Owning Halloween

By Zsarlene B. Chua

ASIDE FROM costumes that range from geeky to spooky, Halloween is also an event where people use makeup to transform themselves into characters for parties or even just for fun – and NYX is moving to own the holiday by doing a two-day live makeup session featuring its resident artists.

“It’s the first time we’re doing it. We chose Halloween because, as you know, NYX is a very expressive brand so we really bank on our creativity and artistry and professionalism. So we thought that Halloween is actually a celebration we can own since no other makeup brand has done that and NYX has the wide assortment of products to do it,” Sars Santos, brand manager of NYX Professional Makeup Philippines, told BusinessWorld during the brand’s first makeup session on Oct. 21 at its boutique in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Another session was held the next day, Oct. 22, in the same boutique.

For this holiday session, the company invited two of its resident artists – Chyla Guerrero, NYX Philippines’ resident chief and special effects makeup artist, and Karen Yiu, NYX Asia-Pacific guest makeup artist – to feature two looks for the season.

Ms. Guerrero, being a special effects makeup artist, created a “galaxy-themed, skull makeup” look featuring a palette which includes pinks, violets, greens, and blues while Ms. Yiu went the superhero road with a graphic novel-inspired Wonder Woman look.

The brand is known for a number of lip products which are cult favorites – notably its Soft Matte Lip Creams and Lip Lingerie.

Aside from the Halloween makeup demonstrations, Ms. Santos said they are planning to make these live sessions a regular occurrence “because while Halloween is something we want to own, it’s important for Filipinas to learn about different makeup techniques.”

The plan is to hold these sessions monthly, said Ms. Santos, as while Filipinas have slowly evolved through the years and are starting to experiment with bolder colors, she said “we still have room to grow” compared to countries like the US. These bold colors are now seen everywhere though the help of social media like YouTube and Instagram, which have helped Filipinas let loose their inhibitions and try out more colorful looks.

Aside from the monthly makeup sessions, she said that NYX also been very active on its social media pages (mostly Facebook) because it wants to engage with the market more.

“We want to be a digital brand because we know that’s where our main consumers are: the millennials,” she said.

Its more aggressive social media campaign has led to the introduction of its first FACE (Fine Artistry of Makeup Elites) Awards, a contest where budding makeup artists compete with each other in creating the most beautiful themed looks.

The winner get a year’s supply of makeup products, a cash prize of P50,000, and a trip to Los Angeles.

The title was won by Marlyn Ocampo.

“We saw the entries and when we compare it with the entries of other countries, the Philippines can compete and has a lot of talented artists,” said Ms. Santos.