“I’m very comfortable wearing bikinis. I love to be at the beach. It’s my constant outfit, to be in a bikini, to be comfortable,” model Kahlea Belonia says.
But that confidence came from years of dealing with self-doubt. Being a morena, she had to deal with prejudice, especially while growing up. “‘If you’re dark-skinned, you’re dirty.’ That’s what they say, [and] because I had that discoloration [on my armpits], I felt like, ‘Oh, it’s dirty.’ I was also, in a way, brainwashed.”
For a while, she carried that mindset, but she says that with age came a greater sense of self-acceptance and the realization that one perceived imperfection didn’t have to determine how she dressed or how she saw herself. “I’ve just learned to love myself more that I just don’t care about it anymore,” she says.
Dookie Ducay
Motherhood has also changed the way she understands her body. Watching her daughter grow—now nearly nine—gave her a deeper appreciation for everything the female body can experience. “It’s tough to be a mom, to even just go through that process of carrying that child in your stomach for months and then actually give birth,” she says. “It’s such a beautiful process. We all come from women—and we’re able to create something really beautiful.”
But how does one overcome the struggle of being comfortable in their own skin? “Just don’t overthink it,” says Belonia. She is aware that letting go of insecurities isn’t always easy. But dwelling on them, she believes, can make it more difficult to move forward.
“Worry just brings more worry,” she adds. “If you worry and think so much about it, you get fixated, and you’ll never get past that insecurity.”
For Belonia, body confidence isn’t about never having insecurities. It’s about not allowing them to become bigger than they are—or dictate what she feels entitled to wear.
On morena skin
Dookie Ducay
Many generations grew up with the wrong idea of morena skin. Women in their childhood were often taunted for having dark skin, an experience Belonia also shares. She has since tried to overcome her insecurities about her armpits having a darker shade of brown than the rest of her skin. “I try not to get fixated, because it doesn’t define my whole body,” she says. Today, she wears a bikini like a uniform, letting the sun kiss her with a warm summer glow.
Eyes of gold
Dookie Ducay
A warm smokey eye can instantly elevate your glam routine. Makeup artist Jigs Mayuga embraced rich golden tones using the Makeup by Mario Master Metals Eye Palette for the lids. Wondering how to play with brown tones for a seamless, toasty eye look? Mayuga suggests using a bronzer as a transition shade. For this look, he swept on the Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer in Toasted to create a warm, diffused effect.
Art direction and beauty direction by Nicole Almero and Sacha Mancera. Photography by Dookie Ducay, assisted by Byron De Guzman, Sean Francisco, and Lou Fajardo. Makeup by Jigs Mayuga. Hair by Jan Edrosolan. Styling by Gee Jocson, assisted by Yen Noche. Modeled by Kahlea Belonia. Shot on location at The Westin Manila.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kahlea Belonia is a morena Filipina model and mother to a nearly nine-year-old daughter, featured in an Allure Philippines editorial on body confidence and refusing to hide her skin.
Belonia grew up hearing that dark skin meant dirty skin, and internalized it—particularly about her darker underarms. She says self-acceptance came with age and learning to love herself.
She tries not to fixate on it, reasoning that one area doesn’t define her whole body. Dwelling on an insecurity, she says, only makes it harder to move past.
Carrying and giving birth to her daughter gave Belonia a deeper appreciation for what the female body can do, a process she describes as tough but beautiful.
Makeup artist Jigs Mayuga used Makeup by Mario Master Metals Eye Palette on the lids, then Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer in Toasted as a transition shade for a diffused effect.
