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!

I am fascinated by how beauty brands are born. The best ones are more than just a business - they are made by passionate people who have something special to share to the world. That's why Natasha Denona is a brand to watch. The founder, for which the brand takes its name, is a former model who decided to become a self-taught makeup artist. Just hearing her talk about her passion for makeup and the artistry that it requires is so inspiring! She particularly enjoys doing editorial, high-voltage looks that packs a lot of color.

Ah, the holidays. Carols are playing on the radio, tinsel and ornaments hang everywhere, and traffic is overwhelming. The current state of our streets and malls might rob even the most festive person of the Christmas spirit. Thankfully, online shopping giants like Zalora and Lazada can mean that gift hunting doesn’t have to involve burning through a tank of gas and the last of your patience!

As we count down the days to Christmas, I can’t help but think about all the amazing launches that have happened this year. From breakthroughs in beauty to fabulously Fenty-fied feeds, it’s been a good year for makeup and skincare. And although it’s already December, the fun still isn’t over! For this week’s roundup, we’ve got everything from Happy Skin’s new venture, Kylie's “highly requested” makeup launches, and an awesome promo from Althea Korea! Read on and find out what else is in store for you this holiday season!

There are many exciting innovations in skincare today to the point that you can see an immediate effect overnight. This is why it's easy to pass over heritage brands like Cetaphil but I would like to argue the opposite: Cetaphil is, in fact, more relevant than ever for us skincare junkies. It has stood the test of time for 70 years because it's more than just your average skincare line. Cetaphil's philosophy centers around therapeutic skincare - skincare that is formulated specifically for people with compromised skin.

If you ask me, it is my genuine belief that makeup palettes are the gateway drug to starting a makeup stash. Finding a reasonably priced palette that contains a lovely mix of shares and/or all the products you'd need for a proper #FOTD is just the thing that fires up your imagination. How many different looks can you come up with? Isn't it great that you can tote so many options in one nifty container? It's definitely worth going for, even if you’re already more of a hoarder than a beginner building a collection. A cleverly curated palette seems like the perfect excuse to add another prize to your collection!

It’s extremely easy to fall into the deep, dark abyss of beauty tricks (mostly because they’re in every beauty page on Facebook and Reddit). I’m all for making my beauty routine easier but there are just hacks that make me go “been there, done that, never going back.” And I’ll tell you why.

For the longest time, Bangkok has been the buzzword for temple-hopping, cheap shopping, and beach holidays. So, when my gay best friend and I visited for a much-needed break, I had to check out the local beauty scene and find out where Thai girls get their beauty fix. If you're planning a trip to the City of Angels (after all that’s what Bangkok’s Thai name means) over the holidays or in time for summer, here are the places you should check out!

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!

Despite having known it for a while now, I still can't get over how Kanebo is over a hundred years old! Our editor Liz has even toured the Kanebo and Kao Museum, which traces the brand's history to its roots as a textile production company in 1887! The secret to the Japanese heritage brand's longevity lies in its ability to combine traditions that are known to work and trends that excite. For autumn of 2017, Kanebo is releasing a huge collection in the Philippines once more. And what's extra exciting is that it will beef up the local selection, as they only entered the Philippines in 2011!

Now, before you get thoroughly scandalized, the only "exposure" you'll see here are those of our most-abused makeup! "Pan porn" is a popular description for makeup products that you've literally hit pan on from regular usage, thus exposing the shiny metal bottom. It's titillating for us PV girls because it's a totally justifiable excuse for us to go out and buy some new makeup! (Am I right or am I right?)

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.

Hello, December! With Christmas fast approaching, more and more brands have gift-worthy beauty drops that have us torn between shopping for our lists or ourselves. With this week’s roundup all wrapped up in a bow, you won't be short for gift ideas! Fenty Beauty’s exciting new addition is now available in the PH, and we're dying to find out what the mysterious teaser from Happy Skin means. What we do know is the secret to Kim K's (literal) head to toe sparkle, plus a much easier way to shop for gifts!

Face masking junkies know how expensive the, erm, hobby can get. Sure, a 50 to 80-peso sheet mask doesn't sound like a lot of money, but considering that each mask is only good for a single use (unless you know some creative hacks) and if you like to mask more than once a week, the habit becomes quite expensive! That's why I recommend getting monthly mask packs instead. Getting 30+ sheets in one go saves you a lot more money in the long run, plus you get to mask every day or as often as you please.