Manila, Philippines - Simple things make her happy a good meal, the smell of fresh laundry, nice eyebrows, scoring a nice piece at a thrift shop, waking up with perfect hair, good conversations with friends and honest cab drivers.
Makeup artist Judy Ramos radiates warmth. She firmly believes in karma and the law of attraction. “If you attract negativity in your life eventually bad things will actually happen to you. But if you stay positive and always look at things half-full, everything will eventually be okay. It is as simple as that,” she says.
Although she never considers herself a “model,” she started doing shoots in 2006 after she qualified in the finals of a teen magazine’s cover search. “I only tried out because they were giving away freebies in the mall. Next thing I knew, I made it to the top five!”
Makeup is a serious hobby for her, and she invests time and money in it. “I always find joy in seeing people gush over themselves after a makeover. It really warms my heart,” shares Judy, who could have done her own makeup during the shoot pretty easily. Surprisingly, this seemingly happy-go-lucky girl is actually finishing her post baccalaureate studies in Pharmacy at the Centro Escolar University Makati while doing freelance makeup. She even took up a semester of cosmetic science; so in her spare time, she is absorbed in making homemade organic skin salves, lip balms, lotions and body salt scrubs, which she usually gives as gifts on holidays and birthdays. This summer, she attempts to catch up on reading non-science/pharmacy books.
Judy’s parents taught her not to limit herself in whatever she does. Her dad, Roel, imparted to her the value of staying grounded while her mom, Gladiola, taught her to invest in her future and in good relationships with her friends, family and most importantly God. “My parents and I share a close relationship. We are open and vocal on things so they really let me know what they like or don’t. I try to do my best not just for myself but for them as well.”
Being the eldest among four siblings, she tries her best to be as responsible as she can, even if that means being a kontrabida. “Ate Judy is always the party pooper in almost everything they do,” she laughs. “I see it as caring for them because at the end of the day, it’s the family who will be there for you. I love my siblings to the moon and back and I would do anything for them.”
As a child, she dreamed of becoming a chef or a doctor. She had this “cooking phase” where she got hooked in watching cooking shows on TV, her mom had to buy her a box full of baking equipment one Christmas. Until now, she finds it therapeutic to cook and bake.
The doctor part is sort of a frustration for Judy. As a kid, she would pretend to have a mini hospital for her dolls. “I would do operations and injections on them, morbid I know,” she cracks. “I was supposed to take up Medicine after college that’s the main reason why I took up Pharmacy in the first place but I’m happy with how things have worked out.”
Through her Pharmacy course, she aims to go abroad, earn enough money and return to the Philippines after five years. “I love the Philippines too much to stay abroad for good. My ambitious plan is to come back here and put up my own pharmacy that practices patient counseling,” she says. She believes that Filipinos should be properly informed on their medication. The sunny pharmacist-cum-makeup artist also dreams of putting up her own cosmetics company.
From beautifying people with her own hands to advocating proper drug administration to the needy, Judy is indefatigable in reaching her aspirations. Her four-letter name means “praised,” and she happily lives up to it.