When Jessica Cruel took over the editor in chief post of Allure US in 2021, she was faced with the momentous task of transitioning a storied beauty magazine into a completely digital publication. “It was a tough transition,” she admits, “but at the center of Allure is great journalism, and that is what we held on to.”

Great journalism is, in fact, the founding principle of Allure. In 1991, when Allure launched under founding editor in chief Linda Wells, it revolutionized beauty journalism. Beauty wasn’t treated with journalistic standards—until Allure came along, and beauty was viewed, studied, and scrutinized through the lens of experts: dermatologists, physicians, makeup artists, hairstylists, chemists, and editors. 

It’s this level of expert understanding of beauty that Allure imparts to its reader, in the most digestible way possible.

Bringing Allure’s DNA to the Philippines

What Allure represents, explains Cruel, is someone who is highly-educated about beauty—someone you can trust. “Our responsibility, “ she says, “is to be the trustworthy resource who asks all the questions so you don’t have to.”

The other responsibility of Allure, according to Cruel, is to be a mirror: “A mirror so that everyone can see themselves, and tell themselves that they’re beautiful.”

The Philippines is only the third country where Allure is a mirror for the public, telling them that the definition of beauty is, in fact, themselves. And holding that mirror up is a mission that Allure Philippines editor in chief Rissa Mananquil Trillo plans to continue.

“We’re staying true to Allure’s legacy,” Mananquil Trillo says. “Aside from championing expert-backed storytelling, investigative beauty journalism, and an inclusive lens on beauty, we’re also expanding the conversation by grounding it in the Filipino experience—our skin tones, our rituals, our challenges, and our triumphs.”

Cruel, who flew in to Manila for the launch of Allure Philippines, thinks that, with the rich, diverse, and beauty-centric culture in the Philippines, weaving Allure into the tapestry will shine a spotlight on beauty in the country, and the innovations in the local beauty industry, as well as spark important conversations.

“In the U.S., I created The Melanin Edit, our platform for beauty and wellness for black women. Rissa has created The Morena Manual. I was very happy to see that the stake that Allure US has put in the ground around diversity and inclusion of different skin tones and background experiences is being represented fully,” Cruel shares.

She also says that the inclusion of the topic of wellness as one of the original content pillars of Allure Philippines—together with skin, makeup, hair, nails, and fragrance—is exciting. “I’m really excited because we know wellness is a huge topic across every country, across the globe.”

Putting the reader first

At the end of the day, what matters most to both editors in chief is putting the reader first—whether that means listening to what the reader thinks, or making sure that the magazine speaks to them.

“One thing I’ve really been mindful of doing as editor in chief is to center the reader, the beauty consumer,” shares Cruel. She’s done this by having live events where she gets to interact with readers, or focus groups where she can directly ask for their opinions on content.

Mananquil Trillo, on the other hand, says that representation matters. “Filipinos deserve a beauty platform that speaks our language, knows our skin, and reflects our realities,” she says. “For the next generation especially, Allure Philippines can be both a mirror and a megaphone—showing them who they are and what’s possible.”

Beauty, for Cruel, is about self-expression, and self-examination, and the role of Allure—regardless of location—is to help people achieve this. “Our job,” she says, “is to be closest to that community, closest to the people who really love beauty, so that we can do the service for you. So, join the conversation with us and be a part of our community.”

The Filipinos most definitely will.

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