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!

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!