If Sex and the City gave us the archetype for the New Yorker who knew which shoe was worth blowing a paycheck on, it’s only fitting that there exists a counterpart to perform the deep dives on all things beauty. What’s great for us, though, is that editor-turned-creator Kristina Rodulfo is very much real—and is exactly the person you would want to hear about on the latest, either through her newsletter or on TikTok.

Rodulfo had already spent years putting her own imprint on the world of beauty before turning to full-time content creation. Her professional career has taken her from major magazine beauty titles, newsletters to fiction novels titled Vanity Project set for publication in 2027. Years spent in journalism has given her the eye of looking closer—the experts, the culture, the people behind the colors we stain our faces with—all for the teenage version of Rodulfo, hungry to find beauty advice for girls who look like her.

“I learned from an early age to be proud to be Filipino. I still faced enduring Filipino beauty standards that I’ve had to unlearn—like colorism—but I will say it’s much easier to form self-acceptance in an environment like New York City. New York has given me a broader definition of ‘beauty.’”

It’s a perspective she brings to the way she approaches beauty now, and why, when it comes to navigating New York’s own scene, she’s almost like Carrie Bradshaw of the traditional boots-on-the- ground reporting. Here, she takes us through the places she trusts, the rituals she returns to, and the beauty ideas that have stayed with her throughout her career. 

Mandelic Acid: Her Acne Treatment of Choice

New York has no shortage of estheticians, but for Rodulfo, few have been as influential on her routine as Sofie Pavitt, the NYC-based facialist known as the “acne whisperer.” She first started seeing Pavitt in 2022, ahead of her wedding, where she was introduced to mandelic acid—an ingredient that has since become a mainstay in her routine.

“Sofie was the first person to introduce me to mandelic acid as a skincare ingredient, and now she has her own line that includes my holy grail: Sofie Pavitt Mandelic Clearing Serum,” she says.

Based on her experience, Rodulfo likes to take mandelic acid for a more gentle approach to exfoliation. “Unlike other harsher acne-targeting ingredients, this one works slowly and gently to keep stubborn breakouts at bay.”

TCM with Sandra Lanshin and Old-School C.O. Bigelow

Rodulfo is nothing short of recommendations for beauty and wellness treatments. If you’re ever in Brooklyn she recommends coming to Sandra Lanshin, a licensed acupuncturist. 

“I’m drawn to Lanshin or Traditional Chinese Medicine because I really believe in a holistic approach to beauty,” Rodulfo says. “You can’t treat skin as just a topical concern—it’s deeply connected to other systems in your body, and I like how TCM views it as a whole.”

She’s attended a custom acupuncture session at Lanshin’s Brooklyn studio and follows her gua sha tutorials, but it’s ultimately Lanshin’s approach to making often-misunderstood TCM practices more accessible that keeps Rodulfo coming back. “She also creates tools like the Lanshin Massager, a porcelain handheld tool you fill with hot water for immediate relief on tense areas like your neck and shoulders. I love doing this after a long day of sitting at my computer desk!,” the journalist says. 

For something more distinctly old-school New York, Rodulfo also points to C.O. Bigelow. “It’s an iconic pharmacy with the best curation of specialty, local, and international niche beauty products, along with sought-after hair accessories—like the tortoise shell headbands made famous by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy—so it’s a must-visit in New York!”.

New York Beauty Culture: Too Many Faces to Define

Trying to define the je ne sais quoi of New York beauty culture would be pointless. For Rodulfo, its appeal lies precisely in the amount of faces and ideas that can coexist within the same city.

“The beauty culture in NYC can’t be defined by a single thing because it encompasses everything!” she says.

“It’s a city where so many cultures mix, where you can get a blowout at a Dominican hair salon, an Ayurvedic massage, and a Japanese gel manicure all in one day, perhaps even on one street. This is what I love about New York—you can find whatever you are looking for.” 

And then there are the people themselves. “New York is a city of ambitious people and creatives,” Rodulfo says. “On one end of the spectrum, you’ll find artists, drag queens in full glam, people with sleeves of tattoos, and colorful hair,” along the corporate workers looking for something altogether more minimalist and ready for touch-ups before drinks.

Growing Up Filipina in Queens: Colorism, Morena Skin, and a Broader Definition of Beauty

There’s a more personal side to that expansiveness for Rodulfo. Born and raised in New York, she grew up in a Filipino neighborhood in Queens, surrounded by a community that gave her an early sense of pride in where she came from.

“Being born and raised in New York City means I’ve been surrounded by diverse communities my whole life,” the journalist says. “I’m really grateful to have grown up in that environment—especially in a very Filipino neighborhood in Queens—because I learned from an early age to be proud to be Filipino.”

That pride existed alongside the beauty standards she encountered within the Filipino community, including colorism, which she says she has had to unlearn. New York didn’t erase those ideas so much as place them alongside countless others. “New York has given me a broader definition of ‘beauty,’ it’s exposed me to beauty in other cultures, and opened my worldview,” she says. “The older I get, the prouder I am of my unique beauty, my morena skin, brown eyes, and black hair.”

And that might be the most revealing thing about Rodulfo’s relationship with New York beauty. It isn’t simply that the city gave her more things to try, but it also gave her more ways to look at beauty—and, eventually, more room to recognize herself in it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kristina Rodulfo is a Filipino-American journalist, former magazine beauty editor, and content creator born and raised in Queens, New York. She now runs a beauty newsletter and TikTok, with her debut novel, Vanity Project, due in 2027.

Rodulfo uses mandelic acid, introduced to her in 2022 by New York facialist Sofie Pavitt before her wedding. Her pick is the Sofie Pavitt Mandelic Clearing Serum, chosen because it exfoliates gently while keeping stubborn breakouts in check.

Yes. Mandelic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid with a larger molecule than glycolic acid, so it penetrates more slowly and causes less irritation. That slower action is why Rodulfo describes it as a gentle, consistent option for breakouts.

She sees Sandra Lanshin, a licensed acupuncturist with a Brooklyn studio, for custom acupuncture and follows her gua sha tutorials. Rodulfo also uses the Lanshin Massager, a hot-water-filled porcelain tool, to ease neck and shoulder tension.

A Filipino neighborhood in Queens gave her early pride in her heritage, though she still had to unlearn colorism. New York broadened her definition of beauty, and she now takes pride in her morena skin, brown eyes, and black hair.