Bianca Ferro on Brows, Filipino Beauty Standards, and Building Her Community

Allure Face Card is a series from Allure Philippines that spotlights the creators shaping today’s digital conversations. In today’s beauty landscape, content creators play a defining role in how beauty is discovered, experienced, and talked about. Through Allure Face Card, Allure Philippines curates the creators whose work reflects a distinct point of view, cultural relevance, and a strong connection with their audience—shaping online culture and influencing how beauty resonates with audiences today.

“There has never been a time when social media did not mean beauty to me,” says Bianca Ferro.

The 25-year-old, who considers herself part of the YouTube generation, grew up watching beauty creators like Michelle Phan. Almost two years ago, she decided to give content creation a shot—not on YouTube, but on TikTok. “In the beginning, I thought it was just a hobby,” she tells Allure Philippines.

One of her first videos to gain attention was a makeup tutorial inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Espresso.” “I did a coffee-brown look and it blew up. I said, ‘I’m going to do another makeup tutorial.’ And it blew up again. It never stopped.”

Eventually, Bianca found herself thinking that this was something she could do full-time. “I realized that I would much rather be filming than be at the office. I couldn’t wait to go home and do my thing.” She left her 9-to-5 and decided to pursue content creation full-time. “I’m so grateful to have an audience and to have a community that supports me,” she says.

As her platform grew, so did her sense of purpose. In her videos, Bianca highlights Filipino beauty and champions local brands. “I try my best to always add F-beauty in my routines. I only do reviews of Filipino products, to be honest. And when doing tutorials, I keep in mind the heat, the humidity. I know that’s what my audience looks for and I know that my audience would want to support our local industry.”

For Bianca, beauty is art. “I have always loved putting on makeup, with or without a camera. I’ve always been an artistic, creative person.”

Applying makeup is just one of her many art forms—this literature graduate also paints, writes and plays the guitar. She spent years studying classical music. She used to practice martial arts. “I have such a full life when I turn off the phone. I’m so lucky.”

Kim Santos

What does your face card say about you right now?

A lot of people always know me for softer, girly, feminine looks. But I’m never afraid to shapeshift and be experimental and show color.

What products, techniques, or signatures define it?

I’m a big fan of Filipino beauty, and a lot of what I’m wearing right now are Filipino beauty products—the lashes, brow gel,my eyeshadows.  All the colors that you see on my face right now, the purples, the green, the blues and the oranges. I love F-beauty.

What’s one beauty detail you never skip no matter how minimal the routine for the day is?

I will never skip my brows because I feel like brows set my tone for the rest of the day. You can tell my mood depending on my brows. Bad day, no brows. Good day, with brows.

How has your makeup and skincare routine evolved as your platform has grown?

Skin care is so personal so I don’t expect people to follow me or to do a complete copy of my routine. The older I grow, the more minimal it has become, actually. My skin type thrives with less products. But with makeup, more is more. Like, I will try anything.

Growing up, what beauty standards shaped how you saw yourself?

Oh my goodness, I was a very conscious child growing up. I’m mestiza but I still thought I wasn’t white enough. I wanted to be this little Caucasian girl. I really just didn’t want to look Filipino. Back then, thin lips were very much in. I didn’t fit into this Western beauty standard. And everybody in the media, they were all white or half-white.

Kim Santos

How did your relationship with your skin tone, your body, your features change over the years?

I’ve learned to accept it. Because the crazy thing is that during my adolescence, big lips became “in.” And then big hips became “in.” And then having mixed features became “in.” It just boggled me. All of these things that I used to be insecure about growing up, it became what was “in.” It just made me think, the features that you’re born with, your biological features, they become trends. The pendulum will always swing back and forth and you will never catch that pendulum. So just chill out. You can’t chase it anymore.

Was there ever a moment that you felt like you had to change how you look to be accepted or taken seriously?

You know what? I’m so grateful that I’ve always been broke, so I couldn’t afford rhinoplasty. Growing up, I was thinking, I can’t wait until the day I can have rhinoplasty. I’ve always felt like I’ve had to change. But thank goodness that I’ve always had such a supportive community around me—my sister, my friends, they never made me feel bad for how I looked. If the world was built differently, if there were more supportive communities, people would not need to change themselves.

What keeps you going as a beauty creator?

Just waking up every day and thinking I’ll have a new face. I love that. Seeing the best way to capture it and share it is so fun for me.

What’s one thing you wish you knew when you were getting started?

Part of the reason it was hard for me to get into this space is because it’s so difficult. Comparison is difficult. There’s always going to be a Bella Hadid. There’s always going to be somebody more beautiful, more interesting. There’s always going to be somebody who is more than you in every aspect. That really made me feel bad for a very long time. Having to deal with that envy and that jealousy is so difficult. I had to tell myself that just because somebody is more than you, doesn’t take away from the person that you already are. Their existence doesn’t steal anything from you. Just because somebody is more beautiful than you, doesn’t take away from your own beauty.

What’s your relationship with perfection when it comes to beauty content?

I am a monster. I need it to be perfect. If it’s not perfect, we’re throwing out the video. We’re gonna do the video again. I am obsessed with details all the time.

Kim Santos

How do you decide which products or brands are worth sharing with your audience?

I’m such a creature of habit. If you watch my videos, I usually use the same products over and over and over again. If it works, it works. It naturally comes out in the content—I will use it and pull it out again for each makeup tutorial that I do, for each video that I do. If it works, it works.

What does trust mean to you when it comes to beauty recommendations?

It means you’re giving your word, you’re making a promise to your audience. You promise that this works. To me, your audience is king. I want to do right by them. I wouldn’t want to wrong them or give them a bad product that I said was good. That would be my worst fear. I also want my audience to think that what I do as a job is so different from a regular person. I work in beauty and in this industry so I try out a lot of products. I don’t want my audience to ever feel pressured that just because I recommend it, they need to buy it. Do what works for you. Don’t feel pressured to keep on buying.

How do you approach brand partnerships while staying authentic to your audience?

Before becoming a creator, I was a consumer. Even when all the sponsorships came in, there are products that I would always reach for first. When navigating brand sponsorships, I would always reach out to the ones that I already had trust in before even becoming an influencer. That’s how it became easy for me.

What do brands still misunderstand about working with creators today?

So much. Another creator said this recently and I also feel the same way. Just because you can pay us, just because we’re available, just because we have the time and ability to create this content doesn’t mean it’s a yes. I want to see your vision. What is the product? Can I try it for two weeks? If you’re gonna be like, “No, it’s launching tomorrow,” then why would I say yes? For me, it’s more about our visions coming together. It’s difficult working with brands here in the Philippines. In the West, I noticed that brands would reach out to creators that they feel fit their market. Here, it’s the opposite. Brands want you to fit their market. I wish brands reached out to creators not purely for their following, but because we have a specific vision in mind.

What’s one beauty product you can’t live without?

My Absidy brow gel. I use that every day.

What’s a trend that you think deserves more attention?

Dirty makeup. Where it’s intentionally made to look like you came out of bed, you went partying the whole night.

What’s a beauty habit you’ll never give up no matter what trends come your way?

Bushy brows. I will never pluck my brows again.

Kim Santos

What’s one thing you’d change about the beauty industry?

I want more Filipino representation in the global market. I think that the products here are amazing and could compete in the global scene. I wish that the whole world knew more about our community here.

What makes Filipino beauty distinct?

The products are meant to last in this weather. And they’re all skin care-infused. They’re for Filipino skin types—the tone, the warmth. I’m so happy because 10 years ago, F-beauty wasn’t a thing but now you can make amazing looks just from F-beauty alone. Ten years ago, maybe I could do an F-beauty lip or F-beauty cheeks but I’d need to go to international brands to pick out the rest of my makeup. Now, you can do a full look—emo, pop, girly, pink, whatever, just from F-beauty.

What conversations around beauty in the Philippines still need to happen?

We need to talk about colorism. I hope everybody appreciates the different shades of morena. I also hope there’s more representation from different parts of the Philippines, not just Manila. I hope to see more beauty content creators from different parts of the country come out. There are a lot but they don’t get the same chance. I hope to see real inclusivity everywhere.

What do you hope people see beyond your face card?

That there’s so much passion and artistry behind it. And that I wish that people knew the amount of love and effort I really do put into looks.

When do you feel most beautiful?

I’m not going to lie, I feel most beautiful when I have a full face of makeup on. A good outfit, and then I smell good too, and my hair is done, and I have somewhere great to go to—that’s when I feel most beautiful and most confident.

If your “face card” could say one thing to your younger self, what would it be?

You don’t need to change. You look beautiful the way you are and you are enough.

Art direction by Nicole Almero. Photography by Kim Santos. Makeup by Bianca Ferro. Hair by Philip “Backie” Vera. Outfit from Dog.