If there’s one makeup product I’m guilty of hoarding, it would be lipsticks. From all the different kinds to shades beyond the basic five, I can’t seem to stop collecting and trying out the latest! Today’s focus is the reliable bullet matte lipstick. If you’re looking for the long-wearing, super pigmented kind, look no further than the matte ones. We’ve previously featured seven to try under P500 as well as the PV staff favorites. This next batch we’re trying out will hopefully show us just how far the supposedly drying matte lipsticks have come. Let's go!

Blemishes have always been my #1 arch nemesis. Even well into my adulthood, I'm still prone to pimples that leave nasty marks on my face for weeks. This year though was the year that I got into acid exfoliators in skincare. I must admit that I used to prefer physical exfoliators, but because of acid-lovers in the Project Vanity Team, I was finally convinced! Acids turn over skin faster compared to physical exfoliators. Blemishes that takes six weeks to disappear can now go away in three to four weeks - how's that for miraculous?

The acids that I've been using though are pretty expensive, so as usual, I had to find a way to make my favorite high-end products more affordable. That's why we created the latest product from In Her Element: the Glow Job 5% Glycolic Gel Cream (P775 for 30ml).

Pinay beauty lovers rejoiced when Sephora.ph went live last year! Since then, they have slowly started bringing in well-loved brands from the US Sephora such as Too Faced, Kat von D, Marc Jacobs, Hourglass, Fresh, and most recently, Natasha Denona. And while we are ever so grateful to finally have these brands within our reach, we can’t help but wish that Sephora would bring in these brands, too!

Any self-respecting beauty girl knows that one of the core tenets of millennial beauty is this: kilay is life. Full, perfectly-groomed Insta-ready (though not necessarily Instagram) eyebrows are "in", leading to any number of products catering to them, from liquid brow liners to peel-off “tattoo” tints. But while women have embraced rocking the power brow, one had to wonder... how might guys feel about trying the trend?

Happy weekend, PV girls! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? How about your wish lists? If you’re stuck on what to buy for your beauty-loving friends (or yourself) may this week’s roundup give you that inspiration you need. From an epic holiday sale to luxe brand making its way to our shores, we’ve got beauty for all budgets all tied up in a bow for you. Check out Estée’s newest gorgeous face and what Maybelline has in store for us next year (here’s a hint: it doesn’t involve Gigi). Happy reading!

Here in Project Vanity, we love sharing our beauty tips, product insights, and hot new finds. What we don’t like sharing, however, is makeup itself – we don't want bacteria spreading around and causing problems! Even if you don't share makeup products with other people, your personal collection can still harbor unhealthy growths that can compromise your safety and shorten the lifespan of your products. So it's still important to sanitize your makeup regularly.

When shopping for beauty products, two of the PV girls' favorite stores are Watsons and the Beauty Section of the SM Store. Aside from getting great deals at their many sales, buying with an SM Advantage Card from either store also gets you discounts and points which you can then use for future purchases. In fact, I’ve been able to buy a few lipsticks just from my accumulated points! Getting to treat myself to something from SM Beauty is always a fun experience, and now I get share that joy with others!

Move over, Instagram brows - Korean straight brows are in. They're perfect for creating a look that's sweet, innocent, and oh-so young! Naturally, they pair well with Hallyu-inspired gradient lips and puppy eyeliner. If you've attempted it before and ended up with a solid block instead of feathery frames, we're here to help you, dear reader, to achieve your K-Drama goals. Snagging an oppa on the side is just a plus!

I will take any chance to visit a place with cooler climate, and I suppose a lot of Manila-dwellers would feel the same way for obvious reasons. But anytime I start packing for a trip like that, the anxiety portion of the program also begins. How cold will it get? Do I have warm-enough clothing? Will my dry skin turn into a flaky mess??? Cue over-packing both clothing and beauty products. Sadly for me, lugging around what feels like every skincare product in my collection doesn’t always guarantee success in actually keeping my skin moisturized. As the saying goes, it's all about quality over quantity.

Have you ever swatched foundation in the store, fell in love, and purchased it only to discover that it had turned darker (or worse, turned orange!) when you got home? If this sounds familiar, you've experienced having makeup oxidize on you. This is why beauty reps often ask "acidic po ba kayo?" when you shop face bases, but it's not helpful because the answer is always "yes" as our skin literally has an acidic pH level. What is causing the change in color then?

The holidays are fast approaching and you know what that means - parties and get-togethers will be keeping your social calendar jam-packed and busy! For me, it’s the time of year when I whip out my bright and glittery makeup because it suits the festive holiday spirit. This time, I'll be putting down my usual lippies to give way to something more fun, like some metallic bling from J.Cat Beauty's Flash Metal Metallic Matte Lip (P329).

I honestly never thought that there would come a day when I could confidently say (and that other people would actually agree) that my skin is in a good place. I’m crossing all my toes and fingers that it will remain as it is, with less breakouts, bumps, and visible pores compared to a few months ago. I now know that it takes a good amount of discipline to keep my skin in good condition but it’s definitely possible.

There’s lots to celebrate this week, PV girls, because the latest MAC Cosmetics collaboration will have you beaming with Pinoy Pride. We've also marked the launch date of Gigi Hadid’s Maybelline Collection on our calendars (it’s coming to the PH sooner than you think!) and adding some sparkly new palettes to our wish lists! Who’s ready for the scoop? Let’s get reading!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever applied your makeup at home, only to leave the house and find that your application is uneven or overdone! Getting enough good lighting in your vanity area is actually important to ensuing that your makeup game is on point but we may not always have access to lots of natural light. Maybe your room doesn’t have a window or enough light sources, or you need to do your makeup early in the morning before the sun rises. If you don’t have the budget for a full light-up vanity and aren’t handy enough to DIY a similar setup, a mirror with LED lights is just the thing to get you out of the dark!

When we got a sneak peek of the full roster of H&M Beauty, I was personally curious if the quality lived up to its chic packaging. In general, the eye and lip products are great and can really compete with more established brands but what caught my eye was their set of Powder Blushers, which range from soft hues to shocking pigments. They're just P499 at select H&M branches. Naturally, I got three… because that’s what people like me do.

As consumers, we might be fickle about where our clothing and our food are made, but what about cosmetics and personal care products? To be honest, I never considered this before, when my beauty buys were limited to drugstore and drugstore-priced products. When I started getting into mid- and higher-end products though (it strangely coincides with the time I started writing for PV, hmm) I admit my curiosity was piqued because the higher price tag made them feel like actual investment pieces. So I had to know: am I getting my money’s worth by spending more for these items when they could possibly be made in the same place as my cheap thrills?

I'm lucky to call Laveen and Rohit Mirpuri of Pink Sugar my friends. I always learn new things from them when it comes to business, and they are always super frank (sometimes painfully frank) when it comes to feedback about my own business and products. I am the same with them. When you're working your ass off as hard as we all do, then there really is no time for bullshit. I appreciate that!

While I've already reviewed the different product lines of Collagen by Watsons products, I wanted to dedicate a post to my unexpected new HG: the White Regeneration Instant Finishing Cream. Adding this product to my routine has brought me a lot closer to achieving that coveted chok chok glow, and budget-friendly price tag just blows my mind!

I am tired of dry, crusty, flaky, uncomfortable lip products that make me want to take of all of my makeup in the middle of the day. I think the makeup community has been collectively sold on the liquid lipstick hype that some of us have forgotten what it’s like not to have to perform 70 lip preparation steps in order to appease the liquid lipstick gods. That’s why traditional bullets, like the American-made Milani Color Statement Lipsticks (P300 from Lannel Boutique), are a breath of fresh air!

The Drunk Elephant Sukari Babyfacial ($80 or about P4,000) first caught my attention when I read that it's Sephora's fastest-moving product. I have never heard of Drunk Elephant before, but surely, if it's such a best-seller, it's worth trying out? For the sake of research, I had my friend buy one for me while she was in the US some months back. I didn't really ~read~ the product description all that well so I only found out that this is a 25% AHA and 2% BHA mask when I got the box. Yikes.