Editor’s Note: Before Buwan ng Wika ends, we want to celebrate a Filipino language that has risen in popularity in recent years - Swardspeak! More popularly known as Bekinese or Bekimon, this gay lingo has also become common in the beauty world, especially with the arrival of the Vice Ganda brand. A glossary of terms has been included below for those who are not familiar with the terminology. We hope you enjoy this article as much as we did producing it!

Long before I’d jumped on the K-Beauty hypetrain, I was already a big fan of The Face Shop. Their Lovely Me:Ex Angel Skin Powder Pact was my first upgrade from drugstore pressed powders (and still holds a soft spot in my heart for its finely-milled, soft-matte finish). I still hold their My Lips Eat Cherry Aqua Tint as one of the gold standards for Korean lip and cheek tints: viscous enough to not be messy and bleed into my teeth, as other, more watery tints are apt to do. I’ve grown to be such a fan of their products that, despite being on no-buy, I can’t resist at least taking a peek when I pass by their stores, excited to see what new products or deals are on offer.

Kathryn Bernardo, to me, is the epitome of gandang polbo and lip tint. While I have not followed her body of work as an actress, I am a huge fan of her face and have admired her beauty journey through the years. In many past interviews, both she and her go-to celebrity makeup artist, Denise Go-Ochoa, would emphasize how little makeup Kathryn actually wears. She prefers to wear little to no foundation and would often stress the importance of good skin. Her signature makeup look consists of dewy skin, straight brows, defined lashes, flushed cheeks, and just a hint of lip color.

Picture this: You’re getting un-ready after a horribly hectic day of rushing deadlines, running on coffee, fast food, and three hours of sleep. You change out of your clothes and pass out on your bed. No ceremonies, no frills - understandable after a rough day! The next morning though, you wake up to find makeup on your pillowcase and new pimples on your face. It’s a sucky start to what already feels like another sucky day, but it could have been avoided with just a bit of self-care.

When local brands claim to be local, we expect it to mean that they are proudly made in the Philippines. But this isn't always the case. Their teams and concepts originate from the Philippines but manufacturing the actual products is a different story entirely. They go to Taiwan, China, Korea, Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia to bring their concepts to life. Why is this?

Raise your hand if you own more makeup and skincare than you know what to do with! I’m sure I’m not alone in this! I always thought that beauty was a great collector hobby to get into, since you can use and enjoy your purchases instead of simply putting them on display. Like any collection, we carefully create our beauty wardrobes to be filled with products that we love and can’t live without. And to make sure that we never run out, we get backups! Whether it’s by taking advantage of sales or friends traveling abroad, there are things we PV girls just need to stock up on:

Are you excited for another long weekend ahead? I know I am! Let’s you all get settled and relaxed for the next three days with a beauty roundup that has gotten us planning our next vacay, vamping up our skincare, and thinking about growing out our locks. Oh yes, we’re dishing on blk’s travel-inspired lipstick collection, ColourPop’s sister skincare line, Chanel’s bold move into the realm of male beauty products, and BeautyMNL’s latest Kardashian-approved product. We’re also shocked and saddened to say goodbye to a beauty icon - we didn’t see that coming!

You’ve said “yes” to the dress, blinged out your shoes, scheduled your facials, and decided on whether to book a makeup artist or do your own makeup for the big day. A must-add to your wedding prep list: get your nails did! Aside from being a great way to relax from all the stress of wedding planning (and I KNOW that there are many!), your digits are actually going to be photographed to show off your new bling so you want to make sure that they look every inch as polished as the rest of you!

While we know Elizabeth Arden mostly for its feminine fragrances (White Tea remains a personal favorite since trying it last year), they’re not one to be left behind on color cosmetics and skincare.

The introduction of the SUPERSTART Skin Renewal Booster has inspired a full-on SUPERSTART collection. This collection features skincare technology that focuses on improving the radiance and appearance of the skin’s topmost layer, the stratum corneum. The line heavily features probiotics, which aims to strengthen skin’s own natural defenses leaving your skin feeling resilient and refreshed.

Here's a fact of life: women don't buy lipstick because they need one. They buy because of the way it makes them feel. We tend to pick up our bullet of the day because of our mood or even according to who we want to be like; is it chic and elegant, sexy and hot, smart and practical? The permutations are endless, which is why lipstick is one of the easiest beauty products to sell even in an already crowded market. We can't have too much of it because we assign a unique and personal value to each of our carefully chosen shades.

The only thing spooky about this ghost month is the fact that it’s almost over. We’ve got a bunch of fun beauty discoveries plus a little bit of drama, too! This week, we’ve got the scoop on which actress is currently under fire for her controversial new collection, as well as deets on the super cute paint pots that we’re piling onto our (online) shopping carts. We’re also turning up the wattage on our glow game with hot drops from NikkieTutorials and Laura Mercier,

I often think that we expect too much from beauty influencers. We form a bond with them as they share the innermost details of not just their skincare and makeup routines, but their lives. We believe them when they rave about a product, or discard it as not worth anybody's money. We trust them to look out for our beauty and happiness but at the end of the day, they are just normal people too. They say or do shitty things that they regret afterwards and they are just as flawed as the next person on the street - only more glamorous with the perfect cat eye, of course!

I was sooooo excited to try the Mega Mushroom line formulated by Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins, since the products are specifically for people with sensitive skin. Formulated with a blend of “soothing” mushrooms, with the Reishi Mushroom as the active ingredient, Origins claims that the line helps “calm sensitivity and irritation, boost resilience and reduce visible redness.”

How true are these claims? I tested three products in two months: the Mega Mushroom Skin Relief Face Cleanser, Soothing Treatment Lotion, and Soothing Face Cream, since even skincare products that claim they’re perfect for sensitive break me out or make me itch.

Kérastase Philippines just launched a new haircare line, Kérastase Résistance Extentioniste, as their first hair program designed to optimize and reinforce the length of damaged hair. It features Creatine-R Complex, a natural amino acid that is usually found in workout supplements. It is meant to improve strength, increase muscle mass and help muscles recover quicker during exercise. Recherche Avancée L’Oréal Research Institute has harnessed this technology to create a ‘training program’ for hair that will strengthen and reinforce hair’s internal structure, which is supposed to assist in uninterrupted lengthening.

This line claims to induce hair growth of up to 4cm in just 3 months of consistent use. Average hair growth is at 1cm per month, but if you’re impatient about growing your hair like I am, the product promise has definitely gotten me intrigued!

From being ‘Jenny from the block’ to becoming a film actress, Jennifer Lopez has always worked in front of the camera. For the first time ever, she’s stepped behind the scenes to collaborate with European cosmetics brand Inglot to create a massive 70-piece collection that is now available here in the PH!

One of my major beauty pet peeves is chipped nail polish. I hate seeing it on people, most of all on myself! There are only a few things more shabby than sporting chipped nails. The whole point of a manicure is to, well, look manicured and tattered nail polish makes the point entirely moot. Either you wear it neatly or you don't.

Move over, Japan and South Korea: the newest beauty destination is Taiwan! I’ve been a big fan of Asian Beauty (AB) for a while now, and now the latest trend is moving towards the direction of our northern neighbor. What makes Taiwanese products so exciting is that they offer advanced research, technical expertise, and premium formulations at very reasonable prices, which is obviously a win-win for savvy beauty addicts. Luckily, we needn’t look too far or request for pasabuy to get our dose of Taiwanese Beauty!

Hope you’re all staying warm and dry despite the weather! No matter how dark and dreary it can get outside, you can expect to enjoy all things bright and beautiful in the beauty world. There’s a British invasion that we’re seriously looking forward to, and an “all in one” brow product that promises to bring us closer to kilay perfection. Teen Queen Kathryn Bernardo’s new beauty collab will have beauty lovers of all ages giddy with excitement, and of course we’re drooling over the new lippie shades from Pat McGrath! Are you ready for this?

I started blogging in 2005, 13 years ago, on my first year of college. I wrote about my observations at university, I postured at poetry, and tried to engage in philosophical discourse. If you ever find that blog, please forgive me for I was but a wee young Political Science student who aspired to become a lawyer one day and didn't know better with her provincial pretensions. Nevertheless, back then, I was a "serious" blogger. Imagine how slightly ashamed I was to start Project Vanity in 2008 - a beauty blog. Of all things.

We’re no strangers to the caliber of Ellana Cosmetics, which is why we’re always in the middle of surprised and not surprised when they launch new material. This time, they’re expanding to more complexion products, hitting the sweet spot of quality and accessibility (as usual). We got to test a bunch of new products: from setting powders, to setting sprays, to makeup removers. Plus! New Lip in Luxe shades in new packaging. How do these people do it???

Let’s see how they fare.