The weight of anticipation to be in the same room as her was heart-stopping. Hundreds of journalists, doctors, and creators inside a vast hall of The Westin Parnas in Seoul were craning their necks just to catch a glimpse of the orange door she was about to enter through—unwilling to miss a single moment. When she finally did, it was as if we all released an awestruck breath in unison. Such is the power of Song Hye Kyo, the beloved Korean actress whose acting prowess and beauty have captured hearts in Korea and all over the world since the early 2000s.
I was lucky enough to witness her grand entrance from the second row. My first impression of Song? Breathtaking, yet impressively authentic. Because while she might not look exactly as she did in Full House (an entirely unrealistic expectation), the charming cheekbones she had in the 2004 K-drama stay the same today. Even at 44, she looks youthful yet refined; her gentle smile and luminous skin exuding effortless grace.
She is the living expression of the natural, authentic beauty her BELOTERO campaign celebrates.
BELOTERO is a range of hyaluronic acid gel fillers from Merz Aesthetics, the company behind Ultherapy and biostimulator Radiesse, brought to the Philippines by Vanguard Aesthetics. It’s known in the aesthetic industry for its unique biomimetic quality—”bio” for life, “mimetic” for mimic—that helps the filler integrate seamlessly into the skin. As the brand approaches three decades of being an industry leader, it invited press and creators from all over Asia Pacific, including The Beauty Edit, to spotlight its innovative skin-mimicking technology and welcome its new ambassador for the Asia Pacific region.
Refinement, Not Reinvention
Being bombarded with images of perfect skin, overfilled lips, and cheeks on social media for more than a decade has caused a collective perception shift. Our idea of attractiveness has drifted from reality—or, as a 2021 study describes it, toward “aesthetic delusions.” And with daily exposure to these images, such a shift felt inevitable.
This constant exposure to exaggerated features has also changed what people now look for in beauty treatments. “Across Asia Pacific, aesthetic preferences have shifted. We are no longer seeking enhancements just for the sake of change. We’re seeking authenticity,” said Merz Aesthetics Asia President, Mr. Lawrence Siow. BELOTERO, launched more than 20 years ago, was ahead of this curve with fillers that fuse seamlessly with the skin.
Dr. Radovan Vukićević, Head of Filler Formulation at Merz, explained that for natural results, fillers should mimic the skin structurally, behaviorally, and functionally. With its innovative Biomimetic Matrix Technology (BBMT), the BELOTERO gel fulfills all three. It is engineered to integrate into your skin as much as possible once injected, so it becomes practically undetectable.
Moreover, Merz modified manufacturing steps and cross-linking techniques (CPM or Cohesive Polydensified Matrix technology) to obtain more than one type of HA gel formula. Each variant is designed to adapt to different facial areas and injection depths while delivering consistently natural-looking results. These are the five BELOTERO variants: Soft, Intense, Balance, Volume, and Revive.
At the event, the BBMT innovation was demonstrated through a simple activity involving a glass jar. The jar contained different-sized rocks that represented our skin structure, and it was slowly filled with sand, closing the gaps between the rocks. This process was meant to illustrate how seamlessly BELOTERO’s HA gel integrates with our skin structure, thanks to the Biomimetic Matrix Technology.
Now comes the question: How are “natural” results with filler even defined? For this, Merz looks to The Natural Outcomes Framework. This framework, developed by hundreds of global experts, aims to create a standard among practitioners to ensure the safety and quality of treatment with hyaluronic acid fillers.
According to this framework, filler results can be considered natural when it fulfills four elements: Visual, when the result appears subtle and realistic; Tactile, when the skin feels smooth to the touch and has no lumps; Internal Experience, when the patient does not sense a foreign body; and lastly, Facial Dynamics, when the patient’s expressions remain natural and not stiff. Achieving these elements also means centering the treatment on patient safety, from how the filler is administered to the kind of filler injected.
Curious about the practical application of these technologies and frameworks, we asked board-certified dermatologist Dr. Gaile Robredo-Vitas, who attended the event with us in Seoul, about her personal experience with BELOTERO in her practice.
Dr. Robredo-Vitas shared that when she first started her filler practice, she thought all HA fillers were the same, because they had the same key ingredient. However, when she started using BELOTERO more, she eventually noticed a big difference in the results she was achieving.
“More and more patients now want to have a better version of themselves, not look like someone else. They want something that doesn’t entirely change the way they look.”
—Dr. Gaile Robredo-Vitas, board-certified dermatologist
“What’s special about Belotero’s biomimetic matrix technology is how it integrates into the skin,” she explained. Because while all fillers can look good on the outside, Dr. Robredo-Vitas stressed that results are enhanced and more natural when you don’t feel that it’s there, especially in areas like the lips. This kind of result is also ideal given the recent shift in aesthetic preferences—one she said she’s noticed among her patients within the last five to seven years. “More and more patients now want to have a better version of themselves, not look like someone else. They want something that doesn’t entirely change the way they look,” said the derm.
Another important factor in getting undetectable results with filler, said Dr. Robredo-Vitas, is using the right type of filler for the area being injected. For the lips, she prefers BELOTERO’s Balance variant, while for areas that require more structure like the chin and nose, she prefers the Intense. Dr. Robredo-Vitas uses Revive, which is also considered a skin booster, to treat depressed acne scars and on necklines because she finds it lasts longer as a crosslinked filler. “In fact, I have BELOTERO Volume on my temples and Intense on my lips. I would like to think that it’s not noticeable, so that is a very, very good attribute of the product,” she added candidly.
Dr. Robredo-Vitas also puts importance on technique and filler placement apart from the filler itself. “Where you put your filler greatly affects how subtle it looks on the face. It has to match the natural contours. It doesn’t need to be exaggerated; it only has to be proportional to the other parts of the face,” she explained. For example, when enhancing the chin or nose, making sure that the other parts of the face are balanced compared to the treated area is essential.
Despite how advanced filler technology has become, managing expectations when getting injectables is still a must. How much filler you should have depends on the area you’re enhancing, and while 1 mL might seem like a lot, in some cases it’s not even enough. Also, swelling doesn’t necessarily mean the filler was badly done. Overall, a thorough conversation between you and your highly-qualified injector is essential—because filler regret is real.
Reflecting on the Seoul launch, it becomes clear that championing individuality and authenticity in the aesthetics world is no simple feat. BELOTERO’s campaign, “Nature is in the Details,” highlights how a meticulous combination of innovation, vision, and empathy is required to achieve natural-looking results that help people feel like the best version of themselves.
