Home of Beauty Exclusives, better known as "HBC" is (correct and inform me if I'm wrong) the only…read morebeauty supply store in the Philippines. Think the ever famous Sally Beauty Supply Stores in the States and the UK. My friends and I LOVE to color our hair in different or wild colors. I've done silver, different shades of red and blonde and my friends and I have often bought bleaching supplies in HBC. I also love how the sales ladies really know the products when you ask them for advice and all products are very affordable. My only trouble about this branch is that the store moved and now it's just a small stall left. I still go here because it's the only branch nearest to me and the rest are too far. The have a lot of "free" services (when you purchase a particular beauty supply) in their stores like a diamond peel, facial, footspa, makeover, skin analysis and hair color application. I really wanted to try the hair color application (when you purchase a hair coloring set) but by the time I was going to, they already moved. Do check the site for branches if you have one near you.

Like Sally's Beauty Supply stores in the US, HBC carries a wide range of beauty products like hair…read morecolor, hair treatment solutions and other salon supplies. Because their products are mostly generic, salon-grade products rather than commercial consumer brands, you can get everything at much cheaper prices. Those who don't mind DIY beauty rituals at home will certainly find themselves spoiled for choices here. One of their more popular products are their hair dyes. As far as I could tell, they have three in-house line: the permanent regular, the low-ammonia range, and the crystal permanent. Each line has so many different shades and variations, but I did notice a lack of crazy colors like those sold by Manic Panic. A purchase of at least P300 entitles you to free services at selected stores, specifically free application of the products that you have bought. Most customers take advantage of this offer for free hair coloring application, which is a steal because even inexpensive salons charge about a thousand pesos for a simple dye job.

Criselda's sells a lot of perfumes and scents…read more Coming from the escalator in Shoppesville, you'll spot this shop right away. It's filled from floor to ceiling with different perfumes, colored bottles and some bins of vitamins. To save time and also so that you don't buy out the entire store, know before hand what perfume you want to buy. Better if you know the name, know how the bottle looks like and are kind of familiar with the scent. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount especially if you're buying a lot of perfume. The last time I bought perfume from this shop, Miss Guada helped me choose. I hope she's still there. Ask for her just in case.

Hortaleza is a household name for people who work in the salon industry and women who are in a…read moreparticular budget when it comes to "kakikayan". It's a one-stop shop dedicated to affordable prettification. The first big reason to go here is if you'd like to purchase cheaper hair dyes and dyeing tools for DIY hair colouring. They have such a large and inexpensive collection of colours and brands. If you're looking for unconventional colours, I've seen purple, pink, and blue dyes here. Bleach can be bought inexpensively bought here as well. Though it's worth noting that if you are conscious and particular about excessive use of chemicals (which I am, a bit, and avoid animal testing) and are looking for more 'natural, organic' hair dye options, this won't be your place. The second reason to go here for is their wide selection of nail polish and nail cleaning tools. You'll go crazy with the colors and they're inexpensive to averagely-priced. Though personally I would not purchase make-up here as I'm afraid of the quality and ingredients. Also, they have a key duplication service! I had my keys duplicated here and they worked perfectly!

Thank God for places like Hortaleza! They've made it possible for anyone regardless of their…read moreeconomic standing to take care of themselves. I used to come here a lot back in college. I was living on a meager allowance and I couldn't afford to go to a salon. During that time, my friends had allowances that resembled pay checks while I on the other hand was living on P120 a day but I didn't let it stop me from trying to look good. So what I'd do is take a tricycle to Hortaleza and buy things like nail polish, bleach, hot oil and tweezers haha. Sometimes, I would buy hair dye and bring it to a cheap salon and pay just for labor. Being broke teaches you to be resourceful and my main source for beauty during those days are all from this place.

It used to be so hard to get Nars Cosmetics here in Manila because they had no stand-alone store…read more When I saw that one was finally built in Glorietta 4, I was so happy! Finding a good matte lipstick that doesn't cake and dry up after just a few hours was quite a personal frustration. When I finally found it in Nars, I was so relieved. I really swear by their matte lipsticks. My personal count for their line of lipsticks is now at 5! And it looks like it's not stopping anytime soon, especially since they are finally available locally.

A couple of years ago, Nyx Cosmetics, a California-based cosmetics brand that specializes in…read moresuper-affordable drugstore makeup, wasn't available in the Philippines. This was around the time I started my evolution as a girly girl, and admitted I liked makeup. One of the brands that I got wind of was Nyx, which wasn't available locally, so I had to pre-order most of it via online purveyors like Digital Traincase. Fast forward a couple of years, and SM Megamall decides to rebrand its image in order to cater to a hipper, more discerning crowd, and decides to bring in Nyx to the Philippines. Finally, Nyx had a brick-and-mortar store of its own! To impatient people like me, no longer do we have to wait for x days before the courier delivers our package of makeup to our doorstep. We can just troop to the mall and try on the makeup ourselves! No more blind-buying! The fact that most of Nyx's cosmetics catalog (with the exception of some of their lipstick shades) is available at this branch, is very convenient to me. The tough part about buying cosmetics online, even if it's drugstore brand-priced, is that there's a risk that it won't look good on your skin. So I'm really glad that Nyx has a store where I can try on the stuff I want, and more!

NYX Cosmetics is a drugstore cosmetics brand based in California. It has only established physical…read morestores in the country for within the last two years but Filipina makeup junkies are already well-acquainted with the brand because a number of online cosmetic sellers have been carrying their bestsellers ever since the Multiply shopping days. NYX certainly has a lot to offer --- with hundreds of eyeshadow and lip color shades to choose from, you can basically find a dupe for almost every popular shade from more expensive brands like MAC and Nars. I am certainly happy that NYX stores can be found in most malls here in the metro but I am rather annoyed that NYX Taupe is not locally available here, for some reason. NYX Taupe is a matte brown blush with greyish undertones which make it perfect for contouring. Not quite sure why NYX Taupe is not included in their local inventory, considering that it has always been one of their global bestsellers.

Not the greatest service, yet product knowledge was not acceptable. Staff wasn't in the mood to…read morehelp customers including myself. Staff doesn't sanitize products before having customers try them on. Asked for brush cleaner and it smelled like baby cologne. Asked for makeup wipes they said sorry we have no more testers, offered me makeup wipes that aren't Mac! highly recommend the store todo a mandatory cleaning of stores and staff! Return makeup's artist to basic training. !

One establishment in Guadalupe Nuevo that has withstood the test of time is the RB Hortaleza…read moreVaciador & Beauty Supply. I remember my grandmother asking me to bring our scissors and knives to this place when I was a teenager. Until now, our family still patronizes this place to have our garden tools, nail clippers, knives, and scissors sharpened. But I'm no longer the one in charge of bringing in such tools to the shop. The store is also a good place to have common types of house keys duplicated. Apart from tool sharpening and key duplication, Hortaleza sells hair and beauty products and accessories that are rarely seen in major malls and supermarkets. If you can't find a certain brand of whitening cream or soap in big stores, there's a big chance that you'll find what you're looking for here. I know that many beauty parlors in this side of Makati buy hair curling, coloring, straightening, and washing products from Hortaleza. Aside from hair products, they also sell tools and supplies used for manicure, pedicure, and spa services.

Hortaleza is a pretty popular beauty supply business all over the metro, hell, you can even find…read moretheir products in huge department stores! But this one particular branch is my favorite because of the following reasons: It's literally a few kembots away, it has cheap bleach tubs, AND it never fails to supply me with all my vanity needs, most especially those that I need for really fierce fashion shoots! I will also never find any other place that's accessible to me who sells very stylish and avant garde fake lashes for an affordable price! In fact, if you want a lash extension that can be seen from the next kanto, you can get it here for less than a hundred pesos. Oh, I cannot anymore stress over how much awesome the eyelash extension finds here, and I buy them in huge bulks, because the designs run out from time to time. I also want to mention that decent quality hair dyes are available here for less than 200 pesos. There are no vegan brands like Manic Panic though, but if you're not vegan, it's the place to get your dyes without even shelling so much. And they actually are not bad, even almost the same effect as expensive ones. Tried and tested, hunnies.

I went through this phase with my cousin when she and I would always pass by The Face Shop to grab…read moresome nail polish. The set up of this store when it comes to their nail polish is quite fascinating. It's all lined up neatly in rows and then you can even try them out! They're complete even with nail polish remover! I usually play around with the boring natural colors while my cousin always tries on funky loud colors. She ends up buying a lot more because my choices all look the same! I love their nail polish here, it's not that runny and not that thick in consistency so it's easy to apply. I also love their facial mask here! Sometimes they give you free samples of their newest facial masks so that's such a good deal! When I had really bad sunburn I bought their aloe vera gel here and it smelled so good! It was so refreshing on my skin!

I would visit The Face Shop A LOT when I was younger but not for their make-up or other facial…read morebeauty products but only for their nail polish. I was a certified nail polish addict. I had (still have actually...) over 50 bottles and every single one I bought from The Face Shop or was given to me as a gift from The Face Shop. The range of colors of the nail polishes here is probably the widest and most adorable. They have a lot of shades and they expanded into carrying shimmering nail polish, nail polish with glitters and sparkles in them, crack nail polish (which became uber famous over a period of time), and matte nail polish. The polish at The Face Shop is fantastic, the colors retain their shade even over time and exposure to different elements, the wide range assures you will find the shade you desire, and the price of it isn't that expensive. They may not have the cheapest nail polish but the price is fitting to the quality of their product. Also, their nail polish remover and a must buy! This doesn't smell odd, it doesn't hurt your nails or make them dry, and it does its job of removing the nail polish easily and clutter free.

One of the newest branches of Beauty Bar, this specific branch at Central Square is absolutely…read morestunning! Its reminiscent of special concept stores in Paris, Berlin, London, and Milan. Great interior design and ambiance; all thanks to the German design group Blocher and Blocher. I very much enjoy going to any Beauty Bar store to replenish on my beauty and cosmetic supplies but I think this branch is my new favorite! With brands like Smashbox, StudioMakeup, Supergoop!, 11theBalm®, Urban Rituelle, Juice Beauty®, K-Palette, Koh Gen Do, Mineral Fusion, Modelco, Palladio, Prestige Cosmetics, Andrea, ARTDECO, Bloom Cosmetics, Burt's Bees®, Christian Faye, Fran Wilson, Happy Skin, Human Nature, JAPONESQUE®, YADAH, Salon Perfect®, Messy Bessy, and Human Heart Nature, you're guaranteed to find something to buy! Everything is well presented and the service is great. They also have a Dashing Diva nail salon inside and I must say that this is the nicest one that they have! Definitely a great venue to shop!

Like all other things Korean, skin care products and cosmetics from Korea are making waves in the…read morePhilippines. And, I think, the reason is more than just being associated with Korea. There really is value in these products. One of the popular Korean skin care stores in the Philippines is Etude House. What makes it standout is the cute design of everything in this store, and, when I say everything, I mean not just the products and the interior but the uniform of the salesladies as well. Really, they look cute in their aprons and skirts. Now, back to the products. All of them are put inside cute jars and bottles. Not overly ornate. If I could describe the shape of the bottles and jars, I'd say they are graceful and curvy. I've only tried one product from Etude House: Collagen Moistfull Super Eye Concentrate. The texture is silky and light. It also smells good but not overpowering. As for the efficacy, I cannot say much. Like what most people say, with eye creams, you cannot see the effects at once; only time will tell.

I'm not at all a fan of make-up or beauty products but my friends keep telling me to visit Etude…read moreHouse because I will just love their products. I decided to give it a shot and I went inside Etude House. I instantly felt off because everything was so pink and girly, I really wanted to get out of there. This place felt way too girly for my taste. BUT I was proved wrong once I walked around and tried their different products. This place was actually really nice. Their products are made in Korea which makes them more catered to Asian skin (yay) and the products are simple and straightforward and really work well. I fell in love with their eyebrow pen thing and their mascara, the pigmentation of their make-up products are great and everything looks and feel natural which for me is a must. Another great thing about Etude House is that the make-up is actually affordable! One of the reasons I'm not into make-up is because it's so expensive and I really just cannot afford it but Etude House sells things inexpensive but delivers good quality products. YAY YAY YAY!