When it comes to French beauty, we tend to think of a low maintenance and effortless chic look - just bright, clear skin with a touch of red lipstick! The IG feeds of French beauty influencers Mathilde Lacombe, Betty Autier, Louise Follain, Jeanne Damas, and makeup artist Violette give us serious #wokeuplikethis goals. How they look so put together without needing to do much lies in the French beauty philosophy of investing in good skincare. Fortunately, many of those pharmacy brands are now available in the Philippines! Here’s a quick list of what you should check out and the cult favorite products for effortlessly beautiful skin.

Catriona Gray may be best known for wowing the world with her lava walk but the current Miss Universe also presented a rather liberal opinion during her Q&A. She voiced her support for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is currently being considered for legalization here in the Philippines.

What does it mean to “get Nekkid”? For local, small-batch beauty company Nekkid Manila, it means stripping down to the basics by focusing on high-quality, hand-made products. It also means going the cruelty-free, vegan/vegetarian, and all-natural route. But while the latter claims probably belong to a broader discussion on labeling, this review will stick to the experience of trying out eight products from their collection.

Hum-hallelujah, Shimmertints have arrived! After a confluence of events (aka popular demand and product development timing), Colourette finally released a new category of their liquid tints: highlighters. After a game-changing experience with their Face Gloss (which is NOT a liquid but a powder designed to look like liquid), and a lovely time with their liquid lipsticks for Valentine’s, I was actually pretty excited to try these new products, especially when I saw that they decided to release four shades! Y’all know I love a bronze glow, too. The best part: each bottle just sells for P349. I tested them for two weeks, and here’s how they fared:

Happy weekend, PV fam! You better make sure to sit down to read this week’s beauty roundup because we’re bringing the best news ever! Read about the latest from ColourPop (it’s so bad, it’s good!) and the affordable glossy lip dupe you’ll want to grab from Ever Bilena. We’ve also got big scoop on Glossier and new candy nail polish to play with. Oh, and Rihanna is bringing back her Body Lava - just in time for summer!

I’m no makeup artist, but I do enjoy doing the occasional makeover! Since I’m still on a Japan high and we have a bunch of Canmake goodies, we decided to do a J-beauty makeover on my fellow PV girl slash (unwilling) model Stacie. Let’s start!

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with silicone-y primers for the longest time. They either leave my skin feeling like it’s been covered in fast food grease, or cause me to break out into tiny hives on the same day I use them. I recently experienced a bout of  hormonal acne and extra oily skin due to my PCOS though, so I was once again in the market for a primer that didn’t feel like an extra thicc coat of french fry grease.

I am currently in Tagaytay for the 3-day Unilever Summit. Yesterday was the first day, and members of the press, social media influencers, vloggers, and bloggers got to know more about the new innovations of Unilever’s different brands. What struck me the most however was the opening program where Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines’ Vice President for Personal Care, talked about how the company aims to be future-fit and purpose-led.

Metro Manila heaves a collective sigh of relief now that water service has resumed to all areas! Apart from the obvious sanitation issues, having no or very limited access to water was especially tortuous since we’re officially in the hot and sunny season. A daily shower is non-negotiable for us Filipinos, and it’s not uncommon for many to bathe twice a day during summer. It’s refreshing and necessary for removing all the dirt and pollution that sticks to our bodies, but have you ever wondered how it affects the health of your skin?

I am a self-confessed lipstick lover. From mattes to crème, liquid to powder, I will (and have attempted to) try them all. And while I do my best to take care of my lips with proper lip balm prep and staying hydrated, I have had dry and chapped lips for as long as I can remember. Thankfully, most of the recent lipstick launches focused on introducing moisturizing ingredients to their formulas via oils and butters. If you’re in the same predicament as I am, this is good news! Here are five favorite moisturizing formulas so you can kiss the lipstick hater in you goodbye.

Happy weekend, PV fam! There may be a water shortage right now but the beauty world isn’t short of amazing new launches and juicy updates that’ll definitely perk you up! A couple of Disney collabs are coming our way, and an amazing new beauty line that brings inclusivity to another level. We’ve also got the tea on Olivia Jade and Kat Von D! Drink up, because this beauty roundup is filled to the brim!

You guys might know that I started Project Vanity while I was still in college. It was a simple review blog featuring the best makeup that my public school allowance can buy - i.e. not much! I was a different person back then, being utterly self-conscious and secretly ashamed that I looked like the way I did. Now, I am myself. I run a pretty good business with an amazing team, living a dream that didn’t even cross my mind whenever I thought about my future, 11 years ago.

My first bout with tretinoin was not a good one. In fact, it caused me my first trip to the dermatologist. I was in middle school and suffering from acne. And since I was a teen who didn’t know any better and would pick at my pimples, I ended up with many dark scars or hyperpigmentation! I would constantly look for quick ways to get rid of the marks. Out of curiosity, I tried using Maxi Peel’s #3 Exfoliant Solution (because I was a badass - don’t be like me) after seeing ads about it.

Titas, here’s another one to add to your bursting rewards cards holders! Last year, Watsons came out with its very own loyalty card program, and they’re doing their very best to live up to their tag line, Watsons members get more.

Hong Kong holds very special memories for me because it’s the very first place I visited abroad. I was still very young when I first went though, so when I recently traveled there again earlier this year, I couldn’t miss out on doing a bit of beauty shopping!

Let’s start with where to find the best deals and sulit sets: the specialty beauty stores and pharmacies!

Pat McGrath is a legendary makeup artist with a storied, two-decade career that found her creating iconic Fashion Week looks as well as working with top models and photographers around the world. She is known as a visionary with a distinct touch that makes one think of surreal alien glamour, and this aesthetic is reflected in her eponymous makeup line. If you love intense shimmer and seductive colors, then you will enjoy playing with Pat McGrath Labs, which is now available in Sephora.ph.

Since opening their doors in the PH, lifestyle brand Mumuso has been the subject of much controversy. That the packaging designs of their cosmetics products looked almost exactly like those of popular K-beauty brands roused suspicion. Last year, an exposé by a South Korean broadcasting station MBC revealed that the brand masquerading as Korean is in fact from China!

Can you feel the heat?! March may have just begun but summer’s definitely here! With the rising temperatures and scorching sun, we can’t help but feel the need to head to a beach and take a break. But in case you can’t just hop in a car and go for a quick getaway, this week’s beauty roundup may just be the iced tea you need. We’re spotted Patrick Ta’s makeup line, a new Sunnies Face in Cebu, and a makeup collection inspired by the biggest show on TV. Happy reading!

Hair loss is a sensitive topic for many women. We often feel that it’s a condition reserved for men, or women beyond a certain age, if at all. But hair fall can actually begin any time after puberty, and is more common than you think!

Female-pattern baldness is also more difficult to spot, since it occurs around the part of your hair, rather than a receding hairline or thinning crown that men experience. Some hair fall is also normal as hair naturally renews itself, with figures varying from the loss of 50 to 300 strands daily.

Fun fact: MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid was my first bottle of foundation. I asked my mother to buy it for me as a Christmas present, and the makeup artist matched me perfectly to NC42 (at the time). Since then I have been (time and time again) disappointed by other artists who have failed to match my shade properly, but I’ll always remember my first time. My uncle said I looked like a Korean - my skin was so smooth (helped by the pill at the time) and acne scars were non-existent. Flash forward to now: I have tried many a foundation in my day and have admittedly forgotten about the Studio Fix Fluid after emptying it, so I find myself pleasantly surprised about Ole Reliable.