The journey towards embracing our definitions of self-love involves a deep process of self-acceptance and self-expression—from embracing our flaws to openly accepting our imperfections. It’s about redefining what beauty means to us, outside the noise of expectations and standards imposed by society.
Global fashion icon Heart Evangelista recently shared her personal journey to self-acceptance and how she learned to embrace them, reflecting on overcoming societal standards and her advocacy for homegrown talent continues to resonate with her fans and followers.
Before landing where she at now, Heart opened up about facing criticism early in her career, particularly over her chinita features, recalling a moment when she was deemed unsuitable for a TV series role because of her small eyes,
“I feel like I was one of the first chinita during that time. I remember when I felt so discriminated because someone told me that I couldn’t be in a telenovela because my eyes were too small. They said I wouldn’t be able to express myself,” said Heart.
Initially, the experience made her feel pressured to conform to more traditional beauty standards.
“I felt that since I didn’t have bigger eyes, I needed to change my look. I had to be mestiza. I had to look a certain way to get the roles,” she continued.
Over time, however, Heart’s mindset shifted, accepting her unique features allowed her to find confidence in her individuality. In fact, this resulted in more projects and endorsements for her.
“What changed was my mindset is that you’re different for a reason and there are other people that are also different and in a way, you’re a niche. And so, I feel like that’s the only thing that changed, my mindset. Everything else stayed the same. And I was able to embrace my features, who I am, and when I was more confident, I saw how it makes such a huge difference in just being yourself and living a mature life,” Heart stated.
Talking about working with Filipino brands, the actress also shared her love for collaborating with GRWM Cosmetics, which was founded by content beauty creator Mae Layug-Madriñan, praising the brand’s attention to detail in creating products specifically designed for Filipino features.
“Miss Mae thinks of the smallest details, from how thick an eyeliner strand should be to what shades will work best on yellow-toned skin. It’s scientific. You have to study what kind of green will work on yellow skin, and what kind of blue will pop on this kind of skin. That’s why I love working with local brands. You don’t have to test and test because you know it will automatically look good on us,” she explained.
GRWM Cosmetics recently tapped Heart as its first celebrity ambassador for its newly launched Face Card collection. Heart highlighted the importance of working with creators who share her passion for innovation and excellence.
“Actually, aside from teaming up with different collaborators, Miss. Mae is so inspiring. While we were shooting, she was always just on top of everything, content, budget, everything. And it’s just so uplifting and inspiring to be surrounded by all these content creators that truly love what they do and Miss Mae is a true example of where it can take you if you really put hard work and passion into it,” she continued.
