Back to basics

If Therese Jamora Garceau’s name rings a bell, it’s probably because the STAR beauty columnist has been a staple of the Wednesday fashion and beauty section of this paper, writing about skincare and makeup. These days, Garceau has gone beyond simply reviewing makeup, coming up with her own line of beauty products targeted towards Filipino skin.

“There were no other cosmetic lines suited to Filipino skin that were affordable. This is what initially piqued my interest,” says Garceau, who studied at The Makeup Shop in Chelsea, NYC and trained under Tobi Britton, key makeup artist for The Cosby Show.

“So I’m really good at putting makeup on dark skin,” she says.

Medium well: Nicole wears makeup in the medium range for skin with yellow undertones.

 Garceau, who comes from a family of skin doctors (her mother is noted dermatologist and author Dr. Sylvia Jacinto and her sister, Dr. Jasmin Jamora, also practices in the same field) formulated an affordable range of hypo-allergenic makeup designed to fit the multitude of skin tones of Pinays. Currently available at Landmark, TriNoma, the line, dubbed Basic Beauty, is a riff on “Brown skin is beautiful” (thanks to its initials, BB).

 YStyle gets the lowdown on Garceau’s recommendations for the holidays and what hues work with dark and yellow-toned skin.

 YStyle: Your line is developed for Pinay skin. Most Pinays have difficulty matching foundations since our skin isn’t exactly just your typical fair or medium since we’re a mix of ethnicities. We often get this mix of olive and brown and yellow. How do you find a way to meet those skin tones in your range?

THERESE GARCEAU: We tested a range of colors on Pinays with different skin tones and found the three tones that best matched their skin. You typically won’t find these shades in American/European cosmetic lines since they’re made for white skin. Plus, since this is powder and not cream or liquid, it’s sheerer, more forgiving, and blends in with a wider range of skin tones:

Light has pink undertones for white or alabaster Chinita skin or Pinays with foreign blood. 

Medium has yellow undertones for Pinays with some foreign or Malay blood.

Dark has brown and olive undertones for morenas who have almost pure Malay blood or even a bit of Indian blood, like Venus Raj.

You come from a family of skin doctors. What have you learned from them that became key elements of your beauty line? 

1) That perfume, or fragrance, is queen of the allergens, and it’s still one of the top causes of contact dermatitis, or skin allergies. That’s why our line is fragrance-free and hypoallergenic — we can back up the hypo claim because we tested everything at my mom’s derm clinic, and on ourselves, for three months. That’s the main difference that sets Basic Beauty apart from other brands. 

2) I’d hear my mom and sister discussing how many patients they had that were allergic to cosmetics. I knew that except for one other Filipino cosmetics brand — VMV, but they’re expensive and target the “A” market — and Clinique, which is for Caucasian skin, there were no other cosmetic lines suited to Filipino skin that were affordable — this is what initially piqued my interest. 

Who were you thinking of when you were formulating your line?

The B and C markets. The A market is well-served by other high-end hypoallergenic brands, like the two I mentioned above. We wanted to serve the mass of people who are allergic but cannot afford to buy those brands. We even made the packaging smaller so they can have starter sizes that are not very expensive, more hygienic (since you use them up faster, they don’t collect bacteria as much), more portable and better for travel.

Do you think there’s a different approach to makeup depending on your skin color? Like if you’re very dark, there are colors you should avoid? And vice versa if you’re fair?

I think, if we use a light hand and don’t pile it on, we can wear all colors but there are certain colors that are more flattering on us than others. If you have warm, yellow-toned skin, other warm colors like peach blush and warm brown shadows will look more natural and enhance your features more subtly. People won’t point and say, “Hey, you’re wearing makeup!”

Cool pinks and reds, especially if applied incorrectly, can look clownish or make your skin appear sallow.

Most girls with dark skin are actually afraid of color. Is there a no-fail hue they can try out before heading for more colorful waters? 

Pink blush looks great on fair skin, while if you’re very dark, your main problem is most makeup doesn’t show up on your skin because it’s either poorly pigmented or too light, so the color matches and disappears into your skin. Stick with well-pigmented dark, tawny or golden shades, wine, deep coral or hot pink/fuchsia lipstick, and high-contrast eye shadows like ice-white, metallics and smoky grays.

What’s your favorite item from your range?

A light touch: Jenny wears makeup in the light range, for white chinita or mestiza skin.

It’s a tossup between the Your Lips But Better lip tint, which is my answer to Clinique’s Black Honey — it looks great on everybody and gives your face an instant lift — and the blush in Light, which is pink but warm-toned so I love it for the same reasons.

What have you received the most feedback from?

The lipstick in Sexy Red, which surprised me because I did think most Pinays were afraid of red lipstick and bright colors, but it’s my top-selling shade, so I guess they’re not. 

Also my sunscreen SPF 30 — it does turn you kabuki white but people say they feel well-protected and it really works.

What beauty trends do you favor the holidays?

I’ve always been a sucker for shimmer — matte shades are so boring — so I love sparkle for the holidays: Shimmery or glittery eye shadow, a dramatic, kohl-rimmed eye, tawny blush and shiny lips with a hint of color. You can get this look with Basic Beauty’s eyeshadow duo in Dark, blush in Medium or Dark, and lips with Your Lips But Better (YLBB) or, if you want to feel really fierce, Sexy Red.