All photos in this blog post are by Nico Belasco Photography.

We were so fortunate to have hosted sixteen sweet ladies last week for the Make Me Up Workshop on August 5th, in cooperation with Mafae Belasco of Mafae Management and Make it Blissful’s Martine De Luna. The workshop was a hybrid “inspiration and information” workshop, beginning with a motivational talk, and ending with a practical makeup demo showing all the participants how to apply makeup using the best practices, and how to go seamlessly from a day-to-night look, using specific products from our partners, Eye of Horus Philippines, London Cosmetics Philippines, and Biore Philippines.

The program opened with us getting to know one another. It was a great time to get up off our seats and meet new ladies: fellow moms, busy professionals, small business owners. Everyone took selfies with their new friends, got to chat a bit about their lives, and then went around the room meeting members of the staff, the City Club, and us, the instructors. It’s always great to mingle!

Martine De Luna was our emcee for the day, and she basically provided her own brand of inspiration and encouragement! (Thanks, Martine!)

Mafae Belasco — the CEO and consultant behind the management company, Mafae Management — opened the day with her fresh talk, which focused on empowerment and ownership. Mafae is a woman who wears many hats: wife, mom of five, entrepreneur, a coach for models and beauty queens (She was Miss Philippines in the 2003 Miss World Pagaent, and placed in the top five!), and her favorite role is that of a mentor to the personalities she manages.

Mafae’s core focus for her talk was really to exhort everyone to “find your ‘why’ in life.” Everyone with a “why” has a more purposeful approach to their life, she said, speaking from her own experience on how she is able to manage the many roles she has. We learned how important it is to go back to the why on a daily basis, and make it the heart and motivation of all we do, whether we are at work or simply living our everyday lives. There were so many points to absorb, and Mafae beautifully summarized it in her key takeaway for us all. “You must love you,” she said, explaining that self-love is at the heart of fulfillment and purpose. (It makes sense, doesn’t it? When we are fulfilled and confident and love ourselves by having that positive, healthy self-esteem, then we can accomplish any goal, any dream we are working for, because we know we deserve them. Wow! Mind-blowing!)

Her talk was the perfect jumping point into the practical portion of the workshop, the makeup workshop! Prior to this, however, the participants were all treated to the London Cosmetics table, where they each selected their own lipstick colors.

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Acie has been giving makeup workshops for some time now, usually in intimate, personal settings, such as in a client’s home or in a salon. This was not he first time she did a makeup workshop, demo-style, for an audience. It was a great way to teach the core basics of makeup application. Acie took us through from the core basics (skincare and cleansing, prep, and application per area of the face) to actual makeup artistry, which she demonstrated on our two model participants for the day.

For Frances, it was the day look

For Ricci, the look was an evening one.

During the workshop, we learned the importance of why we use and apply makeup in the first place. “Makeup is for everyone,” Acie said, noting that every face is gifted and blessed with unique features. “Makeup is simply meant to enhance, not cover-up.” It is what makes our facial features “perk up” and come to life, as it were, especially since every kind of makeup — from the foundation, down to the detailing products like eyeliner and mascara — is meant to bring out the best in our features.

In line with Mafae’s message for us to love ourselves first, Acie’s portion drove home the point very concretely:  Makeup application to enhance your natural gifts IS a part of loving yourself and developing yourself.

We’d like to thank everyone who made this important and inspiring workshop possible:

• Mafae Belasco of Mafae Management & mafaebelasco.com
• Nico Belasco Photography (Please check our Make ME Up workshop album, found on his Facebook page!)
• The City Club by Alpha Land Makati, our venue for the day
• w7 London Cosmetics Philippines (lipstick sponsors)
• Eye of Horus Philippines, in cooperation with Glamourbox (eye makeup sponsors)
• Biore Philippines (skincare sponsors)
• Tasty Tucker (snacks sponsors)

And thanks to all the ladies who made this event a success! We’re all super proud of you and believe in every one of you!