When Project Vanity ‘s editor-in-chief told me she was sending over a bottle of the new Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex Serum (P2,850/20ml | P4,350/30ml | P6,200/50ml at Lazada), I had to check if it was my birthday. It wasn’t but, boy, did it feel like it! This famed fountain of youth is a staple on vanity tables the world over for 38 years. It’s the ultimate in anti-aging simply because it works. As its name says, Advanced Night Repair, or ANR, repairs the skin overnight. Women have been claiming to wake up to skin that looks more even and radiant, their fine lines and wrinkles smoothened out.

Recently, I noticed my skin changed dramatically. My previously oily, acne-prone skin is now a lot more sensitive than it used to be. The dry skin on my face was red, flaky and itchy! On my body, I started to develop itchy rashes on and off. To make matters worse, I recently found out that sensitive skin is also more vulnerable to germs because of a weaker skin barrier. This pushed me to switch my routine towards more gentle products and mild soaps.

Since puberty has come and gone, I have heaved a sigh of relief that my skin is no longer as erratic as it was during those tumultuous years. Most of the pimples I experience as an adult can be chalked up to bouts of pre-period hormones, purging, or product incompatibility. And because age comes with wisdom, I’ve already assembled a Dream Team of products that help manage those tricky times a little better.

On my 32nd birthday last February, I bought myself two of my absolute favorite products from Sephora PH: the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray and the Sunday Riley Good Genes. I try a ton of products because of my job, but these two are on top of my list for reliability in terms of efficacy. They just work. All the time. They’re expensive but they’re truly worth every cent.

I’ve always believed that prevention is better than the cure. I even started using eye cream way back in college! I’ve made it my goal to delay unnecessary skin aging, so when I first came across the Shiseido Ultimune serum in 2014, I immediately got hooked. I’ve been using this for six years.

I’ve been using the Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense since last year and I love it. It’s lightweight and doesn’t dry my skin, so it was especially useful during my travels when the weather is cooler! It wears well under makeup and never makes my skin feel greasy during the day. Recently, I’ve been trying out the Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Aqua Gel SPF 50 PA++++ (P2,100 /30ml or P3,100 / 60ml from the Kiehl’s PH website) which is supposedly an even lighter version. So is it better?

Many beauty lovers temporarily put the makeup away in favor of renewed vigor for baking and skincare when summer 2020 was “canceldt” due to the pandemic. Admittedly, I went down the same path, in addition to doubling my efforts in balcony vegetable gardening! Even during the intense heat and lagkit though, my dry skin is still a high-maintenance piece of work that gets exacerbated by the frequent baths and hand washing. Here’s what works for me - my current hot-weather skincare routine that’s preventing my face from getting as leathery as the backs of my hands.

My first bout with tretinoin was not a good one. In fact, it caused me my first trip to the dermatologist. I was in middle school and suffering from acne. And since I was a teen who didn’t know any better and would pick at my pimples, I ended up with many dark scars or hyperpigmentation! I would constantly look for quick ways to get rid of the marks. Out of curiosity, I tried using Maxi Peel’s #3 Exfoliant Solution (because I was a badass - don’t be like me) after seeing ads about it.

Yesterday Happy Skin released the Fresh Morning Dew Collection, which aims to deliver a fuss-free fresh face that’s comfortable to wear during the crazy hot summer. I find this collection tight and well-conceptualized; if you don’t like spending a lot of time on makeup, hate the makeup-y feeling on skin, and love to use flattering multi-use colors, then this line-up is made for you.

Let’s take a look!

Yesterday, a member of the Project Vanity Community on Facebook desperately needed a solution for the blackheads on her nose. I know how frustrating it can be, especially when the pore strips and masks don’t seem to work. However it’s important to understand that there’s no instant cure to blackheads unless you plan to manually extract each and every one of them. EVEN THEN, they’ll come back after a few weeks. You have to play the long game here and to understand where they come from.

Warning: don’t do this at home, alright? It’s been over 40 days since I wore sunscreen on my face and body. I haven’t used a single drop of it since the Manila lockdown started! I do my normal skincare routine otherwise - essence, moisturizer, I even mask - so it’s not really laziness. Part of it is because I don’t have any more Biore UV Aqua Rich backups at home (my HG sunscreen), but a huge reason is a morbid curiosity of mine on how important sunscreen REALLY is to my skin. I wanted to find out what will happen if I just stop using sunscreen altogether. Call it insanity. Call it a sacrifice for science.

I do corporate speaking engagements on the side, and some months ago Watsons invited me their planning session to talk about the latest beauty trends. They gave me this gift bag with some Watsons goodies after my talk - love getting these, there’s always something I need or discover in them! It had the Watsons Goat Milk Cream Body Wash (P289 for 1 liter) and guys, seriously, this is SO GOOD.

We strongly advocate the use of low pH cleansers for the facial skin here at Project Vanity. It's not just a matter of preference; low pH cleansers actually function to preserve the acidic mantle that keeps our skin healthy. Unfortunately, there are products marketed for facial cleansing that have high pH levels. They may come in the form of bars, foams, creams or even gels but for this discussion, we'll refer to this kind of cleansers as "soaps". If you use soap to cleanse your face, you may want to stop for a moment and read on why it’s doing you more harm than good.

While I often shop for makeup at Sephora, I admittedly tend to skip over their in-house brand as they’ve always looked plain next to the other brands that they carry. Recently though, I’ve noticed that the Sephora Collection has been upping their game with new skincare releases that feature trendy ingredients housed in chic, minimalist packaging. If you’ve been curious to try their new line of cleansers, here are my thoughts after testing these products for two weeks.

I know how frustrating it is to manage serious acne. I regularly go to the derma, I’ve tried different products and treatments, and I’ve even worked on improving my sleep quality and mental wellness to help manage my stress. But I think the most difficult part of acne is the aftermath. They often leave marks - physical scars, and sometimes even emotional ones. While there are many ways to treat hyperpigmentation, acne scarring often affects skin texture, causing a rough and uneven surface. How do you treat this type of acne scarring?

Before buying skincare, you probably read hundreds of reviews before hitting the checkout button. Of course it's important to know if the product you're eyeing causes people to breakout, but you may also see some reviews that talk about “an initial purge”. Because purging is also characterized by the appearance of acne, it can be confusing to tell the difference between the two. Should you keep using the product and allow the purging phase to finish, or should you throw it out stat?

Writing about beauty feels like a mental refuge for me during this tough time, so I hope this throw down can give you a few minutes of stress-free reading. While it is important to stay updated and alert, we should also think about the potential effects of reading news article after article. I’m quite guilty of this as I’ve had to make more of an effort to put down my phone before my anxiety turns into full-blown panic. So take a deep breath, clear your mind for a while, and let’s indulge in some beauty talk.

After dealing with warts and boils firsthand, I completely understood why people of long ago blamed curses and hexes whenever they developed unknown growths on their skin. I mean, my skin was perfectly fine one minute and then suddenly something was growing out of it! Thankfully, we live in the age of science and have a better understanding of what causes these mysterious bumps on our skin and how to treat them properly.

When I’m super busy, my self-care tends to go out the window. It’s ironic because I know that I need it the most when I’m tired and stressed. And it does tend to show up on my skin because I neglect my skincare routine, doing very little else besides washing my face before bed. Considering that I have so much to do throughout the day, the idea of having to apply several different skincare products just does not appeal to me.

I always have a stash of sheet masks available. There’s a couple in my travel kit because it’s the easiest skincare to bring along, and I always have a few in the fridge to help me cool off on hot days. Sometimes, a cold sheet mask and 15 minutes is just what I need to de-stress.