While trendy new products may attract people to a store, getting that up-close and personal testing experience is what leaves a lasting impression for the discerning customer. Clinique expertly combines these two concepts for their latest boutique, located in the new wing of the Rockwell Powerplant Mall. Here's a peek at what's in store!

The age of social media has given birth to an interesting phenomena called "doing it for the 'gram". Whenever we post something - because surely we have to post something - we do it with one eye on how good it will look like on our various feeds. It doesn't matter how uncomfortable or miserable we may be at that time. If the post looks great, and 50 other likes agree with us, then we feel good. We feel important. 

Eyeliner can smell fear, they said, and this is certainly true if you have yet to discover the well of courage deep inside yourself. You need conviction when applying eyeliner especially if you're trying to achieve a classic cat eye! Now it takes a lot of practice and a steady hand as well, but to make it easier for all of us, Revlon has created a pizza cutter eyeliner (that's what it looks like!) to come to the rescue.

Late last year, I wrote about how we PV girls wished we had access to skincare brand Peter Thomas Roth. The beauty gods must have heard our prayers because the brand has finally arrived at our shores! Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skincare believes in using scientifically proven ingredients at effective concentrations. These include glycolic acid and retinol for anti-aging, and hyaluronic acid for attracting moisture to the applied area. The brand also believes in using botanicals and other ingredients found in nature.

"Colorful" would probably be the best word to describe this week’s beauty roundup! With tons of golds, pinks, and bright bold hues, this week has got us saying YASSS with every story! From RuPaul’s up and coming collection, to our very own queen Kris Aquino’s collab with Ever Bilena, you will be happy to know that the summer is looking bright and fabulous! Jimmy Choo will also be hopping on the makeup train, so get on board with the latest news from the beauty world!

I must confess that I get a high from scoring an awesome beauty bargain! This is the main reason I keep coming back to The Face Shop (TFS) stores. They put at least one product on a 1 + 1 promo every month, and it draws me in every time. They’re generous with GWPs, they have a rewards program tied up with Bench, and their character collaborations have wowed us again and again. Of course, their skin care and makeup offerings perform really well for the price!

Who's not guilty of indulging in a little retail therapy when they need some cheering up? I used to love stopping by the Watsons store that was on my route home from work, and picking up some random cheap item: a brow pencil, a lip balm, maybe a bottle of nail polish. Nothing wrong with that but the thrill was often short-lived. I'm a bit wiser about my spending habits these days, so while I still love browsing at Watsons, I've learned to shop for items that actually support my goals for self-care!

I started reading Project Vanity roughly two years ago. At the time, I wasn't an active subscriber - I would only drop by the site every so often but what really hooked me in was the Project Vanity Facebook page and community.  The community posts were interesting and engaging, and I enjoyed Liz's GRWM vids. Occasionally, I would open the links to articles shared from the PV website, but it was only a year or so ago that I found myself opening it habitually.

I have another weird confession to make: I’ve held on to practically every beauty empty I’ve accumulated in the past two years.

Maybe I’ll need to take a photo of it later. Maybe I’ll need to revisit the ingredients or instructions. I have to compare this with newer products for research. I want to share about my empties on Instagram. This packaging is too pretty for the bin. In the past, I’ve always found an excuse to keep holding on to my trash. But enough is enough!

Is it just me or is it getting extra hot in here?! We’re looking at another exciting week for beauty with fresh faces, new drops, and juicy sneak peeks! Estée Lauder has just announced their newest Global Spokesmodel, and we found a teaser of another epic collab with hilarious model Chrissy Teigen. Meanwhile, Kardashian sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Kylie seem to be on a mission to flood us with more makeup this 2018. And if you've ever coveted J.Lo's glow (who hasn't?), you'll be as psyched as we are to hear about her plans for launching a new makeup collection!

At this point in its trendy life, Korean skincare has already established a reputation for being elaborate, famously going into the 10-step territory to recreate that 5-star face care experience at home. It's fascinating for the die-hard skincare junkies but honestly intimidating for beginners and the budget-conscious. After all, there's a very real investment of time, effort, and money into all those steps, but it doesn't mean that being anything less than "extra" means lower quality care. Ra&Gowoori is a K-beauty brand that promises high-quality formulations for the more straightforward set, and it was recently launched in the Philippines.

Waking up early to get ready and perfect your makeup can be quite a chore, so it feels like a complete disaster when your makeup starts sliding off after just 3 hours! Having oily skin can be quite a challenge but you don’t necessarily have to just let your hard work go to waste. A mattifying primer can completely change your makeup game! 

I shop mostly online these days. That goes for clothes, beauty products, and even groceries! Maybe it's being 30 and and busy that I can't be bothered to brave the traffic, search for things to buy, and carry around stuff back to my place. Going at it online is simply more convenient and painless!

Even so, I've mostly been avoiding shopping from stores abroad simply because I'm afraid of losing my package in transit. I also don't have time to go to my local post office to haggle questionable customs charges and pick up the item myself. I know brands like Colourpop and Beautylish have international shipping but it seems more hassle to have to worry about so many details.

Our hands are probably among the most hard-working parts of our body. We use them for most activities, and if you’re anxious about germs like I am, you probably wash your hands a lot of times within the day. While it's a good practice for preventing the spread of disease, this can result to dry and flaky hands. This may also cause your cuticles to become prone to hangnails, which are both unsightly and painful! Just as how we go to great lengths to care for the skin on our faces, we need to show some TLC to our hands.

When blk Cosmetics launched in 2017, Anne Curtis wanted to keep makeup simple and uncomplicated. Their initial lineup proved promising and versatile as can be seen in Tellie’s tutorial for creating a K-beauty look for glasses with the blk Cosmetics Highlight, Blush, and Contour Palette. I nabbed the limited edition lipsticks released for Anne’s wedding, and like using the two shades for a gradient lip look.

Not to be outdone by other countries, we Pinays have our fair share of beauty secrets and hacks we swear by. One of our fave budget beauty tips is using baby powder or talcum powder. For many of us, it was a kind of initiation into becoming dalaga, being the only kind of "makeup" that strict high schools allowed for wear. Affordable, multipurpose, and effective, it's something that still finds its way into our kits!

When we think about "multi-tasking makeup", what usually comes to mind are full face palettes and lip & cheek tints. These are definitely great space savers that give more bang for your buck, but I think the true workhorse of any kit is the concealer. To demonstrate just how flexible this one product is, I asked my fellow PV girls to share their favorite concealer hack using Pink Sugar's Our Lil' Secret Concealer. At just P349, this pocket-friendly tube can do more than just brighten the undereye area and cover light blemishes! Here it is in action.

Who’s ready for another HOT roundup? We’re turning up the heat on some of the beauty world’s most exciting deals and steals! From Pink Sugar’s FIRST EVER Summer Sale to Happy Skin’s summer-proof makeup, you'll have plenty of options for updating your makeup collection without hurting your wallet. There's a multi-billion (!) dollar deal with a K-beauty brand that has us hoping, and Kat Von D's reveal of a decadent anniversary collection is making all of us swoon. It’s time to get hot and heavy for beauty!

Confession time: I’ve been plagued by stretch marks on my butt and thighs for years and years. Though they don't usually bother me, I get conscious about wearing swimsuits and opt for styles that feature shorts and skirts. I was resigned to hiding them forever until I heard about Strip Manila's newest offering: a laser procedure called Strip White.

Fresh has been around for a while (since 1991 to be precise), but I only got to try the brand when it finally became available at Sephora Philippines last year. I swiftly fell in love with the its focus on naturally-derived active ingredients that are not just mere afterthoughts; I can see how clean and tight the formulations are. Fillers are used sparingly - the price tag reflects that - which means that you get exactly what is promised.