Welcome to Pearl, a newsletter dedicated to Filipinas and their beauty journeys.
It’ll land in your inbox bi-weekly with in-depth product reviews and recommendations, explorations of cultural beauty standards, interviews with inspiring women, and more from me, Kristina Rodulfo.
I’m a longtime beauty editor who has written for magazines like ELLE, Women’s Health, and InStyle. I’m also a proud Filipina from New York City, where my two parents (both from Bicol) immigrated in the early ‘90s.
I grew up closely connected to my culture, but felt like I had to shrink my identity when I started working in the publishing industry. I was typically the only Filipina – or Asian person, period – in the room pitching stories. Everywhere I worked, the editorial team was told to imagine the “ideal” reader. They’d give her a name, an age, a profession, and each story we wrote was for this imaginary reader. While never said, I’m pretty sure a Filipina wasn’t the first person they thought of. That didn’t stop me from telling our stories.
In 2021, I decided to go freelance. I focused on content creation and through that, have been able to pour more of my creativity into spotlighting the Filipino community. I’d roundup the best lipstick and nail shades for morena skin. I’d highlight Filipino makeup artists to follow. I’d do beauty tutorials exclusively using Filipino-owned beauty brands. Based on the flood of comments and DMs, I noticed a hunger for more beauty content catering to us. I decided to research existing Filipino blogs and magazines…and was disappointed by the narrative they kept pushing: Light skin, pin-straight hair, and other mestiza features are still upheld as the standard of beauty for Filipinas.
We deserve more. So, the idea for Pearl formed because I wanted to not only create a space with a more inclusive lens on Filipina beauty, but also share all the knowledge I’ve gained from over a decade as a beauty reporter with fellow Filipinas. It’s been my job to test thousands of products, interview dermatologists, estheticians, brand founders, and other experts, and to act as a guinea pig for any and all beauty services.
I’m here to be your beauty ate (big sister) and to write the stories I wish I had when I was starting to navigate the world of beauty as a Filipina.
What to expect
Beauty product reviews and recommendations of things I love
Beauty routines and interviews with Filipina women I admire
Profiles on Filipinos in the beauty industry doing cool things
Essays on beauty as it intersects with Filipino culture
Reader Q&A (like my weekly IG Q&A…but more in-depth!)
Links to relevant news (like a Filipino-owned beauty brand launching), makeup inspiration from Filipinas I follow, and more random gems.
Why is it called “Pearl”?
Because I’m sharing pearls of beauty wisdom! Get it? Was that a Tita joke?
In all seriousness, pearls have quite the significance in Filipino culture. The Philippines has been called the perlas ng silanganan, the South Sea Pearl is the country’s national gem, and a lot of local jewelry features pearls in the designs (just look in any Lola’s jewelry box). Pearls take years to form and are a reaction to an irritant entering an oyster. They’re beauty born from resilience – which is something I recognize in every Filipina I’ve met.
Thank you
from the bottom of my heart for joining me here. If you like what you see, share it with a friend – and let’s continue the convo over on my Instagram and TikTok!
