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.

Walk into any sari-sari store, drugstore, or supermarket aisle in the Philippines and you will find them: papaya soaps, kojic soaps, glutathione soaps, all promising to whiten, brighten, lighten, and basically transform you into a different shade entirely. We have been sold the dream of fair skin for generations, and the bath soap has become one of the most accessible ways to chase it. It’s cheap, it’s everywhere, and the labels make some very big promises.

But really: can a bar of soap actually make your skin white? The short answer is no, not in the way you have been led to believe. Let me explain what is really happening to your skin when you consistently use “whitening” soaps, because the truth is more useful (and honestly more freeing) than the marketing.

Hello, ladies! It's a good week to shop Filipino, with two homegrown brands rolling out some of their most ambitious launches yet alongside a few international names worth the splurge. There's a little something for the makeup maximalists, the skincare devotees, and the fashion-forward among us. Let's get into it!

Glutathione became trendy in the Philippines almost a decade ago. Back then, the pursuit of glowing white skin was everywhere, and glutathione quickly became a go-to. Today, though, whiter skin is no longer the goal; what we want now is smoother, glowing skin that looks healthy no matter your skin tone. What many people may not realize is that glutathione is actually an antioxidant, and skin whitening was just a happy side effect that brands capitalized on back then. Plenty of oral glutathione supplements are still on the market these days, but popular Filipina icon Marian Rivera has chosen Nuwhite as her glutathione brand of choice for five years now.

One of my favorite lip tints from the Filipino beauty scene is the Happy Skin Lip Mallows Plush Matte Lip Tint (P599). I have always liked its texture, stain, and longevity. The SPF15 is a bonus for me, as are the skin-caring ingredients typical of Happy Skin formulations. I even collected as many of the mini versions as I could, especially when they went on sale. I have since thrown those out, though, as they leaked and a lot of the caps broke quite easily. If there is one thing you could complain about with this product, it would definitely be the packaging.

Today I've got two Japanese award winners worth knowing about, a Business of Fashion deep-dive into the rise of "P-beauty" that I can't stop thinking about, a homegrown brand making its first real play for men, and a new Japanese hair mist quietly landing on local shelves. A lot of it circles back to the same idea: the products winning right now are the ones built for how people actually live. Let's get into it.

It feels like a necessary rite of passage lately for a Filipino makeup brand to release their own makeup brushes, either as a collab or as its own collection. Ever Bilena did the latter with the recently released Face Wand collection of brushes to add to their existing lineup of makeup tools.

There are eight brushes in the collection to cover your entire makeup routine, all of which you can purchase separately, so it's possible to get only what you need.

Beauty brands usually celebrate milestones with a product launch, a celebrity-filled event, or a limited-edition collection. Ever Organics decided to do something a little different for its birthday this year.

Instead of putting the spotlight on itself, the homegrown Korean skincare brand spent a day at SOS Children's Village Pilipinas, bringing together volunteers, content creators, and brand ambassadors for a day centered on the children and families under the organization's care.

There are already quite a few sunscreens in the Kiehl's lineup, yet they recently added another one—one that not only protects but also corrects. It's also branded as an anti-aging sunscreen, so I'm particularly interested in how my aging skin will react to it.

The Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum SPF 50 PA++++ Facial Sunscreen (P3,000) provides high protection against UVA and UVB rays through what the brand calls a "micro-mesh filter." What makes it unique is the added Corrective Complex with Collagen Peptide Fragments, which is designed to help skin recover from the appearance of past UV damage and other signs of aging.

The fact that my first launch back after having a baby was with Kanebo, and for a collection inspired by a baby’s very first skincare routine, felt so meant to be. The last time I was with Kanebo was for the launch of their first ever body soap, and I’m so glad I got to experience firsthand how they’ve updated their bestselling day and night creams with their newest technology.

It has been one of those weeks where the beauty news cycle felt genuinely alive. There was a controversy that had the whole community in its feelings, a few launches that made me stop mid-scroll, and at least one product that I think is going to quietly become a staple for a lot of us. I also want to make space this week for a story that matters beyond the products — because sometimes what gets launched is less important than the conversation happening around it. As always, grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let's get into it.

If you've been following the EXO Planet #6 EXhOrizon Manila concert chaos (in the best way), here's something worth paying attention to: Ever Bilena is giving away VIP tickets, and the raffle closes on May 30. That's three days from now.

When you think fast and safe hair drying, which brand comes to mind? For many, the answer comes almost instinctively. Dyson is a definite contender with its signature design and iconic ambassadors such as K-Pop Idol Jang Wonyoung and K-drama Actor Park Bogum, two faces that speak directly to a generation that values both performance and style in equal measure. With a devoted global following and a reputation built on pushing boundaries, Dyson has made itself synonymous with hair care that refuses to compromise. Partner these with innovative technology and a genuine passion for research and development and it's easy to see why Dyson continues to make waves in the industry.

We have a big one this week. An iconic international brand is making its grand comeback, a local fave is hosting an event unlike anything they have done before, a Filipino brand is stepping into the future of sustainable beauty, a Japanese skincare newcomer just made its Philippine debut, and Ever Bilena is giving us a whole new set of tools to work with. Five stories, zero skips. Here is this week's Beauty News Roundup.

The summer heat is at its peak right now. In terms of beauty, new products from different brands' summer collections refresh not just my makeup stash but also my makeup looks. One of the collections I've been eyeing is the GRWM Summer Collection, which I got a sneak peek of at Watsons BeautyCon 2026. It was released in late March, and while it's a smaller drop than GRWM's 25-piece 2023 summer release, this 2026 one features two all-new products and one crowd favorite reintroduced with the season's exclusive shades. Let's try them out!

And just like that, April is over. We are now in the month of May, with one of the most special celebrations of the year. It’s the day we honor and remember the women who cared for and nurtured us, our moms (and everyone who stood as mothers for us). If you’re looking for gift ideas, we gotchu! Kiehl’s recently launched a new sunscreen, the Better Screen™ UV Serum SPF 50+ Facial Sunscreen with Collagen Peptide. Take their senses to Europe with the new fragrance collection from Luxe Organix: A Night in Paris Luxe Fragrance Collection. Or, gift the newest foundation from Rare Beauty, the True to Myself Natural Matte Longwear Foundation. Last but definitely not the least, we’ll let you in on how you can get free gifts when you shop on Sephora.ph for mom this May!