Hello, PV community! Happy Monday! The latest beauty roundup is coming to you on a Monday, for this time only. We hope you had a wonderful weekend and have a fabulous week ahead! Okay, time for what’s new in beauty.

CeraVe, a drugstore staple in the US that’s been around since 2005, blew up online just a few years ago because of younger skincare influencers led by Hyram. I’ve been meaning to try something from the brand but it was previously so difficult to get it in the Philippines! Luckily I spotted fresh stocks at Landers BGC some months back. I know that LOOK (in SM Aura) also sells the brand so FYI if you’re looking.

PV Community, I have a random question - since we’re halfway into the year now, is there beauty product you are halfway through already? Mine are the Clinique Clarifying Lotion, the In Her Element Masknegel, and the MAC Ruby Woo lipstick. Looking forward to hearing yours! In the meantime, here’s our weekly beauty news!

In the late 1990s, I discovered makeup reviews, looks, and trends from newspapers and magazines. Over time, you could see the shift from print to blogs and social media. The key opinion leaders used to be newspaper or magazine columnists, but that changed with the rise of bloggers and content creators.

I wanted to take my love for makeup to the next level by taking a makeup artistry course. Formal makeup training felt like I had to learn about makeup again. I noticed the differences between learning through makeup school and online, and here’s a few that you might find useful. Let’s go!

First and second booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine under the government’s “Resbakuna sa Botika” are now available at 19 Watsons stores nationwide.

The “Resbakuna sa Botika” program was first rolled out in selected clinics and pharmacies in Metro Manila and later on expanded to other areas nationwide as part of the national government’s efforts to further expand the national vaccination program.

There’s been an explosion of facial skincare products these past two years, but our body care options have been a little neglected, no? The skin on the rest of our bodies isn’t as sensitive or as thin as our facial skin but they still benefit from a lot of love! There’s a ton of brightening products out there but today let’s focus on a nourishing line.

How do you feel about having gold in your daily skin care routine? Pure Culture is a fairly new local vegan and clean beauty brand with products that aim to strengthen the skin’s microbiome while using sustainable, locally-sourced active ingredients in the process. It’s the first Filipino beauty brand that is Safe Cosmetics Australia-certified. I got to try both their Bulgarian Rose serum and moisturizer, and here’s my quick review!

Can you believe we’re halfway through 2022 already, PV Community? They say time flies when you’re having fun and since writing about beauty is so much fun, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s already June. Now, time for another beauty roundup.

I don’t rave about skincare lightly. As someone who develops skincare products for a living, it’s easy for me to filter out what works and what doesn’t. I like to say that a quick ingredients check should tell us everything we need to know if something works or not! Most of the time, how good a product is isn’t determined by fancy formulations, but the quality and concentration of the ingredients used.

You may have heard of the latest Pili Ani release from the Beauty News Roundup last May 10. This local brand is one I keep my eye on as I’ve previously tried some of their products with positive results so I’m quite excited to try out their new ones.

Happy Pride Month, PV Community! I’d just like to take this time to say thank to all of you for being allies - yes, I’m claiming it. You are all so supportive and I always appreciate it. Anyway, speaking of pride, I’m proud to share with you what’s new in beauty.

Identity is a strange thing. It’s never static, ever evolving, and most of the time there are few physical manifestations that a person is not the same as you found them last. I’d like to think that I changed considerably since 2020. There is a rewiring of my internal circuitry, new parts added, old parts broken down and taken out. I try to keep an inventory but I am a complex machine and it’s impossible to know everything about myself.

By the time I had saved up enough to make the purchase, the era of Foreo had already begun. The more hygienic and softer silicone material is gentler on the skin than the defunct sonic brush brand’s nylon bristles. And what’s more, the brush head doesn’t require regular replacement. It turns out that the delay was a blessing. As of today, I am already a proud owner of two Foreo cleansing devices! I have just tested their latest entry-level release, the Foreo Luna Play Smart 2 (P5,280 via Sephora.ph, Lazada, and Foreo), so let’s see how it compares.

Hello, PV Community! How are you doing? We hope you’re doing well and staying safe. You know it - it’s time for another beauty roundup! This week in beauty, we have the following to talk about - Disney princesses, fig and olive, corsets, and a new Filipino beauty brand!

One of the first makeup I ever bought with my own money is a liquid eyeliner from Ever Bilena. I was in college and wanted to learn how to finally apply eyeliner, but I only had a student budget! I remember bending in front of the mirror just putting it on, messing it up, and redoing it again and again until I got it right. BB Liz wasted so much product, but in the end I became more confident in going out with self-applied eyeliner for the first time. Eyeliner was my thing in college - I’d go to classes with full eye makeup ad thick cat eyes. That was my emo phase, haha, and it will always be a part of me.

We all have that Ever Bilena story. I bet most of us learned how to apply makeup with this brand!

You know the popular saying, spend money on experiences and not things? Dior’s Flagship Boutique in the Philippines challenges that adage. Their new space in Greenbelt 5 spanning 165 square meters is all about giving you the full experience of being part of the Dior universe. I’ve been to a few beauty stores but I am stunned by how much detail and love the Dior team put in creating this store.

Ah, the excitement of new makeup and skincare just never gets old. When you think everything’s on the market already, brands surprise us with something to discover and fall in love with. Hmm, perhaps one (or more) of the recent releases below is the next product that will capture your beauty heart.

When menstrual cups started showing up more and more in the Philippines, I rejoiced. I liked the idea of a more eco-friendly alternative to the pads I’ve used since puberty. Unfortunately, I didn't have the best experience in finding the right fit and ended up a little traumatized. So no judgment here if you really wanted to give The Cup a try, but it just wasn't for you. The next best thing is an alternative to the alternative: fully biodegradable pads!

I’ve been keeping this secret for over a year and finally, I can shout it out to the world! Heroine Make, the world-famous mascara brand from Japan, is back in the Philippines! They make one of my HG mascaras, Long & Curl, so I’m glad that I don’t have to wait for my next Japan or Hong Kong trip to get my hands on it again.

Gone are the days when the only purpose of lip products is to either apply color on the lips or to treat them. These days, we expect more than just a singular purpose from our lip product and a lot of beauty’s recent releases have been answering. These lip hybrids deliver a punch of color while also providing other benefits like a glossy finish, a hydrating boost, or both, or more. Here are 5 local lip products to try: