Protect your skin with all-natural cosmetics

His concern for makeup toxicity and passion for natural beauty drove Gabriel Santino to launch the Gabriel Cosmetics in 1992. He believes that the secret to fresh, sustainable beauty lies in all-natural skincare and beauty products.

MANILA, Philippines - Do you really know what’s in your makeup? Take a look at the label of your cosmetics and you’ll find a long list of ingredients, including chemicals and coloring. There’s no doubt that makeup can do wonders. It can cover up blemishes and make your features pop but at the same time, long-term use can damage your skin.

How safe is the makeup you’re using? “Everything is absorbed into our skin,” says Gabriel Santino, CEO of botanical skincare company Gabriel Cosmetics.

We have to be careful about what we put on our skin because it can affect the rest of our body. Common things to look out for are allergies or irritation caused by specific ingredients. Both natural and synthetic substances could cause these. Santino recommends doing a patch test to minimize harmful side effects. “Put a small amount of product behind the ear and leave it for 24 hours to see if you have any allergic reaction,” he suggests.

His concern for makeup toxicity and passion for natural beauty drove Gabriel Santino to launch the Gabriel Cosmetics back in 1992. Santino made sure his entire line was carefully created without potentially harmful parabens, mineral oil, lanolin or talc, propylene glycol or hydrogenated oils. He believes that the secret to fresh, sustainable beauty lies in all-natural skincare and beauty products. Over two decades later, thousands share his belief, with his humble skincare line expanding into a beauty empire.

Originating from Seattle, Washington, Gabriel Cosmetics is now carried in different countries around the world, including the Philippines. As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, Healthy Options launched Gabriel Cosmetics in its stores. This marks the brand’s exciting venture into the world of makeup.

The Gabriel makeup line is composed of natural earth tones, which can easily take your look from day to night. The line includes full-coverage concealer, dual-powder foundation, moisturizing liquid foundation, “multi pot” creamy lip and cheek tint, blush, eyeshadow, eye primer, mascara, eyeliner, lip primer, lipstick, lipliner, and lipgloss, as well as a professional brush collection made of goat and pony hair gathered from natural sheddings.

To help show off what Gabriel Cosmetics could do, Healthy Options invited former Bb. Pilipinas Universe Abbygale Arenas-De Leon to demonstrate three looks using the makeup line — everyday, upscale, and glamorous. I can easily imagine dozens more. There’s a reason that natural palettes are so popular — they flatter every skin tone, have multiple uses, and enhance natural beauty.

Using powder foundation, eye makeup and a little cheek and lip color, Abbygale showed how to pull off an easy everyday look in less than 10 minutes. Gabriel’s powder foundation, with its velvety texture, is light enough for everyday use while providing excellent coverage. Its matte-finish blush comes in four pretty shades — contour, rose, petal, and apricot, giving you lasting color.

Using that as a base, it’s easy to transform your look by intensifying your eye makeup and cheek color and wearing a darker lip color. Like their blush, Gabriel’s eyeshadow comes in an easy-to-blend matte finish in nine earthy shades. Apart from using it on the creases of the eyes, it can also be used as eyeliner by dabbing a fine brush into water first. Its matte brown shadows are also perfect for filling in your eyebrows for a polished look.

For special occasions, you can go glam by adding some smoky shimmer to your eyes and by strobing, the newest makeup trend. “Add a little shimmer where light would naturally hit your face,” Abbygale suggests. Applying shimmery shades to your cheekbones, brow bones, center of your forehead, nose and chin will give you a natural, radiant glow.

A crowd favorite was the gentle waterproof mascara, which gives long, beautiful lashes. The specially designed brush defines and separates eyelashes, creating maximum length while natural plant waxes and vitamins help condition and strengthen lashes.

As Healthy Options showed everyone, you don’t need to give up makeup to protect your skin. When choosing makeup, the best defense is to read and understand labels. “Always read your labels and always believe in your labels’ credibility,” Santino stresses.

With all-natural, mineral-based makeup such as Gabriel Cosmetics, it’s easy to be more beautiful naturally.

Abbygale Arenas-De Leon uses Gabriel Cosmetics to create different looks.