Every beauty capital that made it to the world stage got there by exporting an idea, not just products. Korea gave us glass skin and the ten-step routine. Japan gave us minimalism and sunscreens so elegant they made white gloop sunscreens a thing of the past. France gave us the pharmacy aisle as a whole personality. So when people ask me whether P-beauty can really be the next big thing, my answer is yes, but only if we figure out what our idea is. And I think we've been sitting on it this whole time: tropical-proof.

If your August felt like it was missing a little pink, Ever Bilena heard you. The brand has a full coquette weekend lined up for the launch of EB Coquette, and it starts on August 27 with a TikTok Live hosted by Bea Borres, where we're getting a first look at the entire collection before it hits retail shelves. Then, on August 29, Ever Bilena is taking over Ladurée BGC for one day only. Honestly, if there's one place on earth that already understands the soft, pink, a-little-indulgent energy of a coquette collection, it's a French patisserie.

The dress code was all black, which tells you exactly what NARS was going for: nothing to distract from the skin. Beauty editors, makeup artists, and content creators gathered at The Villa Studios in The Cornerhouse, San Juan for the launch of the new Natural Matte Longwear Foundation, and the whole event was built around one idea: this is a matte foundation that's supposed to look like skin, not sit on top of it.

Quick rundown on the product first. The NARS Natural Matte Longwear Foundation (P3,150) promises 24 hours of shine control and weightless wear, with medium-to-full coverage and a soft-focus effect that blurs the look of imperfections.

This week's beauty news reads like a culture section: a legendary artist's work reimagined as makeup, a blockbuster fragrance campaign, a movie tie-in collection, and a luxury house going full anime. Oh, and a ten-dollar eye cream that might just be the smartest launch of the month. Grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let's get into it.

If your skin has been acting up lately and you can't figure out why, look outside. It’s been raining almost nonstop for a week now! The rainy season does a number on our skin that's completely different from what summer does, and most of us are still running our March routines in August.

Here's the thing about the Filipino rainy season: it's not one climate, it's three. There's the swampy humidity outdoors, the arctic AC in offices and malls, and the actual rain that hits your face during commutes.

The comeback tour continues. This week is stacked with brands digging into their own archives and returning with something better: a jellier jelly, a stick formula that got creamier, and a blush that literally can't decide what color it is until it meets your skin. Plus, a perfume that’s finally available to the Philippine market and a fragrance pop-up worth the trip to Taguig. Let's get into it.

Most deo sprays make a simple promise: your armpits won't smell bad. The BW Women Deo Body Spray (P226 / 150ml) makes a slightly more ambitious one: you'll smell like you're wearing an actual fragrance. It's positioned as a two in one, a deodorant that doubles as cologne, and each variant is designed like a proper perfume with top, heart, and base notes rather than one flat scent that fades by lunch.

As a beauty writer and content creator, I have always gravitated towards reviewing makeup and skincare. But! Fashion is also a huge part of my interests, and it's just as important when it comes to developing style and maintaining our well-being. I tend to go for a balance between looking good and being comfortable in the clothes I wear, which is why Uniqlo is one of my go-to brands. It usually fits my stylistic needs, so I was thrilled to attend the exclusive preview of the Uniqlo 2026 Fall/Winter Lounge & Underwear Collection recently..

If you've been inside a The Colorist store, you know the drill. You’ve got lipsticks lined up like paint chips, a wall of blushes you can swatch until your forearm runs out of space, and a crowd of teenagers going berserk with the makeup choices. The brand mix has skewed heavily imported since the chain landed here, mostly Chinese labels like Colorkey, Kato-Kato, and Veecci alongside a few familiar international names.

What you would not have found there until now is a Filipino brand. That changes with Ever Bilena and Careline, which are the first local brands to join the multi-brand retailer's Philippine shelves

Consider this your last call, first look, and heads up all in one. We've got a lip sale that's closing its doors tonight, four new powder and cream brushes built for people who don't do subtle, a coffee-toned lash and liner collab, a fresh gel liner lineup, and a cushion foundation that's about to survive its first monsoon season. Let's get into it.

Happy Friday, beauty besties! This week's roundup is a big one for local beauty. Sunnies Face is finally entering the fragrance chat with a whole scent wardrobe (yes, Liza Soberano is involved), Issy and Slo Lopez are back with round two of their colorful collar, and a homegrown hair care giant just got snapped up by an international conglomerate. Plus, two international stories worth watching: the original Urban Decay All Nighter formula is coming back under a new name, and Kylie Jenner is launching a fragrance trio. Let's get into it!

I’m always down for a sunscreen launch and with the rainy season here and well, I now find myself dreaming of good weather. But rain or shine we can all benefit from sun protection, which is why I’m happy to share that Gluta-C has dropped three sunscreens that adapt to your routine, protect against UV rays, and is packed with all the right skincare ingredients. The Brightening Tone-Up Sunscreen (P399.75/50ml, special introductory price P319.75!) protects as well and smooths and brighten the complexion instantly. The Brightening Tinted Sunscreen (P399.75/50ml, special introductory price P319.75!) comes in two shades, Light and Medium, that doubles as sun protection and a base for a quick ready to go look.

This week's roundup has a little bit of everything: reassuring news for anyone who books their annual check-ups (or therapy sessions, we see you) at a certain beloved women's clinic, a new K-beauty mascara that promises idol-worthy lashes, some big corporate shake-ups at one of beauty's biggest conglomerates, and a birthday sale worth swinging by BGC for. Let's get into it!

Sustainability and customizability in makeup are not new concepts for GRWM Cosmetics, as seen in the Face Card Palette system launched in 2024. That system let users build their own palettes by swapping pans in and out, so you only buy the shades you'll actually use instead of a fixed set where half the pans go untouched. The brand is now applying these same concepts to lip products with the release of its first-ever refillable lipstick, just in time for GRWM's fifth anniversary. It's a practical move, too: once you have the case, you only need to repurchase the bullet, which means less packaging waste and less guilt about finishing (or not finishing) a shade.

A lot of us are still doing our makeup the way we did in our 20s, then wondering why it doesn't look the same anymore. Here's the thing. It's not you, it's your technique. Skin in your 30s is a different canvas. There's some loss of firmness, texture changes, and dullness that creeps in, so our approach has to evolve too.

Here are the ten biggest resets to make once you hit 30. Consider this your cheat sheet!

If there's a theme this week, it's beauty brands happily wandering out of their lane, and we are so here for it. Happy Skin just opened an actual cafe where your iced latte comes with skincare actives, Teviant is setting up shop in Makati (with the founder himself in attendance), and one of the world's most-followed celebrity makeup artists is bottling his signature red carpet skin. Plus, CoverGirl makes a plot twist of a pivot, and we found out what's really in Alex Gonzaga's shower. Let's get into it!

If you grew up in a Filipino household, chances are there was an aloe vera plant somewhere in the garden, and someone (usually a lola or a tita) who swore by it for everything. Sunburn? Aloe. Thinning hair? Aloe. Random rash? Aloe na lang. It's one of those remedies that has been passed down for so long that we barely question it anymore.

The nice thing is that unlike a lot of folk beauty wisdom, this one holds up reasonably well. Aloe vera has been studied for decades, and while it's not the miracle cure some TikToks make it out to be, it genuinely earns its spot in a skincare routine, especially in a climate like ours.

You know that specific joy of wandering a Japanese drugstore aisle with a shopping basket that keeps getting heavier? Manila just got its own version of that, and it's the story I've been most excited to write this week. We've also got a flexible new concealer from Issy, seven new brushes from Tillo, a refillable lipstick first from Teviant, and a Careline sale that One Piece fans will want to set alarms for. Let's get into it!

Walk down any skincare aisle right now, scroll through any brand's launch post, and you will see the same two words stamped on serums, creams, toners, and even cleansers: barrier repair. It has quietly become the label of the moment. And when a phrase shows up on that many products at once, one tends to get suspicious. Do these buzz words actually mean anything?

So let me untangle what is real here, what is just repackaged moisturizer, and how to tell which one you are actually holding.

The makeup routine that carried me through my 20s just doesn't work for my skin anymore, now that I'm 38. My skin changed, my coloring changed, and my taste is a bit more elevated though I didn’t necessarily apply it. It happened so slowly that I didn't really clock it until I woke up and realized that I looked…dated, for lack of a better term. Products that used to look fresh started settling into places they never used to. And those techniques I leaned on for years? At some point they just stopped doing me any favors. If you've felt this too, then this one's for you!

So I'm hosting our next Project Vanity Community event: an intimate, hands-on makeup workshop made for those figuring out beauty in their 30s and up. And I'll be there guiding you through the process of getting a fresh makeup look tailored for our face.