Effortless Beauty by Happy Skin Sakura Bloom Collection

It's pink, loaded with sakuras (aka. cherry blossoms), skincare that's K-beauty and J-beauty inspired, and is from Happy Skin. Seriously, am I in beauty heaven?

Close, I assume since Happy Skin just came up with another breakthrough duo that's dedicated to my current obsession: chok chok skincare!

Since it pioneered providing both makeup + skincare in 2013, Happy Skin—an original, homegrown beauty brand—has been continuously fulfilling its promise of making the skin happy through innovative products. The brand’s journey started by offering makeup that cares for the skin, and after four years, it’s strengthening the core of its commitment with its first foray outside of makeup and into skincare.

Happy Skin co-founder Rissa Mananquil Trillo explains why: “It was only natural that the brand expands into skincare,” she shares. “Apart from the strong equity Happy Skin has built as the country’s go-to skin-caring makeup, so many consumers have been asking Happy Skin to launch skincare because of their huge trust in the brand’s ability to really care for the skin.”

“It was Happy Skin that started offering skin-caring makeup, and the brand grew because its loyal consumers know that the makeup works just from their experience of it,” agrees co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez. “And it makes sense for them to tap into skincare from a brand they already believe in! By expanding, we’re making it easier for consumers to get the whole benefit of Happy Skin—from makeup to skincare.”

Similar to its much loved make-up, Happy Skin Beauty is concocted in the world's top beauty capitals: Korea (who's 12 years ahead of us in terms of innovations in beauty) and Japan. The initial components of this range is comprised of 2 things I can't quite live without: exfoliants and mists.

Happy Skin Beauty essentials:

Sakura Bloom Brightening Peeling Gel (140ml, Php 799)
Sakura Bloom Hydrating Skin Booster (150ml, Php 799)

If you're struggling with dull skin that's in dire need of life and glow, you gotta try the Sakura Bloom Hydrating Skin Booster. More than a simple mist that's made in Korea, it's best used after cleansing before putting on serum, moisturizer, and the rest of the gang. This helps our skin recover from stress, redness, irritation, and sunburn all thanks to Cherry Blossom Extracts that lock in moisture and thrice-purified Galactomyces that help in "brightening, increased resilience, and moisture to reveal supple and lustrous skin from the inside". LOVETTT.

Using it is very simple:

Spray it directly on the face or on a cosmetic cotton pad. Use an inside-out direction to spread the formula evenly on the face. For troubled areas, you can dampen a cosmetic cotton pad and leave it over the area for three minutes.

For days when our skin's extra haggard and gray, the Sakura Bloom Brightening Peeling Gel is ready to rescue. I learned overtime that typically, I get all these manifestations when I either lack sleep, dehydrated, or haven't been exfoliating weekly. As my skin and I age, I also realized that the former's not responding well to acid or grainy exfoliants. That's why recently, I tend to gravitate towards gentler options like oatmeal infused (like that of St. Ives) or water based scrubs (Cure!).

What makes the Happy Skin Beauty's Sakura Bloom Brightening Peeling Gel an instant fave is it fuses in moisture (that's the Cherry Blossom Extract working hard) while exfoliating the skin. It's made in Japan, in water (91% of it is water) gel form, and free of  parabens, colorant, synthetic, fragrances, sulfate, mineral oil, synthetic dyes, and microbeads. This (generally) makes it safe for those with sensitive facial skin. In a pinch, you can also use this to exfoliate the knees, elbows, and cuticles (for an instant spa manicure effect). For best results, massage this in circular motion over clean and dry skin. Rinse well after use then spritz on the Sakura Bloom Hydrating Skin Booster to lock in moisture.

The Sakura Bloom Hydrating Skin Booster will be available in Happy Skin stores starting December 1. The Sakura Bloom Brightening Peeling Gel will be available in Happy Skin Stores starting December 11. From December 6 to 8, get P100 off when you purchase the two-piece Happy Skin Beauty Sakura Bloom collection at happyskincosmetics.com and beautymnl.com.

Happy Skin stores are located at U/G Alabang Town Center, 2/F Glorietta 3, 2/F Greenbelt 5, 2/F Power Plant Mall, 2/L SM Aura Premier, 1/F SM Mall of Asia, 1/F Robinsons Place Manila, 2/F Mega Fashion Hall, 2/F Robinsons Magnolia, 1/F Eastwood Mall, 1/F UP Town Center, 1/F Trinoma, U/G SM North EDSA, 1/F SM City Clark, and U/G SM City Cebu.