In this MEGA exclusive, model and actress Angel Aquino dives into what she loves about the world of beauty and how she reconciles her place in it
Actress and showbiz icon Angel Aquino recently graced the beauty pages of MEGA Magazine’s Power Female issue to encourage women to take care of their skin and minds. During the photoshoot, we had the opportunity to talk to the actress and dive deeper into her beauty credo. Read ahead to know more about her thoughts on the beauty industry today, why she never liked wearing a full face of makeup, and the nightly skincare pep talk that helps keep her skin in its best shape.
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The ever-shifting beauty landscape
First things first, we asked Angel how she perceives beauty today. To that, she says, “I appreciate that now, we’re not covering up the skin too much. I mean, makeup will always be around. People enjoy makeup, women enjoy makeup,” Angel states. “I myself enjoy a little bit of blush and lipstick. I love lipstick [and] eyebrow aids. Those things, I really enjoy. I see my mga pamangkins and they have so much makeup. They really love accumulating these things, but I keep telling them—and I’m seeing it also as a shift now—that people are realizing that skin is makeup.”
Good skin is your best makeup.
Angel Aquino on the shifting relationship with beauty in the modern world
“There is a lot of encouragement on taking better care of your skin,” she emphasizes how beauty today is less about vanity but more focues on overall health. “People are now wearing sunblock, and they really try to know which skincare [products] are for which skin type. It’s nice. I think it’s a good shift because, really, your skin is the base of your makeup and you really need that to be good so that your makeup will also come out good,” she goes on to explain.
Commenting further on this shift in the beauty landscape, she brings up the material changes she sees in Philippine makeup trends. “Back then, when you say somebody is fully made up, you don’t see any more of who she really is. It’s all caked and covered and concealed, but now, you still have those enhancements but you don’t change so much, like lift the eye a little bit or make them slightly bigger” she says. “Now, I enjoy that less is more.”
And what does “less” look like on the artist? “I like to keep my skin bare. I don’t wear foundation because I never learned to apply it, so I don’t know what tone works for me because I never really found out,” she says. “When I was younger, I was told that my skin was my best makeup, so I never tried to hide my skin. I just wear my moisturizer. Sometimes, I’ll probably put a face powder on, but I make do with the barest minimum which would be a lipstick that I would wear on my lips and dab it on my cheeks for a little bit of color—and that’s it.”
Her beauty credo
With this shift, Angel hopes to see this particular skin-focused trend continue to flourish in the future. “I want to see more realness, [and] more grounded beauty stories and trends. I appreciate how the kids now—the generation now—try to be grounded in that way. Of course, they like some enhancements and enjoy that, but they also like to celebrate what’s already there,” Angel shares and applauds how the modern youth has diversified the meaning of beauty. “That’s what I would love to see more of—celebrating who you really are, what your skin condition is, getting to really know that and respect that, and embracing it and caring for it. Living with a happy disposition and not always saying ‘I wish I had this or that.’ It’s really just living with what you have.”
More importantly, to Angel, beauty and wellness go hand in hand. Taking care of her body reflects in her outer appearance, she finds. To explain this, she says, “When push comes to shove, you only really have yourself to take care of and rely on. So you have to really take good care of it, get to know it, understand it, and make it your ally. Do not make yourself your enemy, make [your body] your ally so it will carry you through life gracefully. With all the strength that it has, it will give you.”
You really have to show it some respect and reverence. Stop criticizing yourself. Stop criticizing your skin, your body, your breasts. Just say “this is good enough” and then let’s improve it if we can. Let’s exercise, let’s eat better, find ways how to take better care of yourself. When you come to terms with who you are and what you are given and made yourself your ally, then you are indomitable. You can do anything and face anything because you are well-equipped.
Angel Aquino on the relationship between beauty, wellness, and aging gracefully
To that end, Angel does say it is challenging to practice what she preaches. According to her, there are still days when she criticizes her appearance. When that happens, she reminds herself to work with what she has. And if she wants to improve something, she does something about it. “That’s what I’m doing—I’m trying to get into intermittent fasting because I was watching some YouTube and it said that it works and that it’s actually good for your system,” she shares. She emphasizes as well that she just tries to live a balanced life and a commonsensical lifestyle.
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Likewise, when it comes to her skin, she tries to devote time to skincare every night. “Before sleeping, kahit na gaano ako kapagod, I massage it, give it some love, spend some time, so it doesn’t fall too fast or give into gravity too fast,” she says with a laugh. Showing her playful personality, she mentions how she talks to herself during these moments, saying things like “Just stay there, hang in there!” She does these to make sure she faces the next day with a positive disposition.
What might work for me, might not work for another person. So, it really boils down to you getting to know yourself and acknowledging your own needs and respecting that.
Angel Aquino’s final thoughts on beauty and wellness
Photography EXCEL PANLAQUE of KLIQ INC. Creative Direction MIA CASTRO. Multimedia Artist ANDREW ENCAPAS. Makeup MURIEL VEGA PEREZ of CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ. Hair MARK IBARROLA. Special thanks to AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON and MARA GO
