so the Revlon Youth FX line is aimed at addressing just that.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

I always have the best of gifting intentions when the holidays roll in. I love the idea of picking out unique gifts for family and friends, lovingly wrapping each one, and adding a special decoration to make my gifts stand out from the rest. BUT what really happens every year is that I always run out of time to execute my grand plans, and end up doing last-minute shopping and hasty gift-wrapping!

Korean beauty is all the rage these days. From their 10-step skincare routine to the trending straight eyebrows, we sure get some beauty envy watching our favorite K-drama stars with their bright skin and natural glow! Fans like myself are hopping on the K-train to get closer to even skin tones and smoother complexions. Enter Seoul White Korea, a new brand that promises more even skin for Filipinos.

Pinay beauty lovers rejoiced when Sephora.ph went live last year! Since then, they have slowly started bringing in well-loved brands from the US Sephora such as Too Faced, Kat von D, Marc Jacobs, Hourglass, Fresh, and most recently, Natasha Denona. And while we are ever so grateful to finally have these brands within our reach, we can’t help but wish that Sephora would bring in these brands, too!