How are you celebrating Women’s Month? What does it really mean to you?

Allow me to get more serious here for a bit: March is that one month each year when the world calls attention to the efforts to empower women. My hope is that, one day, it would be a year-long effort, and eventually, such efforts will not even be necessary because all women are already empowered and women and men are treated equally and given equal opportunities.

There are many ways organizations, brands, and individuals are throwing their weight behind this cause, and as a result giving women from all walks of life the opportunity to take it further. Efforts big and small contribute to the entire good. Campaigns and scathing speeches or those made in earnest aside, one of the ways we women can empower ourselves and each other is by embracing, valuing, and celebrating our own beauty.

Shiseido 2nd International Beauty Fair opening last March 13 (photo grabbed from the SampleRoom Instagram)

I guess that’s why several beauty brands are at the forefront of International Women’s Month efforts. One of them is Japanese brand Shiseido, with its International Beauty Fair (IBF), which aims to “empower women through beauty,” now on its second year. I attended the opening of the Shiseido IBF 2015 last March 13 in SM Mega Fashion Hall Activity Center, where it will be until tomorrow, March 19, upon the invitation of one of the brand’s partners in the Philippines, SampleRoom.ph (watch for Shiseido samples there, coming soon!).

There we were given a sneak peek at the brand’s latest collections of skincare and makeup that are meant to enhance and bring out your natural beauty, working with your skin rather than hiding it behind thick formulations. I found my own new favorites, and I’ll be telling you more about them in individual product reviews in future blog posts, to help you decide what to invest in.

If you weren’t able to go yet and can’t tomorrow, you can still check out the International Beauty Fair in Podium Activity Center on March 23-29 and SM Mall of Asia Atrium on March 29-31.

On these days and venues, you can expect the following activities that will broaden your beauty know-how and find products more suited to your beauty needs, as per our own experience last March 13:

Shiseido Spring/Summer 2015 makeup collection

1. Learn new wearable makeup techniques that will enhance your beautiful features, as demonstrated by their highly-trained beauty consultant, straight from Shiseido Japan, Naka Maeda, using their latest collection.

2. Learn more about the latest skincare and makeup products before you buy. Shiseido Philippines chief makeup artist Carmel Villongco walked us through what each new product is for and how to use them to achieve healthier and more glowing skin, and she even divulged which ones are her favorites.

3. Shop! Knowing more about the products in Shiseido’s Spring/Summer 2015 “Glowing Beauty” collection, all meant to help you revive and maintain your skin’s glow, helped me decide what to get after the workshop. Allow me to give you a sneak peek in the gallery below (click on a thumbnail to see the full image, details, and prices, then click through the rest of the slideshow).

4. Know your skin better by having it analyzed and getting a skin consultation. They have stations featuring Shiseido’s skin diagnostic tools like the Skin Sensor, which instantly measures your skin’s actual age (versus your real age), moisture level, melanin concentration, immunity of the skin, and your facial skin’s turn-over rate. They also have the Beauty Simulator, a super cool iPad app which simulates how you would look wearing a particular makeup look using Shiseido’s newly-launched collection without having to take off your makeup. You have to try this exclusive app, it’s really so much fun to use—it’s not downloadable, so you really have to go there to use it!

5. Get a Shiseido Makeover, which includes eyebrow reshaping and a personalized makeup tutorial that touches on balancing techniques specific to your face proportions.

6. Get pampered! They offer a hand massage and a quick facial that relaxes, tones, and lifts facial muscles.