So you find yourself in a shopping district in Tokyo or Osaka, and you duck into a MatsuKiyo or Tokyu Hands. Inside, you are confronted with hundreds, if not thousands of products to choose from. It’s easier to navigate if you have a list of products to look for - maybe you even got product photos so you can show them to non-English speaking shopkeepers! Having a list is definitely helpful but given the chance to explore this beauty wonderland, wouldn’t it be fun to have a completely new discovery?

I usually listen to music on my commute home, but this time I opted to download Episode 2 of the Project Vanity Podcast on my Spotify. While I don’t usually follow podcasts, this particular episode caught my interest because it appeals to my inner beauty journalist! I was particularly excited with this episode because  I wanted to know what insights Colourette Cosmetics owner Nina Dizon could share about running a beauty business. Can you believe that she started as a 19-year-old student?! Listen to her story here:

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!

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!

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!

Foundations used to be the one makeup product that I could live without. For the longest time, I couldn’t find a shade match for my morena skin among the drugstore choices I could afford. I would have given up on foundations completely had I not found my color match at a high-end brand. While brands have been making an effort to be more inclusive with their foundation shade ranges, the same is not always true for lipstick color options. Ever fallen in love with a lipstick shade only to find that it doesn’t work for your skin tone? It’s a little heartbreaking.

As someone with oily and acne-prone skin, I’ve admittedly experimented with my skincare a lot (with the guidance of my derma). I’m convinced that I’ve now found the two skincare must-haves for oily skin: a low pH cleanser and regular exfoliation using acids. While I am admittedly a bit biased because I work for both PV and In Her Element, I never say no to trying Korean brands. I’ve tried the famous TI’AM Signature Red Serum, loved the simple skincare approach of Dear Klair’s, and even stanned for GOT7’s collab with The Face Shop! So when the chance to review Jumiso products came, I was immediately excited and jumped at the opportunity.

When it comes to beauty products, it’s lipstick that always makes me go weak in the knees. I had a phase of obsessing over 70s pale nude matte lips a la Anna Karina in Une Femme est une Femme. I’ve tried to recreate Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s dark glossy lips moment. I double take whenever I spot a lip in bright tangerines, Peggy Carter reds, and anything rosey, regardless of color nuance or finish.

While I had learned to use body sunscreen whenever I’d go swimming, it wasn’t until I became part of the PV team that I realized I needed to wear it daily as well. It’s especially important for me since I commute to work and get direct sun exposure in the process. So as much as we ensure that are our faces get all the love it needs, the rest of our body needs protection from harmful UV rays as well, even on regular days!

I’ve been complaining to Nine and Den about finding the perfect dark lipstick, a la Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Never mind that my collection of orange lippies were the perfect choice for summer - my desire for vampire lips had to be sated! While I was very tempted to buy a tube, I couldn’t find the color nuance at the price point I wanted (aka, cheap) because of my low-buy. So I was super intrigued when I watched a tutorial by YouTuber Sarah Cheung, who created a 90s look inspired by Canto-Pop Queen Faye Wong. She used a brown Colourpop pencil eyeliner and mixed it with her red lipstick to create the signature grunge look of the era. And so, here I am with a bunch of pencil eyeliners and lipsticks to test how well this hack works!

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!

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!

Snail secretion filtrate is a popular ingredient in a lot of Korean skincare. The snail’s mucin (aka, the slimy trail they leave behind) contains ingredients like hyaluronic acid and humectants, and is scientifically proven to have anti-aging benefits. It is also an ancient remedy for burns and wounds as it helps skin repair itself. Apparently, brands like AmorePacific harvest the mucin by “letting snails crawl around a mesh net in a darkened room for half an hour, and then transferred back into their natural habitat to rest.”

I recently went on a cross-region Japan trip with my two best friends, and had the time of my life exploring new cities. But what would a Japan trip be without invading my fave beauty stores? We’ve previously mapped where we get our beauty fix in Tokyo in the first version of this article, but there’s still so much to see! This guide lists more stores that you’re sure to find in most cities - be it all the way in Sapporo, or all the way down in Fukuoka.

When I first stumbled across Face Republic on my social media feeds, I thought I was looking at Nature Republic and Innisfree. My initial confusion came from the similar names and branding, but after reading more about this new player, I learned that it offers the unique premise of creating Korean skincare products that have been specially designed for Filipino skin. The brand’s CEO Yohan Kim explains that the temperate climate in Korea means that their skincare products are designed for drier weather, so formulations can feel too heavy and greasy on Pinays.

Reading Tellie’s generational beauty brand guide struck me a lot because I saw how effective the Korean marketing strategy was on me. I used to like wandering around The Face Shop when I was younger, and desperately wanted to get that ink lippie that Suzy Bae was endorsing at the time. Now, I feel like I’ve graduated with her and have come a long way to a rosy, Lancome lippie-wearing path.

But I guess we never really outgrow our “bias”. If Frankie has BTS and Stacie has Seventeen, Gett has GOT7!

When I first got into acids, I immediately zeroed in on the BHA-based products because of my oily, acne-prone skin. But over time and after using products like the In Her Element Glow Job, I’ve learned my skin can benefit from AHAs, too. Glycolic acid is the most commonly used AHA for both professional and at-home treatments alike because it quickly delivers visible results. If you haven’t tried it yet, read on to know more about why you should add glycolic acid into your skincare routine.

Since discovering the Miss Hana (花娜小姐) gel pencil liner during my last Taipei visit, I knew that Cosmed/Watsons/Ximending and I had unfinished business. Armed with a week’s worth of research and P3000 (converted to NTD1765), I set off for my Taiwan trip with the aim of trying out more of their makeup products. You might be wondering: what about Dr. Morita, My Beauty Diary, My Scheming, Naruko, and 23.5N? The skincare brands are slowly making their way to our shores, so we decided to focus on makeup instead! So if you ever find yourself in Taipei, Kaohsiung, or any of Taiwan’s beautiful cities, consider picking up these local finds.

When I first started to get serious with my skincare routine, one of the brands that would constantly pop up in my searches is Dear Klair’s. This Korean brand’s approach to skincare is “simple, but enough” and they encourage a gentle skincare routine that’s fuss-free yet effective. It seemed the complete opposite of the popular Korean 10-step process.

One of my favorite things to do when Christmas comes is buying presents for the special people in my life. I just love the thrill of being able to find the perfect gift! One of the things I like to get for the more kikay crowd are beauty sets because of the variety of items you get to try. Need some inspo for your last minute shopping? Here are some of our Christmas gift set picks that you should definitely check out!