There was a point earlier this year when I resigned myself to bad skin forever. I was sleeping past midnight, subsisting on fast and junk food, living a sedentary lifestyle, and just really stressed out because CURSE ADULTING THAT’S WHY. I got my hands on some cult favorite skincare that I thought would solve my problems but all it did was break me out in the most horrible way. It was a nightmare, and my previous skincare routine could no longer undo the damage and catch up with my crappy lifestyle.

After weeks of ugly suffering, I told myself that it was time to reclaim my skin and wounded self-esteem.

As a dry-skinned gal, I didn't think I needed to set my look with powder until I began to notice the foundation on my nose would disappear after just a few hours of wear. It would happen even though I was using a long-wear formula and my face hadn't oiled up much! I've learned to apply a bit of setting powder after since then, and it has honestly made a difference in how much longer my makeup lasts!

If you're a newbie at this like I am, it's good to know that there are great budget options available. But what if you want to invest in something that's HG quality? Well, that's where the rest of the PV team chimed in!

Last July, Rustan’s The Beauty Source held its biggest event of the year: Rustan's Beauty Addict. For one day a year for five years running, the beauty department of the luxury store gets transformed into a wonderland of food, freebies, and promos!

Hoarding is one of the occupational hazards of a self-confessed beauty addict. Still, while it is common, it can become wasteful when you consider all that money spent on products that were used only a few times then set aside. However, these personal care items are called that for a reason - they've touched your face, hands, mouth, and even eyes! Why would anyone (barring close friends and family who don't have laway-swapping issues) want your pre-loved cosmetics?

Hello, Autumn! Okay, while the Philippines might not have an actual “fall season,” we can still live vicariously through our makeup looks and all the amazing products that are coming out. #WorkWithWhatYouveGot, right?

From super bright and nostalgic eyeshadow palettes that remind us of our childhood, to the most gigantic shade range expansion by Tom Ford, we’ve got your eyes, lips, and nails covered! Grab a cuppa, and read up on a new way to get your caffeine fix and how Maybelline may just be bringing out their most epic mascara yet. Oh, and did we mention Kylie’s new Lip Kits? You’re welcome, PV girls!

We've raved about the Ellana Cosmetics foundations so many times before and even now, their crazy good powders still have a place in our vanities. But did you know that they also have killer liquid lipsticks?

Ellana Mineral Cosmetics Lip in Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks have one of the best wear-it-and-forget-it formulas we've ever tried. Once set, they're completely smudge-proof and transfer-proof. In fact, we tested them on a swimming trip and they passed with flying colors! What's even more exciting is that Ellana has just released five new shades, bringing your color options to eight in total.

H&M is a retail brand we’ve all come to know and love since they first launched in the Philippines. From fashion to home décor, a trip to H&M is always a thrill. And now, beauty lovers have more reasons to head to their counters! As we reported on BNR last month, H&M Beauty is dropping in store this Friday, September 15.

The massive H&M Beauty line will first be available at the flagship SM Mega Fashion Hall branch but will soon reach other locations such as Robinsons Place Manila, SM North Edsa, Festival Mall, Ayala Center Cebu, SM Mall of Asia, and Greenbelt 4.

I first learned about Kanebo from my mom way back when I was grade school. Watching her use it as I grew up, it was also the brand I sought when I started buying my own makeup. The price was out of range for my student budget though so I gravitated towards the more affordable Kate Tokyo (it was simply known as "Kate" then). Kate Tokyo doesn’t get as much attention as other Kanebo brands like Lunasol and Impress but it's like Kanebo’s chic, trendier sister! It offers the same high quality expected of a Japanese heritage brand but at a price that's on the pocket. This season, Kate Tokyo is releasing some new products and improving on their existing ones as well. Let's explore!

Tom Ford Beauty is coming to the Philippines on October 6, in Rustan's Makati. If you've always wanted to experience the brand full stop then you must visit the soft launch! There are bigger plans early next year (*wink*) but by next month, you'll be able to try on the brand's famous perfumes, Lips & Boys Lipstick, Lip Color, Patent Finish Lip Color, and selected pieces from the Soleil Collection.

A daily sheet masking habit can be good for your skin, especially when preparing for a special occasion. It’s not quite wallet-friendly though, since each individually-packed mask can range from P65 for the Watsons Collagen Face Masks to P248 for a Leaders The Gold 24 Secret Mask. In looking for a cheaper alternative earlier this year, I tried a DIY lotion face mask that cost roughly six pesos: it was that cheap because all you have to buy is the multi-layered cotton pad which you can use with whatever moisturizing toner or Japanese lotion that you already have.

When I hit puberty and first started getting into skincare, the two things I immediately started obsessing over were moisturizer and eye cream. It made sense to start early, since dark circles run on my paternal side of the family while puffiness and dry skin run on my mother’s side. While I know from experience that good moisturizers have taken my skin from nightmarish dry patches to chok chok bliss, I have often found myself questioning my faith in eye cream. I've tried many different brands and often have several products in circulation because I have no clear favorites. Mostly I wonder, do they actually work? I decided to finally find out! 

As the granddaughter of the luxury mega-brand namesake’s Estée Lauder, Aerin Lauder knows a thing or two about class and beauty. She has held various key positions in Estée Lauder since 1992, and decided to start her own brand twenty years later.

A working mother of two, Aerin Lauder believes that living beautifully should be effortless. With this in mind, she curated a collection of nine feminine and luxurious fragrances and body products for AERIN Beauty.

A working mother of two, Aerin Lauder believes that living beautifully should be effortless. With this in mind, she curated a collection of nine feminine and luxurious fragrances and body products for AERIN Beauty.

I was a young teen when I purchased my very first makeup brushes: a cheap travel set I'd spotted in the department store. The handles were thin and flimsy, and the bristles scratched my face and left a patchy application. I wasn't ecstatic about my purchase but I remember feeling proud of myself for getting them. To me, they signaled that I was serious about makeup and learning how to properly apply it to my face.

I started my freelance career from zero. I didn’t have money, connections, nor even the “right” degree to guide me in this particular line of work. I truly knew nothing at first, but I just jumped in and learned what I needed on the go! And of course, I had the Internet. The web is the single most powerful tool that was (and still is) at my disposal since it has made it possible for me to get my name out there, freelance full-time, and finally build my own company.

Set your alarms for 3pm this Friday, girls, because the long wait is finally over. FENTY Beauty will officially be available on Sephora PH and you wouldn't want to miss it when it drops! Until then, we've got a whole load of beauty updates for you. Now that we're in the -ber months, brands are beginning to tease at their holiday beauty collections. Kilay addicts will want to add Benefit's new wonder product to their brows-on-fleek staples, and lippie lovers won't want to miss L’Oreal's jaw-dropping markdown on MLBB must-haves.

Beauty products have come a really long way. Gone are the days when people slathered on toxic substances like mercury, arsenic, and lead in the hopes of getting better skin. People willingly paid small fortunes for miracle tinctures, elixirs and salves without really knowing what’s in them. Nowadays, manufacturers normally list product ingredients from the highest to lowest content so that consumers have an idea not only of what goes into products but also roughly how much of each component is in the mix. It’s not a completely transparent system by any means, but at least buyers can now make better choices simply by checking the ingredients list.

I cursed my frizzy, curly hair as a child of the '90s. Back then, there were no Korean stars with gorgeous perms so everyone coveted the sleek, straight ‘do they saw in shampoo commercials. Like most girls that time, I regularly rebonded my hair for years and years! When I moved to the US for graduate school, I discovered that rebonding procedures are not common there and that regular trips to the salon would be way too much for my student budget. There was also no way I could afford to spend hours with a straightening iron everyday. I felt that I had no choice but to grow my hair out and slowly cut the straightened ends until they were completely gone.

Last week I had a Eureka moment: what if the Project Vanity Community can share their thoughts on PV about the beauty products they've tried? I love loyal readers not just because you're always on PV - I think you're a bunch of intelligent, talented, and passionate women whose opinions I deeply respect. Much of what do here at PV is shaped by those who are part of it so I thought, why not pick YOUR brains a bit more?