Camera ready in 10 minutes

IT’S been almost a year since the lockdowns started — I have spent almost an entire year indoors — and that understandably changed the way we lived our lives. In this writer’s case, one of the biggest changes came in how I have tailored my makeup routine towards attending online meetings, with a focus on being camera-ready in less than 10 minutes but with the staying power of an entire workday.

And if you are on the hunt for the products that suit that very specific category, here are my recommendations.

(Disclosure: all the products mentioned were given to this writer by the brand.)

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS MINI SOFT GLAM II EYE SHADOW PALETTE (P1,636 IN SEPHORA.PH)
For its 2020 holiday collection, American makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills eschewed its usual full-sized palettes and products, preferring to put out mini versions of its cult-classic products, one of which is the Mini Soft Glam II palette. The brand explained that the holiday collection was meant to be “glam, portable, giftable” which explains the minis — it’s the perfect stocking stuffer.

And what a beautiful stocking stuffer it is as the eight-pan palette combines six shades from the neutral Soft Glam palette and two shades from the purple Norvina palette (both were released in 2018). It’s the perfect on-the-go palette and this writer found so much use for it during workdays because having eight shades to choose from instead of 16 makes the entire full-face process go faster.

I find myself going for Incense, a dusky terracotta shade, for my entire lid followed by Mulberry, a dark purple-red color, for my crease, and Sultry, a metallic warm chocolate brown, at the center of my lid. Sultry is my favorite shade because it makes my eyes pop through the webcam. Sometimes when I’m feeling particularly lazy or pressed for time, I just go for Incense and use Noir, a carbon black color, as my eyeliner and I’m set for the day.

I think the palette is also perfect for those who are just starting to use makeup and who want to experiment with how to layer eyeshadows because the eight pans help people decide on a color story easily.

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS BROW FREEZE BROW STYLING WAX (P1,500 FOR 8 GM AT SEPHORA.PH)
I was never the person who would think eyebrows were the make-or-break part of my makeup routine because I have been fortunate to have decent brows (a tad short but I can live with it). I usually just extend my short brows slightly with a brow pencil, brush it to blend, and call it a day. But most of the time, I see my brows droop to their regular downward placement by midday and this is where the Brow Freeze helped a lot. The styling wax is inside a tiny pot and you’ll need a spoolie to apply it — once applied, it freezes your brows into place so it still looks pretty. I really do like this product because it’s easy to use and a little goes a long way. A trick I like is using the wax on my brows before applying a pencil as it makes for a more natural look.

READY SET GLOW GLITTER LINERS (P395 AT READYSETGLOW.PH)
Local beauty brand Ready Set Glow has been trying to make a name for itself in the realm of fun, playful makeup. Its current catalog focuses on eye makeup with a considerable collection of colored liners and, now, glitter liners. It also has a lip collection, but currently its eye products are far more interesting.

In February, the brand released its glitter liner line in four colors: Glitter Gray (a metallic gray), Hazel Dazzle (a coffee-colored glitter liner), Pink Diamond (a pinkish brown), and Orange Sparkle (a copper).

I recommend that you shake it before use because sometimes the product needs a bit of motivation to get going. But what really enamored me with the product is the fact it really does have glitter. While the color payoff doesn’t really translate well on camera, it gives me joy to look at the mirror and see that, yes, my liner glitters.

It also stays put all day and is removed easily (without glitter residue) with a good oil-based or balm cleanser.

People who are allergic to glitter may want to look for alternatives, but for those who like to sparkle, I would highly recommend these products.

Zsarlene B. Chua is a former BusinessWorld reporter who wrote extensively on beauty. She now works in public relations. Her company has no clients in the beauty industry.