“I’m an active person. I’ve grown up being an athlete. But I was pressured in the wellness era,” confesses Bethany Talbot.
The 25-year-old content creator initially started a TikTok account during the pandemic to make football content, a sport that she has played since she was six. She had nowhere to go, and deprived of a sprawling football field, she decided to use her small bedroom as a makeshift practice area. Inside her room, against a wardrobe closet, on wooden floors, she was on screen showing her progress in juggling a football.
“Then I just started putting variety in my content. I just wanted to show more of myself. So I showed my kikay side as well, doing my everyday makeup, especially back-to-school makeup because I’m a student,” she shares.
And showing herself indeed was what she did. From workout videos with her brother Johnny, to speaking Ilonggo in her videos, dancing, and frequently sharing get-ready-with-me content, Talbot didn’t realize that five years had passed of her being present online.
But being exposed online makes you vulnerable, because even Talbot, who is a disciplined varsity football athlete of the University of the Philippines, was not spared from the pressures of beauty and wellness. She says she would see prescriptive posts saying, ‘You have to eat this,’ ‘stop eating this,’ ‘eat that.’ ‘This is not allowed, but this, do this.’ With these pressures, she understands how people start to question if they’re doing the right thing.
“We have to step back a bit and be more realistic about what works for you and for everyone,” she asserts.
And that is where Talbot stands as a content creator.
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“I don’t try to pretend that I’m a beauty expert. I just try to create content on relatability. So whether that’s how I do my makeup, how I do my skin care. It’s really just on an everyday user [perspective]. I just post what feels natural to me, what’s easy for me and my lifestyle, and I feel people relate with that,” she explains.
Taking off unnecessary online pressure and vitriol is what she strives for. Although she admits she loves to post about herself, her family, friends, teammates, and even her love life, she is protective of the community she has built online and wants her virtual space to remain a safe one.
“I’m so happy that we’ve built a space for that, not just online, but even in person. I’m grateful when my supporters reply [on my behalf]. But I also know that I have the power as the account holder that I can easily block, report. I find power in reporting comments. I do it all the time.”
Having that support system and routine has filled Talbot’s cup. “If you just put yourself in that headspace that you are loved, [whether] you close the camera, or you put on the camera, you know love is still there,” she adds.
At her Allure Philippines shoot, she exudes that same energy. She is calm and collected, but there are also hints of romance—whether when she candidly talks about her girlfriend Hyna or through the rosy pink tones of her makeup look.
In an online world where everyone suddenly becomes an expert, knows how to do it all, and feels warranted to share a piece of their mind—no matter how vicious they can be—Talbot is proof that knowing who you are and having the right people around you can help you navigate the noise.
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How would you describe your beauty point of view and how has it changed through time?
I guess it really shifted from when I started working not just as a content creator but also as a model. I realized that’s why people like me and appreciate me as a content creator because of who I already am. I can be geeky but I can also be rough on the edges. I’m not so curated as a person. I can do my makeup but it doesn’t have to be perfect. I can dress up but again, not be perfect. Do my hair but it won’t be perfect.
What’s one thing you wish you knew when you were getting started as a content creator?
Nothing because I liked how innocent I was. I liked that I didn’t know much. I didn’t know people in the industry. And it made me not overthink what I was posting. I would figure it out on the way during the years. I had to learn it either by myself or as I met people along the way. But I wouldn’t change having to know something as I started because that would make me overthink.
What’s a beauty rule you love breaking?
Every rule. I love watching tutorials and learning new techniques but definitely, I just do whatever works for me. As an everyday user, I feel like I break a lot of rules. For example, one thing I can think of right now is that you need to leave your skin care to dry before you go to bed. But I also don’t have time to dry my skin and wait. I just do my skincare routine. I feel like that’s good enough. I appreciate myself enough for that. Whatever works for me, that’s what I do.
What’s an important part of what you do that your followers don’t get to see?
I feel like it’s how I wind down and relax amidst everything. Because I think on my social media, people see the chaos and everything that makes me busy, whether that’s school, being an athlete, being a model, content creator. And then now, my new business venture, they don’t see how I actually wind down, how I spend quiet time with my partner, with my family, with my pets.
What’s a trend that you think is being overdone?
I don’t know if this is a hot take, but giving advice. I think it’s because I know that people look for relatability online. But when it comes to advice, it can be very dangerous. I feel like that relates to beauty. When you’re taking what people are saying without actually thinking how it can apply to you and your context and your situation. Whether that’s something as simple as someone’s teaching a beauty technique,or something as life advice. Basically, to not take things as it is, but to always think critically about how it applies to you and yourself.
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How about one that deserves more attention?
It’s people showing the rough and raw parts of their life. I feel like because we tend to be caught up in the ideal moments that we look for, whether that’s people on vacation, or people working out, people eating healthy, and all these good things and good parts that we want to attain for ourselves. But I feel like it’s also healthy for us to look for things, or to consume things that aren’t necessarily perfect.
Have brands changed the way you create, for better or worse? How do you navigate authenticity and sponsored content?
It’s difficult because you have brands that do try to change how you create your content, which is sad, because obviously you think that brands are getting you and working with you because of who you already are and what your content already is. I think you need a lot of support when it comes to that. I’m glad I have my management who helps me with that because if it was me alone, I don’t think I’d have enough assertiveness. You need the right people around you to help assert yourself so that you don’t lose yourself in the process.
What keeps you going as a beauty creator?
I enjoy it. I’ve always been a consumer. Someone who always quietly watches and appreciates other beauty content creators. So I think when I started making my own content, I enjoyed it. And I just enjoyed sharing my personal experiences with it and when I saw that people resonated with that, it made me happy.
When do you feel most beautiful?
When I wake up. I find the beauty of seeing myself in the mirror every morning with no makeup, messy hair, pajamas. I just see the black canvas of myself. That’s where I see the most me. I really find beauty in just removing everything and removing perfection. And I’m happy that I see the beauty in the raw version of myself.
What’s a beauty habit you’ll never give up, no matter the trends?
Washing my face. I think that’s so important because as someone who grew up, I used to struggle a lot with acne growing up, being a teenager. I tried everything, all the skin care, all the techniques, organic, whatever. At the end of the day, what was the most important was just washing my face.
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Is there a beauty trend you’ll never try?
Probably nothing that I’ll never try. It’s like never say never. I’m such an open book. I love exploring and trying new things. And even with my look today, I’ve never done anything like this so far. That’s just how I am. I’m a never-say-never girl.
What’s your relationship with perfection today?
It’s definitely gotten better. I think the worst of it is really when you’re a teenager. But I realize the perfect version of yourself is how you already are. Finding the raw sides of you is what makes you perfect. And I think it’s how I’ve appreciated other people. Especially my loved ones. That I was able to appreciate everything about myself as well. But it’s definitely a journey.
What’s one thing you want to change about the beauty industry?
It’s making people’s [facial features] a trend. Whether we look at lips as a trend, eyes as a trend, skin as a trend. If we see physical characteristics as a trend, that’s very harmful. Especially for the younger girls. It’s dangerous if we see that we have to keep changing these to keep up with the times.
What’s something about beauty culture that feels uniquely now?
Although I just said that definitely to get away from making physical characteristics as a trend, I do see that we’re embracing diversity a lot more, especially in the Philippines. One is definitely skin, Not just skin, but everybody. Different types of people and skin types and skin color. I hope we see that reflected in other aspects of our physical characteristics.
What’s one beauty product you can’t live without?
I love a good lip and cheek tint. I just need color on my cheeks and on my lips, and then I’m good to go, I feel alive.
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What’s a beauty opinion you’ll never change your mind about?
F the rules. I feel like whatever works for you and your skin type and your face, your look, your features, whatever weather you’re in, you’re the only one who knows. Do whatever works for you. Why change something you’re doing for yourself if it’s making you happy?
What conversations around beauty in the Philippines still need to happen?
I guess with perfection, I feel like we’re in a new era now of wellness. We need to eat healthier. We need to work out more. We have to do this and that to be our best self. We even have new terms like looks maxxing. It gets to a certain point where yes, we try to be the best versions of ourselves, but there’s still limitations to that. It’s on the verge of are we looking for perfection or are we just trying to improve ourselves in healthy ways?
What do you hope people see beyond your face card?
To see me as just a normal Filipina girl who has my own dreams, but with those dreams, I also have my struggles and challenges that I go through. You may see the beauty in my face, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t come with my own insecurities. I have my breakouts, I have days where my hair is messy. It’s seeing me beyond the physical features you see, and seeing that I’m an everyday person with normal struggles.
If your face card could say one thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Be present all the time and enjoy every moment, because life happens so fast. One day you were a little Ilongga football girl in Bacolod, and now you’re a 25-year-old woman in a beauty studio for an Allure [Philippines] shoot. You really never know what the next day will be like and what the future will look like.
Photography by Excel Panlaque. Art direction by Sacha Mancera. Makeup and Hair by Zidjian Floro. Styling by Gee Jocson.
