What Decades on TV Teach You About Beauty and Confidence, According to Amy Perez

From early mornings spent waking us up with her infectious energy, to asking celebrities to finish a song’s next line in a game show, or stepping in to smooth over conflicts between two irate parties, “Tyang Amy” has long been the kind of host who keeps things moving no matter what the moment calls for. That energy has only grown into what we now see on her current noontime show, ‘It’s Showtime,’ where she serves as a steady, reassuring presence who feels less like a host and more like a voice of reason for all of us, her viewers.

And it’s from that lived experience, years of being watched, and bantering with her co-hosts and guests under the bright lights, that she reflects on what confidence really looks like, and what beauty becomes when you’ve spent a lifetime learning it on screen.

Studio lighting can be unforgiving

“TV lights reveal everything. Your skin, your makeup mistakes, even your confidence.” Amy Perez shares, as she realized being on camera has made one thing clear: there’s no hiding under studio lights. She explains that with the HD technology of today, every detail shows, from pores to melasma, so makeup alone won’t cut it.

But more than makeup tricks, it’s what happens before that matters most. “Your skin needs to be beautiful because of the lights,” she says. “Studio lights are very strong,” she adds. “So, prepping my skin, that’s what I realized is very, very important. Because lights are stronger than the sun.”

Photographed by Charisma Lico-Santos. Maic Atelier asymmetrical dress. Miladay diamond earrings.

Never forget your sunscreen

However, sunscreen, she admits, is a habit she came to later. Like many, she overlooked putting sunscreen on during her younger years. But time, and the fact that she appears on screen daily, forced her to be more consistent.

“But when I reached that certain age, when things started to fall—the gravity, you know—that was the time I realized that I needed to give my skin that extra love and care,” Perez says.

Build a good skincare routine

In the earlier years of her career, her routine was much simpler, after every show, she would remove her makeup, wash her face, and go straight to bed. Removing makeup before going to bed was a non-negotiable.

But now, she says there is a need to give her skin that extra layer of care, and what used to be a minimal routine has now evolved into more steps, like using a toner, serum, and an ampoule for added hydration. “So, that’s a big factor. Now, I have a routine.”

In terms of learning something new, it was only two years ago when Korean skincare was introduced to her. “It’s never too late pala to achieve that glassy, dewy skin ni Tyang Amy!” she exclaims. “So, it took me one year before I was able to achieve this glassy, dewy skin that I have now. With no botox.”

Korean skincare also shifted how she approaches her routine, especially in understanding the importance of layering—”and don’t forget the neck,” she emphasized.

Concealer can reveal more than hide

“I think what’s really funny is the super, thick concealer. Nowadays, it doesn’t work anymore,” Perez notes. Today, heavy coverage can do more harm than good, making texture more visible instead of masking it. “So, when you put on super thick makeup, it doesn’t work. You can see it on TV, it’s obvious, even in person. So, it’s best that you take good care of your skin.”

With the focus now shifting to healthier, more natural-looking skin, even features once concealed are being embraced. “In Korea, they put on makeup to have eye bags. So, it’s popular. So, now, you don’t need to conceal it.”

Photographed by Charisma Lico-Santos. Maic Atelier asymmetrical dress. Miladay diamond earrings and diamond ring.

Pack on the blush and ditch the gloss

“Blush placement matters. Don’t be too glossy because it makes you look goofy or sweaty,” Perez points out.

It’s a balance she’s learned to adjust over time, especially when it comes to how color holds up on screen. “So, with the technology, I learned to put more blush on because after a while, it fades with the lights because they’re very, very strong.”

Take care of your eyebrows

As someone who has been in show business for decades, she remembers a time when ultra-thin brows defined the look of the era. “There was one time we had a pictorial, and narequest na yung eyebrows super thin. So talagang during the 90s, wow, ang kilay namin sobrang nipis. Buti nalang di nagtampo kilay ko at nagrow ulit siya,” she quips. Since then, checking her brows has become second nature.

On handling a beauty emergency

When asked to recall a beauty emergency, she brings up one incident when Ryan Bang accidentally hit her while holding the microphone during their live noontime telecast. “Tumama yung microphone sa ipin ko tapos nabasag yung ipin ko.”

What followed, she says, became an emergency that Ryan Bang himself would rather forget. He has since repeatedly apologized for the incident, and in true Tyang Amy fashion, she responds with a maternal calmness, saying she has long forgiven him for it.

She adds, laughing, that the incident was ultimately the reason she ended up getting veneers.

On dealing with menopause

Despite being the woman who seems to have everything in control on screen, she was also honest about learning to love herself more as she goes through menopause.

“Now ko lang narealize na kahit menopause ka, pwede ka parin maging maganda,” Perez says, a reflection that shows our ‘Tyang’ learning to embrace how beauty and confidence are still possible at every stage of becoming.

Art direction by Nicole Almero. Beauty direction by Leira Aquino. Photography by Charisma Lico-Santos, assisted by Yhana Imutan, Erwin Arda, Antonio Baylon Jr., Mark De Castro. Makeup by Zee Ghielmetti. Hair by Glenda Eugenio. Styling by Gee Jocson, assisted by Kassandra Gandionco and Vince Avisado.