Fast Forward

You may have come to terms with your roots showing or your lipstick collection gathering dust, but we have good news: it’s not going to stay that way.

- MIA CASTRO, ALINEA HERNANDEZ, and TRINA EPILEPSIA BOUTAIN

There was a time when the beauty industry seemed invincible. In cosmetics, new brands were popping up daily, serving even the most niche beauty needs; celebrities were coming into the game and winning us over, thanks to progressive and inclusive approaches; social media kept feeding our desire to consume, not just beautiful things, but to see beautiful things being made, reviewed, and fawned over; skincare and aesthetic innovations were moving at warp speed, to a point where the question was no longer if you had any work done, but why haven’t you yet. Like any growing industry, beauty had its shortcomings and issues, but as a whole it seemed like the industry was going from strength to strength. It was no mystery why—everything just looked better with a dusting of highlighter.

Then the pandemic happened. In the Philippines, the change started slow, then accelerated to an alarming pace. We all know what happened after—jobs were lost, businesses were shuttered and even the biggest brands were brought to their knees.

But despite it all, silver linings showed up. Stuck at home, people started to buy online, igniting the long awaited for e-commerce boom. Skincare became a bigger priority, as were things that catered to health and wellness. We’re still a long way from bouncing back— we’re not even sure if we’re headed in right direction or if we’ve seen the worst of things already; but the year has given the best and the brightest much to think about, learn from and get creative on.