When you see our November #CalyxtaGirl’s artworks, especially on Instagram, you’ll notice that most of them tend to gravitate towards nature and the female form. This is especially evident in this week’s art inspiration, which Valerie Chua brings to life yet again in a series of floral and feminine shots highlighting a softer, more delicate side (compared to last week’s stronger and edgier layout).
And since this week’s look focuses on the beauty of the Female Form, we delved into a similar boundary and asked Valerie about what a normal day is like in her studio, what she would have been had she not pursued being an artist, her skin care routine, and of course, if she uses the same artistic skills when doing her makeup!
What’s a normal day like for you? When you’re not painting, what do you like to do?
Spare time? (laughs) I like staying home. I would watch cartoons. I love cartoons! But pretend it’s a weekend, like Sundays, I usually don’t work on Sundays. I spend time with my boyfriend. We go out and try a new restaurant every time.
What about on a weekday—what’s a normal day like in your studio? How do you prep yourself?
I wake up at home. I don’t change. I don’t brush my teeth. I don’t shower. I hop in the car and go straight to the studio. (laughs) And then I do everything there. I shower there, I brush my teeth. I don’t do it at home. And then around 9am, I start work. Around 12 to 1, I have lunch. Then my sister, who’s also a fashion designer, works inside the studio (our studio has a partition and hers is the bigger half)—we eat together, and we watch cartoons while eating. We watch Rick N’ Morty or Bob’s Burgers. Sometimes, we would go back to a series that we watched when we were younger. Last time, we marathon-ed Daria. Sometimes, Hey Arnold. Anything from the past, and not just cartoons. Recently, we marathon-ed FRIENDS. We’d just watch one or two episodes then after, go back to work. Then we finish at 5pm and go home.
If you weren’t an artist, what do you think you would have been?
Um, a scientist maybe. I really like science. (laughs) Like biology and stuff. I have a knack for memorizing like mitosis, miosis, etc. –that’s so fun for me. To draw all the steps, and then memorize them.
Did you consider pursuing medicine? Like being a doctor?
Maybe not doctor. I think more of science, science. Like genetics, or whatever. (laughs)
How would you describe your makeup routine? Your everyday makeup routine?
In the morning, I go out of the house without anything. Just the oils gathered from when I was asleep (laughs) wash my face in the shower. In the morning, I put moisturizer and SPF. Everyday. Even if I don’t leave the house, I still wear SPF because I’m prone to age spots. Even if I’m just indoors! (laughs) And then in the evening, after washing my face, I put toner, hyaluronic acid, an essence, and then a moisturizer, and then eye cream! Then once a week, I would put a balm—I use Neal’s Yard Rose Balm. I guess for extra moisturization.
Is your skin type dry? Or combination?
Combination.
What are the top three makeup products that you can’t live without?
I guess eyebrow liner—K-Palette for the eyebrows. And then Urban Decay’s eye primer. And I guess eyeshadow. Yeah. Because my eyes are small, and I want to make them look bigger. So the eyes are very important.
How about for skin care? Your top three?
Skin care…hmm. Always, my moisturizer. Sometimes, even when I travel and I forget everything, I have my thickest moisturizer. I use Curel Intensive Moisture Care. I guess eye cream also. And then…facial wash?
Do you like experimenting or being creative with your makeup looks? Or would you say that you get to incorporate your artistic skills onto your makeup looks?
Actually, I’m very conservative with makeup. As much as possible, I want to look natural. So, not really. Maybe when I was younger, I would try dark lipstick—like plum-colored ones. But now, the more natural, the better.
What makeup trends do you follow? Or would you like to try?
Makeup trends…hmmm. What’s trendy now? I guess highlighter. I have friends who started buying highlighters. So I also bought. (laughs) And I use it. The Becca Champagne Pop?
What would you say is your most expensive makeup or skin care product that you own?
RMK Gel Foundation, which is around P2,300. It’s my favorite foundation because it’s thin and it sort of merges into my skin color while covering my blemishes. It doesn’t oxidize as much as other foundations I tried. It’s magic!
What lipstick do you use?
I use a Maquillage that’s like a gloss. I also use Happy Skin—they have the one from the Disney line. I think it was the Little Mermaid one. It’s a dark pink color—I use that for the center to make my lips look like there were bitten. Like an ombre effect. Then I use the Maquillage on the outer part.
What’s the best beauty advice you’ve ever received and from who?
The one that I always hear is cleanse, tone, and moisturize. Those three steps. I think I went to a blogger event before and that was the thing that they kept saying—cleanse, tone, moisturize. I forgot which brand it was. So ever since then, that’s what I do—cleanse, tone, moisturize. Even if you don’t have all the other serums or essences—as long as you have a final moisturizer, it’s okay.
Get to know more of our cover girl as we asked her a bucket of questions below. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to get updates on the latest reads!
Text by: GRETCHEN GATAN
Videographer: MAC BANGUNAN OF ARTISANO STUDIO
Photographer: KOJI ARBOLEDA
Makeup: SYDNEY HELMSLEY
Hair: MJ RONE OF REVLON PROFESSIONAL
Stylist: GAIL MEREIRA FOR TEAM RYUJI SHIOMITSU
