Paolo feels incomplete without make-up

Life has a strange way of surprising Paolo Ballesteros. While he wasn’t looking, the Eat, Bulaga! mainstay’s make-up transformations of Hollywood celebrities went viral.

What started out as a hobby for the star of Regal Films’ Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry Die Beautiful turned out to be a source of pride for Filipino artistry.

American supermodel-turned-TV host Tyra Banks posted Paolo’s make-up transformation of her on her Facebook page, and said the actor-host did a good job.

Fashion It Girl Gigi Hadid called Paolo’s make-up transformation of her “amazing,” while Game of Thrones’ Lena Headley described the actor-host’s work as “fantastic.”

As most of us know by now, Paolo went home with Best Actor honors from the Tokyo International Film Festival for playing a transgender in Jun Robles Lana’s Die Beautiful, which also won the Audience Award.

2016 seems to be Paolo’s year. But he’d rather think of it as a roller coaster ride that ended on a high note.

“That’s the beauty of life,” the ever-optimistic Paolo muses. “Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.”

Instead of letting not-so-positive things like his “vacation” from Eat, Bulaga! bring him down, Paolo looks at the bright side and sees things as a phase that will soon pass. “What matter is how you deal with it,” he adds.

The devoted father just takes one good look at his beloved daughter Keira Claire, eight, and all the problems melt like ice cream on a sizzling summer day.

“She’s very supportive,” beams the proud dad. “She plays with my make-up kit and high heel shoes.”

Paolo doesn’t mind rising bright and early in the morning to apply make-up on the little girl when she has a school program to go to.

Keira Claire loves it when her dad studies her face and applies make-up that enhances her looks. As usual, Paolo is so good at it. He gets requests to do the make-up of his daughter’s classmates. But he politely turns them down.

“I’m not a commercial make-up artist,” he points out.

Paolo explains that he can apply make-up on his own face, but not on another’s. That’s because no one knows his face, its contours, strengths and flaws — more than Paolo does. He knows which parts to highlight, and which to camouflage.

He tried to put make-up on his sister, but he wasn’t happy.

The self-confessed perfectionist needs to get everything right, and often feels he could have done something more to enhance the make-up.

Paolo has grown so used to wearing make-up the minute he steps out of the house, he feels incomplete without it. Good thing his skin can tolerate all kinds of make-up brands, high-end or not.

Paolo isn’t partial to any brand. He buys whatever he can get in the most convenient department store he can find.

Besides, it’s not the make-up brand, but the way Paolo applies it on his face that makes a world of a difference.

“My most challenging make-up transformation is that of Beyoncé. I practiced for three weeks — the longest I’ve done so far,” he recalls.

His transformation into Angelina Jolie on the red carpet and at the awards rites in Tokyo was just as challenging and riveting.
“I had packing tape on my stomach. Call time for the 6 p.m., red carpet was 3 p.m. I started doing my make-up as early as 9 a.m.”
He also covered his groin with packing tape the whole day long — from the red carpet to the awards ceremony, all the way up to the party that capped the night.

Paolo does all this to immerse himself in the moment, when all eyes were on him as he delivered his acceptance speech as Best Actor on stage.

With Paolo, it’s all or nothing. He looks and dresses the part to become the character his role demands of him. His award and the lavish praise he gets from his work prove he’s on the right track.

You can’t fault Regal Matriarch Mother Lily for offering Paolo three movies in 2017.
The guy’s talent and dedication call for even bigger movies.

Congratulations, Paolo!

— With reports from Almed

Garcia and Julian Mauricio