Happy Skin goes active with new collaboration

LOCAL beauty brand Happy Skin now offers “an active line” of makeup in collaboration with actress Kathryn Bernardo that is made for people who want their makeup to last the entire day even through the sweatiest conditions.

Called the Generation Happy Skin ACTIVE, the six-piece collection is the brand’s second collaboration with Ms. Bernardo after last year’s Generation Happy Skin launch.

“I’m actually happy because this is our second collaboration with Kathryn because the first one did so, so well and this time this collection is geared towards [those] with active lifestyles,” Rissa Mananquil-Trillo, co-founder and chief brand officer of Happy Skin, told BusinessWorld during the launch on April 6 at the Atrium of SM North EDSA The Block in Quezon City.

Generation Happy Skin is the brand’s diffusion line which is meant to “allow [customers] to get the Happy Skin products at an accessible price point,” said Ms. Mananquil-Trillo.

“[Her collections] are always inspired by her own beauty routine and so last year was about achieving a simple kind of beauty; this time it’s something that can withstand working out,” she explained.

The collection includes the Love Your Lips Intense Color Butter Balm SPF 15 (P349) which comes in four shades; My Lips But Better Ultra Matte Lippie (P399) which has two shades; Kiss and Bloom Water Lip and Cheek Tint (P299) which has two shades; Easy Eyes Crease-Proof Eyeshadow Stick (P399) which comes in two shades; On-the-Go Blush Lightweight Cheek Stick (P399) with two shades; and Simply Defined Budge-Proof Gel Eyeliner (P399) with one “universal” shade of dark brown.

“This is a generation that’s used to getting everything with a swipe and a click and we want to be able to provide that through Generation Happy Skin,” Ms. Mananquil-Trillo. — ZBC

TRYING IT OUT

In a Happy Skin press release about its new Generation Happy Skin ACTIVE line, done in collaboration with Kathryn Bernardo, the actress was quoted as saying that a particular favorite of hers is the Cheek Stick which she claimed is always in her makeup kit — and this writer agrees as after the press launch, media members were given all six products to try out.

The Cheek Stick I got was Glowing, a red-brown shade that gives the face warmth which is important for a person with fair skin like mine. It’s a cream cheek product which glides on smoothly and is pigmented enough that one can build up the color if they want to but not so much that you have to be careful about putting on too much.

Another product from the line that I particularly like is the Water Lip and Cheek Tint which I got in the shade Breathe, a light red-orange shade that went well with my skin tone both on my lips and cheeks. I haven’t had much success in getting tints to work for me because my skin is so dry that I have to work really fast to blend the colors on (if not I will have a weird looking spot on my cheek all day). My lips don’t do too well with tints normally as they are so dry that tints stick to dry patches and get rubbed off easily.

I am happy to note that this formula works well for me, the tint does not get instantly absorbed on my cheeks so I can blend it out with an easy heart, and on my lips it applies evenly though it takes a bit longer to dry because of the watery texture.

Now, for the products I have less affection for. There is the Gel Eyeliner which uses a twist mechanism to dispense the product. The moment I tried to apply it on my eyes, the tip broke and it had a stiff texture that pulled on my skin. I prefer creamier formulas for my eye products.

Then there is the Butter Balm. First, there’s no shade that went well with my skin as most were nudes and browns which wash out my skin. It is highly pigmented but it does get rubbed off after an hour or so. I prefer my ever-reliable Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm (P690).

In all, for people who want long-lasting makeup, this is a good line to try out though people with drier skin might have trouble working with the drier formulas. — Zsarlene B. Chua