Umm, wait - how is June over already?! While the rains are slowly coming in, there’s been a downpour of epic beauty drops! Get ready for a roundup on all things Kylie (it’s a real beauty battle and things are about to get feisty!), and take some time to stand with Avon for a great cause. We’ll soon have the option of channeling Karl Lagerfeld’s signature style, but meanwhile let’s jump for joy at Estee Lauder’s announcement!

Once upon a time in a place called Manila, a dry-skinned girl discovered a moisturizer that worked miracles as she slept. She woke up the next morning to the most amazing siopao-bouncy skin, and thus began her obsession with sleeping masks. Many years later, the girl’s love for sleeping masks continued to grow, and she continued to try other products in search of The Holy Grail Sleeping Mask of her dreams...

Love Marie Ongpauco Escudero is a woman of many hats. She is the actress Heart Evangelista. Beloved wife to Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero. Creative Director of local fashion brand Kamiseta. And now, the first Filipino artist collaborator of international brand, L’Oreal Paris. From “exhibiting” her colorful paintings on Hermes bags, Love Marie’s art now graces five limited edition L’Oreal Color Riche Matte lipsticks!

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a gold rush in the drugstore foundation category. All the drugstore brands are trying to become The Chosen One for bases; everybody is trying to outdo each other when it comes to quality, shade range (hurrah for inclusivity), packaging, and value. Revlon’s new Candid line holds no punches in this regard. They’ve recently come out with 31 shades from light to very deep - their most comprehensive selection yet - of which 12 are available here in the Philippines. It comes in cute millennial pink packaging to boot!

Let’s take a look at the Candid line and see what I think about this intriguing collection.

Let’s be honest: sticky sunscreens will certainly have us preferring to skip sun protection altogether. This is probably why I’ve always turned to Japanese sunscreens because of their non-stickiness and comfortable wear. But good news to those want to patronize our local products - there are actually some good (and non-sticky) proudly Filipino sunscreens in the market! Even better news is that these are all under P500 so we have no more excuses to skip on sunscreen. Here’s what I tried!

It makes sense for the things you use to prettify yourself to also look pretty themselves, right? This week’s beauty roundup has no shortage of gorgeously designed makeup! We’ve got the latest on MAC’s IG-worthy new collection and Colourpop’s out-of-this-world collab with KathleenLights. There’s also been a gigantic luxury skincare brand acquisition that we hope will make scoring their products easier in the future. Read on for all the deets!

When I was five, my parents took me to watch Mulan on the big screen. She instantly became my favorite Disney princess, and I loved wearing the Mulan costume I got for Halloween. Even after watching all the other Disney movies, Mulan remains to be my favorite because of her strength and her courage to challenge the norm. So I was super happy to see that she’s joining the other princesses in Happy Skin’s second collab with Disney!

There are only two things in the world that are guaranteed to quickly take me from 0 to 10 on the emotional scale: lipstick and Disney Princesses. So when Happy Skin announced their new Disney collection a few weeks ago, a follow up to their 2016 release, I could not calm down!

Why are your comments important to us? As much as we devote ourselves to researching all our articles extensively and going into great detail in our reviews, there’s always something new learn. We love it when our readers share their own knowledge and experiences, especially when they try out something that we recommended. So congratulations to Jobelle Mercado, who updated us to say that she found her new HG after reading our story! We’re so glad to know that sunflower oil also worked for you.

First things first: I apologize that my bottle of the Love Beauty And Planet Volume and Bounty Shampoo (P390 for 400ml in Lazada) is so grotty and old in the photos. There is literally only 10% of product left inside this bottle because I’ve used it pretty much everyday since I got it! I didn’t plan to write about this product let alone rave about it and yet it has been a part of my life ever since it launched last March. It is time for me to break my silence on this gem of a shampoo!

The French beauty look has always been inspiring. From skincare to makeup, everything feels chic and effortless! Brands have launched collection after collection inspired by Paris, and the latest comes from Amway through their Artistry Studio™ collection, which takes inspiration from different iconic cities around the world.

When Human Heart Nature launched their Made to Bloom Lipsticks earlier this year, I immediately added it to my beauty shopping list and brought home one of the pretty floral tubes. I was honestly excited to see a local brand’s take on the nude matte lip, especially since they claim that the shades are morena-friendly. It seemed like a fitting update to their makeup line, since finding that My Lips But Better (MLBB) nude shade is crucial to building a lipstick wardrobe.

Ah, the multi-pot - endlessly desirable (at least for me) yet somewhat difficult to manage. We already love cream blushes, but I love the idea of having one product I can use for multiple applications that I can toss into my bag. They’re also a hot topic due to the new Sunnies Face Airblush release, so for those who want to be more conscientious about their beauty purchases, we decided to test it out together with other cream products to find out which one reigns supreme.

This week has all you need to know about Charlottle Tilbury’s newest launch (it’s good for the environment and our makeup bags) as well as an Asian exclusive, care of Maybelline. Brow lovers, get excited because Glossier’s latest product may be your newest secret for getting on fleek! Of course, we’re dipping into the controversy about Jaclyn Hill’s “furry” lipsticks. Mind your hands ‘cause this tea is piping hot!

Long before glass skin became a trend, I had already been longing for clear and smooth skin. I struggle with hormonal acne, and I’ve inherited my parents’ skin issues like uneven texture and huge pores. Learning to accept my skin has not been easy but I now know that even for peopIe with generally good skin, this level of perfection is unrealistic. While I no longer obsess with it as before, I’ve found that I can reduce the appearance of my skin texture by incorporating certain products into my routine. Read on to know what they are!

I’ve lost count of all the times I’ve done a full face of makeup but forgotten to curl my lashes or apply mascara. My eyes end up looking dead and my makeup uneven. I feel like this is the beauty equivalent of showing up in a fantastic outfit with bare feet, so I’ve taken to packing along a mascara and a curler in my kikay kit! But do you know how difficult it is to comb and curl lashes in a moving vehicle? It’s a (potentially painful) disaster waiting to happen.

With the recent coronation of a new Binibining Pilipinas, Catriona Gray has passed on the title to Gazini Ganados. Of course, Queen Cat continues to reign supreme as Miss Universe (and over our hearts)! Serving look after killer look, Catriona inspired us to take a closer look at the intricacies of pageant makeup. Her bold red lip had the local beauty community scrambling to find out what lipstick she has used, and it’s what led me to visit an unassuming little compound in Quezon City.

When I first saw Esfolio products a few years ago on BeautyMNL, I was intrigued. Like most other Korean skincare brands, they have products that highlight natural ingredients like aloe vera, coconut, green tea, and milk. Upon closer inspection, though, I was surprised to also find skincare favorites like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and collagen. Even more surprisingly, the products were priced very reasonably. They had a LOT of products, too, at over 80 variants! But since I like trying on products before buying, I found myself wishing these products were available not just online but in physical stores, as well.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to create new beauty products from nothing more than a bunch of ideas. Writing about them is one thing but making something new is a whole different ball game! It’s easy to say that a product must be this and this to be perfect. However, there are so many other things to consider like cost of goods, the minimum order, how talented the chemist and how capable the manufacturer is, availability of ingredients, and packaging. Gosh, packaging. You have to think about aesthetics versus functionality and even how the product reacts to the container over time.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics arrived in the Philippines late last year at the freyja concept store in Glorietta. If you don’t frequent Makati, though, the brand has opened a branch at SM Mall of Asia and another inside SM Beauty in Megamall!