Sometimes, it’s as simple as wearing a good ol’ fashioned lipstick even while lounging around the house that gives Bea Alonzo a semblance of normalcy during these unprecedented times.
“(Wearing makeup) is a form of art for me. There are days where I would even wear different shades (of lipsticks) — wear mascara, eyeshadow. It’s a form of self-care,” the 32-year-old artist shared. “Of course there are days where I want to go makeup-free (and days) where I feel lazy. But there are also days that I want to bring it on even if I’m just inside the house.
And for someone that quite literally has too many roles to fill before and even during the pandemic, just one lipstick shade is not enough to color the journey of one Bea Alonzo as she goes into full bloom.
“Bea never lets anything — not hardship, heartbreak and not even a pandemic — get in her way of accomplishing her dreams,” said Anna Fernandez-Llamas, Avon’s head of beauty on the brand’s decision in choosing Bea as the face of their newest collection. Each of its shade perfectly suiting every “Bea” that the public has had the pleasure of knowing: from being an all-rounder actress, entrepreneur, screenwriter, philanthropist to now being Avon’s newest endorser.
“Floral Fuchsia reminds me of my younger days,” she reminisced. It’s a vivid mid-tone pink with blue undertones that was the go-to shade for Bea when she used to go to her auditions way back then. “I would wear a lot of pink lipsticks, you will never catch me wearing bold-colored lipsticks like nudes, reds — actually, I miss the times when life was so much simpler, when I was just starting to discover who I am. I used to audition a thousand times and get rejected a thousand times too.”
If Floral Fuchsia is reminiscent of Bea’s youth, the classic, regal rose-burgundy shade of Ruby Rose Red feels more like when something flickered in her mind when she was already working. “It just happened, like I wanted to be taken a little more seriously. I wanted to have fun, but I also wanted to have more direction. It was as if I wanted to test the waters of adulting. I wasn’t quite there yet but I wanted to dive in,” she explained.
And if Ruby Rose Red was a character from many movies Bea had played as, she said that it would be Basha from the timeless classic One More Chance, pre-breakup with Popoy, the character played by John Lloyd Cruz.
“Remember the moment where Basha was deprived of the chicken skin that she wanted to eat? She was thinking to herself, ‘Is this really want I want?’ or ‘Do I want something more?’ It was a metaphor of Basha’s growth and her want to carve her own path, and at the end she suddenly chooses herself,” the actress recalled.
During the ongoing, “longest-lockdown” in the world, Bea misses everything about her work including her Dean and Deluca café franchise. “I try to look at things from a different perspective. This quarantine allowed me to realize that I have a bigger purpose. During ECQ I was able to create an organization, I Am Hope, which aims to help the frontliners. Now, we have transitioned into helping women in their livelihood. Also, we aim to help the underprivileged kids with their education so parang mas lumalim nga eh. Because I can use my platform now for a bigger purpose,” she shared.
Self-care is also one of the important things Bea keeps in mind at the height of panic and anxiety. “It isn’t selfish. It is also a tool to protect your mental well-being. I try to eat right, exercise, I try to take care of my skin, put on a little makeup every day just to be reminded of who I am despite the pandemic,” she said.
“I feel like I’m just starting. I have so much energy that I can do so many things. I am starting to discover different hobbies, I am bound to do a movie this year, a teleserye and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me. If it means more mistakes, more challenges, bring it on. More lipsticks? Yes please.”
Article by Louise Lizan
[This article originally appeared on Tribune Lifestyle. Minor edits have been made by Avon.ph editors.]