Swatchfest: Happy Skin’s Festival of Colors Collection is officially out!

I always find myself looking forward to Happy Skin’s latest releases because it seems that the homegrown beauty brand just keeps on raising the bar with every new collection. What beauty girl didn’t swoon over their magical Disney collection, or try to collect each makeup artist-approved piece in the Glam Squad collection? This time around, they are going back to their roots and celebrating their cheery and fun aesthetic with their first collection for 2017: the Festival of Colors Collection!

Happy Skin founders Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez and Rissa Mananquil-Trillo demonstrating the transforming powers of the Bye Bye, Blues Brightening Concealer Wand

Luckily, our EIC Liz was able to get a sneak peek on some of the products before the official media launch. Knowing that she loved them made me even more excited to try them for myself at the event, as well as test the new lip kits and beauty sponge. Here’s a quick look at everything in the collection!

Left concealer swatch in Light, right concealer swatch in Medium

The Bye Bye, Blues Brightening Concealer Wand (P899) comes in two shades, Light and Medium. It was formulated specifically to lift up and transform the face with its light-diffusing technology and brightening tangerine peel extract. I use the Light shade to cover up my stubborn dark circles, and I’m happy to report that the coverage lasts all day and incurs minimal creasing, mostly due to my fine lines. You do have to set it with powder though to make it last longer.

The Tickled Pink Skin Perfecting Super Absorbent Charcoal Blotting Sheets (P149) are perfect for on-the-go, busy women who hate reapplying powder. The cute packaging makes it a pretty purse staple, and the charcoal plus special mattifying powder combo is highly effective against oil! I only use one sheet as they are massive compared to others and the black sheets are really cool to look at, too.

They also relaunched their Eye Am Here To Stay 24H Gel Pencil Eyeliners (P599 each) in Perfect Black and Chic Brown. These MUA-favorite eyeliners now come in blue and orange packaging, which makes them a breeze to spot in the sea of mostly black eye pencils you probably have in your stash. And yes, they still glide on as smoothly as ever with the help of argan oil.

Another relaunch is the crowd-favorite Glisten Up! Precision Cheek Stick Set (P1,199). These are the same shades from the Happy Skin x Plains & Prints collection, repackaged in a sleeker pencil form to allow for more precise application. As with all Happy Skin products that have ingredients that care for your skin, the two sticks come with grapefruit extract to help refine the appearance of pores on the cheeks. I love how portable these new sticks are – they will definitely take up less space inside the makeup bag.

Left to right: Dance All Day, The Morning After, and Honeymoon Glow

And then there are the lip kits! Happy Skin launched three Festival of Colors Lip Kits in Honeymoon Glow, The Morning After, and Dance All Day (P1,149 each). Honeymoon Glow and The Morning After are two of their most iconic shades, while Dance All Day is an all-new earthy mauve shade. Each Lip Kit comes with a liquid matte lipstick and a matching creamy lip liner. The liquid matte lipsticks come in the same formula as their previous releases, which we’ve awarded Best in Longevity in our recent liquid lipstick throwdown.

Another repromoted Happy Skin fave is the Air Touch Sponge (P499), which now comes in yellow and pink. I’ve been road-testing this sponge as my introduction into the world of sponges and I find the unique shape quite useful!

I use the round portion for most of my face but I love the coves for my under eye area. I use the sponge to apply foundation, concealer, and corrector, though I find the latter two a bit harder to remove during clean-up. You also have to be very gentle when cleaning the sponge; I’ve never used a sponge before so I may have squeezed it too hard and ended up causing some tears.

Finally, Happy Skin launched its first-ever sun care line called Catch the Sun! There are two products in this line, the first being the Catch the Sun Brightening UV Gel Cream SPF 40 PA+++ (P999). This is a gel cream that comes with SPF 40 and a mattifying finish, so you can use it as primer or to quickly put on over your skincare without the extra grease. It is a water-based gel formula that feels lightweight and comfortable to wear. Bonus skincare ingredient: it contains moringa seed oil to help shield the skin from pollution and free radicals!

My personal favorite is the Catch the Sun On the Go Hydrating UV Mist SPF 35 PA++ (P699). It’s like a spray-on sunscreen and moisturizer in one! This helps me to remember to reapply my sun protection every few hours, without worrying about disturbing my makeup. It also works under makeup so I’ve added this as the last step to my skin care. As Jacqe said, “It’s designed to act like a setting spray and a sunscreen in one.” Rissa explained, “What makes the formula different from the rest is its unique makeup fit polymer, which adheres to the skin and prevents makeup from coming off. It’s perfect to use before makeup as a first layer of sun defense, or over makeup to create an instant protective shield without ruining your look.”

The Happy Skin Festival of Colors collection is now available nationwide at Happy Skin counters, and online via their website and on Zalora.

Have you tried any of these new releases? What is your all-time favorite Happy Skin product?