MANILA, Philippines — Ethyl dela Peña, known for her online textserye titled Ken & Casey, is a woman in tuned with her emotions. With this, she is able to discover her strength and weaknesses, her dreams and aspirations. As she takes this path to self-discovery, she is ready to scale new heights.
In 2015, Ethyl started the Ken & Casey textserye (an online series where the story is told via screenshots of SMS exchanges between the characters) and shared it among friends on Facebook. She released updates regularly and her friends got hooked and anticipated each installment of the story. With her friends’ prodding, Ethyl made her Ken & Casey posts “public” on Facebook and after one week, her posts went viral.
“I was inspired to create Ken & Casey when I saw a post on Facebook with the same format. I tried to do it for fun and just to share with my friends. I did not expect that Ken & Casey would boom like it did,” says Ethyl, a third-year Computer Science student at Cavite State University.
Three months after the textserye went viral online, PSICOM publishing house reached out to Ethyl and offered to publish Ken & Casey on print. Early this year, she released her bestselling second book titled How to Move On in this World full of ‘Kasi Bes, Mahal Kita.’
“When I was in grade school, I started writing stories on a notebook. My classmates would borrow the notebook and read the stories until it was passed around the whole class. Writing was just a past time. Sometimes, I don’t even finish the stories. That’s why never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever be able to have a book published. I am thankful that it became a book and people patronized it,” she says.
Ethyl admits that she opened her heart and took from her life experiences when she wrote her second book, which became an instant hit with younger readers. “I became brokenhearted before. What I shared in the book were the steps I took to be able to move on. My hope is that through the book, I’ll be able to help out others to heal their broken hearts, too.”
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With the success of her books, Ethyl is able to travel around the country for meet-and-greet and book signing events. For these activities, Ethyl makes sure she is armed with her beauty must-haves, which include an eyebrow kit and her favorite shades of matte lipstick.
“I want to look presentable without all the hassle of wearing full makeup because of my daily activities. I find Ever Bilena perfect for me because its products are affordable and of good quality.” For this shoot, Ethyl, who admits she is fond of makeup and likes being made up, tried Ever Bilena products that are perfect for her day-to-day activities.
At her meet-and-greet and book signing events, Ethyl is often asked for a selfie or a group photo with the attendees. So, she makes sure she uses a reliable foundation that will last her all day like the Ever Bilena Matte Two-Way Cake in Golden Beige. It is a two-in-one, long-lasting foundation that creates a weightless feel for a natural matte finish and provides full coverage.
For her everyday look, Ethyl swipes a pop of color on her lips with her favorite shades of matte lipstick. Included in her favorites is the Ever Bilena Ultra Matte Lipstick in Passion. Ethyl loves this lipstick because it’s waterproof, long lasting and offers intense matte pigment that provides lips with maximum smooth coverage.
Ethyl is a firm believer that keeping perfectly shaped brows is a must to complete one’s desired look. She also believes that highlighting the eyes is important because these are the windows to the soul. To highlight her eyes, she uses the Ever Bilena All-Day Eyeliner Pen because it is “very easy to control.” This long-wearing and smudge-proof eyeliner pen has a soft pointed tip for easier application.
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Ethyl opens her heart and soul to a world of opportunities, a world that allows her to discover herself more and realize her purpose in life. With a third book in the pipeline and preparations for a “vlog” premiere on the way, Ethyl is grateful that she is able to do things that she loves with the help of the people close to her heart.
“I see beauty in writing because through your stories, you are able to bring a character to life through the imagination of the readers. Writing is a creative outlet and I am truly thankful for the opportunities that are coming my way because of it,” she says.
Photography by Claudine Cervantes Callanta of Larawanmo • Styling by J-em Sta. Ana • Makeup and hairstyling by Ever Bilena • White halter top by D’Jour Shop and orange bodycon dress by Eric de los Santos