When you have the perfect outfit, flawlessly-applied makeup, and the right accessories to match, all you need is a fragrance for the finishing touch! Aside from making you smell good, scents are also a means of self-expression. It can enhance your mood and help you to create the right impression. Thankfully, those who don’t want to spend a whole lot of money for a scent will find that there are good options in Blackwater Fragrances.

Thanks to the popularity of the 10-step Korean skincare routine, we are definitely learning to pay more and more attention to our body’s biggest organ and how to properly care for it. Many a beauty girl can reel off the various actives, acids, and -ides to look for to solve problems such as dark spots, fine lines, dry skin, and more. But while DIY-ing one’s personal skincare has never been easier, nothing quite beats medical advice, especially for more serious concerns such as milia, allergies, or premature signs of skin aging. In a sense, it’s like comparing WebMD to a visit with the doctor: the former may be useful for minor or short-term issues, but when facing major crises or long-term maintenance, you’re better off going in for that physical checkup.

I first fell in love with the facial masks from Origins at their Mask Madness party, where I got to try their best-selling the skin-smoothing Original Skin and pore-cleaning Clear Improvement masks. Both are fantastic wash-off formulas but as I've gotten used to a Korean-type skincare regimen, I wanted a sheet mask that I could apply at the end of my routine and just leave on. My wish came true with the arrival of the Origins Flower Fusion sheet masks!

Here's the thing: it's not fair that only us girls get to use makeup to make ourselves feel good. I believe anyone should be able to use makeup to uplift their spirits and help them feel more confident! If a guy has blemishes or dark circles that are deducting from his pogi points or making him look haggard, why makeup-shame him for using concealers?

If my memory serves me right, the first nude lipstick I ever bought was the Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Mauvey. This was almost a decade ago. Bright pink was the color to wear and nude was normally an unflattering sickly color on Filipina skin tones, but Mauvey was different. It was satisfyingly nude but without the dead zombie look. At less than P150 back then, I got to try a color I wouldn't have experimented with at any other price point!

I've been writing about beauty products for close to ten years now. I have what may be a surprising confession though: I give no fucks about my nails. Sure I have moods when I want to put on nail polish and get a ~gasp~ mani-pedi, but that's once in a blue moon. Nails aren't my thing. Most of the time they are half-bitten and my cuticles are dead wastelands of despair.

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!

Eye cream is like sunscreen. You don't know you need it, until you notice your skin showing the abuse! Your skin responds to the stress you place upon it, your habits, the environment you move in, and the food you eat. You can't expect it to be the same forever - you can only manage the natural aging process. It's beautiful and I believe that everybody should own it, but that doesn't mean you should not care enough to manage your skin as it ages.

Now one of the most requested products from us is eye cream. We did surveys and focused group discussions, and we learned Project Vanity community (you!) wanted something that can multi-task at a good price point.

After teasing us for weeks, Sephora PH finally has Hourglass Cosmetics live on site. Fans of the brand as well as those who are curious about all the raves can shop online and get it on their doorstep in three days*! Sephora also offers cash on delivery (you pay when you get it) so you don't need a credit card or separate payment service if you prefer not to use them.

ANYWAY. I've been using the Hourglass products that Sephora sent me for a couple of weeks now, and here are my swatches and first impressions!

I literally gasped in awe when I first saw the teasers and previews on the fifth installment to the Naked palettes of Urban Decay. I’ve always wanted to get the first and third Naked palettes, which were warm and rose-toned respectively, but I never had enough of an urge (and moneh) to actually purchase. Naked Heat was different - there was something about it that I just couldn't resist!

When we did a feature on the PV staff's kikay kits last year, I was honestly shocked by how much stuff I lug around. Having a lot of options (and being ready to do a face at a moment's notice) feels reassuring but if you carry so much in your purse on the daily, the unnecessary weight can give you some serious back pain!

So we decided to do an edit and challenge ourselves: what are the products that we absolutely must have in our kits at all times?

It’s easy to see why fragrance is such a personal matter. While the (happy!) reality is that there are simply too many available locally to count, there is also the matter of trying to find a scent that sets you apart from others while simultaneously suiting your personality and current mood.

A lot of new products hit the stores this week so make sure to drop by their counters if you're malling this weekend. Clinique has a new collab out, Aerin arrives in Manila, Happy Skin is giving brides-to-be have yet another reason to glow and look blooming, while Kim K is expanding her makeup empire with a teaser on her newest product. Read up and enjoy the weekend, PV girls!

"Affordable" and "quality" are probably our two favorite words to associate with a beauty brand. LA-born J.Cat Beauty fits the bill as it offers excellent formulas and colors for a reasonable price! On top of being cruelty-free, the brand has been drawing praise from beauty gurus like Michelle Phan and Desi Perkins. J.Cat Beauty has already opened branches in Uptown Mall BGC last year as well as in Ayala Malls Vertis North, and they recently opened their Gateway branch with a bang! They introduced their brand ambassadors as the #MakeupKittens, which is composed of Arci Muñoz, KC Del Rosario, Jessica Yang, and Jach Manere!

Have you ever experienced being told that wearing makeup will ruin your skin? It's something I've heard older people say, and honestly, I can't blame them for thinking this way. Before there were laboratories, technological advances, and actual cosmetic chemists that formulate the makeup we use today, people just used whatever was available and looked good. For example, both the Japanese geisha and Queen Elizabeth I used lead to whiten their faces!

The destination might be exciting, but it’s not that fun sitting through a 7+ hour flight once you're stewing in your seat. You're jetlagged from the time-difference, your skin gets dehydrated from the dry cabin air, and you feel tired and cramped because let's face it - those chairs in Economy aren't designed with your beauty sleep in mind. It's a challenge to somehow look and feel anything but shitty when you disembark but it's not impossible! Here are six tips to help you and your skin survive that long-haul flight!

Skincare can be a bit daunting with all this talk about 10-step routines, but the truth is no one ever starts with 10 steps. A good routine starts with only a handful of products and the most basic of steps until you work your way up to figuring out your skin's individual needs. Only then do skin-specific steps like serums, ampoules, and acids come in.

It helps to figure out your skin type first. The four basic skin types that pertain to sebum production are normal, dry, oily, and combination.

The road to running my own company at 28 was an unexpected one. I always thought I’d be working a corporate job for most of my life and maybe finally running my own business when I retire. But things didn’t quite work out the way I planned! It’s challenging and often exhausting, but I honestly can’t imagine my life any other way - and it was all because of blogging.