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!

Just when you thought those awkward teenage breakouts were over, it comes back haunting you as an adult. This happened to me when I started my first job. It's fun to work in advertising but the long hours and piles of deliverables can often be stressful. While most of what I do is desk work, I do always want to look my best at all times! Dealing with day-to-day stresses on top of work - that’s when I found my face ridden with acne.

Thanks to the rising popularity of beauty drinks and supplements, you've probably heard of the important role that collagen plays in keeping our skin looking young, soft, and smooth. Honestly, I thought that was all I needed to know about collagen but I recently discovered that there's more to it! At the Watsons Collagen event, I got the opportunity to learn more about what it is and how it works, in the most fun way possible!

I’ve been battling acne for what feels like forever, with topical treatments, soaps, oils, and acne sets. Anything that promise clearer skin, you name it, I’ve probably tried it. I’ve even gone so far as to DIY a number of Pinterest hacks that I eventually regretted. My skin is a bit better now that I have a trusted skincare routine but I can't help but feel curious when a beauty read introduces a new idea for treating acne and removing the dark marks it leaves behind. 

My fascination with searching for better skincare centers a lot on the ingredients used in them. I’m currently on a rice bran and/or rice-based skincare trial as it's supposed to aid in skin brightening, but a recent read about everyone's favorite probiotics drink got my wheels turning. Could the “good bacteria” in Yakult be as good for my skin as well my gut?

As a teenager, I had extremely oily skin. I swear, I could have given all the oil wells in the Middle East a run for their money for all the excess sebum my skin would produce! In my 20’s, my skin started to normalize: no longer quite as oily but more of a combination type. When I recently hit my late 20’s though, I noticed that my skin would be itchy, red, and peeling all the time. I would apply moisturizer on the dry spots, but would have to deal with them again the following day. This left me feeling very confused. I had a nightly skincare routine but why was I still having so many problems with my skin? After doing a lot of research, I discovered that my symptoms were signs of my ceramide level slowly dropping.

There was a point earlier this year when I resigned myself to bad skin forever. I was sleeping past midnight, subsisting on fast and junk food, living a sedentary lifestyle, and just really stressed out because CURSE ADULTING THAT’S WHY. I got my hands on some cult favorite skincare that I thought would solve my problems but all it did was break me out in the most horrible way. It was a nightmare, and my previous skincare routine could no longer undo the damage and catch up with my crappy lifestyle.

After weeks of ugly suffering, I told myself that it was time to reclaim my skin and wounded self-esteem.

A daily sheet masking habit can be good for your skin, especially when preparing for a special occasion. It’s not quite wallet-friendly though, since each individually-packed mask can range from P65 for the Watsons Collagen Face Masks to P248 for a Leaders The Gold 24 Secret Mask. In looking for a cheaper alternative earlier this year, I tried a DIY lotion face mask that cost roughly six pesos: it was that cheap because all you have to buy is the multi-layered cotton pad which you can use with whatever moisturizing toner or Japanese lotion that you already have.

When I hit puberty and first started getting into skincare, the two things I immediately started obsessing over were moisturizer and eye cream. It made sense to start early, since dark circles run on my paternal side of the family while puffiness and dry skin run on my mother’s side. While I know from experience that good moisturizers have taken my skin from nightmarish dry patches to chok chok bliss, I have often found myself questioning my faith in eye cream. I've tried many different brands and often have several products in circulation because I have no clear favorites. Mostly I wonder, do they actually work? I decided to finally find out! 

Beauty products have come a really long way. Gone are the days when people slathered on toxic substances like mercury, arsenic, and lead in the hopes of getting better skin. People willingly paid small fortunes for miracle tinctures, elixirs and salves without really knowing what’s in them. Nowadays, manufacturers normally list product ingredients from the highest to lowest content so that consumers have an idea not only of what goes into products but also roughly how much of each component is in the mix. It’s not a completely transparent system by any means, but at least buyers can now make better choices simply by checking the ingredients list.

A love affair with skincare is fun - addictive, even - and the routine of applying various layers can be relaxing. At the same time, the skincare products you select for your daily roster should be able to target specific skin concerns and make it a more efficient overall routine. In addition to the most basic function, a.k.a. hydration, it doesn’t hurt to get the added benefit of protection from environmental impurities like pollution, sun damage, and other daily stressors.

With that in mind, Watsons developed the Pure Beauty Urban Shield line with renowned Korean dermatologist, Dr. Seong J. Kim.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to beauty products? Crazy claims. Anyone who knows how to read labels can easily see past what the product promises heaven and earth to do. And so, as someone who has been doing this for almost ten years, I can be a little jaded when something like the La Mer The Concentrate comes my way. It promises to be "beauty's best kept secret" as it "improves tone and texture, deepens hydration and helps skin feel more like itself: flexible, resilient, soft, more supple."

Here's what you should know about me: I've suffered from breakouts since I was 12. Unfortunately, I enjoyed picking at them and because I was barely a teen and didn't know any better, I didn't have a skincare routine. For years, I was basically the living epitome of what NOT to do if you don't want to make your breakouts worse!

For the skincare-obsessed there are, shall we say, rites of passage: first active, first “luxury” product, first “exotic” ingredient, and, perhaps as a result of all those other firsts, first time you over-exfoliate. Despite having been warned by several PV articles and every last K-beauty blog I could find, that “first” recently happened to me: my oily, naturally “chok-chok” skin became dry as a bone almost overnight, causing my cheeks to flake and my skin (which is naturally as white and pale as paper) to look dull and almost…is it possible for skin to look brittle?

It's no wonder that Simple Skincare has a cult following in the UK. The focus on clean formulation and the belief that “what is left out is as important as what is put in” resounds in anyone who wants to avoid artificial colors and fragrances in their products. Of course, they also make sure to adhere to maintaining hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and pH-balanced formulations across all their products.

While skincare challenges like trying 10-step skincare, 7-skin method, and everyday masking are fun and sometimes worth the effort, there are also days when we just can't be bothered with our regular routine. When we're dead-ass tired from a very long day and desperately want to go to bed, our skincare regimen gets shortened to just a few products. We still want good skin, after all, and dread waking up to find a nasty breakout so even the smallest effort can make a difference. 

We regularly feature a lot of Japanese, Korean, and of course, local beauty products here on PV. Personally, those are the ones that excite me the most! Asian Beauty (or AB) has been growing in popularity because, well, there are so many affordable yet effective product options. I also feel they are better suited to the needs of Asian skin, with formulations that are often lightweight and designed to be layered on top of each other.

I’ve tried and enjoyed picks from Japanese, Korean, and Pinoy brands but I couldn’t help but get curious when I learned that Taiwanese beauty was going to be the next big thing.

Thanks to the popularity of the 10-step Korean skincare routine, we are definitely learning to pay more and more attention to our body’s biggest organ and how to properly care for it. Many a beauty girl can reel off the various actives, acids, and -ides to look for to solve problems such as dark spots, fine lines, dry skin, and more. But while DIY-ing one’s personal skincare has never been easier, nothing quite beats medical advice, especially for more serious concerns such as milia, allergies, or premature signs of skin aging. In a sense, it’s like comparing WebMD to a visit with the doctor: the former may be useful for minor or short-term issues, but when facing major crises or long-term maintenance, you’re better off going in for that physical checkup.

I first fell in love with the facial masks from Origins at their Mask Madness party, where I got to try their best-selling the skin-smoothing Original Skin and pore-cleaning Clear Improvement masks. Both are fantastic wash-off formulas but as I've gotten used to a Korean-type skincare regimen, I wanted a sheet mask that I could apply at the end of my routine and just leave on. My wish came true with the arrival of the Origins Flower Fusion sheet masks!

Eye cream is like sunscreen. You don't know you need it, until you notice your skin showing the abuse! Your skin responds to the stress you place upon it, your habits, the environment you move in, and the food you eat. You can't expect it to be the same forever - you can only manage the natural aging process. It's beautiful and I believe that everybody should own it, but that doesn't mean you should not care enough to manage your skin as it ages.

Now one of the most requested products from us is eye cream. We did surveys and focused group discussions, and we learned Project Vanity community (you!) wanted something that can multi-task at a good price point.