Beauty creator Kai Javier takes us through her extensive beauty stash, starting from the general beauty area to her vanity and bathroom, where she spends much of her time. From rarely heard-of items like blue blushes (which she uses for mid-tone blushing) to what she calls her “bougie products” intentionally displayed (“as a maarte girl,” she jokes), Javier welcomes The Beauty Edit into her quiet home in Silang, Cavite, for conversations on beauty and everything in between.
It’s no wonder she’s such a star on social media. She’s candid, warm, and has so much to share, be it a no-filter joke, a cool tidbit about a beauty product, cute keepsakes (like a Bratz-like illustration of herself given to her by a now-defunct beauty brand), personal confessions (“I’m really not so put together at home!”), and whatever else comes to mind.
“I’m really a lash girlie.” “I’m a ‘dry skin’ girl.” These are just a few of Javier’s many self-proclaimed declarations, beauty-wise, as she tours us through her vanity. It’s stark white, cozy, with a lot to marvel at. The beauty creator shares that her mother, an architect, helped her expand and renovate the space (as much as four times!), as her beauty collection grew and grew.
She stays an average of four hours a day in her beauty area. “Getting ready alone is already three hours for me,” she begins. “I’m that type of person who doesn’t like getting ready in a rush. Either I take my time, or I don’t. I take my time staying here and doing my beauty routine. It’s so calming. Beauty shouldn’t feel stressful, guys!” she says.
She doesn’t mind being an early riser for beauty, waking up as early as four hours in advance before class when she was still in college. “I’d wake up really early just so I can do my makeup. It’s fine, as long as I leave the house pretty,” she shares. “It’s my therapy.”
A Day In The Life
“I’m a night shower person so that by the morning, I can go straight to styling my hair.”
A firm believer in the fact that beauty is meant to be enjoyed and never rushed, Javier starts her day early—sometimes as early as 4 a.m. Doing so gives her enough time to check her emails and calendar, film beauty content, attend events, as well as play tennis, which is a new hobby of hers.
“One thing about me is that I hate retouching.”
It’s always a joy to see Javier at events, especially knowing how far away from Manila she lives. The fun—and surprising—fact is, when attending events, did you know that Javier only brings powder, lipstick, and perfume? The creator shared that one of the perks of being a full-glam girl is that it takes a lot for makeup to be broken down, hence the need for her to retouch is significantly less. Javier also revealed that she doesn’t like doing her makeup in any other place than her vanity.
“I clean my brushes every single day.”
Yes, you read that correctly. Javier cleans her brushes every. single. day. Such discipline! It’s a task she’s incorporated into her nighttime routine. In her vanity, Javier has a specific basket for all her used brushes, making it easy to know which ones need cleaning at the end of the day. She credits such practice to having been a makeup student (“I find it gross reusing brushes!”).
“I never go a day without eye cream.”
Having dry skin, Javier shared her extensive collection of moisturizers and eye creams, which she organizes by packaging, formula type, and heaviness. She did reveal, however, that on really hot days, she skips moisturizer, but never eye cream.
“I change my brows every day.”
Javier looked back at how makeup used to be fun and colorful back in 2016, which was when she got deep into beauty. For her, it was an era when everyone into makeup was super creative. She feels that today’s creators and beauty fanatics are becoming as experimental, reminding her of that era when everyone was bold and rocking colors. Incorporating fun into her makeup routine, Javier shared that she’s both particular and adventurous when it comes to her eyebrows.
“If I can’t do it today, then I won’t do it today.”
Prioritizing her mental health, Javier stressed the importance of taking breaks every now and then. In fact, she doesn’t care if she has to cram filming videos in one day. She acknowledges how expressive she is and knows that her audience will be able to tell that she’s not herself and just forcing herself to create content on a bad day. She also doesn’t want her mood to influence her reviews since she wants to be as objective as possible.
“I want to be objective without being offensive.”
On the topic of real reviews, Javier briefly shared about how she started on TikTok with comedy. Transitioning into beauty and knowing that she’s naturally funny (as her friends always tell her), Javier is aware that she has to be more responsible and respectful when reviewing products. For her, a review doesn’t have to be mean to be honest. Being part of her student publication in college also helped her in terms of discipline and decorum, which easily carried over in the context of content creation.
As Recommended by Kai Javier
“The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Vault!”
Kicking off the roll call on product recommendations, Javier looked way back to recall her first-ever beauty splurge. Ecstatic, Javier shared how on her 18th birthday, while on a trip to Hong Kong, she spent all her birthday money on the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Vault. How excited she was to store all 36 lip creams in an acrylic organizer!
“ColourPop eyeshadows!”
Another first for Javier is the ColourPop eyeshadows, which were her entry into the eyeshadow category. ColourPop eyeshadows are the makeup she’s owned the longest, she’s even had to throw some away because of storage issues before. Javier also recalls the Kathleen Lights Zodiac Palette as one of her first makeup buys.
“Kerastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum, Muji Cleansing Oil, and NARS complexion products!”
Prompted to share her top-of-mind recommendations for haircare, skincare, and makeup, respectively, she had these to say—stat!
“GRWM Cosmetics Lip Speak in Summer Eloise!”
In addition to being her most recent beauty purchase, this particular lipstick is a product that Javier has repurchased more than five times because she just keeps on losing them! The content creator revealed that she knows she really loves a product when it constantly gets lost—because it means she brings it with her all the time!
“Vaseline!”
Did you know that Vaseline is the very first product that Javier will purchase if her entire beauty collection burns down? She is never without Vaseline, which can actually be used in so many ways! Javier also shared that she has blepharitis, which is why she uses Vaseline for the dry patches on her eyelids.
Musings on Beauty
“Clear, balmy highlighters are a scam!”
A strong advocate of Vaseline, Javier had this to say when asked about a controversial beauty opinion! Come to think about it, Vaseline really does offer shine when applied, yes?
“I wear perfume to smell good to everyone around me.”
When it comes to her scent du jour, Javier bases her decision on whom she’s with. When with her boyfriend, she goes for fresh and leather scents. When with her dad, she reaches for citrus scents. When with her mom, she sprays nothing—because her mom’s asthmatic! Javier lists Replica Beach Walk and Gucci Flora Gorgeous Jasmine as her go-to scents.
“Makeup’s expired when I say it is!”
Despite saying this accompanied by laughter, Javier backed her statement with the training she received in makeup school on disinfecting, which she considers as important as expiration dates. And let’s be honest here—do we really follow the exact shelf life of every beauty product we own?
“You don’t need a big shade range of all colors to be inclusive. You just need an equal distribution of the available shade ranges.”
When it comes to her vision for the local beauty industry, Javier has the inclusivity of complexion products in mind. Acknowledging the difficulty in terms of logistics and cost, she suggests that local brands focus on the equal distribution of available shade options from light, medium, and dark.
“The best beauty advice I got as a beginner was to start with affordable products.”
Ever felt cheated when you spent on a luxury product that didn’t work for you? Well, Javier passed on the wisdom to start with affordable products. By doing so, it’ll be easier when you explore higher-end, luxury buys. This piece of advice is something Javier actually learned from her mother.
“I had to unlearn how I saw texture online because it’s so different in person.”
As a content creator, Javier recalled her struggle with how skin looked on camera versus in person. Over time, she realized several things: lighting plays an important part, makeup won’t fix texture and your skin itself, and makeup is primarily meant to emphasize certain features. That, and perhaps her most important lesson: to not be so hard on herself.
“I want to be someone’s reference if they need help, and I want to see more people wearing makeup in public!”
There was a time when Javier used to feel frustrated when she felt that she failed to copy the makeup looks of famous influencers. It was hard for her to find a reference for her face, she had to watch so many different creators to find the ones with one or two similar features as her. This has led Javier to find a bigger purpose in what she does: for people to see their faces in hers, for representation. She also hopes that through the content she creates, she’s able to encourage more people to step out of the house with makeup on, happy with themselves.
“Beauty for me is anything that feels good.”
Grounded by her beauty realizations and purposes, Javier’s definition of beauty goes beyond what’s tangible. For her, it’s about seeing the beauty in what’s around us and who we are with, which collectively influences how we feel. Isn’t it beautiful when we feel good?
“I don’t like it when people tell people why it’s not working for them. They want to try it so why discourage them?”
We feel good when we help others feel good. This is a belief that Javier ensures to practice through her content and across her platforms. She believes in teaching people to do things better instead of telling them they can’t do it.
“If I want to become good at something, I always want the opinion of someone better than me, someone with more experience.”
Looking to the future, Javier shared her plans to enroll in makeup school again soon. Having initially studied the technicalities of makeup, she wants to learn how to do different beauty looks and styles, such as a good Korean base, Thai makeup, and bridal makeup, to name a few.
“I just want to teach people how to do their makeup. I just love teaching.”
If you ask us, Kai Javier is already doing it and it’s always a joy learning from her. We can only be thrilled for her and what’s to come from here.
