Bianca Ferro Has Been Obsessed With Makeup Since She Was Seven 

By the age of seven, beauty content creator Bianca Ferro already had her beauty routine down: raid her mom’s makeup collection, pick a lipstick shade, and put it on. Then pick another. And another.

Long before her digital days, her earliest brush with beauty started with a mix of high-end and drugstore lipsticks temptingly fanned out across her mother’s vanity—all of which looked like pure magic to Bianca’s seven-year-old eyes—and just as irresistible as the kikay kits she regularly rummaged through from her tita and lola’s drawers.

That early curiosity eventually reached its peak ahead of a ballet recital photoshoot. She recalls with Allure Philippines that at one point, all ten shades of her mom’s collection ended up on her lips at once. “And I looked crazy!” she says, “[Because] it was literally a kid putting makeup on herself.”

Her fascination with makeup went beyond sneaking in and experimenting on herself, too. Even as a child, her mother would let her do her makeup for special occasions. “Could you imagine trusting a seven-year-old to put on makeup for your mom?,” she says. “I have always been that girl.” 

And that girl, she is: years later, after a stint in corporate and a decision to leave the 9-to-5 behind, she found her way into content creation and modeling, propelled by a coffee-toned makeup look set to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” would become the video to change the pace of her career, turning a lifelong fascination into something much bigger.

These days, Ferro’s approach to beauty has not changed much from her lipstick-raiding, recital-crashing childhood. She’s still experimental, still unapologetically bold and plakado. In this Allure Philippines exclusive, she talks about her full glam staple, the fear (and freedom) of leaving a stable job, and what it took to trust her own face in an industry built to make you doubt it.

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What were you doing before being a content creator? 

So I was working a typical 9 to 5 job in corporate. I’ve always loved beauty. Beauty has always been a part of my life. There has never not been a time where I did not know how to put on makeup. I just came out of the womb with a passion for makeup. 

As early as I could remember, I would always raid my tita, my lola, my mom’s drawers for their makeup. There was this one time where we had like a ballet recital photo shoot, and I raided my mom- yes that’s what happened. I raided my mom’s closet for all of her lipsticks. She had around 10 lipsticks and one by one, I would put it on my lips for a photoshoot. And I looked crazy! because it looked like- literally a kid put on makeup herself. 

But that’s the truth, I’ve always loved putting on makeup. And even as a kid I would put on my mom’s makeup for her if she had a special event. Could you imagine trusting like a 5-year-old, like a seven-year-old to put on makeup for your mom? I have always been that girl. 

Do you remember the lipstick that you used in that memory?

No. They were all just like different mixes of drugstore, high-end. And also I didn’t know how to read!

Do you remember the first lipstick that you ever got? 

Yes, always a MAC lipstick. That’s my earliest memory. 

What was your very first beauty post on your feed? 

Not necessarily a beauty post, but then I was always into technology plus beauty. I owned, back in the early 2000s, a brick Nokia phone and it could hold a hundred photos at that time. Like, that’s how old the media was. And I would take selfies even before selfies were a thing. There was no front cam. I would twist the back cam and take selfies of my face in the middle of sunset. I knew from an early age that was up. 

So, the turning point – what was the video post that changed everything?

It was the time where Sabrina’s Espresso was coming out, and I thought okay, let’s do a brown coffee inspired look, and then do it to Sabrina’s [Carpenter’s] Espresso. And I did that, and that video blew up, and then from there I was like creating content everyday afterwards. It has been a roller coaster since then. I haven’t stopped and it hasn’t stopped. 

What’s a risk you took that paid off?

Definitely a risk I took was leaving my 9-to-5 job and having to explain to my parents that I wanted to be a content creator and a model. I wanted to be a creative. I’ve always known that I had a creative soul. I’ve always known that I wasn’t necessarily the type to work in an office, I’ve known that my interests and my passions always changed. I’ve always known that I had a different work ethic, and having to explain that to my mom and to my dad and also having to leave something so traditional and safe was a huge risk for me. It was something different.

 And even until now, I don’t think people necessarily understand what content creation is because it’s such a new job. So having to explore that and navigate that on my own was such a huge risk. 

A moment that almost made you quit, but didn’t?

When I definitely felt a lack of support entering this career path. Not only from my family because they didn’t understand what it necessarily was. And I don’t blame them, because they grew up in a different generation without social media. But also the community itself. 

Sometimes I would be on set and I would experience bullying. And it was difficult because not only bullying from different talents but also, oh, maybe, I’m not as beautiful as the other people here. Maybe my body isn’t the skinniest thing here. And it made me insecure. Am I good enough for this or should I even be here?  

Describe your content.

It’s definitely aesthetic, personal, and I like to keep it soft and calm. 

One word that defines your trademark beauty look.

No matter where I am, no matter what I do, my makeup will always be plakado. I don’t want to box myself into a soft natural look or something very expressive and very bold. I love doing both types of makeup, but you will never ever catch me with bad winged eyeliners, cakey faces. No matter what type of makeup I do, it’s plakado. I promise you. 

What keeps people from coming back to your page? 

I think I’m generally known for natural softer looks, but I’m always one to experiment. So I feel like people come back to me for makeup inspo. 

What’s your makeup inspo right now? 

Yeah that’s hard to say. I don’t like sourcing from one person because I think it’s important to always look at different people. But definitely the 90’s I will always come back to. 

Matte or dewy? 

Dewy. I like the dewy base because I just like it when skin looks like skin. 

What is your go-to dewy face product?

Sola’s Vitamin C spray. I love that. 

Full glam or no makeup?

Full glam, always. 

What’s your full-glam makeup staple? 

It’s Vice Cosmetics Get Lashed Mascara, I’m not joking. I’ve slept in that mascara. It will hold a curl. It will stay in your eyes. And it’s waterproof. I’ve never had any smudging. 

Three-step routine or 10-step routine? 

10-step routine. If you want your makeup to look good, you have to put on makeup. You can’t say that your makeup looks bad and you’re not putting on makeup for makeup to look good—it’s makeup! 

Three-step or 10-step skin care routine? 

This is personal to me because every skin type is different. I personally like a three-step routine for skin. 

So what’s your three-step routine?

An oil-based cleanser, a foam wash, then a moisturizer. 

Morning or night time skin care? 

Nighttime skin care. I like a nighttime routine better because I just have more time in the night. I’m more conscious—it’s more meditative for me when I do it at night. 

What is your nighttime skin care? 

Aside from the oil based cleanser and then the foam wash and a moisturizer, I usually add in an active serum, more toners, more oils.

Short hair or long hair?

Long hair. I feel more experimental with long hair. There’s so many hairstyles that you could do with long hair. 

What’s the craziest hairstyle you’ve had with your long hair? 

I haven’t had a crazy- Oh my god! I should do a crazy hairstyle with long hair! Actually I should wait- you gave me an idea. Maybe I should max it out next time. 

Oh wait but I did, with long hair, I actually dyed my whole head platinum white–I bleached it white. And my hair was until here. So, you can imagine the amount of damage that was caused. But I loved it. I was living my Daenaerys Targaryen fantasy. I was so obsessed. 

Air dry or heat styling?

Heat styling.

Bar soap or body wash?

Body wash.. I don’t like holding the soap. It slips out of your hand during the shower and then now you have to pick it up during the shower, like! No.

What’s your favorite body wash?

Oh the Dove one. The Dove serum line that just came out. No joke. It smells so good. 

Hand cream or body butter? 

Body butter. Why just stop at the hands? Go full thing. Body! 

Layering scents or one fragrance only?

Layering scents. I’m a more is more type of gal when it comes to scents, and I think that if I add more and more scents, then I’m just going to be the most… fresh. You’re going to know that I’m here. Like smell pa lang. You’ll know that I’m here. 

What’s your favorite fragrance combo?

Glossier’s You with Issy’s scent of familiarity.

Spray scent on skin or clothes?

Spray scent on skin because your skin keeps the scent warm and it makes it last longer. 

Rest day or active recovery? 

I don’t believe in a rest day. That’s just the Capricorn in me. I cannot rest. If I rest, I’m going to start tweaking and I’m going to start twitching, so it’s a rest day, but I do light work. 

Coffee or matcha? 

Coffee. Just an Americano. Iced Americano.