About

Disclaimer can be found HERE.

 

About Honest & Local

The “Honest” in Honest & Local aims to promote brands that show integrity in their production (ingredients, quality of ingredients, packaging), marketing (how they sell their products), advertising (how they promote their products), and receptiveness to consumer needs (are their products actually addressing people’s needs in terms of product claims, price, effectiveness) and feedback (do they highly value feedback from their customers and do they adjust accordingly) along with brands with social and environmental advocacies.

On the other hand, the “Local” aims to promote products made in the Philippines. Asian Beauty has really taken off worldwide, yet when we talk about “Asian Beauty” we refer to products dominantly from Korea (for good reason, of course. They do make great products and have a history that has made them a world leader in cosmetics), a few from Japan, and very little – if any – from other Asian countries. This lack of representation has no excuse. I’ve used many great local products, and I hope to show people that they are on par with other global beauty brands.

This blog started because of my personal ideology about how companies should conduct themselves and my advocacy to support local businesses. While there is a lot of gray area about what exactly constitutes as “honest,” I’ll try my best to be clear and impartial in rating brands and products as such. Local may also include foreign brands that source their ingredients from the Philippines, work with communities in the Philippines, or sell products that are made in the Philippines.

Posts on this blog will be divided mainly into three categories: Opinions (or Features on brands and brand honesty), Thoughts (about issues, fads, etc), Reviews (of different local products), and Lists (compilation of recommended products/brands for specific situations).

 

About me

I had severe acne the moment I hit puberty so I went to a few dermatologists and tried all the drugstore products available locally. Only one product worked to clear my acne, but it was phased out locally and I decided to try all natural remedies. I experimented for years until I found a routine that worked, and though I still use it today (and it remains just as effective today), I’ve decided to venture out and try new things. While I still have great faith in all-natural remedies, I think there are a handful of brands out there that provide effective no-nonsense products and I’m ready to start experimenting with them again.

Currently, my skin is much smoother but I still have noticeable pores and blackheads and get dark spots, pimples, and small bumps regularly. I have combination skin and am still quite acne-prone but my acne nowadays is caused by the environment, hormones, stress, and my diet rather than ineffective skin care products and practices.