Beauty Picks

Cross-eyed beauty

MANILA, Philippines - It’s official: Once magazines have had their fill of of touting plus-sized models as the standard for “unconventional” beauty, they will eventually move on to... cross-eyed models. Landing on Pop magazine’s The Face issue is unique beauty Moffy, who was discovered by photographer Tyrone LeBon and Pop editor Max Pearmain. “We chose to shoot her because we had recently shot with models and wanted a change,” LeBon told the Daily Mail. “Moffy had never been photographed for a magazine and it’s always exciting to work with someone when there is uncertainty about how it might work out.” Moffy was just a regular girl at the time of the shoot until LeBon and Pearmain decided at the last minute to put her on the cover of the magazine. Already, Moffy is being touted as a beauty industry revolutionary and was just signed by Storm, the same agency that handles edgy beauties with unique personalities like Kate Moss, Cara Delevigne and gender-bending muse Andrej Pejic. Looks like we’ll be seeing more of those huge, greenish gray, albeit unaligned eyes.

here’s the pincher

If you’ve been dealing with wrinkles and saggy skin, don’t you just wish that when you pull your face taut, it would just stay like that? That dream may actually come true with Lancôme’s Rénergie Multi-Lift Reviva-Plasma, the latest addition to their best-selling Rénergie line. The product was inspired by the minimally aggressive procedures women have been requesting at their dermatologist’s office, like laser and LED treatments, along with the most recent revitalization technique: biological stimulation, which involves micro-injections of hyaluronic acid and vitamins. What if they could capture these techniques in a bottle? Rénergie Multi-Lift Reviva-Plasma combines two cutting-edge technologies: the Multi-Tension technology for skin taughtening action, and the Multi-Vital complex, an unprecedented combination of a biolipid with a dipeptide. And here’s the fun part: you actually have to pinch and twist your skin after applying the product for it to work. Who ever said beauty routines were  boring?

a brit lip

Popular British makeup brand Collection is bringing a UK lippie fave to Manila — the Collection Colour Pro Lip Lacquer, which are lip glosses that give off an intense burst of color. The Collection Colour Pro Lip Lacquer comes in four shades: Prom Queen, an old rose shade; It Girl, a kind of tango pink; Rebel an electric pink; and Show Off, an orange, persimmon hue. Layer the glosses over a corresponding lipstick for a statement lip, or wear it on its own for a more natural effect. Collection is available in select department stores and on Zalora.com.ph. For more information on where to find Collection, visit Collectcosmetics.com.ph.

Blonde moment

If you haven’t noticed, icy blonde platinum locks are a huge thing right now — they’re the new ombré — as evidenced by models Aline Weber, Soo Joo Park and Karlie Kloss (who donned a blonde wig for Interview), along with singers SoKo and Sky Ferreira. The look is equal parts Debbie Harry and Kurt Cobain, and Into The Gloss’ Emily Weiss decided to dive headfirst (pun intended) into the trend. Heading to Aura Friedman of Sally Hershberger, the only colorist that all of New York seems to trust with their platinum makeovers, Weiss takes us through the nine-hour “double-process” of bleaching and toning her hair. The result is as drastic and shocking as she had hoped and proclaimed on her blog that she was now the “proud owner of a head of ‘dry and damaged hair,” that is three times thicker and “permanently beach-y.” That this is a thing to be proud of in an age of growing consumer vigilance over harmful chemicals in personal care products is strange, but then again, maybe that’s the point? The beauty industry is a lot like fashion in that sense.

The sì woman

Cate Blanchett is the face of Sì, the latest fragrance by Giorgio Armani. Chic, sultry, intense and soft at the same time, Sì is a chypre scent reinvented, lingering on the skin and captivating the senses. Its olfactory signature is rhythmic, elegant and unique. It combines an inflection of three accords: cassis nectar, modern chypre and light musky wood. “Sì is my tribute to modern femininity, an irresistible combination of grace, strength and independent spirit,” Giorgio Armani says of his newest scent. The product of a special extraction, the cassis, like a forbidden fruit, maintains all of the full-bodied aspects of a dark fruit. As an intoxicating nectar, this creative mixture exposes all of its femininity and its passion — it is the power of darkness. Rose de Mai, enhanced by notes of freesia, blends with elegance to bring forth a subtle touch of patchouli.  A note of blond amber wood and intense orcanox, reveals a sensual and warm scent and marks the fragrance with exceptional subtlety.

Holiday looks

Hailing from Munich, Bavaria, Make Up Factory brings the quality and consistency of professional-grade cosmetics to every woman. From eyeshadow palettes to lip pigments, the Make Up Factory fall/winter ’13 collection covers all bases for a party-ready holiday face. The collection for eye makeup is inspired by autumn colors with earthy browns, moss greens and rust orange, along with a bit of a suprise: bright green mascara. Berry pinks and rosy nudes on the lips balance the look, along with a sweep of pale pink blush. “Make Up Factory always keeps abreast of what’s happening in the beauty scene,” says Diana Afable-Lorenzo, managing director of Brio One Commercial Corporation. “Looking at the latest series, you can see colors straight from the runway, giving you the ability to create the most amazing catwalk faces, and more.”

Make Up Factory is located at Bonifacio High Street and SM Megamall and is available at select SM Stores and Watsons branches.

Nailing it

ANNY just came out with their Miami Crazy Colors collection in mini bottles. Inspired by the vibrance of Miami Beach, the eight-color collection includes Boogie-Woogie, a summery orange-red; Twist & Shout, a glowing orange; Happy Nails, a rich coral shade; Color is Life, an orchid violet; Green Green Grass, a verdant hues Rock ’n’ Roll Kid, a suprising cool teal, and midnight shades Blue Moon and Dream On. All ANNY nail polishes contain Expert Gel 1, a protective film that increases the covering power of the lacquer and high-quality resins to give the varnish a long-lasting shine. The Nail Art stencils, on the other hand, allow you to achieve a different take on the French manicure using crazy hues. 

ANNY is available at select SM Stores at Watsons in SM Mall of Asia and SM North EDSA  The Block.

Oil is well

As it is with food, so should it be with the products we apply on our bodies: the more natural, the better. And lots of times, the simpler and the more obvious, also the better (not to mention cheaper).  

Moringa, more known locally as malunggay, is hailed as one of the superfoods in the market given its high nutritional content. In fact, its laundry list of nutritional information is impressive enough to compete with the other, trendier beneficial plants that are lauded in the media. It has three times more potassium than bananas, four times more calcium content than milk, about seven times more vitamin C than orange juice, three to five times more beta-carotene than carrots, more than 10 times the recommended daily amount of vitamin E in just three ounces of moringa powder, and over three times the iron found in spinach or roast beef in just an ounce of moringa leaves — why search high and low in weekend farmers’ markets looking for kale when there’s plenty of the locally grown moringa available?

It’s so impressive, in fact, that the plant is used by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and many other programs to combat malnutrition in developing countries. And from its culinary and traditional medicinal uses that lolas have used through the ages, moringa is now also being used in the preliminary research to make river waters potable, and in studies being done in scientific communities in Japan and Brazil to see how its nutrients and phytochemical properties can be harnessed to potentially combat viruses and diabetes.  

Surely, with such a rich résumé backing it up, it’s long overdue for the beauty industry to put this non-glamorous-looking produce in the spotlight for all the things it can do for the body.

The Moringa-O² Herbal Hair, Scalp & Skin Therapy Oil is the latest addition to Ardent World’s Moringa-O² line of beauty award-winning body care products that have been attracting believers with very little fanfare. Harnessing the power of moringa oil and combining it with olive oil and omega from sunflower oil, this Therapy Oil is like green sunshine in a bottle for the skin: a natural cleanser rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals, the better to nourish the skin cells with.

And by skin cells, we don’t mean just those on the face: because it’s an emollient, the Therapy Oil can be used as an overall moisturizer from head to foot, from the tips of the hair down to the toenails, to seal in the cells’ natural moisture even as it adds much - needed lubrication in drier parts of the body: elbows, heels, and cuticles. Especially for those with sensitive skin, this oil’s antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties also help address minor skin complaints such as cuts, burns, bruises, insect bites and rashes, and signs of irritation and inflammation such as pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads. If ingesting moringa distributes its nutritional benefits throughout the body, its topical application will bring the full force of its medicinal benefits directly to problem areas.

The Therapy Oil is also great for scalp care with its vitamins A, B Complex, C, E, and squalene that help minimize dandruff, reduce itching, strengthen weak and brittle hair, and promote hair growth. Instead of weekly hair spas, do some DIY treatment at home instead by massaging some oil onto the scalp and hair strands, letting it rest for at least 30 minutes with the hair wrapped in a shower cap for better absorption, then rinsing it off with shampoo and conditioner; with regular weekly or bi-weekly application, results will be stronger, healthier hair strands and less hair fall.

Its light, green tea-like scent makes massaging on the oil after showering feel like a treat in itself. And with its all-natural ingredients, the Therapy Oil is skin-, hair-, and scalp-compatible with a wide variety of people, from infants to adults and even pregnant women (a bonus: the oil also helps reduce stretch marks and minor scars).

While it’s fun to hear about the hit beauty ingredient of the moment, there’s something to be said about the humble-looking constants that everyone, from global experts to our own mothers, have relied on for so long.

The Moringa-O² Herbal Hair, Scalp & Skin Therapy Oil and the rest of the Moringa-O² line of products (herbal soap, body lotion, and herbal toner) are available at Watsons, SM Supermarkets, SM Savemore, SM Hypermarkets, Robinson’s Department Store and Mercury Drug stores nationwide.