Raise your hand if you own more makeup and skincare than you know what to do with! I’m sure I’m not alone in this! I always thought that beauty was a great collector hobby to get into, since you can use and enjoy your purchases instead of simply putting them on display. Like any collection, we carefully create our beauty wardrobes to be filled with products that we love and can’t live without. And to make sure that we never run out, we get backups! Whether it’s by taking advantage of sales or friends traveling abroad, there are things we PV girls just need to stock up on:

Even though we know that it's a marketing tactic, celebrity product endorsements are difficult to resist and impossible to avoid! I haven't (yet) given in to getting that gorgeous gold tube of 1946 Red Velvet by Besame Cosmetics that Hayley Atwell wore as Agent Peggy Carter, but that's only because I can't justify adding another lipstick to my collection. The other PV girls listened to their hearts though, and scored these picks because the stars made them buy it!

The PV community has been a great source of reliable beauty tips and know-how, but once upon a time, we girls didn't have access to good information and didn't know any better! Here are some of the worst skincare advice that we've gotten from well-intentioned but misguided friends, as well as sketchy websites that we should have known better than to trust!

I remember feeling impressed rather than shocked when I found out that Kim had kept all her empties from the past two years. Although it's hard to rival SIX GIANT BAGS of boxes and packaging, she is not the lone hoarder in the PV team. Now that she's finally gotten rid of her stash of junk, I think it's time the rest of us come clean. In this edition of the PV girls' staff picks, we 'fess up on our own empties collections, how we store them, and why we just can't seem to let go!

What kind of makeup do you love most? Some people collect eyeshadow palettes, while others are lipstick queens who might own the same shade in different brands and finishes! For me, it has always been about perfecting my face base. I love foundation formulas that I barely tell apart from my skin, both in appearance and feel, so when I first saw rave reviews on Estée Lauder's Double Wear Foundation, I added it on my list of must-try makeup.

When we think about "multi-tasking makeup", what usually comes to mind are full face palettes and lip & cheek tints. These are definitely great space savers that give more bang for your buck, but I think the true workhorse of any kit is the concealer. To demonstrate just how flexible this one product is, I asked my fellow PV girls to share their favorite concealer hack using Pink Sugar's Our Lil' Secret Concealer. At just P349, this pocket-friendly tube can do more than just brighten the undereye area and cover light blemishes! Here it is in action.

While there are obvious perks to being able to swatch and test products in person, I find myself doing most of my beauty shopping online. There are no busy crowds, no hovering sales people, and no traffic or parking issues to deal with. I like the option of being able to easily canvass and compare for the best prices, and most especially enjoy being able to quickly research for blog reviews before adding items to my cart! We've already listed our fave online stores to purchase from but there's one marketplace that we've become (mildly?) addicted to: Shopee!

Believe it or not, we PV girls comfortably wear the mantle (pashmina?) of the The Real Titas of Manila. Head Tita Liz is soundly asleep by 9pm, and our team meetups usually involve lunching at Mary Grace. Instead of late night walwal parties, we sip sangria with extended pinky fingers or have Korean BBQ night at my house. 

Like any self-respecting Tita, our purses contain a lot more than just makeup. Being a Tita means you've got you sh*t together, so you're never left in a bind. We all have different priorities though, so here's our different takes on what should be in a Tita survival kit!

Living in a tropical country means having to deal with hot weather almost year-round, and for some of us, that means opting for sleeveless tops whenever possible. Bare skin helps to make us feel cooler, but it can also make us feel a bit conscious about the state of underarms! 

I don't this necessarily means you need to remove hair, wear deodorant/antiperspirant, or have flawless white armpits - you do you, girl! I think that making sure to keep the area clean and free from bad odors is mostly all that anyone needs. But for those who do feel a bit more fussy about their underarms, please don't use calamansi to whiten them - you may cause more harm than good! Instead, check out these tips on how the PV girls care for their kili-kili!

I recently read that contrary to popular psychology, it takes about 66 days to form a new habit instead of just 21. It sounds like a long time but I find this mildly reassuring as we've already reached the half month point and I'm still struggling to stick to my resolutions! Having a support group for encouragement goes a long way to helping me stay the course, so my fellow PV girls and I decided to share our beauty goals for this year. Here's what we've decided to focus on for 2018.

Working at Project Vanity means I have to stay updated about the newest products and latest trends, and I think it's amazing that there's always more for me to learn about! Because of this constant exposure, I've become a lot meticulous about adding to my beauty stash and I feel that it's really paying off. Together with the other PV girls, we've discovered quite a few HGs in the past year! We've raved about some of them in posts here on PV and on the Facebook group but we're still so #shookt about how good these finds are so we're recapping them here together with the disappointments that landed in our trash.

Don't you just wish Santa was a real person? Beauty is a fun hobby but collecting products can often cost a pretty penny! As beauty addicts, there are always an item or two (though usually more) on our wish list because they're splurges we still have to save up for. We've been pretty nice this year so in case Santa exists and gets great beauty prices at the North Pole, here's what we're hoping to find under our Christmas trees!

Now, before you get thoroughly scandalized, the only "exposure" you'll see here are those of our most-abused makeup! "Pan porn" is a popular description for makeup products that you've literally hit pan on from regular usage, thus exposing the shiny metal bottom. It's titillating for us PV girls because it's a totally justifiable excuse for us to go out and buy some new makeup! (Am I right or am I right?)

So, how many weddings are you attending in December? It's wedding month in the Philippines, which means it'll be difficult to get bookings with our usual makeup artists. So, why not put our own makeup skills to good use? The catch is that everyday makeup is generally not meant to last through all the activities in a special occasion, and it's inconvenient to lug around a huge kikay kit just for retouching.

The nippy weather is really making me feel the Ber months! The shift to cooler weather has been making my skin drier than usual, but I already changed my routine recently to suit the weather. Instead of swapping my lightweight moisturizers for something heavier, I'm opting to add face oils like the In Her Element Pure Squalane Oil as my last skincare step instead! I apply it over my moisturizer and other skincare layers, and what it does is act as an occlusive or barrier to trap the moisture in my skin. It's literally the divide between healthy skin and Flake City.

When talking about achieving a perfect base, chances are you think about what the best foundations and concealers are, and using a good setting powder. Maybe you also consider the right tools to use: brushes, Beauty Blenders, or a Silisponge? The truth is, there's even more to it than just layering full coverage.

You've seen our beauty budgets, our most expensive buys, and our recent splurges but a true PV girl lives for cheap finds that we'd gladly pay more for (though of course, we'd rather not!). We're actually pretty kuripot at heart, so nothing compares to thrill of discovering a product that performs really well at a price that our wallets won't complain about. If you're itching to just add an inexpensive item to your cart, consider these #ragrets-free choices!

As the -ber months roll in and the holiday collections roll out, we at the PV team have been editing our beauty wish lists. There's a lot of enabling going on in our group chat and in the Project Vanity community page! It's getting harder and harder to say no Sephora's sale and the opening of the Tom Ford store in Rustan's (both happening this weekend, btw) so in an attempt to curb our shopping impulses, we took a quick accounting on the most expensive beauty purchases we've made so far. Were they worth it? Should you get them? Do we need help for our beauty shopping addiction? Read on to find out!

I NEED to review my beauty stash every few months. It keeps me from buying more stuff, and gives me something to look forward to in my next shopping trip! As tempting as it gets sometimes, I've been trying my best not to open any new products while I currently have something in circulation. I end up feeling guilty about not being able to use them up before they expire. 

We hunt for the perfect reds, count our pinks by the dozen, and maybe even add a statement purple or black to our lipstick collections. Given that we have a full spectrum of colors to choose from, why would we ever want a lipstick that almost-exactly matches the natural color of our pouts? Why not just wear a clear lip balm or gloss instead?