Hypercolor and surrealist ballet

MANILA, Philippines - Few are aware of the brutal existence that is the beauty editor’s. You attend an event with a mysterious dress code (charming floral? Is that a garden or an ensemble?), wondering what will happen: go home drunk bearing enough makeup to beautify an assembly of well-meaning but confused pageant queen wannabes or end up sober, contemplating the exigencies of modern beauty conventions?

At the Esteé Lauder launch at the Rockwell Tent, hosted by Teresa Herrera, it was to meet its hyper-hued collection, PureColor, and watch it unfold on an overlarge runway — a makeshift floor-level square that dominated the tent.

Was this a statement on the conventions of beauty and their attempts to think out of the box?

Models skirted the edge of the stage, on the opposite side across the audience. “Well, this is daring,” I whispered to my friend Raya Mananquil who had accompanied me to the event. The models didn’t even come close to the audience, preferring to stay aloof and far away from the crowd.

Guests who wanted to experience the makeup up close could sample the collection displayed on cocktail tables. Artfully arrayed were the eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks from the collaboration with Esteé Lauder creative makeup director Tom Pecheux.

“Esteé Lauder is known mostly for skincare and fragrance,” says country brand manager Mel Lerma, “so launching PureColor reinforces that brand’s dynamic image, showing a more playful side of the brand.”

After mingling and making small talk (“Nice dress.” “Thank you, it’s Guatemalan.”), Raya and I spied the polish counter. To match the woven details of my Guatemalan caftan, I tried the dark purple polish from the PureColor Nail Lacquer collection with True Vision Technology, which promises to magnify and intensify color to a glowing metallic finish.

While waiting for my nails to dry, the event opened with Ballet Philippines, performing to a Rihanna track.

This is the beauty editor‘s life: plenty of waiting, with some cute nail polish to fill in the gaps.