Not to be outdone by other countries, we Pinays have our fair share of beauty secrets and hacks we swear by. One of our fave budget beauty tips is using baby powder or talcum powder. For many of us, it was a kind of initiation into becoming dalaga, being the only kind of "makeup" that strict high schools allowed for wear. Affordable, multipurpose, and effective, it's something that still finds its way into our kits!

When we think about "multi-tasking makeup", what usually comes to mind are full face palettes and lip & cheek tints. These are definitely great space savers that give more bang for your buck, but I think the true workhorse of any kit is the concealer. To demonstrate just how flexible this one product is, I asked my fellow PV girls to share their favorite concealer hack using Pink Sugar's Our Lil' Secret Concealer. At just P349, this pocket-friendly tube can do more than just brighten the undereye area and cover light blemishes! Here it is in action.

Who’s ready for another HOT roundup? We’re turning up the heat on some of the beauty world’s most exciting deals and steals! From Pink Sugar’s FIRST EVER Summer Sale to Happy Skin’s summer-proof makeup, you'll have plenty of options for updating your makeup collection without hurting your wallet. There's a multi-billion (!) dollar deal with a K-beauty brand that has us hoping, and Kat Von D's reveal of a decadent anniversary collection is making all of us swoon. It’s time to get hot and heavy for beauty!

Confession time: I’ve been plagued by stretch marks on my butt and thighs for years and years. Though they don't usually bother me, I get conscious about wearing swimsuits and opt for styles that feature shorts and skirts. I was resigned to hiding them forever until I heard about Strip Manila's newest offering: a laser procedure called Strip White.

Fresh has been around for a while (since 1991 to be precise), but I only got to try the brand when it finally became available at Sephora Philippines last year. I swiftly fell in love with the its focus on naturally-derived active ingredients that are not just mere afterthoughts; I can see how clean and tight the formulations are. Fillers are used sparingly - the price tag reflects that - which means that you get exactly what is promised.

This is no April Fools’ joke, PV girls. This week’s roundup has got the scoop on all things beauty and it’s insanely good! From Too Faced’s epic summer-appropriate sexy kit, to BLK Cosmetics going for hallyu glam, we’ve got kits, new-ins, and a Hollywood celebrity who’s jumping on that beauty bandwagon and possibly coming out with her own makeup line! Excited? I know we are! 

The month of March celebrates Women's Month and many beauty brands held splendid sales to commemorate the occasion. Apart from these treats, there were events for women to come together and feel more empowered, including the BDJ Women’s Summit at Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier.

In an era where chok chok beauty dominates social media and glass skin has become the golden standard, more and more people are joining the skincare craze. As much as we want to try out every product that catches our eye though, we all know that building a skincare routine can really burn a hole in our pockets! Though there’s not much we can do about the product prices (except maybe pray for sales), there are other ways in making sure we make informed investments!

How was your Holy Week break, PV girls? Hope you got to reflect on what’s important, enjoy the company of friends and family, and treat yourself to some much needed rest and relaxation. If you're feeling meh about being back on the grind, spend a few minutes with PV as we dish on another roundup of all things beauty. K-Beauty fans should not miss the latest update on the Etude House product recall, while the beach-bound may want to pick up a bottle of Happy Skin’s latest summer addition. Our girl Riri will make sure we can all enjoy a summer glow without the risk of sunburn, and Kim K continues to find new ways to be in our vanity with an epic collab. Let’s read up on all things beauty!

Some weeks back, there was a lot of buzz on social media about Nadine Lustre launching her own makeup line with Australian brand BYS. With practically no photos of the actual products and just a few teasers on an Instagram account, all I could back then was stalk the hashtag #LustrousPH and hope for more details before pre-ordering the Limited Lustrous Box Makeup Kit for P2,999. I've been a fan of Nadine since Diary ng Panget and the phenomenal teleserye, On The Wings of Love so it only felt right to add something of hers to my vanity. And so, I slid into Lustrous PH’s DMs.

When it comes to hair styling products, Eva NYC has been a pretty reliable brand since they came out in 2012. Their Hungry Hair Oil Treament received good reviews for dry hair, and Kim had a great experience with the Healthy Heat Ceramic Styling Iron. While I’m mostly a wash-and-go kind of girl when it comes to my hair, there are days I do need to be a little more polished than usual. Hair products in spray form are easiest to apply, and you can find one for every kind of hair concern. Here's what I got to try for my low-maintenance requirements:

This isn’t your Lola’s beauty routine! Or is it? When you’re young and getting into kikay things for the first time, you tend to go hard on trends and do a lot of crazy experiments in the name of staying on-point with your beauty game. But once you’ve had the time to find what practices and products work for your skin and your comfort zone, you also develop confidence in your unique approach to beauty! I wanted to know what women of a certain age prefer when it comes to beauty so I reached out to five Lolas to raid their stash! 

If you're part of a Facebook beauty group, chances are you saw the viral post of a Staedtler pencil (used for drawing) was used as eyebrow pencil. While most people might be amused then dismiss it as another crazy hack, I was reminded of an old Get It Beauty episode that featured the famous Korean makeup artists Son Daesik and Park Taeyoon of Son&Park fame. They talked about how they actually use Prismacolour Ebony Pencils for drawing eyebrows!

Fellow writer Kristel (who was based in Seoul for a time) has also mentioned seeing this art material in Olive Young stores and its popularity among Koreans beauty fans - they consider this to be the perfect gray brow pencil. As someone who likes to sketch in her spare time, I was intrigued by this concept so dipped into my pencil case of art materials and decided to try it for myself!

About five years ago, pastels, vibrant purples, and neon greens were just hair colors of fantasy characters, or rock stars, or the token ‘cool’ Asian in movies. Maybe you’d see someone with burgundy (but almost brown) hair once in a while, but in general we stuck to our blacks and browns. Fast-forward to today where non-neutral hair color is almost (but not quite) commonplace, especially in art communities and schools that allow it. Lightening and coloring hair used to be really intimidating since products need to be mixed and often had to be sourced online.

Nowadays, we have better access to these "crazy colors", with brands like Sparks becoming available in SM Beauty. If you've been curious to try it out, take advantage of the summer break and this DIY guide to have some fun with color!

I have a confession to make: I look forward to all sorts of hair grooming sessions. Brow threading dates, waxing appointments, diode laser hair removal sessions – these to me are precious me-time, self care activities. When I started tracking my expenses though, I realized just how costly these services were! So while I can’t do the latter two by myself, facial hair grooming seemed a good DIY candidate to help me save a few bucks.

Looking forward to getting some rest and recreation in the upcoming holidays? Let's get it started with the most colorful beauty roundup! We’ve got the latest buzz on Glamglow’s newest masks and, spoiler alert: they’re freaking adorable! Check out how L’Oreal can help even out your hair color and hide those pesky grays in mere seconds. Did we mention Althea’s newest setting powder shade? Have a read on what exactly you should be buzzing about in the beauty department!

Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t believe in using face primers. It seemed like an unnecessary step and additional expense, until finally trying one made me do a complete 180! Once addicted, I ended up collecting  different kinds of primers: pore-filling, oil-controlling, moisturizing, brightening, color-correcting, and even ones with SPF. You see, I have sensitive combination skin so I cycle through these primers according to how my skin looks and feels like when I wake up. Sometimes, I even end up using different primers on targeted areas of my face!

So I was excited to discover that BYS had three new face primers in rather interesting variants: one for oily skin, one with hydrating pearls, and yet another with gold flakes. The pearls and gold flakes are particularly unique in my perspective, so I was very curious to give these a try.

Hair, as they say, is your crowning glory. Great hair can really be a nice finishing touch to an A-game face but when it comes to my curls, I find its best to leave them alone. Before I learned to love them, I went through the whole phase of getting them rebonded regularly and using a straightening iron to remove any kinks. I use gentle shampoo formulas, conditioners and a lot of hair treatments to keep them in good shape, but I never brush my hair!  

When a makeup brand is known for quality products that are easy on the budget, they immediately jump to the top of my must-try list. US-based Palladio Beauty is known for their botanical and vitamin-infused cosmetics, which they've been making since 1985! Their makeup products have a reasonable price point and excellent color choices. And the best news – the brand is now available at Watsons and SM Beauty!

It’s been another crazy week for the beauty world and we can’t help but be super excited for all the news that’s coming in! From one of our favorite athletes possibly launching a gigantic beauty line, to Kim Kardashian-West’s new concealer kits, we’ve got the tea on all things fab and fun! Plus, we'll tell you how to score a summer beauty loot while staying in budget. Here we go!