It’s a match made in beauty heaven: Liza Soberano and BYS cosmetics, two upstarts making waves and challenging the status quo of their respective fields
This is an excerpt from MEGA June 2024 Cover story.
She has been in show business longer than she was out of it, having started at 12 years old as a model and getting her first acting role at 13. She is now 26 years old, beyond famous, highly in demand, traveling the world… and she can’t seem to keep herself out of trouble. You see, Soberano is not afraid to change and grow, even if it disturbs the waters of public perception. As a woman who grew up in the public eye, it could not be helped that many people — both fans and anti-fans — would rather she remains a celebrity who stays in her lane, does as she is directed, and maintains the image that they have all gotten used to.
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Unfortunately for them and fortunately for her and the rest of us, Soberano is finally coming into her own as a person and as an artist. Then there is BYS Cosmetics, an Australian beauty brand with a strong presence in the Philippine beauty landscape. Instead of sticking to what works and what is popular, BYS keeps on pushing the envelope, with a strong resolve to innovate and challenge what is considered to be “nice and pretty.”
BYS singled out Soberano to be their brand ambassador specifically because it has found a kindred spirit in her when it comes to breaking glass ceilings and having true grit to go against the grain.
If one goes back to read the stories and interviews as Soberano steadily moved up in her career, one could see the steps that led her to this point. She broke away from the “love team” mold at the peak of her collaboration with Enrique Gil and explored roles outside of the romantic genre. She chose to partner with brands that are more aligned with her values like BYS. As much as Soberano makes it a point to normalize being true to one’s self, BYS’ wide range of color palettes enables its users to broaden their range of self expression.
Then, in a big way, she left her flourishing career in the Philippines behind to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. “For me, risks are worth taking when it truly scares you and there is something tangible to be lost,” Soberano says. “I’d like to think that I’m ambitious. And part of being ambitious is taking big scary risks and betting big on choices that might lead to big failure. But the presence of that failure is what makes the risk meaningful.”
As the face of BYS Cosmetics, Soberano collaborates with the brand for her looks on and off the red carpet. “I’m at a point in my career where I have the privilege of being able to choose what companies I work with and the people who run them as well,” she says.
There are two specific reasons Soberano shared for why she decided to work with BYS: “First, BYS is a brand I genuinely feel produces quality products that both boys and girls working their first jobs and professional makeup users — such as myself — can afford and appreciate. Second, I was very inspired by the team behind BYS. Ms. Angie and her team have really supported and inspired me to build and grow my own career. To see such a strong independent female-driven company has been inspiring and it was such an amazing experience to see a team that’s as awesome as their product.”
This is not her first MEGA cover, but for this shoot, Soberano’s presence seemed even much larger than life. Yet she gamely followed the direction of the photographers and editors. Her face gave the camera the needed nuance for every shot. She posed like the professional model and actress that she is. She did what was expected of her and more — just as she had always done. But it seemed more special somehow… Was this the effect of having debuted in Hollywood or is it because she is now even more herself?
Read more about how Liza Soberano is embracing her voice, finding her peace, and celebrating her creative freedom in MEGA’s June 2024 issue, now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by MARK NICDAO. Creative Direction PATRICK TY. Styling KAT CRUZ-VILLANUEVA. Additional Styling ELDZS MEJIA. Art Direction BRIE VENTURA. Beauty Direction AGOO AZCUNA- BENGZON. Production JONES PALTENG. Sittings Editor PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO. Makeup MICKEY SEE. Hair RENZ PANGILINAN. Fashion AXEL QUE. BYCARLL. CARL ARCUSA. ELEMENTARI. FARAH ABU. GLADEMIR ECHAVARRE. JOB DACON. NERIC BELTRAN. VANIA ROMOFF. Fashion Assistant BITHIA REYES. Styling Assistants CARL ALBERTO and MIGGS LEGUERRA of ELDZSTYLES, BITHIA REYES, RICH FORTU, and FED PANEN. Nails MIMI QIU LUXURY NAILS. Editorial Assistant JONNIE NGO. Photography Assistants VILLIE JAMES BAUTISTA, JOHN PHILIP NICDAO, ARSAN ULSER HOFILEN, CRISALDO SOCO. Shot on Location GOLDENBERG MANSION. Special thanks to SEC. DINA TANTOCO, GOLDENBERG MANSION, JOHN LOZANO, DONNIE MANALOTO OF BYS PHILIPPINES, and CALLE NAKPIL.
