5 beauty hacks for V-Day
Get ready and look your best for Valentine’s Day with these five simple beauty hacks:
Go for natural-looking makeup that makes you look sun-kissed and sexy
In the 1920s, Gabrielle Chanel had an idyllic getaway built in the South of France called La Pausa, where she escaped from the hustle and bustle of Paris and which embodied her style, from interiors to garden.
The beauty of this legendary villa inspired Chanel Beauty’s spring-summer 2022 collection, La Pausa. The eye makeup is infused with the soft, sunlit hues of the surrounding landscape. A unique new version of Les 4 Ombres features Chanel’s sunbeam motif and the villa’s shades, including a khaki brown reminiscent of the olive trees in the garden, as well as gold and copper shades evoking the sunlight of the Côte d’Azur. This light also inspired the new, golden beige Ombre Premiere Laque, which makes the eyes shimmer with a luminous, natural glow.
The two Blush Lumiere exclusive creations, designed in shades of coral pink and terracotta brown, warm up the complexion and leave it glowing. The coral shade is ideal for daytime wear, the brown for a bold, chic look.
For a complete sun-kissed look, shimmery coral-pink Baume Essentiel subtly illuminates the complexion, creating the effect of a holiday spent in the sun.
La Pausa’s yellow walls and tiled terracotta floors are embodied in the two nail polishes from the spring-summer 2022 collection, completing your sexy, golden-girl look.
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Chanel is available exclusively at Rustan’s The Beauty Source and www.rustans.com.
Calm down and relax
Your heart may be all aflutter, but feeling calm, well-rested and looking trim will boost your confidence for that special day.
I love unwinding over a cup of tea, and recently discovered Filipino plant-based brand Sekaya, which offers natural products for health and wellness.
Their Botanic Infusion Relax Pack with Cozy Calm and Pu-erh Trim teas is ideal for achieving a relaxed state of mind. Pu-erh tea, from a USDA-certified-organic farm in Yunnan, China, is traditionally drunk to treat common colds, flatulence, and poor digestion. Studies have found that its theobromin, theaflavins and complex polysaccharides help suppress enzymes involved in fat storage. Simply put, it may help lower your cholesterol levels and support weight management.
Cozy Calm, on the other hand, sourced from organic farms in Croatia, India, Egypt and the US, is full of relaxing botanicals: anti-inflammatory chamomile, decaffeinated Indian green tea to relieve anxiety and stress, skullcap to prepare the mind for meditation, wood betony to calm emotional tension, catnip to promote a restful sleep, and stevia to naturally sweeten.
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For more info, visit www.sekaya.com.ph and @sekayaph on Instagram and Facebook.
Clear up your skin
Facially, nothing says “beautiful” quite like clear, glowing skin. For those who are acne-prone, there are many over-the-counter options nowadays, like the newest skincare line from K-beauty brand Nacific, which offers trendy, effective products derived from nature. Their Origin Red Salicylic Acid line is a power trio of toner, spot cream, and wash-off serum that contains Dermaclera, a patented ingredient derived from Cynanchum atratum extract that helps soothe sensitive skin irritated by external factors.
Origin Red also contains alpha and beta hydroxy acids: AHAs to help exfoliate dead skin cells and reveal newer, brighter, and more radiant skin; BHA to exfoliate and penetrate deeper into the skin layer, dissolving the skin debris that clogs pores and thereby making it effective against acne, blackheads and whiteheads.
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The Origin Red line is available at Nacific’s official Shopee store at https://shopee.ph/nacificofficial.ph.
Protect and perfect your complexion
I’m all for tinted moisturizers and BB creams because they’re multitasking products that protect while hydrating and perfecting your skin. A good BB cream I tried recently is from YOU Beauty. The Radiance White BB Cream is free of parabens, alcohol and mineral oil and has a lightweight feel. In addition, it brightens skin with Triple Bright Activator and protects with SPF 40 PA+++ from UVA and UVB rays, and is available in Vanilla, Almond and Mocha shades to suit all Asian skin tones. A product that helps combat dull, uneven skin while giving your face a flawless look? I’m there.
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YOU Beauty is available at its official stores on Lazada and Shopee.
Perfume yourself or your environment with a romantic fragrance
A love story that began 10 years ago and has now reached an intense climax.
Back then Diptyque called in perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin, a leading expert on roses, to create the ultimate rose scent. Pellegrin chose the finest Damascena and Centifolia — the most highly scented roses — and composed a bouquet that smelled like a 3D rose, complete with petals, leaves, stems, and buds.
Released to universal acclaim among floralistas, Diptyque has once again composed a love letter to the rose with Eau Rose eau de parfum, the EDT’s more intense sister.
Pellegrin has combined more concentrated extracts and absolutes to evoke the rose’s delicacy, fruity accents and tart green notes. And to give Eau Rose EDP the “home” it deserves, Diptyque enlisted Maurice Harris, an American florist famous for his fantastical floral installations (“arrangements” don’t begin to describe them) to turn the packaging into a graphic, opulent, polychromatic portrait of the rose.
Eau Rose EDP is so fresh, lovely and true to the flower that I can’t imagine a more romantic and fitting scent for Valentine’s Day. (If you don’t wear perfume, it’s also available in candle form.) Truly, it’s a fragrance for lovers of roses and lovers in general.
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Eau Rose fragrances and candles are available at Diptyque boutiques, Rustan’s The Beauty Source, www.rustans.com. Adora Greenbelt 5 and adora.ph.
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Follow the author on Instagram and Facebook @thebeautytraveler_ph.
