If you loved and now miss the Careline x Spongebob Puh-Lips Lip Oil, don’t worry because Careline just dropped a worthy replacement! Meet the Careline Lip Drip Tinted Lip Oil (P295 / 4g). This time, instead of just a handful of shades, Careline went all out with 18 new colors. It’s their biggest lip color collection yet, and here’s everything you need to know.

I’m not proud of it, but yesterday I was a little too pushy with my friend about going to the gym. Not my best moment. It’s not that I think she’s fat; I don’t care about her weight. We all know by now that the gym isn’t some magical fat-melting activity anyway. What I do care about is how much better I’ve felt since making movement a regular part of my life, and I genuinely wish more people could experience that too.

A few years ago, we collectively went on an actives binge. We were layering retinol like it was free, scrubbing our faces raw with glycolic acid, and treating skincare like some kind of high-stakes chemistry experiment. More was more, and if it tingled—or better yet, burned—it must be working, right?

But somewhere between the tenth TikTok tutorial on how to fix your over-exfoliated skin and the collective realization that maybe, just maybe, skin shouldn’t feel like sandpaper, the pendulum swung the other way. Welcome to 2025, where skincare is all about barrier repair.

Aging. It happens to all of us, yet somehow, society has made it feel like a personal failure if you’re a woman. The beauty industry loves to sell us the idea that we should be anti-aging—as if growing older is something we should apologize for. But let’s get one thing straight: aging is not the enemy.

Aging is a privilege. It is the quiet confidence that comes from knowing exactly who you are. It is the freedom of caring less about what others think and more about what truly matters. It is the wisdom to know what’s worth stressing over (your health, your happiness) and what absolutely isn’t (that one fine line that definitely wasn’t there yesterday).

So instead of fighting it, why not celebrate it?

I’m on day 12 of isotretinoin, and my skin is breaking out like crazy. I know purging is part of the process, but this cystic acne just won’t quit! I have pimples on pimples. My chin is so swollen that even moving my mouth aches. My lips are dry and my skin feels ridiculously rough. I’m trying to stay calm, reminding myself that this is temporary, just two more weeks, maybe four—but honestly? It’s taking every ounce of maturity and self-confidence I’ve built over the past 20 years to not completely freak out right now.

I feel like everyone is looking at my acne and judging me for it. What kind of beauty editor has skin like this? Logically, I know it’s just the spotlight effect—no one actually cares that much—but emotionally, it’s a challenge. So yes, I’m feeling a little sorry for myself lately.

Acne is a tricky thing. It’s not just about getting rid of pimples, it’s also about keeping them from coming back and healing your skin properly to ensure you’re not left with scars in the process. The worst part? The more you try to “fix” it, the more it sometimes fights back. Over-cleansing, over-exfoliating, and using harsh treatments can strip the skin, causing even more oil production and inflammation. It’s a cycle that can feel impossible to break.

Lipstick trends have taken a turn for the better. Gone are the days when matte formulas reigned supreme, leaving lips dry and unforgivingly cracked by midday. Now, it’s all about hydration, comfort, and color that wears well throughout the day. The Ever Bilena Moisture Boost Serum Lip Stick (P 295 / 2.5 g) is a perfect example of this shift—packed with nourishing ingredients while still delivering strong pigment and a long-lasting stain.

I’m reheating the nachos by bringing back my Editor’s Picks column, where I get to share a few things that I’m enjoying lately. There are so many new and upcoming beauty products that it’s a challenge to make space for all of them on TikTok and Instagram, but in an article I can get into it with a little more detail.

This week, let’s talk about the little luxuries—the things I used to brush off as unnecessary but now realize are absolutely essential to my happiness. You hit a certain age where “pwede na yan” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Smelling amazing? A must. Sleeping well? A priority. Healthy hair, hydrated skin, and soft, moisturized lips? If it makes me high-maintenance then so what. It’s all about refusing to suffer unnecessarily when better options exist. So, here are the small but mighty upgrades that are making life just a little bit better.

I was scrolling through Best of the Best Manila, one of my favorite Facebook groups, when I came across a post that stopped me in my tracks. An anonymous woman shared that she had been training for a marathon for a whole year—twelve months of early mornings, sore muscles, and pushing her limits. But now, she’s 13 weeks pregnant. On a recent training run, she started to bleed. The baby is okay, but her OB told her she had to stop. No marathon. No finish line. No moment of triumph after all that work.

She turned to the group, probably hoping someone would say, Oh, I ran a marathon while pregnant! It was totally fine!. But the response was almost unanimous: Don’t risk it. It’s not worth it. You can always run a marathon later, but you can’t replace a lost baby.

I grew up with my mom insisting that I had to wear a bra every single day—otherwise, my boobs would start sagging immediately. And, of course, I believed her. Who wouldn’t trust their mom on these things? But as it turns out, not only do bras not prevent sagging, they might actually make it worse in the long run! Over time, relying on them can weaken the connective tissues that naturally support our breasts, since the bra is doing all the heavy lifting instead. Shocking, right? These days, I rarely wear one. I’ll put one on if I’m wearing something super fitted or if I’m working out, but otherwise, I’m on the nipple tape train.

If you love cream products but have oily skin (a struggle, I know), then you’ve probably been let down by ones that feel too sticky or disappear by lunchtime. It’s hard to find something that sits just right, you know, something blendable, lightweight, and long-wearing. So when I got my hands on the Ever Bilena Pillow Pop Multi Pot, I was cautiously excited. A bouncy, creamy-to-powder formula for just P295 (or P143 on sale!)? Sounds promising. But does it deliver?

I’ve been allergic (figuratively speaking) to strenuous physical activity for most of my adult life. I did not like sweating too hard or spending too much time thinking about fitness. I thought I was fit (comedy gold). I’ve been hitting tennis balls these past ten years, but that was just pa-cute tennis—I had never even played a full game until recently. But ever since I got shipped off to the emergency room for three days about four years ago, something has changed within me. Something was not the same. I found out that I’m extremely hypertensive and that, after extensive tests, it’s just my bad luck with genetics. I’ve been on maintenance meds since I was 33, and that will continue into the foreseeable future.

Narciso Rodriguez has always mastered the art of understated sensuality. His fragrances don’t scream for attention or assault the senses. Instead, they somehow leave a lingering impression of something beautiful passing you by. Today, let’s talk about two of the brand’s scents: for him Vetiver Musc Eau De Toilette and for her Musc Nude Eau de Parfum. Both are different in personality yet complementary, almost like a perfectly matched couple.

One is fresh, woody, and confidently masculine; the other is soft, musky, and effortlessly feminine. Let’s get into it!

If you’ve ever had a keratin treatment at the salon, you know the magic of stepping out with smooth, shiny, and frizz-free hair. But keratin isn’t just a one-time treatment—it’s actually a naturally occurring protein in our hair, skin, and nails. Think of it as the building block that keeps our strands strong and resilient.

However, due to constant exposure to heat, pollution, and chemical treatments (yes, even your favorite hair dye), our hair’s keratin levels deplete over time. That’s when we start seeing breakage, dullness, and rough texture. The good news? You can replenish lost keratin through keratin-infused hair products, giving your strands a much-needed boost without an expensive trip to the salon.

Last week, as I was walking down the street, someone came down from a jeep smelling like Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge. That is a P36,000 bottle of perfume (P17,000 if you get the 70ml bottle), so my first thought was, why is someone who can afford a bottle like that riding a jeep of all things? Maybe they just like riding jeeps, I don’t know. But then I remembered that there are a lot of perfume dupe brands out in the market right now and you can get one that smells like MFK for P200 in Shopee.

And that’s when it really hit me: fragrance is a great equalizer.

Every year, the skincare industry churns out a new “holy grail” ingredient—one that promises to fix all your skin concerns without fail. A few years ago, it was hyaluronic acid. Then it was Vitamin C for a while. Then we have niacinamide, which has appeared in nearly every serum, moisturizer, and toner on the market. But let’s cut to the core: Is niacinamide actually worth it, or is it just another overhyped fad? And if it is effective, what’s the best way to use it? Let’s break it down.

Hi, any makeup tips for wedding guests? It's my first time to be invited to a friend's wedding and i'm excited! Kaso lang, wala akong idea kung ano ang do's and dont's when it comes sa makeup when attending a wedding as a guest. Noong wedding kasi ng brother ko, included na ako doon sa entourage ng bride for the hair and makeup i'm going to be doing my own hair and makeup this time hehe thanks in advance! -M

I love this question because weddings are fun, and I want you to feel confident celebrating with your friends and family that day. I regularly go to a lot of events because of my job, so I’d like to think that I’m a bit of an expert when it comes to doing my own event makeup

I started sewing when I got COVID during the pandemic, around September 2021. Stuck in isolation with nothing much to do, I figured—why not spend the next two weeks learning something I’d always wanted to try? At the time, I was also binging Next In Fashion on Prime, where contestants were constantly challenged to sew a gown in just five hours. I thought, well, how hard could it be? So, I ordered the cheapest sewing machine I could find on Shopee and started watching tutorials on YouTube.

If there’s one thing I never expected to rave about, it’s a fiber supplement. But let me tell you, the Trizie Mango Shots deserve all the love! My first encounter with this little miracle came thanks to the Beauty Creator Summit, where Trizie included a sachet in the loot bags. Having already been a fan of Trizie’s other supplements, I was curious to try it—though I’ll admit, I’d never ventured into fiber supplements before.

You know what’s on my mind today? The fact that it’s 2025, and somehow, we’re still debating whether women deserve proper sex education. Isn’t that wild? We can 3D-print houses and send billionaires to space, but when it comes to teaching girls about their own bodies, people still act like it’s the end of the world.

Growing up in the Philippines, I can’t say I’m surprised. There was no such thing as a proper talk about sex or reproduction. If you had questions, you either didn’t ask or risked getting side-eyed by every adult in the room. It was the ultimate DIY situation: figure it out on your own, hope for the best, and maybe pick up a few questionable “facts” from equally clueless friends. It's literally the blind leading the blind. If someone gets pregnant then it’s 100% the woman’s fault for not keeping her legs closed.