The first half of the year is about to end! One of the things I like to do before I begin a new phase (in this case, the second half of the year) is to update my beauty stash, and my go-to place for that is of course Beauty Bar. As I gushed in this blog post last year, I grew up a Beauty Bar girl. Almost every time I hit the mall that has a Beauty Bar branch in it (I don’t think I even go to malls that do not have one), I drop by to check out their latest beauty offerings.

Makeup

One brand I love checking out there (and sometimes in their own stand-alone kiosks in select malls) is proudly Filipino beauty brand Happy Skin. I’ve been a fan of Happy Skin since they launched just a few years ago, and I’m extra supportive of it because it’s truly a world-class local beauty brand whose products can rival that of your favorite international beauty brands at half the price! I have a tendency to hoard their products, haha!

With Happy Skin co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez and FemaleNetwork.com’s Ira Nopuente

And now, I have new items to hoard: their Work It, Girl! Collection, which is Beauty Bar’s first-ever collaboration that it has chosen to do with the country’s favorite homegrown brand of skin-caring makeup. Happy Skin and Beauty Bar worked together on the limited edition makeup collection made especially for working women like me!

The new collection features three key products: two new cult-favorite Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie shades—trendier nude colors of rich espresso Wonder Woman (P599) and terracotta brown Slaying It! (P599)—and the Bullseye Perfect Brow Trio (P899), an innovative 3-in-1 brow kit that contains all the essential eyebrow tools in one handy pen, which will help women like me who do their makeup on the go to still nail perfect arches.

It’s the first local brand to offer a brow pencil, brow powder, and a spoolie brush in a single pen. What I really like about it is how it comes out in a triangular/angled shape, not round, so there’s no need to sharpen the tip. It also contains Argan oil to help keep our eyebrow strands healthy and nourished.

Meanwhile, both new lippies are wearable, highly pigmented, and packed with Happy Skin’s trademark formula of moisturizing Shea butter and collagen. They can be purchased individually or as a set in the limited edition Work It, Girl! Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie Duo (P1,099), exclusively available in Beauty Bar.

Aren’t perfect brows and a versatile lip color the two basics you need to look put together, even when that’s the only makeup you have on?

Body Care

Besides checking out makeup, I also look for the latest bath products—I’m a shampoo and body wash hoarder, too!

My new find is Bare, a Singaporean brand produced by EcoBliss Life Sciences in Malaysia, which was first launched in the Philippines, interestingly enough! The name Bare came from the concept that the human body only needs bare essentials from nature’s botanical goodness, and their products were created to help bring back the body’s well hydrated and supple skin, just like when it was born.

What made Bare stand out for me is how their products have a one-of-a-kind formulation that you can mix and match to come up with your own concoctions for your specific needs. I also like how their lotions are so light and non-greasy, so it’s not a bother to wear, even when it’s hot and humid.

Body Lotion (P550 each) 

Bare uses naturally fragrant essential oils that allow you to recreate a spa experience within the comforts of your home. Pick what you want from the five different scents of body wash and body lotion to create your own signature scent. Visit their website www.bareforbare.com for the recommended concoctions.

Body Wash  (P475 each)

Each scent serves a specific purpose, too: Peppermint is uplifting and refreshing, Lemongrass and Ginger is for invigoration and detox, Bergamot & Geranium is calming and deep cleansing, Green Tea is soothing and brightening, while Rosemary is relaxing and hydrating (I like how it smells like lavender). I made my own concoction made of 40% Rosemary, 40% Peppermint, and 20% Green Tea, which according to their website almost corresponds to the Inspirer personality: enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative—minus the Bergamot & Geranium, haha, which I find too bold for my taste. I actually really like the combination of Rosemary and Peppermint, which makes me feel like I’m in a spa; the Green Tea is to perk me up a bit with its sweet scent.

Shampoo (P550)

They also offer seven variants each of shampoo and conditioner, one for each day of the week. Sweet Almond is for damaged hair, Stinging Nettle is for thin and weak hair, Horsetail is for scalp repair and fragile hair, Chamomile is for sensitive scalp, Apple is for frizzy hair, Grapefruit is for dull hair, and Birch Leaf is for hair fall control. While you don’t mix and match them in one use, what you can do is alternate the variants each day, depending on your hair concerns and hair type—especially since you don’t necessarily have just one hair concern, right?

Conditioners (P550)

Store Information

The individual Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippies in Wonder Woman and Slaying It! are available starting today, June 18, in select Beauty Bar stores; in Happy Skin stores in Glorietta 3, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Trinoma, and SM Mega Fashion Hall; beautybar.com.ph; and happyskincosmetics.com. The Work It, Girl! Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie Duo is a Beauty Bar Exclusive also available starting today, June 18, in select Beauty Bar stores in Glorietta 3, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Trinoma, and SM Mega Fashion Hall; and beautybar.com.ph.

The Bullseye Perfect Brow Trio is now available in select Beauty Bar stores; in Happy Skin stores in Glorietta 3, Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Trinoma, and SM Mega Fashion Hall; beautybar.com.ph; and happyskincosmetics.com.

Bare is available in Beauty Bar Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Trinoma, Shangri-la, Eastwood, Estancia, Midtown, Podium, Alabang Town Center, Glorietta, Gateway, Galleria, Magnolia, Century, Paseo de Sta Rosa, Mall of Asia, Evia, Ayala Center Cebu.