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!

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.

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.

Today I want to talk about something new called the Sephora Collection Rouge Lacquer Lipstick (P745 at Sephora.ph). This line is all about shine, shine, shine! It looks like a lip lacquer but comes in a tube that has a buttery melt-on-your-lips texture. There are 20 shades available from demure to intense so there’s sure to be a color for you.

Let me do a quick rundown of the product!

Full-on matte lipsticks have had their day in the sun, but now their time is over. It’s all about hydrating tints and glosses these days as the beauty crowd moves towards a more comfortable aesthetic! Today I have a new release from one of my fave Japanese brands called the K-Palette Lasting Semi-Matte Lip Tint (P795). It promises to be non-drying and long-wearing - two things that are non-negotiable to the discerning lipstick connoisseur.

The intense heat we’re experiencing this summer has made my lips drier than usual. Although I love wearing matte lip products, it’s just too uncomfortable to wear now because even with a balm underneath, my lips still dry out like a raisin. I’ve been reaching for tinted lip balms more instead, as the fuss-free application gives me juicy moisture and a hint of color at the same time! Whether you want just a sheer tint or full-on pigmentation, we’ve got great recos for every kind of budget.

I’ve been a fan of Colourette Cosmetics ever since Liz gave me a Colourtint. Now, I have a small collection of Colourtints, and a few more lippies from their different lipstick lines. I find their lip products to offer great quality at a very affordable price so when Colourette released these limited edition matte lipsticks called Christmattes, I just had to try them out! This post is a bit late considering this was released during the holidays, but I hope to give you an idea of how Colourette bullet lipsticks perform.

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.

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.

I sometimes tend to forget that Avon is not a local brand. Witnessing the strong foothold that Avon has had on our market growing up, I’m convinced that at least 90% of Filipinas have tried an Avon product at least once in their life. While I’ve never been particularly drawn to their makeup, I have heard good things about the Mark. by Avon line. Supposedly the edgier and trendier sister to the True Color brand, Mark. offers playful, creative products at the affordable price point that Avon is known for.  

Although our tropical country doesn’t get to experience the variation of having four seasons, our early mornings and late nights have been chillier than usual! The rare gift of Philippine #sweaterweather is upon us, and we can slide into our comfy jumpers and knits even out of Baguio. While it certainly feels good to take a break from the heat, cold weather actually dries out our skin way faster than the hot summer sun. Dry, flaky skin doesn’t have to be the new normal though, and we’ve written about how to SOS (save our skin) from dying from the cold. But did you know that you should give your pretty pout some extra TLC, too?

Revlon has been around since 1932. For 86 years it has innovated and defined beauty for generations of women, proving itself as a cosmetics business that has survived the test of time and fickle tastes. In the last few years, however, I’ve felt that Revlon has become boring. The brand comes out with solid, reliable products all the time, but people don’t get as excited about it when the competition for eyeballs and wallet space is so fierce.

With the new Shoot The Moon Collection though, I feel like Revlon is getting out of their funk and becoming a little (okay, a lot!) more experimental with their offerings. This recently released 16-piece collection is all about outer space in all its weird glamour - the deep blue packaging is sprinkled with gold shooting stars, rocket ships, and UFOs.

Liquid lipsticks never seem to go out of style. Both drugstore and high-end brands are constantly putting out their own version of this classic beauty staple, but many a makeup addict asks for just one thing: a budge-proof formula. When the Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipsticks came into the scene, the beauty community was abuzz about how it was the most affordable long-wearing liquid lipstick ever. It flew off the shelves when it was locally launched last year, and recently released 14 new shades inspired by the vibrant hues of New York City. From pinks and deep reds, to oranges and dark purple - they got it all covered! Many have raved about this formula so I set out to test if it’s really worth all the fuss.

Matte lipsticks have gone a long, long way since their rise to popular culture in the 90s. They used to be thick and heavy on the lips, like you swiped a layer of cement on top. Today, there are some wonderful formulations that feel like practically nothing as they sit on your mouth! It’s completely unnecessary to suffer through a matte lipstick these days unless, of course, you’re crazy about the color.

Celebrity makeup lines are a dime-a-dozen these days. And while the next actress/singer/influencer to announce a collab or launch their own brand might not be so surprising anymore, the intrigue is still there. What passes a star’s standard of quality? How do they curate a collection? How involved are they really in the development process? Only one way to find out!

I stalk Colourette’s releases like a hawk. It began with their Kolorete release in August 2018 (Buwan ng Wika for our less informed friends), and while I was not always a fan of their packaging and branding, I was in awe of how they just got the pulse of their consumers. I recently just accepted that red is my color and was (yet again) thrilled by Colourette’s timing. Three gorgeous reds, Cupid (a warm tone), Beau (a vamp), and Arrow (a berry) are available just in time for V-day! These Colourette Supramatte Liq’Lacquers are P349 each, or P899 for the set.

When you barely have a minute to put your face together, swiping on a favorite lipstick is a fast and easy way to elevate your look. If you’ve ever been told that you look pale or sickly because you skipped your usual full face of makeup, putting on lipstick literally brings color back to your face. But what happens if you’re too busy to reapply throughout the day? We discovered that Pink Sugar’s Sugar Tint Lip & Cheek Tints (P349 each) is a great solution to this problem!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed my preferences in makeup shifting. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve been working for a while, and so (ideally) better understand the value of money. Or perhaps it was the rude awakening that was destashing two train-cases worth of barely-used drugstore makeup. Whatever the reason, I find that beyond K-Pop related fangirling, I’m harder to excite in the cosmetics department, having shifted my “collector” tendencies to skincare products and generally sticking to (and using up) the same makeup staples and shades.

Living Coral blew our collective minds when it was announced as Pantone’s color of the year for 2019. It is such a beautiful color, and it’s so easy to work into our existing wardrobe! We probably already have a piece (or five) in this shade just begging to be put back into heavy rotation. Of course, makeup-wise, the color itself is quite flattering on any skin tone. I’m here to share three of the lip looks I came up with to inspire you to wear Living Coral more. Here’s the twist: I used only one lipstick shade!

Vice Cosmetics is on a roll! After just releasing a powder makeup collection just a few weeks ago, this hot and local brand is ending the year with a bang by coming out with new lip kits to complete our holiday looks.

If you can recall, the brand originally launched their lip kits late last year with a tandem of a Phenomenal Matte Liquid Lipstick and matching lip liner. This time, they’ve created a Velvet Matte Lip Kit consisting of two all-new products: a Velvet Matte Liquid Lipstick and a matching, retractable lip liner!