Beauty Picks

Lancôme loves Lupita, and so do we

MANILA, Philippines - Chalk it up to the fact that 90 percent of beauty brand ambassadresses these days are still very Caucasian, if not often blonde, but seeing an unlikely — stunning yes, but unlikely — beauty shine front and center in a campaign always makes me feel like the world can still be, on occasion, a pretty great place. To have that beauty be Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who — pardon my cheese, but it’s true — is quite possibly more beautiful within than she is without, for a brand as huge as Lancôme, is an even bigger thrill.

We all fell fast and hard for the Mexican-born Kenyan actress. She won fashionistas over with her unrelenting red carpet domination. She won cinephiles over with her moving performance as Patsey in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. And as if her accomplishments weren’t enough, she dished out wit, charm, wisdom, and spirit in spades at event after event, interview after interview, consistently sending empowering messages about real beauty and believing in yourself and in your dreams, without ever sounding like a patronizing parent. Lancôme International general manager Françoise Lehmann calls Lupita “a strikingly beautiful and intelligent woman, serenely but strongly living her life her own way,” describing Lupita’s aura as both enlightening and deep, and we can’t help agreeing. In our opinion, Maison Lancôme couldn’t have picked a better brand ambassadress.

“I am truly honored to join the Maison Lancôme, a brand with such a prestigious history and that I have always loved. I am particularly proud to represent its unique vision for women and the idea that beauty should not be dictated, but should instead be an expression of a woman’s freedom to be herself,” says Lupita. Amen, sister. (We can’t wait to see those Mert and Marcus photos.)

Fit for a queen

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Married by proxy to a guy you’ve never met (who apparently wouldn’t consummate the marriage for years), carted off to a foreign country to forever navigate one of the most vicious courts in Europe when all the people you know and love are back in Austria, I mean, come on. A princess’s lot in life isn’t that great. Least you can do is indulge in gold, jewels, and gowns. What woman hasn’t, in the face of great disappointment and difficulty, turned to a little retail therapy to feel better? Okay, I’m kidding. Kind of.

Shopping doesn’t always work, though, so Marie Antoinette would often go to her nearby château, Petit Trianon, to escape the French court — and her life — for a little while. And it’s from this safe haven and its lovely gardens that Dior took inspiration for its latest makeup collection, Trianon. Decadent and delicious, the collection is packed with refreshing pastels and truly yummy macaron-inspired shades for eyes, cheeks, and nails. But the royal gem of the collection? The Trianon palette. A palette so gorgeous it seems more clutch than compact, it packs shades of shadow, liner, and blush in a pearl-clasped, Fontanges bow-shaped package. Favorite comes with versatile pistachio, chocolate and pink, while Coquette contains more feminine pink, lavender and cream. Both give eyes a fresh glow. A must-have in the boudoir of every modern-day Marie Antoinette, or any girl who treats herself like a queen. (As you should!)

Caught in Spidey’s web

As both beauty geek and geek geek, the rare collision of beauty and comics makes me incandescently happy. I’ve always been a firm believer that there’s room for girls in the superhero world, and Revlon seems to think so, too, because they just released a pile of beauty loot inspired by your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man: The Electric Chrome Collection. It’s a union that actually kind of makes a lot of sense, since Revlon endorser and international sweetheart Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But I digress.

The Electric Chrome Collection’s six shades of nail enamel have little glass pearls in the mix to give the formula an illuminated look. Dab on a touch of the Electric Chrome Super Lustrous Lip Gloss for some high voltage shine. The movie’s out at the end of the month, the beauty booty’s already here.

Happy Skin turns up the heat

I’d long been waiting for a local beauty brand to come up with a) high-quality cosmetics I wouldn’t be scared to put on my face, but mostly b) beautifully-packaged beauty booty, because not only should my makeup make me look beautiful, it should look pretty in my kit, too. I’m always reluctant to use makeup with ugly packaging, even if I know it would look good on me. Nobody wants to pull out a cheap-looking tube of lipstick. (#SHALLOW, so sue me.)

Almost half a year ago, I found what I was looking for in Happy Skin. Every item in their collection is well thought-out and tailored for Filipinas’ skin needs, the packaging is adorable, and I really appreciated how newbie-proof the brand is. Every item comes with instructions on the packaging, which I personally find fantastic because there are so many women out there who want to use makeup and look good, but are too embarrassed to admit that they have no idea what they’re doing.

Their Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippies are the cutest of the lot, though. Co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian asked me at the brand launch what shades I thought they should eventually add to their lipstick roster (because haven’t you heard? I’m Lipstick Girl), and I told her that a good red-orange would be a great idea. This summer, they’ve made it happen, and then some. (Can I get a bold violet next, ladies? Hint, hint.)

Their Turn Up The Heat Summer 2014 Collection includes new, limited edition shades of lippy: the aforementioned red orange of my dreams, Sunset Kiss, a deep, flirty pink called Summer Crush, and a cool-toned, mauve-nude named The Morning After. And, Sunset Kiss and The Morning After also come in shades of Get Cheeky With Me blush, so you can fake that summer (or that morning after) glow. Pair them with the new Eye Am Here To Stay 24H Gel Pencil Eyeliners (believe me, these do not budge), and you’re good to go.