Will the real Paolo Ballesteros please scream? Paolo and his ‘alter egos’

Are you wondering who Paolo Ballesteros will come out as today on Eat, Bulaga!?

With the magic of makeup, Paolo (a father of a three year old in real life) has caught the fancy not only of the Bulaga followers but, recently, also foreign magazines (Cosmo USA, etc.) and social media where pictures of Paolo’s dozens of “alter egos” have been trending.

Joked Jose Manalo, who co-hosts (also with Wally Bayola) the Juan For All, All For Juan segment, the only person that Paolo has spared his “magic touch” so far is a corpse.

Like everybody else, I’ve been wondering how Paolo does it, so I asked him.

When did you start doing makeup copying celebs and who was the first one that you copied?

“I started doing makeup transformation, hindi pa n’un sikat ang #makeuptransformation on Instagram, about a year ago. A friend told me to watch this video on YouTube. It was an Angelina Jolie makeup transformation. I was so amazed and inspired because it was an Asian girl who did it, with typical Asian features na malayo sa features ni Angelina, but the result looked exactly like Angelina.

“I got inspired and tried it myself. On my first try, I looked like Tita Eula (Valdez), hehehehe, kasi naman Tita Eula has the same features as Angelina. I tried again that same day but this time I exaggerated the lips. Hayun, Angelina na ang lumabas! At sakto pa, it was Super Sireyna season of Eat, Bulaga! so I felt that the show could use my work because the Super Sireyna candidates were also gaya-gaya sa mga celebrities.

“That’s how I introduced my ‘alter egos’ on the show. I started being a different personality like every week so that if the staff asked me to sit as judge in the Super Sireyna weekly finals, may ready na akong character na gagayahin.”

How do you copy a celeb with amazing exactness?

“Browse ako nang browse ng pictures ng celebrities na gagayahin ko sa Net. I try to look for a celebrity’s prominent feature and that’s what I concentrate on. I study how they project in pictures and on video, details ng mukha like mga shape at dulo ng eyebrows, butas ng ilong.

“It still amazes me how a simple lakihan ‘yung pinakabutas ng ilong with eyeliners can really change your look! When the makeup is almost done, I look at myself in my mirror almost cross-eyed, so I can see kung anjan na ba ‘yung ginagaya ko. Natatawa na lang ako sa sarili ko pag somehow, I can see the resemblance already.”

How long does it take you to do one?

“It takes me two to four hours to do one. Once I’m done but I need to do some new touches, I do it fast kahit wala nang tinginan sa phone ko where I save photos of celebrities as my reference.”

Did you study the art of makeup?

“No, I’ve never had formal lessons in makeup, not even in painting, only in drawing na very basic lang because I studied B.S. Architecture for a semester lang, then I shifted to AB Comm for makeup.

“Before pag naggi-girl kami sa EB tinitingnan ko lang kung paano i-apply ‘yung mga makeup. Then, I became part of I Heart You Pare with Regine Velasquez and I was cast as a drag queen. So every taping day I was wearing makeup pero may makeup artist din ako noon. But I already have a peg in my mind kung anong makeup ang ipapalagay ko sa makeup artist ko. Lately, I have been viewing lots of makeup tutorials on YouTube, and that’s where I get the techniques, the how-to’s and what products to use.” 

Who is easy to copy and who is hard to copy?

“The easiest to copy is Angelina Jolie because of her prominent features — lips, cheekbones, etc. Lakihan ko lang lips ko and contour ng bongga sa cheeks, plus cat eyeliner and voila, Angelina Jolie na ako! The hardest to copy is Beyoncé. It took me three weeks to copy her. I don’t know why. I think it’s because I don’t see anything prominent sa face niya. Her features are so smooth kasi, eh.”

What do you think is the reaction of celebs that you copy?

“I hope they like it, hahahaha! I have no idea because no celebrity that I copied has ever made any comment on Instagram.”

If you were to be a woman, who is your peg?

“Angelina Jolie, of course! Hahahaha! Putok lang ang lips keri na, hahahaha! Physical aspect aside, I think she’s a very strong woman and a person who knows what she wants.”

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