I’ve lost count of all the times I’ve done a full face of makeup but forgotten to curl my lashes or apply mascara. My eyes end up looking dead and my makeup uneven. I feel like this is the beauty equivalent of showing up in a fantastic outfit with bare feet, so I’ve taken to packing along a mascara and a curler in my kikay kit! But do you know how difficult it is to comb and curl lashes in a moving vehicle? It’s a (potentially painful) disaster waiting to happen.

With the recent coronation of a new Binibining Pilipinas, Catriona Gray has passed on the title to Gazini Ganados. Of course, Queen Cat continues to reign supreme as Miss Universe (and over our hearts)! Serving look after killer look, Catriona inspired us to take a closer look at the intricacies of pageant makeup. Her bold red lip had the local beauty community scrambling to find out what lipstick she has used, and it’s what led me to visit an unassuming little compound in Quezon City.

When I first saw Esfolio products a few years ago on BeautyMNL, I was intrigued. Like most other Korean skincare brands, they have products that highlight natural ingredients like aloe vera, coconut, green tea, and milk. Upon closer inspection, though, I was surprised to also find skincare favorites like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and collagen. Even more surprisingly, the products were priced very reasonably. They had a LOT of products, too, at over 80 variants! But since I like trying on products before buying, I found myself wishing these products were available not just online but in physical stores, as well.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to create new beauty products from nothing more than a bunch of ideas. Writing about them is one thing but making something new is a whole different ball game! It’s easy to say that a product must be this and this to be perfect. However, there are so many other things to consider like cost of goods, the minimum order, how talented the chemist and how capable the manufacturer is, availability of ingredients, and packaging. Gosh, packaging. You have to think about aesthetics versus functionality and even how the product reacts to the container over time.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics arrived in the Philippines late last year at the freyja concept store in Glorietta. If you don’t frequent Makati, though, the brand has opened a branch at SM Mall of Asia and another inside SM Beauty in Megamall!

And just like that half of the year is done! How crazy is that, PV fam? This week’s beauty roundup will make you look forward to the (near) future even more. The makeup world is turning into a magical one with so many new Disney-inspired collabs, while our wallets are shaking with the opening of an actual Sephora store in the Philippines (yes, really!). Meanwhile, Heart Evangelista is bringing her love for art and makeup together into an exciting new collab that actually has us looking forward to next Monday. Get ready to read up on princesses, the jungle, and an exclusive capsule collection!

Have you ever had a pimple suddenly show up right before an important event? Now, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t usually have acne (because of my dry skin) but I’ve gotten Super Bad Timing Pimples more than a few times! It’s the kind of situation that makes you feel extra desperate to try every single spot treatment available, or maybe even consider popping the pustule with the fervent hope that it doesn’t leave a lasting scar. We all want a quick fix, even just for normal days, because who wants to be seen with pimples?

Foundations used to be the one makeup product that I could live without. For the longest time, I couldn’t find a shade match for my morena skin among the drugstore choices I could afford. I would have given up on foundations completely had I not found my color match at a high-end brand. While brands have been making an effort to be more inclusive with their foundation shade ranges, the same is not always true for lipstick color options. Ever fallen in love with a lipstick shade only to find that it doesn’t work for your skin tone? It’s a little heartbreaking.

As someone with oily and acne-prone skin, I’ve admittedly experimented with my skincare a lot (with the guidance of my derma). I’m convinced that I’ve now found the two skincare must-haves for oily skin: a low pH cleanser and regular exfoliation using acids. While I am admittedly a bit biased because I work for both PV and In Her Element, I never say no to trying Korean brands. I’ve tried the famous TI’AM Signature Red Serum, loved the simple skincare approach of Dear Klair’s, and even stanned for GOT7’s collab with The Face Shop! So when the chance to review Jumiso products came, I was immediately excited and jumped at the opportunity.

We’re down to the last days of the summer! Have you squeezed in a beach trip to your schedule yet? Make sure that you’re keeping yourself protected from the sun by packing your summer skincare essentials, and update your makeup kit with beach-ready products to keep you looking good in vacation photos! If you’re looking for brows that can survive water activities and excessive sweating, I tested six brow products that claim to be long-wearing and waterproof so you don’t have to!

The L’Oreal Infallible makeup line has been such a hit here in the Philippines, where the tropical weather constantly threatens to melt the makeup right off our faces. Their long-wearing makeup formulations have received generally good feedback, and I do think that it lives up to its “Infallible” branding. I actually find myself reaching for the pressed powder and lipstick even when I have more premium choices in my arsenal! It’s easily one of the top makeup lines in its price range, so when YouTubers started buzzing about the new Infallible concealer, I got very curious about trying it for myself.

Hello, sunshine! Time for a little pick-me-up with this week’s beauty roundup. We’ve got the scoop on the latest Sunnies Face baby, a retro makeup collection by Grandma, Jeffree Star’s big reveal, and a fashion blogger’s partnership with a French beauty brand!

The most common makeup mistake that I’ve seen Filipinas make is thick, solid eyebrows that approach a crunchy appearance. I think it’s because many of us learned how to do our eyebrows from YouTube and Instagram beauty gurus, which is fine, except that their makeup is created under bright lighting and filters. In real life though, it can look quite heavy. Keep this in mind when doing your own brows. Whatever happens, the humble spoolie is your best friend! Of course, a good formula that works with your application style is important too.

What do you do to perk up when you’re feeling down? Maybe take extra time with your skincare, put on a cute outfit, or swipe on your favorite lipstick? If you need a visual reminder that you can constantly see, though, I think that manicures are the way to go!

Since SPF is one of the basic tenets of skincare, it’s no surprise that sunscreen is available in a LOT of forms. In the sea of creams, lotions, serums, sticks, and gels, spray-on aerosol sunscreens have become a popular choice. And the appeal is understandable: it’s lightweight on the skin, spill-proof, and easy to use. BUT is it all it’s cracked up to be? Let’s discuss possible issues with aerosol sunscreens, and what we can do to fix them.

When it comes to beauty products, it’s lipstick that always makes me go weak in the knees. I had a phase of obsessing over 70s pale nude matte lips a la Anna Karina in Une Femme est une Femme. I’ve tried to recreate Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s dark glossy lips moment. I double take whenever I spot a lip in bright tangerines, Peggy Carter reds, and anything rosey, regardless of color nuance or finish.

It looks like rain isn’t the only thing pouring in this week. The beauty world has got a ton of new releases, exciting launches, and epic teasers that’ll have you curled up into a ball of joy while sipping on some drama-free tea! This week’s roundup includes Jaclyn Hill’s much-awaited makeup collection (spoiler alert: it’s launching ASAP!), Estee Lauder Philippines’ fresh young endorser, and mask goodies from The Ordinary. We also got deets on a billion-dollar beauty acquisition so get ready for some epic beauty updates!

Happy Skin is most famous for their lipsticks but if you ask me, their face bases are so underrated! I’ve been a fan of their Don’t Get Mad, Get Even foundation line since it launched five years ago. I felt a little sad when they discontinued it, but lucky for us Happy Skin has a sneaky plan in place: they actually replaced DGMGE with a new and improved version called Ready To Glow!

Once upon a time, I was trying the SNOW app and changed the eye color to a slightly lighter brown (and at around 15% opacity) than my natural eye color. Lo and behold, I looked good! GGSS (gandang-ganda sa sarili) vibes aside, it inspired me to finally research on and purchase a pair of colored contact lenses. After consulting with the other PV girls in our group chat, I bit the bullet and settled on 1,100-peso FreshKons at Eyecrafts. I mistakenly followed someone’s advice to get green lenses though (the rationale being that green made a lighter brown whereas a brown made a redder brown) and ended up with, what else, green eyes.