Heart: Work on baby starts February

More than two months after the elections (for which she campaigned for her husband, Sen. Chiz Escudero, who ran as presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe’s running mate), Heart Evangelista has yet to start conceiving their first baby, as she promised, but she doesn’t seem to be in a hurry.

“I will start trying by February next year,” she told Funfare, maybe on her birthday (Feb. 14)?

Besides her GMA show Juan Happy Love Story (with Dennis Trillo) and painting (not just on canvas but on bags which, like her paintings, are high-priced), what many people didn’t know was that Heart has been busy with an art-meets-fashion collaboration with Happy Skin founders Rissa Mananquil-Trillo and Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez.

Heart tapped the country’s favorite brand of skin-caring makeup (that is, Happy Skin) to collaborate on her first-ever makeup collection, Happy Skin X Love Marie. The choice to use “Love Marie” highlights Heart’s given name and her persona as a beauty icon and artist. (Heart launched her book This Is Me, Marie in November last year.)

“Happy Skin is all about natural beauty. They don’t want you to wear something that’s harsh on your skin and I want that as well,” Heart said, giving us her thoughts on why she trusted the brand with the collaboration. “They’re a local brand, and I think it’s important to promote ‘yung sariling atin.”

The three partners described the product as “love at first swipe.”

The limited edition lip collection, called Happy Skin X Love Marie, has three #HappySkinXLoveMarie Shut Up & Kiss Me Mini Matte Lippies and three #HappySkinXLoveMarie Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lip Liners

“It was such a thrill when Heart herself reached out to collaborate with our homegrown brand,” said Rissa.

“She’s one of the most beautiful faces in the country and she’s a genuine fan of Happy Skin,” added Jacqe. “I’ve personally seen our lippies inside her makeup bag!”

“From art to makeup, Heart really loves all things beauty,” Rissa explained. “As the ultimate beauty girl, she understands the power of a good lippie. The right lip color is akin to what paintbrushes are to an artist ­— both are vital tools for self-expression.”

“Actually, when I was first introduced to Happy Skin, I liked their lippie shades,” Heart confirmed.

It was only fitting then that the first Happy Skin product she fell in love with would also be the same one to carry her name. Happy Skin X Love Marie is a limited edition lip collection that features, for the first time in Happy Skin history, mini matte lippies and matte lip liners.

“Heart knows what she wants and she makes it happen. She requested for ‘A box set with my illustrations, a lip liner and a nude matte lippie,’ from the very start,” shared Rissa. “We worked on this collection at the height of the 2016 campaign period and elections, and I really admire her because no matter how busy she was, she was always committed and did more than what was asked of her throughout the entire collaborative process. She gives her all in everything she does ­— always all heart.”

For Happy Skin, this collaboration is extra special because it’s their first time to have a collaborator design the collection’s packaging. “Heart personally drew the artwork on the boxes,” revealed Rissa. “It was definitely a labor of love.”

“I like to stick to traditional, classic stuff, even with colors. You want to look beautiful and glamorous, but still very natural, which is why I love nude shades,” Heart explained. “When I talked to Happy Skin, I said I wanted to work with nude, matte lips.”

The #HappySkinXLoveMarie Shut Up & Kiss Me Mini Matte Lippies (P499 each) are handier versions of Happy Skin’s famous moisturizing lippies that you can easily slip in the smallest of clutches and kits. They come in three wearable shades: Nostalgia, a trendy-yet-timeless sepia; New Love, a flattering nude caramel hue; and All Heart, a beautiful brick nude. All three shades can also be bought in a heart-shaped box set, the #HappySkinXLoveMarie Shut Up & Kiss Me Mini Matte Lippie Trio (P1,299).

“Even if Happy Skin’s lippies are matte, they’re still very moisturizing,” raved Heart. “They’re not cakey and they don’t feel like a mask on your lips.” That’s because Happy Skin’s matte lippies are packed with Cupuaçu butter, a superbly moisturizing ingredient that can attract 240 percent more water, allowing it to hydrate effectively.

Trivia (from Heart): “I started using lip liners when I was only 13 years old. I got that from my sister and my mom! They love using lip liners. I think it’s important to accentuate your features, and a lip liner does that. There’s an instant change that makes you feel beautiful right away.”

“Since this is Heart’s first makeup line, we thought it would be a great tribute to release Happy Skin’s first lip liner with her,” explained Jacqe.

“Our new lip liners will especially be, as we were saying, love at first swipe because they come in colors that go with everything in your lippie arsenal,” stressed Rissa.

The new #HappySkinXLove Marie Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Matte Lip Liners (P499 each) come in three staple shades: Nude Skinny Dipping, red Heartthrob and pink First Date. Similar to the mini matte lippies, they get their hydrating capacity from a powerful blend of Cupuaçu butter, Shea butter and collagen.

“They’re so moisturizing that you can wear it all over your lips,” attested Jacqe.

Part of the proceeds from this collaboration will go to Heart’s chosen charity, Corridors for Hope, which benefits cancer patients. She explained why, “I think women should be there for each other and to support each other.”

(From today to July 24, shop for the #HappySkinXLoveMarie Mini Matte Lippie Trio at The SM Store Makati and get a free #HappySkinXLoveMarie Moisturizing Matte Lip Liner! Happy Skin stores are located at 2/F Glorietta 3, 2/F Greenbelt 5, 2/F Power Plant Mall, 2/F Mega Fashion Hall, and 1/L Trinoma.

(Happy Skin is also available at Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La; Beauty Bar; Plains & Prints; The SM Store Makati, Mall of Asia, Megamall, and SM North EDSA; Watsons Mall of Asia; Landmark Makati and Trinoma; and Metro Gaisano Department Store, Alabang Town Center and UP Town Center.)

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