These are dark times, my friends, but I hope you can still allow me to share something that I’ve been working on for a year now! After the successful launch of the Ellana x Project Vanity Life-Proof Eyebrow Gel in 2018, we have a follow-up that I think you guys will enjoy using everyday. Theresa Carbonel-Buenaflor (the founder of Ellana) and I made this for busy ladies who can’t spend too much time on their makeup; it’s something that you can apply quickly and beautifully with little effort.

Love Marie Ongpauco Escudero is a woman of many hats. She is the actress Heart Evangelista. Beloved wife to Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero. Creative Director of local fashion brand Kamiseta. And now, the first Filipino artist collaborator of international brand, L’Oreal Paris. From “exhibiting” her colorful paintings on Hermes bags, Love Marie’s art now graces five limited edition L’Oreal Color Riche Matte lipsticks!

When I was five, my parents took me to watch Mulan on the big screen. She instantly became my favorite Disney princess, and I loved wearing the Mulan costume I got for Halloween. Even after watching all the other Disney movies, Mulan remains to be my favorite because of her strength and her courage to challenge the norm. So I was super happy to see that she’s joining the other princesses in Happy Skin’s second collab with Disney!

At the start of every new year, we look forward to seeing what trends will become popular. Glossy lips? Baby bangs? More foodmetics? All sorts of makeup in Living Coral? Trends come and go and only time will tell which ones would come to define the year ahead. What we know for sure is that we’re saying goodbye to 2018 and its beauty hypes that were just not worth it.

Kathryn Bernardo, to me, is the epitome of gandang polbo and lip tint. While I have not followed her body of work as an actress, I am a huge fan of her face and have admired her beauty journey through the years. In many past interviews, both she and her go-to celebrity makeup artist, Denise Go-Ochoa, would emphasize how little makeup Kathryn actually wears. She prefers to wear little to no foundation and would often stress the importance of good skin. Her signature makeup look consists of dewy skin, straight brows, defined lashes, flushed cheeks, and just a hint of lip color.

The glitz, the glamour, the star power: Makeup brands collaborating with the who’s who of the entertainment industry may be a tale as old as time, but it’s a move that often spells success for both brand and celeb alike. Fans are thrilled to get their hands on something with their idol’s stamp of approval, and beauty lovers get to discover some cool new stuff that might make fans out of them yet. And so you get some exciting team-ups that’ll go down in beauty history such as Becca x Chrissy Teigen, Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder, Jennifer Lopez for Inglot, Patrick Starrr x MAC, and Gigi Hadid x Maybelline!

Not to be outdone, Pinoy celebrities are bringing their creative chops into the fray. In the last two years, we’ve seen more and more homegrown talents collaborate with big beauty brands, or even go as far as to start their own cosmetic companies altogether.