MNL Fashion Week’s finale, its biggest yet, was a thumping, head-bopping, eye-catching collection from Proudrace. Designer Rik Rasos brought his proudly Filipino deconstructive and unconventional approach to the runway.
This was evident in the beauty looks, which played with familiar elements and pushed them somewhere less expected.
The makeup showed how to bring out the best of morena skin, with a palette that plays around shades of brown that have been used across the eyes, cheeks, and jaw, creating a bronzed look that keeps the skin warm and glowing. Meanwhile, body and face tattoos became part of the beauty looks, turning the body into a space for creative expression.
Hair took a similarly playful approach to transformation. The bixie, notably seen on Michelle Dee, who did the opening walk, offered major hair inspiration. Middle parts, meanwhile, showed how a simple zhuzh to the hair can completely update a hairstyle without the need for elaborate styling. And then there were the bleached brows, a statement in their own right.
Across the runway, there was no single way to define what looks good. A tattoo can become a beauty statement, a haircut can change the character of a face, and even something as simple as a middle part can shift the entire look.
For Proudrace, beauty was another space to champion individuality and Filipino identity—a fitting end to MNL Fashion Week and a glimpse of what’s yet to come.
Bronzed makeup
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Wondering how to bring out the glow of your morena skin? Work around a bronze makeup look. There are plenty of shades of brown to choose from, from soft caramel hues for a sun-kissed glow to rich brown tones for a more dramatic, sculpted look, and even shades of cinnamon to tap on the cheeks. A bronzed look on the eyes, cheeks, and jawline creates a monochromatic vibe. The result is a seamless look that lets your natural complexion be the main character.
Face and body tattoos
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
A tattoo is personal and permanent, so deciding what to get and where to place it can be a commitment in itself. But the runway proves there’s more than one way to get inked. Beyond patterns and illustrations, literal words and statements can become part of your body. Ink can travel up the neck and onto the face. Consider it your inspiration to think beyond the usual placements and make your next tattoo as expressive as you are.
Bleached brows
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Trying to bring an edge to your look? Struggling to find a brow shape that suits your face? Why not skip the brows altogether? Bleaching your brows is an easy way to give your look an instant oomph while leaving more room to experiment with more graphic eye looks and colors. Consider it a blank canvas for whatever beauty direction you want to take next. Let the no-brow look do its thing and command attention without doing too much.
Sleek middle-part
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
Grant Babia
This is easily one of the most flattering hairstyles chosen by many. Even without picking up a hair tool, you can totally update your look by parting your hair in the middle. It adds symmetry to your look and brings out your best features. Be it on short, long, straight, or curly hair, a middle part can instantly frame the face well. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the look right.
Bixie haircut
Want to go for a hair revamp? Think of the bixie, a mix between the classic pixie and bob. The cut feels short and daring without losing its shape or softness, because it has that undeniable edge you can get only by cutting your hair short—but it also possesses the softness of a smooth bob. If you’re looking for a way to make the chop feel a little less intimidating, the bixie might be your answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
A mix of caramel, brown, and cinnamon shades applied across the eyes, cheeks, and jawline creates a monochromatic bronzed look that sculpts the face while letting the skin’s natural warmth stay the main feature.
A bixie is a hybrid of the pixie and the bob—shorter and more daring than a classic bob, but softer than a full pixie, offering a transformative chop without the starker edge of a pixie cut.
Beyond arms and legs, ink can extend up the neck and onto the face, and can take the form of literal words rather than only patterns, treating placement itself as an intentional beauty statement.
Bleaching removes the brow as a fixed focal point, creating a blank canvas that shifts attention to more graphic eye makeup and color experimentation, without committing to one specific brow shape.
Yes—a middle part works on short, long, straight, or curly hair and adds symmetry that frames most face shapes, requiring no styling tools to update a look.
