Is it just me or is digging for affordable makeup gems the official sport of the Project Vanity staff? We've featured quite a good bit of Budget Beauty stories here, and sharing drugstore finds is also a hot topic in the Project Vanity Facebook Community over on Facebook! So we decided to look into one of the brands that Pinay beauty bargain lovers often gush about: SanSan Cosmetics.

My last haul for a P1,000 look proved to be a trove of neat finds, so it’s only fitting to check out other products from this budget-friendly local brand. Here’s a review of six things I got to try this time around!

I very rarely talk about hair products because so few of them actually work for my super picky hair. Just to give you a picture: I have fine, fine strands prone to breakage and hair fall, and on top of that I have developed an oily scalp over the years. I manage it with a good cleansing routine and lightweight hair styling products, but it's a delicate balance. One wrong hair product and it could take my hair and scalp weeks to recuperate!

With the variety of paints, powders, and products available, playing with makeup can be quite a creative adventure. But sometimes, as with any art form (and makeup is definitely an art), it helps to get a little inspiration.  

Enter Beauty Discovery, the special pop-up in SM Makati created by luxe brands Shisedo, Guerlain, and Elizabeth Arden. The booth allows makeup lovers to try the brands' luxurious creations, and to serve as a guide, they had a Beauty Lookbook Workshop hosted and taught by PV’s very own Liz Lanuzo! The event happened last July 8 at SM Makati.  

With the beauty industry constantly producing new products at breakneck speed, we're very much spoiled for choice. Sometimes though, the feeling of having so many options can be overwhelming. I think this is especially true when it comes to lipsticks. Color options are a beautiful nightmare in and of itself but finishes compound that situation tenfold.

To beauty shopaholics like us, having a favorite is key to narrowing down the “financial blackholes” we can potentially sink into. Unfortunately, bankruptcy by lipstick is just not a socially acceptable incapacity (yet.) Today, we’re going to break down the world of lipsticks and hopefully help you, dear reader, edit your lipstick wardrobe and stick to pieces you'll actually use.

I've always wanted a ring light but I can not make myself spend P6,000 for it. I can put it down as a company expense, sure, but I already have a Glamcor Multimedia Extreme (bought from Suesh) that cost upwards P20,000 so didn't want to spend a whole bunch of money on another lighting situation! Besides, I don't have a lot of extra space in my studio slash office anymore. I just can't commit to a ring light at the moment.

When I first started to experiment with J- and K-beauty, I had a difficult time finding products that fit me. See, while Western makeup was all about mattifying, the cult of chok-chok meant that most products geared towards a more Asian aesthetic added “dewiness” to the skin. Unfortunately for me, that meant a greasy disaster on my oily skin.

Lurking around in Facebook groups as well as the comment sections of PV, I’ve noticed that a common favorite perfume among gals is Dolce&Gabbana’s D&G Light Blue Eau de Toilette. It’s really not hard to see why. D&G Light Blue is a fresh, citrusy fragrance that goes well with the tropical climate we have. The lemon and green apple notes are such a hit among Pinays and all over the world, too! Now, sixteen years after the launch of this cult favorite, Dolce&Gabbana has finally added a new permanent fragrance to the line: D&G Light Blue Eau Intense Eau de Parfum.

Until recently, I have only used micellar water as my makeup remover. It worked for me, so I never thought to try any other types. When I finally got to try a cleansing balm though, I became an instant convert! I loved how easily it removed the makeup from my face, without needing to make several passes with a cotton pad.

I recently went through ALL my makeup and skincare so I can properly organize and dispose of items accordingly. It took me half a day and about ten extra bags of product, all of which I gave away to my family! Now my place feels cleaner and I get *less* stressed out about where my stuff are. I also unearthed some products that I really, really like, but can't use nor bear to throw away.

I found so many cushion compacts that I just kinda forgot about because they are ridiculously too light against my skin tone.

I used to have a nonchalant attitude towards buying makeup and skincare. I didn’t care much about what’s in a product so long as people talked about it. I’d buy something on sale because it’s from a known brand and it looked pretty, and worse, I tried anything that the Internet said would work on my acne-prone skin. I DIY-ed the heck out of treatments that more often than not worked horribly. All this because I didn’t make time to talk to my skin and ask “What do you need?”

At that time, it seemed silly but doing so could’ve saved me my money and my skin. Makeup and skincare, I realized, does not carry the “one size fits all” tag.

Hey, PV girls! What’s good? Let me give you a run down of what’s been happening in the beauty world. One of your favorite local brands has now come out with a line of gel nail polishes (I know, I know- try to breathe), Pink Sugar released two new shades of their well-loved Sugar Tints, and Beautyblender is getting very millennial! Sponges and nails not your thing? Well, Colourpop is collaborating with a gorgeous celebrity model (for the third time), Clinique is now working with our fave K-Beauty star,  and Jo Malone just launched a new collection. Interested yet? Read on!

When it comes to achieving chok chok skin, we've gotten used to expecting Korean beauty products to be the answer. It's not so surprising as K-beauty offers a lot of great picks, but the Japanese are actually the original skincare pros! LuLuLun in particular has been making waves as Japan's favorite sheet mask brand. It consistently receives beauty awards and has sold over 300 million masks since it first launched in 2011.

Considering that most of our fave sheet masks are from Korea and are single use, we were excited by the idea of masking everyday for an entire week. We received two variants to road test: the Classic Moisturizing Face Mask and the Moisture-Enrich Face Mask.

We love our flaws, blemishes and all, but it never hurts to conceal them when we need to look polished and professional. We'll need more than foundation for dark spots and serious eye baggage though, which is where the magic of concealer comes in! Benefit Cosmetics offers a great solution in its best-selling Boi-ing concealers. Recently, they've introduced a revamped concealer line and a new product. 

Masking has become a habit - okay, an obsession - of mine in the last couple of years. It's the most effective way to jolt my skin back to life, after I've abused it with stress, poor diet, and unwise skincare choices! This is why I have so many different masks (mud, sheet, leave-on, you name it) stocked up in my shelf. I've got masks for acne, dry skin, tired skin, or just generally unhappy-with-the-world skin because one never knows when disaster will strike.

What is the secret to creating a flawless face base? Does it depend on the foundation formula? Is it the little tricks and techniques that make all the difference? Or will your application tools be the deciding factor? It's all of the above! This is why keeping ourselves updated with the latest developments can bring us closer to foundation perfection.

Thanks to its ability to create a skin-like finish while providing ample coverage, the Beauty Blender has remained a constant favorite among both beauty enthusiasts and professional makeup artists.

Nothing quite marks the end of summer than an end of season sale. They're almost always worth waiting for because the deals are better and you can finally get that dress you've been eyeing for months. Whether you're treating yourself to an overdue shop-a-thon or getting started on your Christmas list (it's never too early!), you can shop smart at Podium's End Of Season Sale from July 12 to 16. That's up to 70% off on food and fashion picks! 

It can be tempting to lose your head and go on a buying frenzy. Instead, keep these four shop smart tips to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.

I hate to admit it, but my eyebrows have become thinner and finer over the years. It's just genetics, I suppose; my mom has fine hair too and we have the same eyebrows! Thank goodness for brow troubleshooters and techniques that can help me achieve full arches. It's a combination of techniques I've observed from makeup artists and what I learned from watercolor painting. If you have the same problem as mine, perhaps you'll find this specific routine useful!

Full disclosure: I do not have the best-looking feet in the world. Due to a bad habit of walking around barefoot any chance I can get, the bottoms of my feet are rather rough and tough. I also used to be a religious stiletto-wearer, so I have more than my fair share of callouses. And, because I favor leather sneakers now, after a long day... they kind of smell. (Too much information? Too much information.)

I have a (well-documented) bias towards high-end bases. Drugstore foundation, concealer, and powders can do the thankless job of creating flawless skin, surely, but luxury bases belong to another planet. The shade selection, pigmentation, finish, and staying power of expensive base makeup (upwards P1,500) are remarkably better than what you can find for say, less than 500 bucks.