Hair, as they say, is your crowning glory. Great hair can really be a nice finishing touch to an A-game face but when it comes to my curls, I find its best to leave them alone. Before I learned to love them, I went through the whole phase of getting them rebonded regularly and using a straightening iron to remove any kinks. I use gentle shampoo formulas, conditioners and a lot of hair treatments to keep them in good shape, but I never brush my hair!  

The term "skincare" usually makes us think of the best ways and products to keep our faces clear, smooth and shine-free but that's obviously just a small portion of our skin! It would be very expensive to use toners and serums for the rest of our body though, so the next best thing is to make sure you get a good lotion for every day use. Apart from the ability to moisturize, many now offer other benefits, and you can pretty much get them at any budget. Here are our top picks!

Layering skincare has its benefits, but how does one pull it off on super oily skin? I know - it sounds heavy, thick, and icky factoring in the humid climate and our overactive oil glands, but it is possible! The key lies in using gel-type skincare.

Unlike traditional creams, gel formulas are usually water-based and more lightweight. This allows for the product to get absorbed by the skin quickly, and doesn’t leave any sticky residue. Gel formulations aren’t just for moisturizers either - you can choose this option even for your facial cleansers, sunscreen, and masks. While you don't necessarily need to have a multiple step regimen, using gel products can make wearing skincare more comfortable for oily-skinned gals as well as those who don't like the feeling of heavy skincare. Need some recos? Here are some of our favorite gel products for different budgets!

Before we discovered the wonders of sheet masking, pampering our skin conjured images of green goop-covered faces with cucumber slices placed over the eye area. Yup, we're talking about clay masks! Clay is a soft, loose, naturally-occurring material that is rich in minerals. It is also very absorbent, which is why it's frequently used in skincare to draw out deep-seated impurities that simple cleansing can't reach. It's a great ingredient for unclogging pores and thus reducing pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads. Some even have brightening and anti-aging properties!

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!

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).

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!

I consider myself to be a foundation fiend. As a girl with very oily skin and crazy work hours, only the most long-wearing of foundations stand a chance of making it through my typical day. I don’t feel that I need full coverage but I've found that the two qualities - long wear and opacity - usually go hand-in-hand.

Sheet masks may be in the limelight right now but if you have oily or combination skin, then a clay mask can be a great addition to your skincare regimen. While sheet masks are mostly designed to infuse the skin with moisture, clay masks work to draw out impurities and help reduce oiliness.

Early this year, the internet went abuzz when L’Oreal released a line of pure clay masks that got rave raviews. We at PV hoped that the brand would bring them here in the PH, and our prayers were answered!

The key to looking fresh everyday is to look wide awake! That’s why we go to great lengths to draw attention to our eyes with mascara and eyeliner. Unfortunately, if we have dark undereye circles, we can end up detracting attention from our beautiful peepers and end up looking haggard instead.

Last July, Rustan’s The Beauty Source held its biggest event of the year: Rustan's Beauty Addict. For one day a year for five years running, the beauty department of the luxury store gets transformed into a wonderland of food, freebies, and promos!

We've raved about the Ellana Cosmetics foundations so many times before and even now, their crazy good powders still have a place in our vanities. But did you know that they also have killer liquid lipsticks?

Ellana Mineral Cosmetics Lip in Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks have one of the best wear-it-and-forget-it formulas we've ever tried. Once set, they're completely smudge-proof and transfer-proof. In fact, we tested them on a swimming trip and they passed with flying colors! What's even more exciting is that Ellana has just released five new shades, bringing your color options to eight in total.

I first learned about Kanebo from my mom way back when I was grade school. Watching her use it as I grew up, it was also the brand I sought when I started buying my own makeup. The price was out of range for my student budget though so I gravitated towards the more affordable Kate Tokyo (it was simply known as "Kate" then). Kate Tokyo doesn’t get as much attention as other Kanebo brands like Lunasol and Impress but it's like Kanebo’s chic, trendier sister! It offers the same high quality expected of a Japanese heritage brand but at a price that's on the pocket. This season, Kate Tokyo is releasing some new products and improving on their existing ones as well. Let's explore!

I cursed my frizzy, curly hair as a child of the '90s. Back then, there were no Korean stars with gorgeous perms so everyone coveted the sleek, straight ‘do they saw in shampoo commercials. Like most girls that time, I regularly rebonded my hair for years and years! When I moved to the US for graduate school, I discovered that rebonding procedures are not common there and that regular trips to the salon would be way too much for my student budget. There was also no way I could afford to spend hours with a straightening iron everyday. I felt that I had no choice but to grow my hair out and slowly cut the straightened ends until they were completely gone.

When you have the perfect outfit, flawlessly-applied makeup, and the right accessories to match, all you need is a fragrance for the finishing touch! Aside from making you smell good, scents are also a means of self-expression. It can enhance your mood and help you to create the right impression. Thankfully, those who don’t want to spend a whole lot of money for a scent will find that there are good options in Blackwater Fragrances.

Pinays used to steer clear of applying any kind of oil on their faces. With the often hot and sticky weather plus oily skin being a common beauty concern, using facial oils didn't really make much sense! As more beauty gurus started including oils in their skincare routines and mixing them with their foundations though, that perception has definitely shifted to seeing oils in a more favorable light.

One of our favorite direct selling beauty brands, Mary Kay, celebrates its 17th year in the Philippines! It seems like only yesterday when I first started seeing catalogs of the brand. And now, the brand is stronger than ever with its crowd favorites and new products as well!

Lurking around in Facebook groups as well as the comment sections of PV, I’ve noticed that a common favorite perfume among gals is Dolce&Gabbana’s D&G Light Blue Eau de Toilette. It’s really not hard to see why. D&G Light Blue is a fresh, citrusy fragrance that goes well with the tropical climate we have. The lemon and green apple notes are such a hit among Pinays and all over the world, too! Now, sixteen years after the launch of this cult favorite, Dolce&Gabbana has finally added a new permanent fragrance to the line: D&G Light Blue Eau Intense Eau de Parfum.