Since puberty I’ve had to deal with painful, cystic acne and the deep pitted scars they’d leave in their wake. It was a long journey but these days I wake up with clear skin - a vast improvement from just a few years ago. I still have some scars but they’re on their way out. I even stopped wearing foundation recently!

The difference between then and now was a PCOS diagnosis, and learning to avoid foods that trigger it.

If you clicked on this then, like me, you probably enjoy looking through someone’s kikay kit. Some people might call it nosy; I call it curiosity! After all, isn’t it fun to discover someone’s favorite products through their makeup bags? It’s also quite exciting when you find out that someone owns a product you also love.

I’ve been using the Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense since last year and I love it. It’s lightweight and doesn’t dry my skin, so it was especially useful during my travels when the weather is cooler! It wears well under makeup and never makes my skin feel greasy during the day. Recently, I’ve been trying out the Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Aqua Gel SPF 50 PA++++ (P2,100 /30ml or P3,100 / 60ml from the Kiehl’s PH website) which is supposedly an even lighter version. So is it better?

There’s so much happening in the world that it feels like the sixth year of 2020 rather than the sixth month. We all have our own ways of coping. The way I do it is by remembering that I still have power. I can’t control what goes on externally but I have a choice on how it affects me and what I’m going to do about it.

From a beauty perspective, one of the ways I exercise choice is through my purchases. Through everything that happened this year, let’s not forget that SMEs are the hardest hit businesses. We all know and love Ellana, Colourette, Pink Sugar and our own In Her Element but here’s a list of local small businesses with products that you might have overlooked!

If you’re working from home for the foreseeable future and are in video calls day in and day out, you might be thinking about getting a ring light. Lighting is everything when it comes to looking presentable online, after all! However, if you don’t want to spend on a fancy rig, I’ve got a super easy DIY solution for you that you can source from the hardware store and/or the department store and do in five minutes. Let’s go!

Many beauty lovers temporarily put the makeup away in favor of renewed vigor for baking and skincare when summer 2020 was “canceldt” due to the pandemic. Admittedly, I went down the same path, in addition to doubling my efforts in balcony vegetable gardening! Even during the intense heat and lagkit though, my dry skin is still a high-maintenance piece of work that gets exacerbated by the frequent baths and hand washing. Here’s what works for me - my current hot-weather skincare routine that’s preventing my face from getting as leathery as the backs of my hands.

My first bout with tretinoin was not a good one. In fact, it caused me my first trip to the dermatologist. I was in middle school and suffering from acne. And since I was a teen who didn’t know any better and would pick at my pimples, I ended up with many dark scars or hyperpigmentation! I would constantly look for quick ways to get rid of the marks. Out of curiosity, I tried using Maxi Peel’s #3 Exfoliant Solution (because I was a badass - don’t be like me) after seeing ads about it.

It’s tough for beauty businesses to keep going during the pandemic, but Ellana Cosmetics was fast to adapt and create a new line of products despite drastic limitations during the lockdown. They were actually able to come out with new soaps and sanitizers in April! I’ll review those next time, but today I’d like to show you the new Ellana Mood Mask Washable Face Mask (P199) which is currently available in their website.

Imagine your hair brush riddled with hair after every brushing. Or when your shower drain gets clogged from way too much hair each time you shampoo. This became my story post-partum. I would even wake up to the sound of my husband vacuuming beside our bed because there are strands everywhere and our baby likes to pick them up. Now my doctor did advise me that some hair fall is to be expected after giving birth, so I wasn’t initially worried about the amount I’m losing. But of course, I did not want to lose as much if I can help it!

Yesterday Happy Skin released the Fresh Morning Dew Collection, which aims to deliver a fuss-free fresh face that’s comfortable to wear during the crazy hot summer. I find this collection tight and well-conceptualized; if you don’t like spending a lot of time on makeup, hate the makeup-y feeling on skin, and love to use flattering multi-use colors, then this line-up is made for you.

Let’s take a look!

In one sense, quarantine has been “easy.” But in another sense, it hasn’t been. Here I will once again acknowledge my special circumstances: I am mentally ill, and my condition comes with depressive and anxious episodes. But even if I wasn’t a “clinical case,” the COVID-19 situation has produced feelings of fear and powerlessness - of being able to only watch through a screen as the world as we know falls apart - that have been incredibly difficult to push past.

It is a fact that beauty products are not essential to survival. But is survival enough if we can do more? One of the things that makes us human is the ability to have a story in our head about how things could be, and the desire to make it true in the real world. We like to hope for better days and dream of better selves. As shallow as it sounds, a beauty routine actually helps with that.

I am an introverted person, a true homebody. Everyone I know will agree that this is true. So staying in and working from home to help keep the community safe at first felt like such an easy task. Of course, I do realize that I am privileged enough to have a roof above my head and food to eat even during this time, but after a week of being stuck at home, I got this urge to do something different because every day started to feel the same.

Yesterday, a member of the Project Vanity Community on Facebook desperately needed a solution for the blackheads on her nose. I know how frustrating it can be, especially when the pore strips and masks don’t seem to work. However it’s important to understand that there’s no instant cure to blackheads unless you plan to manually extract each and every one of them. EVEN THEN, they’ll come back after a few weeks. You have to play the long game here and to understand where they come from.

The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask (P950 for 20 grams) has been around a few years now following the massive success of the Laneige Sleeping Mask. It was the first overnight lip treatment I’ve heard of - not the say it’s the first, of course, but it seems to be one of the first products in this category that became popular. ANYWAY. I just want to rave about this little pot of goodness, because it’s been keeping my lips alive these days.

Self-care is a tricky subject to talk about because it means different things to different people. No one else can be an expert on self-care except the self giving and receiving the care, so it’s a little bit of an airtight loop. Only you know if it is working or not.

When quarantine started all over the world, there are two opposing camps that emerged: one that encourages hyper productivity (learn the skill you’ve always wanted to learn! Start that side hustle you’ve always wanted to have!) and one that says “fuck productivity, just slow down and take all the time you need to heal mentally”.

Hey PV girls! We hope you’re all keeping safe during this enhanced community quarantine. Just a friendly reminder to eat healthily, take care of your mental health, wash your hands, and #StayHome. If you need to shop for essential skincare and beauty needs during this ECQ, here’s a list of beauty stores that are still open online and delivering.

Warning: don’t do this at home, alright? It’s been over 40 days since I wore sunscreen on my face and body. I haven’t used a single drop of it since the Manila lockdown started! I do my normal skincare routine otherwise - essence, moisturizer, I even mask - so it’s not really laziness. Part of it is because I don’t have any more Biore UV Aqua Rich backups at home (my HG sunscreen), but a huge reason is a morbid curiosity of mine on how important sunscreen REALLY is to my skin. I wanted to find out what will happen if I just stop using sunscreen altogether. Call it insanity. Call it a sacrifice for science.

It’s one thing to know how to cook and bake, but the beauty junkie takes it to a whole new level by knowing her way around the kitchen scraps. That’s right, we're challenging you to get nifty with what some might consider as refuse! Aside from repurposing your coffee grounds, there are more food leftovers that can double as beauty treatments. Get thrifty with your routine, and save a few pesos with these DIY hacks! (Hint: Use the extra funds for cheap thrills or set them aside to splurge on a big-ticket item!)

I do corporate speaking engagements on the side, and some months ago Watsons invited me their planning session to talk about the latest beauty trends. They gave me this gift bag with some Watsons goodies after my talk - love getting these, there’s always something I need or discover in them! It had the Watsons Goat Milk Cream Body Wash (P289 for 1 liter) and guys, seriously, this is SO GOOD.