Happy National Lipstick Day, PV Community! What lipstick are you wearing today? If you haven’t got any on, well, then you must apply your favorite lipstick right now! We must join in on the celebration, right? As a matter of fact, I just swiped on my MAC Ruby Woo lipstick!

I’ve been keeping this secret for over a year and finally, I can shout it out to the world! Heroine Make, the world-famous mascara brand from Japan, is back in the Philippines! They make one of my HG mascaras, Long & Curl, so I’m glad that I don’t have to wait for my next Japan or Hong Kong trip to get my hands on it again.

Global superstar singer and rapper and Blackpink member Lisa has recently collaborated with MAC, launching her first-ever full MAC collection featuring her favorite products. Inspired by what Lisa loves most and with hues designed by Lisa herself, this limited-edition collection is the superstar’s most personal collaboration yet.

After all this time, Happy Skin remains as one of my top three favorite local cosmetic brands. I like how they’re always improving their formulations and coming up with new ones. And now, since the launch of Generation Happy Skin a couple of years ago, they have affordable everyday makeup solutions that are all under P400. What a steal, right?

Honestly, makeup has taken a backseat for me because of the pandemic. I’ve been working in beauty for almost 13 years so it was quite strange to not be as involved with makeup as I always have. There aren’t as many new products and there aren’t huge waves anymore when it comes to trends. Definitely not normal. But this has given me an opportunity to re-examine my beauty look and go back to the basics. I still do want to look good, after all! This blog is called Project Vanity, haha.

There’s a new local makeup line in town called Spotlight and I’m here to walk you through it! This is a pretty extensive line, which is great, because it even has some interesting eye makeup formulations. Everything is under P500 so it’s quite affordable. Still, this is targeted for those looking to level up their makeup collection as it has that pro MUA vibe to it (at least to me). You can check it out in Lazada and Shopee online.

Let’s see what Spotlight has to offer!

In times of massive uncertainty and change such as the one we live in now, economists have noticed a behavior called the Lipstick Effect. This describes how consumers still tend to buy small luxury items (like premium cosmetics and trips to the cinema) during recessions or when they personally do not have much cash. Makeup doesn’t stop being a mood booster when things go south, so we don’t stop trying to be beautiful despite our situation.

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!

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.

Y’all know that I’ve been a huge fan of K-Palette eyeliners ever since they arrived in the Philippines six years ago. They’re the easiest liquid liners to use, ever, and the price point while a bit on the high side is manageable compared to high end brands. I often get this question though: are the original K-Palette eyeliners waterproof? The answer is no, they’re not. They will come off if you get very sweaty or if you have oily skin. However, I’ve always maintained that they’re good for everyday wear if you make sure to wipe off the waterworks every time they pop up. It’s the liquid liner that I personally use 80% of the time. That’s how much I love it.

Eyeliner can smell fear, they said, and this is certainly true if you have yet to discover the well of courage deep inside yourself. You need conviction when applying eyeliner especially if you're trying to achieve a classic cat eye! Now it takes a lot of practice and a steady hand as well, but to make it easier for all of us, Revlon has created a pizza cutter eyeliner (that's what it looks like!) to come to the rescue.

Brown is probably one of the most useful colors in makeup artistry. It allows us to contour our features, add contrast in strategic areas, and can be used pretty much anywhere from our scalp to our toes. Happy Skin was onto something when they created their new Eye Can Do It 3-Way Palette (P699 at happyskincosmetics.com) as this contains two versatile shades of brown that glide and blend easily on skin. Let's take a closer look!

I'm lucky to call Laveen and Rohit Mirpuri of Pink Sugar my friends. I always learn new things from them when it comes to business, and they are always super frank (sometimes painfully frank) when it comes to feedback about my own business and products. I am the same with them. When you're working your ass off as hard as we all do, then there really is no time for bullshit. I appreciate that!

I'm a huge fan of Make Up For Ever because they always have professional makeup artists in mind when they create products. Their colors can be as creative and exciting as they can be wearable, plus the formulas - they wear so well during the day! I always pick up MUFE when I know that I need my face to stay with me for at least a solid eight hours.

Recently, MUFE launched two new eye products: the Aqua XL Ink Liner (P1,400) and Aqua XL Color Paint (P1,495). These are designed to be water-resistant and long-wearing, with lots of fun color options. I've been testing them out for a couple months now and here's what I think!

Some of the most common beauty-related questions I get involve eyeliner. Which eyeliners will never smudge? Which eyeliners will stay on the waterline? Well, here's my updated answer! These are the five eyeliners that I use the most, out of the 40+ ones in my desk. They're the ones I always keep an eye because I'd hate for them to get lost, piled under a pile of new products. They're beautiful, easy to perfect (important when I need to be out of the house 15 minutes ago!), and will barely - if at all - smudge all day.

Here are my top eyeliner recommendations! Please click on the links for the full reviews.